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t takes 20 minutes to cross the Neuse River on the Minnesott Beach ferry to Cherry Branch. It gets suggested now and then that a bridge over that stretch of river would be faster, and somehow, better. For now though, the ferry is what we have, a part of life to be appreciated for the calming “time-out” that it presents us.

Scofflaw river birds.

True, ‘calm’ may not describe the pedal to the metal rush we make to get to the ferry on time, but once on board, the ferry gives us permission to pause in our journey. Some use those 20 minutes to read, others, to do a crossword, or, when an industrious mood hits, to tidy up the car.

Ferries passing in the day.

Some of us though, soak up the views. (It’s the reason our car remains untidied.) Mid-river, you can get pretty much a full 360 view of the Neuse in all its daily and seasonal changes. The summer afternoon storms, the calm flat of a sunrise, the fore-boding winter skies just downstream.

Upper end of the Danforth anchor, against a summer afternoon storm sky.

And the scenes are not just off in the distance, but right on board: The allee in the shaded parking spaces. The safety nets, fore and aft, constantly framing new scenes. The robust cleats bulked up from repeated coats of yellow paint. And, yes, the ever-present, ever-bolder river birds.

The safety net framing a navigational marker.

Those are some of the things that’ve drawn the eye on the ferry rides the past few years. So much so that when we looked for a photo for this week’s story about the restored ferry schedule, we found we had a lot to choose from.

The lanes.

We’ve put them together in a photo gallery on the following pages. So, with the chocks in place, take a shorter version of the ferry ride

The way to the other views…

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The view from the second level. A mid-summer morning, on the ferry from Minnesott toward Cherry Branch.

Light off the water and from the sun are not the only sources of illumination on the ferry.

“You talking to me?” River bird as Robert de Niro.

Portlight from the Women’s room.

Daylight outpaces the night light on the port side.

A passenger takes a pause.

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Whitecaps on a windy crossing, near the Minnesott shoreline.

Starboard side view on the approach to Minnesott.

From the Cherry Branch side, as the ferry leaves toward Minnesott and those darkening skies.

Cleat.

A summer morning crossing to Cherry Branch. If you look in to the churned water, you can see the reverse-sihouettes of the hawse openings.

The wake behind the net.

Still not obeying the sign.

Posted Friday January 22, 2010 by Melinda Penkava