Several of the people we met on our recent trip to the Pacific Northwest lived on nearby islands such as Lopez and Whidbey. Others spent their summers on one or another of the smaller islands. I kept asking them if there was a way to get to and from their islands besides by boat and was surprised at how unperturbed they seemed by this (to me) annoying aspect of any serious trip even slightly away from home. When we took a ferry from Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria on Vancouver Island, and then later from Nanaimo over to the city of Vancouver on the Canadian mainland, it required reservations, getting to the terminal no earlier than a certain time but no later than another, waiting in long lines before driving our car on, and another line and delay getting off and on our way. The voyage took almost two hours in each case. It turns out that some people do that every day from certain islands, commuting to work in Seattle or Vancouver. Of course, for those not willing to devote that time and effort to the commute, there are float planes taking off and landing in the Nanaimo harbor all day. The first one comes to life at 7:00 a.m. and they are soon lined up ready to taxi just as the big boys do on an airport runway. Some of the planes belong to individuals, but most are an accepted part of the transportation system at about $50 one way for a 15 minute jaunt. Since these planes operate only during daylight hours, a vigilant photographer in a hotel room overlooking the harbor may have to settle for a just-after-sunrise (as in this case) or a just-before-sundown photo.