The memories are especially fond for my mom because she lived on Ryer Island for a time when she was a little girl. Since I had not been on that drive for many years, I asked my hubby to take me and he was, as usual, happy to oblige.
It took a few weeks before we had a free Saturday afternoon and nice weather, but finally we decided to take the drive last Saturday. I threw some sandwiches in a brown paper bag and off we went. It was a nice relaxing drive along the river levees with all the farmlands and virtually no traffic. It was a very slow drive; though, because the levee roads are narrow and winding, but still pleasant. We enjoyed the scenery of the old homes along the river and saw several fishing "hot spots" where the fishermen were lined up fishing and probably telling fish stories!!
Finally we reached the small town of Rio Vista where we would catch the ferry over to Ryer Island. We waited for the ferry to return from the other side of the Sacramento River (actually it crosses an area known as Cache Slough). Now keep in mind that the river is not very wide at this point, so the ride is rather quick...about 5 minutes. The ferry arrived at our side and we drove aboard. I felt all those excited butterflies just like when I was a little girl and we rode the ferry
Waiting for ferry to return from Ryer Island. 
Boarding
Steve got out and took a couple of pictures while we were crossing:
My truck "swimming" the river!
Before we knew it we were already parked at Ryer Island and exiting the ferry. I found it interesting that after all these years, the ride is still free of charge. I guess that is a good thing for all the farmers that live on the island and have to use the ferry frequently.
The ferry is known as 'The Real McCoy Ferry' because it was designed by an engineer named McCoy in the late 1940's. It is operated by CalTrans and is purported to be the oldest running piece of equipment to still be in use by CalTrans. It can accomodate 6-8 cars depending on size and also RV's.
The ferry heads back to Rio Vista.
Farmlands of Ryer Island
It was a fun afternoon and it brought back good memories for me. Thanks Mom for asking me, "Remember when.....?"
7 comments:
Sounds like a fun trip.
Hi Kyle,
It was fun. If you would like to take the drive sometime, I am sure we could be persuaded to go again.
Hope your brother is feeling better today...take good care of him!
It sounds like you two had a lovely trip. Im glad that you had such wonderful memories there and could go back to visit and make some new memories. How fun!!
Hey Ed's Girl,
It was a fun trip and we really enjoyed experiencing the ferry ride again.
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog.
Take care and tell the guys I said hello.
The trip was wonderful. Such beautiful scenery. When you go through the small towns along the river, it looks as if we’ve gone back in time. Places where time seems to have been forgotten. And then there it is, a cluster of condos/townhouses popping up in the middle of nowhere. I asked myself a couple of questions. Where will these people who live here work? How far will they travel for their necessities? Living that lifestyle out in the middle of these small towns seems out of place. Anyway, I loved the trip and the special time with “steve’s girl”.
Thanks, Pops, for the comment and the drive. I appreciate both.
We will have to go back again and find the road that my mom lived on now that we know where to look and also catch the smaller ferry on the other side of the island.
Do I sense another road trip soon?
Wonderful sites and memories. Thanks for sharing!
Jim
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