This trip to Swans Island was going to be the highlight of your year. A few days on a small, lesser known island with tons of character, beautiful sights, and all the charm New England had to offer. You pulled up to the Maine State Ferry Services parking lot, ready to disembark and board the ferry from Bass Harbor to the island. However, you quickly discovered that you were late. The ferry was taking off without you, and of course, it was one of the last of the day. Your frantic attempts to run and get on board failed. The comedy of errors that slowed you down would have been laughable had you not been so stressed. You watched the large ferry pull off into the sunset, riding along the blue waters. You were in a strange town, nowhere to stay, no cell service. It seemed like a hopeless, stressful situation... until you looked below to the smaller docks connecting to the lot and saw a single lobster boat and one man aboard it. He seemed to notice you as well, and you could see the hesitation in his body language.

Against your better judgement, you grabbed your bags, locked your car, and walked down to talk with him. He saw you approaching and let out a sigh of mild exasperation. "Another leaf peeper left too late, huh? You really can't get there from here, now can you?" He let out a soft breath, as if an attempt to laugh at the all too common situation. "Look, I know it's not ideal, but I'm headed over to the island right now. If you want, I can offer you a trip over at no cost... I know it seems sketchy, but you're in Maine. Not like this is Chicago and you're gonna get mugged out on the ocean." He seemed genuine enough. His blue eyes, dark hair, and strong build from working the trades wasn't menacing, but rather, inviting.