One of the highlights of a Mont Pelerin Society conference in Vancouver was the invitation for us all to have lunch with the Governor of Victoria Island. Unfortunately this meant getting up at 6 am for a four-hour bus ride to catch a ferry to the island. After the lunch there was an equally long trip back. Admittedly there was a pause en route to look at some gardens. My colleague, Eamonn, and myself decided this was too much. We discovered there was a sea-plane ride to the island from just around the corner of our hotel at the harbour. Furthermore, it cost only 38 Canadian dollars for the trip.
After a leisurely breakfast, we sauntered to the harbour at 11 am. It was my first sea-plane ride, and took about 35 minutes to reach the island, where it parked itself right at the water's edge after quite a scenic flight. We strolled up the beach to where the Governor would be speaking in time for the lunch, and then made the same trip back. We watched the conference party arrive on their bus hours later, after 6 pm. It was, of course, satisfying to have saved so much time and trouble, but the ride was also thrilling in itself, especially the take-off and landing on the water amid a plume of spray.