We took our cat on a ferry!
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Traveling full-time in our RV has given us more opportunities to see family and friends all over the country, and one of our more frequent stops has been to Florida to visit Anthony's parents, who have homes in Florida and Long Island, New York. This has been a switch for us, since prior to RVing, a 5-hour drive to NY was much more manageable than a flight down to FL. However, since getting the RV, we've opted for the more RV-friendly destination down south.
It's true that we did try to RV to Long Island once, and this is how it went:
Nicole Anderson
Getting onto the island wasn't even half the battle, though, because getting off and continuing south was one of the most stressful situations we've ever experienced on a travel day.
Nicole Anderson
After that, we made a pact to never RV to Long Island again, but without our home-on-wheels, what options did we have?
This year, we returned to the Northeast early, opting to spend five straight months in New England – the longest we've been in the area since we launched in February 2022. This gave us some flexibility in planning a trip down to Long Island without the RV, during a time when the whole family would be there: Anthony's parents, his sisters, their spouses, and their kids, including our new niece who was born in July.
The least stressful method of getting to Long Island is one of the ferries that crosses Long Island Sound between Connecticut and New York. We had taken the ferry once before, and the timing is about the same as driving the whole way, but we get a break from being behind the wheel. Taking a normal car, the prices are around $75 one-way for one passenger and vehicle plus an extra $30-something for an extra passenger roundtrip. The exact prices depend on time of departure and which ferry line you choose. But we don't have a normal car, and as the cars get larger, so do the prices. If we wanted to bring Clyde, we'd be looking at close to $100 one-way for the vehicle and driver, plus the extra passenger ticket, and an earlier arrival time so they can fit us in an oversized spot. If we wanted to bring our entire rig? $200-300 one-way for our extra-long vehicle, and a lot of hoops to jump through.
Since we were parked at our home-base in my parents' driveway, we took advantage of our multiple-car situation and borrowed my dad's car for the trip. His car is just a tad smaller than Clyde.
The next order of business was deciding if we would travel as a family of four per usual, or if we'd travel like pre-RV times, leaving the pets with my parents and taking the trip just the two of us. The pets are much more well-adjusted to long drives now, but Tanner gets easily overwhelmed when he's around a lot of people and we knew the stress would be too much for him. Lily, however, is basically the dog of the family, and since she has her chronic illness, it's less of a burden on my parents to keep her with us. It was decided. Lily would be our travel companion.
Despite Lily's mad skills as a roadtripper, we had a lot to consider. First, she wouldn't be in her usual car seat because it only fits in the center console of larger vehicles like our truck. She loves her backpack carrier and has traveled short distances in it before, so we decided to strap it to the backseat. Her backpack has an expansion mode, which we call Lily's "mansion," where the back opens and pops out a whole other compartment. This gave her extra room to stretch out during the drive.
Only, we soon realized that space wasn't the issue. The Ford Fiesta is quicker to respond than the truck, plus it sits lower to the ground which means we can feel bumps a lot more. Lily is not a fan of bumps. She had ridden in small cars before, including Fiestas, but it had been a long time. We had a two-hour drive to the ferry dock, and she spent most of it trying to seek higher ground.
Our next consideration was what to pack for Lily's big voyage. She and Tanner have travel bags that are always packed, but sometimes they share items. We needed to make sure that Lily had everything she needed. For the drive, that meant wipes, disposable puppy pads, and plastic bags in case she got carsick (which she did). Because she wears diapers on the regular due to her illness, we made sure to bring plenty of extra ones.
Lily calmed down quite a bit when we got to the dock. She appreciated that the car was only moving slowly for a while. This gave her time to regroup before we boarded.
Waiting in line at the ferry dock
We took the Cross Sound Ferry from New London, CT to Orient Point, NY. This was the best time split between our driving stints, with two hours pre-ferry and an hour post-ferry. This ferry had a few cabins and outdoor decks. Pets were allowed in most spaces except for the main cabin, where they serve food. The signage was very clear on where we could go.
We scouted out spots, but ultimately found some chairs on a deck that was partially shaded. The weather was gorgeous, and since Lily loves fresh air and sunshine, we thought she'd prefer the outside.
Tuckered out from the car ride, Lily spent most of the ride resting in her carrier, popping her head out once in a while to look around.
It was an easy and pleasant voyage. There were only a few dogs on the boat, and not surprisingly, Lily was the only non-canine pet.
Lily has stayed in multiple hotels and Airbnbs since we began RVing, so she's good at adjusting to new environments. These are a few things we do to help:
- Bring along items that she is comfortable and familiar with, that smell like home. We brought several blankets, her sleeping bag, and her bed (which we bought at Homegoods and absolutely love, but this is a similar one).
- Immediately put out food and water bowls and her litter box, and show her where each is. We try to position these items in similar places to where they are at home. For Lily, this means having her food dish elevated and her water dish on the floor. Her litter box is usually in a cubby so Tanner can't get at it, but this time we nestled it between a couple of pieces of furniture.
- Let her explore at her own pace. Lily won't settle until she has sniffed out every corner of a new environment, but we started her off with just the upstairs bedroom and then gradually expanded her domain. We kept all of her belongings in the bedroom, so she knew this was her safe space. Depending on whether or not she wanted to explore and see people, we either kept the door open or closed. If she showed signs of overwhelm like ducking under the bed, we knew it was time to shut the door.
- Stay nearby. We never like to leave the pets in an unfamiliar place, and this was no different. We made the decision to stay at the house so Lily could always find us when she needed us.
Relaxing in her bed
The Cross Sound ferry had limited hours for our return on Labor Day, so we took the Bridgeport/Port Jefferson ferry instead. This meant a shorter drive on Long Island and a longer Drive in Connecticut, and Lily's energy reflected this. She didn't have a long enough drive to tire herself out, and so she was really restless on the boat. The overall energy was similar. Unlike the ride to Long Island, this one had a lot of large groups and more noise. The sun was hot and none of the decks had any shade. Unlike the last ferry, this one only had one cabin which was off-limits to pets. We had no choice but to sit outside in the uncomfortable heat.
Lily somehow remained under the radar on the first ride, but this time, word got out really quickly that there was a cat on the boat. At that point, Lily was clearly over meeting new people, but she remained gracious as people came over to pet her.
We had a 3-hour drive home after disembarking, and eventually Lily fell asleep, as she tends to do on long drives. In so many ways, the road is now her home, so even though there were new things to get used to, she was her usual adventurous self. Experiences like this remind us of just how cool she is. We can take credit for a little bit of the training, but mostly, it's just her personality. She was meant to be an adventure kitty.
As for our opinion of the excursion? We loved the ease and maneuverability of the Fiesta onto and off of the ferry. Even the dock had some tight turns that Clyde wouldn't have handled very well. However, when we travel in a smaller vehicle, we miss the extra space that the truck provides. We like having the extra legroom, especially. I also forgot how carsick I get whenever I try to look at my phone or read from the passenger seat of smaller vehicles. I don't get carsick in Clyde. Even though we need a big truck to tow our trailer, it is a really comfortable ride. Would we ever consider taking Clyde on the ferry? Absolutely. We just don't think the ferry workers would be putting him in charge of the fleet like they did with the Fiesta, and we're okay with that!
Would we ever take the entire rig on the ferry? We would consider it if we were going straight to Long Island and back from the north, but not if we were coming to or from the south. However, if the opportunity arises to cart our RV on a ferry somewhere else in the country, we would totally be on board (pun intended). Experiences like this are all part of the adventure!