*29* Veneer

*Juliet*

“Oh, my word,” I giggle, delightedly staring up at the great steamer, Isle Royale, as we make our way along the dock to the ship’s gates, and beyond them, the gangway aboard. “It’s a beast of a vessel, isn’t it?” I hadn't expected it to be, but I'm excited at the prospect of this trip with Sam.

The ship has been remodeled in recent years, stripped of its turn of the century Art Deco ornament and streamlined into the Art Moderne style that became popular during the Depression, the war years and after. Its aerodynamic pure-line concept gives the impression of motion and speed even though its not moving using cylindrical forms and long horizontal windowing. I have to admit it certainly does look sleek and modern.

The vessel’s capable of berthing two hundred eighty-eight passengers and carrying another eighty-six crew in addition to accommodating an entire train—thirty-two boxcars on four tracks in the lower deck. At least that's what Sam's told me. A couple times now, though it's