Here's an article from: MSNBC
Birds start to twitch as we approach the spring equinox. Their brains, catalyzed by the lengthening photoperiod, i.e. more sunlight, tell them to fatten up for spring flights to summer nesting lands. For these migrants, many having flown for countless nighttime hours across gulf, ocean and lake, islands appear at the perfect moment, providing shelter, rest, and most importantly, nourishment. Islands also replenish us. A ferry or causeway carries us away from harried society.
Living on an island takes resolve, but a daylong or weeklong visit provides plenty of island medicine without any of the obligation. For example, one doesn't casually move to Vancouver's Bowen Island, an artist colony where, one former resident recently reflected, "everyone knows what you ate for breakfast." But a visit to Bowen Island on a sun-filled Saturday to tour galleries and sample pastries at The Village Baker café should be nobody's business but your own. Here are eight superb islands that just might tempt you to set your clock to island time.
Assateague Island, Virginia
You can't inhabit Assateague Island unless you have feathers or your height is measured in hands. Home to more than 300 bird species, this 37-mile-long barrier island constantly changes physically, though its unusual political split between claimants Maryland and Virginia remains firmly in place. The state and commonwealth even divide the famed wild (actually feral) horses with a fence that bisects the island. You can only see the "saltwater roundup" on the Virginia side however, when the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department, which manages the herd, completes a census and thins the herd via auction on "Pony Penning Day." (More progressive Maryland keeps herd numbers stable with contraception.) Kayaking upon the natural inland channels reveals herons, eagles, pelicans and, yes, even the occasional horse.
Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
Islands are defined by physical remoteness, but no North American "landmass surrounded entirely by water" dispatches us more dramatically into a different culture than Cape Breton. Highway signs appear in not two but four languages here: Acadian, Gaelic, English and the Algonquian language, Mikmaq. Once independent of Nova Scotia, this community continues to teach Gaelic in the schools. Alexander Graham Bell was so taken with the town of Baddeck on the shores of Bras d'Or Lake that he made his summer home here. The Cabot Trail traverses through the Cape Breton Highlands, among the most majestic headlands this side of Scotland. Visits to Cape Breton are incomplete without attending a Celtic music celebration, or caleigh, often featuring world-renowned fiddlers, or a kitchen party, spontaneous gatherings where even the guests are expected to participate.
Gulf Islands, British Columbia
The New York Times recently listed San Juan Island among the top five of its world travel bucket list, for good reason: Riding a ferry through this archipelago during a summer sunset is one of the best boat trips anywhere, especially if a resident orca pod comes out to play. But visitors should also consider the foreign section of the archipelago: B.C.'s Gulf Islands. The Canadian vibe distills a little essence of Scotland's Shetland group, with fishing villages, traditional pubs and plenty of tea. The summer weather, however, is hardly akin to that in the North Sea; think Mediterranean Sea instead. Similar to its San Juan Island cousin in the States, Salt Spring Island is a sure bet, especially if you plan early enough to book a room or dinner at Hastings House, one of Canada's finest inns and restaurants. Studios, including that of Robert Bateman, arguably the world's best wildlife artist, are sprinkled throughout the inhabited islands. Many islands prohibit development, providing wildlife habitat and models for Bateman and his peers.
Isle Royale, Michigan
Growing up, I'm not sure when I first heard about the wolves of Isle Royale. To a young boy living near Lake Ontario, the idea that an island within one of the Great Lakes remained wild enough to support the mighty wolf astounded me. Clearly someone at the National Park Service felt the same way, as the island, its six lakes and 450 surrounding islands was made a national park in 1931. Home to the longest predator-prey (wolf-moose) study in the world, Isle Royale is also, according to the National Park Service, the source of one of Earth's liveliest geographical trivia factoids: "Ryan Island on Isle Royale's Siskiwit Lake is the largest island on the largest lake on the largest island on the largest (freshwater) lake in the world. Say that a few times fast and you just might end up baying at the moon.
Kauai, Hawaii
Do so much more than vegetate on Hawaii's Garden Island, Kauai.
It is said that once you visit Kauai, you'll only visit Kauai. Long known as the "Garden Island," Kauai benefits from historically strict development protocols and resilient self-determination. More than 1.5 million visitors come to Kauai each year to explore the unspoiled environment and observe pure Hawaii's native culture. The volcanic geography includes the rugged North Shore's Na Pali Coast State Park and the white sand beaches of the South Shore. Artist studios line the street in the West Side's Hanapepe Town, though pristine nature, like Waimea Canyon's Grand Gorge, is never far away. The East Side of Kauai reveals lush coconut groves beneath a majestic series of cataracts including the mystical Wailua Falls and Opaekaa Falls. Step onto Kauai and you've literally disappeared into the Fern Grotto, though you can always choose to play upon more than 50 miles of public beach.
Monhegan Island, Maine
Hermits, artists, fairy houses. No, this isn't a young adult fantasy novel, it's Monhegan Island, Maine. The hermit, Ray Phillips, lived on the hillside of adjacent Manana Island for 40 years. The artist studio roster has included Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent and three generations of Wyeths, from N.C. to Jamie. And the faeries, well they live in Cathedral Forest, at least that's where you'll spy their many homes constructed of acorns, lichen and other green sources. The century-old Island Inn greets the other ferries as they enter the harbor. The grand weather-beaten building, with sweeping veranda, serves boxed lunches from the café if you're eager to visit the many artists' studios, chase faeries or observe the dwelling of a hermit who sailed into the harbor one day and never left. Will you?
Assorted wildlife abounds around St. Vincent's distinct habitats.
St. Vincent Island, Florida
No one is surprised to hear of wolves in Isle Royale on the Canadian-American border, but wolves also roamed the southeast. Today, St. Vincent Island is home to one of the last populations of the endangered red wolf. The 12,490-acre national wildlife refuge features 10 distinct habitats for migrating wood storks as well as several threatened species including gopher tortoises, nesting loggerhead sea turtles and indigo snakes. The island is also a first stop for migrating neotropical migratory songbirds that touch down eager to feed after flying all night from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Like the native herons, visitors come to fish on the refuge lakes and collect shells on the gulf beaches. Even with 10 environments from which to choose, a colony of bats has ignored the natural habitat to occupy the attic of an old (thankfully unoccupied) hunting cabin.
Santa Catalina Island, California
Escape to this romantic retreat just 26 miles outside of Los Angeles.
Santa Catalina Island and Alaska's Aleutian Islands are rarely spoken of in the same sentence, except when one learns that the eponymous Russian fur traders, the Aleuts, eventually settled on the California island, driven by the desire for still more sea otter pelts. Located just 26 miles physically but a world away spiritually from Los Angeles, romantics have escaped to this 22-mile by 8-mile member of the Channel archipelago for generations, where they can rent bikes, snorkel or hike the newly constructed 37-mile Trans-Catalina Trail. Those looking for still more remoteness should travel north to Santa Cruz Island, the largest island in Channel Islands National Park. Kayak in the sea caves with Aquasports, or spend the day roaming this remarkable park after taking an Island Packers ferry.
