Waiting one bright spring morning for the Jamestown-Scotland ferry, I felt as if I were embarking on a real adventure. Once we were out on the sun-spangled water, gulls and terns trailed our wake and a cool breeze chopped the surface. Although it takes only about 10 minutes to cross Virginia’s James River, the ferry is still a big, 50-car vessel, and the river is wide here not far from the Chesapeake Bay.