Last Bohemians

It took me 10-1/2 hours to do the 7 hour drive because I took the scenic route.  The part I wanted to photograph was fogged in but I will take some shots on the first return trip to check on the boat.  The southeastern panhandle is pretty but the locals don’t take very good care of it.  Middle to western looks great and Destin looks like a Palm Beach shopping mecca.  The channel, anchorage and dunes are beautiful.

The first sound I heard this morning was rain beating on the parking lot.  The weather station projected all day and got it right this time.  I wanted to stay on US17 but Savannah routes you to I95 and that is where the trouble began.  Going fast was going to destroy the tarp and the trucks hauling by did destroy the tarp.  I took the first exit when I saw the first flaps flying out next to me.  There was nothing but country at that exit and it was starting to lightning so I sat there and finished my coffee.  Finally I had to bite the bullet and go out to tidy up enough to drive.  My new maximum speed was 35mph with the flashers on even though traffic was low to none.  Finally I saw an abandoned country store building with a crumbling carport that looked better than nothing.  Before I could back under it I saw a light inside and thought maybe I should knock so as not to get my head blown off and sure enough there were two people inside.  This is where the humor was about to begin.  The woman was behind a counter with her husband sitting beside a wall heater but the noise of 20-30 roof leak collection pans caused me to yell my parking request.  He nodded yes and didn’t kill me one bit.  When I turned the truck off I realized there was no way to get out without walking in a shin deep puddle.  That nice morning shower had now expired but at least I had landed somewhere and I was so happy and yappy.  I talked to those people as if I worked there and even caught the man glance at his wife like maybe I was a little crazy.  He asked if I was from Alabama because that is what the truck tags say.  I gave him some options to pick from because my insurance is from North Carolina and my license shows Virginia.  When it was time to leave his wife offered up a roll of plastic and the man stepped in to the shin deep to offer a hand.  At first I couldn’t find my knife but he went after some scissors.  When I did dig up my knife it worked great and I wanted to show him the blade but one look at me approaching him maybe didn’t paint the best picture because he almost fell in the water while backpedaling.  I felt terrible but we laughed about it later.  Most people are so nice.  I wish I could have stayed longer and I probably should have because my approach to Palatka was floods and tornado touchdowns.  Too much to write here.

Today’s best signs:

• We sell dead people’s stuff
• Shakes wok and roll

Charleston has a great radio station.  I could only last until midnight so I am in a Days Inn somewhere north of Savannah.  The weather may be culling my stuff which could be a good thing.  All is well.

It looks like I need to re-purchase all my stuff in a freeze dried form because it is not going to fit on the truck.  Plus, I still have to empty the boat when I get back to Palatka and where is all that going to go I wonder.  Maybe I can drive to Pensacola first to off load or maybe I can close my eyes and give everything away.  My stuff is getting in the way of living a simple life.

I just arrived in Raleigh.  I couldn’t afford a sleeper car so I assumed I wasn’t allowed to sleep and that worked out well.  As soon as the clock struck 6 I was sucking down coffee.  Plenty of people were sick.  I can do the math.  Sleep deprived me surrounded by sick people them could be trouble.  I can’t imagine my immune system being familiar with the local germs.  I sat next to an interesting new friend (healthy) who self-taught his way far up the computer ranks so the conversation was good.  His brother used to work for Hinckley Yachts.

Today started out at Memaws Restaurant putting on an eating exhibition for the local folks.  Eggs,bacon,grits,toast and a couple of pancakes.  Lloyd bought me a couple of 10′ lengths of 1″ pvc pipe.  The gift that keeps on giving.  We tied one end of one section to the bow cleat and the other to the bulkhead and repeated that on the stern.  I hate that I didn’t take a picture.  Now the boat is out from under most of the tree limbs and looks good for my trip north.  I am going by train.  Palatka,FL-Smithfield,NC with a 2-1/2 hour layover in Raleigh.  It leaves tonight at 9:15 and the trip ends tomorrow at noon.  Marvin is going to pick me up if he remembers.  His Blackberry could run out of batteries and Smithfield would be my new home.  When I get back down here I would love some suggestions on how to keep this site interesting.  One of my tee shirts says “If Jimmy cracks corn and nobody cares, why is there a song about it?”.  Really makes you think.  Today on Towndock the quote was  “Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.”  I like that too.

It turns out there is another boat like mine here in Palatka and the owner introduced me to a neighbor of his who can watch  Spark for a few months.  I may try to move there today and start stripping sails and canvas because she will be under the trees for a while.  Last night I moved to the city docks here in Palatka but every time I leave the birds move on board.

I will be headed to the boat for a couple of days and will be without a connection.  Stay tuned.

They changed our forecast where the lower 20’s will continue into Monday but all is well because I am in a fancy motorhome cover tent that will capture the heat from the wall unit.

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Maybe some people are not supposed to be alone.   As soon as I wake up in the morning I start humming something or other.  It might not even be a song.  I have never really ever been a big music person like some of you.  I had a couple of albums as a kid but didn’t own the stereo systems that some of my friends had.   Why can’t I just let my mind go blank when it isn’t needed?  Here are some of the biggies that my built-in jukebox plays:

• “I’m getting closer to my home” by Grand Funk Railroad
• “Maria” and “America” from West Side Story
• “Holly Holy” by Neil Diamond

…and others!!  These aren’t even favorites of mine but they keep returning.  When the seagulls hear me say “Quit that!” they must really wonder.  I need to learn to meditate.

My enclosures are 3-sided.  Port, starboard and front.  Not much help when the wind is behind you but this was a shorter day.  I used four of those heat packets.  One in each shoe and one in each glove.  Palatka looked really good on arrival and it was great to see my uncle standing on the shore.  We locked the dinghy under the town dock and I am typing this while up in his guest room above “the barn”.  Tomorrow we are going to drive around looking at marinas.  I even ate a hamburger at a real restaurant.

It was so cold pouring in that jug of fuel this morning.  An Albin 28 had come in just after dark and they waved on the way out the creek.  The name of the boat was “Slow Motion” and I was to see them twice more with both of us headed up the St. Johns.[singlepic id=37 w=320 h=240 float=right]  Somehow I did 61 miles.  The Main Street Bridge in Jacksonville told me to come on through and then asked if I was still on channel 9 because they were having technical difficulties and had stopped the lift.  I was coming on with plenty of tide behind me so I don’t think I could have bailed.  A couple of bumps in the opening and the span started to rise again.  I hate that crap.  Anyway, I had forgotten how beautiful this river is and was very impressed with Julington Creek. [singlepic id=28 w=320 h=240 float=left] First I picked up my 6 gallons of fuel and then I walked across the highway to a great grocery store.  My night was the usual.  Cold with wind picking up after midnight.

I spent the night on shore at Ashton Whipple’s house.  Some of you in Oriental know and love Ashton.  He didn’t get serious about art until he was 60 years old but his work is beautiful and I got to hear the stories behind some of the paintings.   His daughter and grandson were a treat to meet and I had a great time.  The next day they returned me to the marina and I returned me to the boat.  Three long rows later and I had enough fuel so I caught the 2:30 opening of the Bridge  of Lions   Originally I thought I would go back up Salt Run but I needed some miles in so I steamed to Pine Island to spend the night in the marsh.  Clear, cold and not much wind.