Well I guess I was in a bad mood yesterday! Sorry to have rambled on so about the heat. Thankfully we ended up having a late afternoon thunderstorm which cooled things down considerably. By early evening it had tapered off to just a light rain with a little thunder/lightening. I decided to take a walk anyway as I wanted to get to the pharmacy before they closed. I had a pleasant, although damp walk through the charming little town of Apalachicola. It's without doubt the most adorable town so far. A beautiful little downtown area next to the riverfront filled with shops, galleries and eateries. I walked about 2 miles to the CVS in a bit of a circuitous route - as I wasn't really sure where it was. I went past the old town cemetery which had some graves dating back to the early 1800's. The area is filled with old colonials and Victorians homes many of which are now bed and breakfasts. The funniest thing I saw was a propane store which reminded me of King of the Hill --- I didn't know those things were real. I had a good chuckle over that.
After my walk I enjoyed a late dinner at a really good Mexican place downtown. It wasn't very crowded so I stayed for a couple of hours enjoying the air conditioning, reading my book and feasting on everything from margaritas, chile rellenos, and fried ice cream. Before waddling back to the boat I took a little Margarita inspired walk about midway across the bridge to see a really high view of the bay. Not really a pedestrian walkway - but I really wanted to see the view. I'll admit it was a little spooky walking back to the marina in the dark.
Ants were just begining to form a little road across my dock lines - and I hit them with spray just in time. I cleaned up a bit and enjoyed a cruisers dream - a shower and clean sheets all on the same night :-)
This morning I decided to stay one more day. It was cooler and I felt the need to put on some girly clothes, fix my hair, and do town things. I've spent most of the day at the library working in the comfort of air-conditioning. It's the funniest little tiny library - actually smaller than the first floor of my house! When I arrived - lucky me , the day camp was here with tons of little ones under the age of 7 picking out books. Obviously no one had told them about the whispering in the library rule - and the adults were actually louder. They were really cute though and left after a few minutes. Then the librarians got together and practiced a loud fireworks cheer. Yes, this is a very casual library where people seem to have fun. I stepped out for a quick lunch at a little tiny Chinese buffet that was actually very good. They didn't have a huge selection - but amazingly it was all my favorites.....
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OK, so I'll admit right from the start that it is MISERABLY hot today. I am dreaming of sitting in either my air conditioned office at my home or by my swimming pool. Just about anywhere other than the cockpit of this godforsaken boat with 3 fans blowing on me and hot breeze - comfort level 107 degrees. I'm pretty sure I don't even smell good. My generally pleasant disposition has certainly wilted today - and I'm ever so aware that a prudent person would be headed NORTH and not south at this time of year. Had I not been so chicken about crossing the Gulf I would be anchored in the Chesapeake with my friend Bill right about now. Yesterday started off wonderfully with an early morning walk on the beach before work. It was eerily calm but thankfully not too hot. As the day progressed the wind slowly picked up and shifted to the Southeast. At first it was nice as it was keeping me cool, but as the wind increased it became very choppy. By late afternoon conditions had worsened to the point that we had no choice but to leave. Huge rollers were pounding into the boats and threatening to send us to shore. I quickly got everything ready to leave which only took about 5 minutes. Lucky for me I had no anchor to raise as I was rafted up to DJ’s boat He untied me and I was quickly off trying to power through the rollers. It was a bit scary as I was really hoping the engine would be able to keep up. Soon I was far enough away that although there were still huge waves it did not feel as threatening as I was far from shore. I watched through the binoculars as DJ worked really hard with the windlass to pull up all the chain and line. My little trip to Port St. Joe did not turn out to be such a good idea. It was so very hot I had a fairly miserable time. I had a late lunch at the marina cafe - and enjoyed a nice cheeseburger and gallons of iced tea. I had my computer set up and was working while having lunch - as there was a bit of a breeze in the cafe - more so than on my boat. The rest of the afternoon I sweltered in the heat. Some time around 6 p.m. I managed to pull myself together and head out to begin my long list of errands. It was still too hot to consider riding a bike so I opted to walk and bring my little pull cart. Thankfully it was only a few blocks to the Piggly Wiggly. They are definitely proud of their food in the Pig Wig as I spent almost twice as much for the same amount of food as I had the week before. I learned that rather than using a shopping cart - it's better if I just put things in my little pull cart - that way I don't buy more than I can carry in one trip. I ended up making a couple of trips to the store and by the time I had it all stowed away and finished laundry it was 11 p.m. It was way too hot to even consider sleeping inside the cabin - even with multiple fans. I decided to sleep in the cockpit although I was a little worried about it from a safety perspective. Just as I was about to settle in - my neighbor from a charter fishing boat came by to visit. He sat down on the dock and began to talk. I guess he must have been pretty lonely because he talked my ear off for about an hour. He had lots of interesting stories about fishing in the Gulf - his 17 grandchildren, and his farm in Alabama. Sounded like he was very homesick. Finally around midnight I found a polite way to say I really needed to go to sleep - and he left. The wind was howling all night, the marina lights were bright, and it was hot. I managed to get about 5 hours of fitful sleep in the cockpit before getting up to resume my errands. It was finally cool enough to work in the cabin. I did that and filled the water tank, jerry jugs and washed the boat - all this before 6 a.m. My neighbor - Paul, had a left a little gift for me on the dock - a fillet knife - with a very kind note. I headed back to the Pig Wig and the fishing store and was there by 6:15 a.m. I asked the folks in the fishing store to recommend some kind of lure that would not attract sharks. They just laughed - and said "good luck". This is just the shark time of year - when the water gets hot and they will go for anything. I ended up replacing my spanish mackeral lure and also bought a little tool for removing the hook from the fish - without touching it. We'll see out that little $15 beauty works :-) As soon as I got back to the boat I had a few calls and then fired up the engine and motored back to the anchorage! Was I ever glad to be out of that place. The wind was really blowing when I arrived and it was so much cooler. I spent the rest of the day working in a cool breeze. Then it was time for another snorkel lesson - which was well timed as just as I quit work the breeze died. It was too hot for anything but getting in the water. DJ showed me how to hold on to the anchor line while practicing diving with my snorkel gear. We then spent about an hour having fun snorkeling. I practiced diving and am getting a little better - although I still have a long way to go. I saw a few star fish and a sea urchin. After a quick shower I cooked a nice feast - rib eye steaks, sweet potatoes, broccoli, sauted mushrooms and topped it all off with strawberry shortcake. Just as we were finishing the strawberry shortcake a storm blew in. Although really windy - not much in the way of rain. It cooled things down a bit and it was great to have a good nights sleep. I am hopeful that I bought enough things that I won't need to go back to town for a very long time! It is so much nicer to be at an anchorage that a hot, hot marina - and the price is right too :-) |
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January 2019
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