Yesterday was haul day, and it seems like a week ago.
By 7 am, Randy was hauling me up the mizzen to stop and lash the wind generator, before I'd even brushed my teeth. The haul went well, thanks to Tracy, Roosevelt, Dennis and Dave. ND is resting quietly in the "Canadian" yard behind the marina,and it's very pretty, albeit very dusty, but lots of trees and grass around, and otherwise very clean. It was a brutally busy day, emptying and cleaning the boat, filling the car, many trips to the dumpster, and so many trips up and down the ladder with heavy stuff.
At the end, the last bits going into the car, well, it was like jamming bodies on the subway in Japan. We just shook our heads and pushed, and then I folded into the tiny space left in the passenger seat and went to drop one last bunch of freebies at the marina and say goodbye to the folks we'd met and helped us out in the last week. They were getting ready for a giant party and bbq, huge grills on wheels with large hunks of pig roasting and giving off wonderful smells. But we were done, left them the tail-end of our liquor supplies, and headed out.
It was so hard to drive away. Equal parts relief and awful distress. It was a bit like abandoning the boat, not knowing what's going to happen next. It will be easier when we know where she's going.
We made it 15 miles down the road to the Comfort Inn in Orange Park. Rum, and then extended showers, cause boy, we were filthy with dust from the yard. Both so tired we only slept a few hours and then lay there thinking useless thoughts...I forgot to tidy the drawer with the wine glasses...etc...etc.
Breakfast is included at the Comfort Inn, and we had coffee, tea, cereal, a danish and a bagel, all pre-packaged or in disposable stuff, and managed to generate 30 pieces of garbage just at breakfast. No recycling on offer.
Suitably caloried-up, we repacked the car. My mother was standing behind me, I swear, as we hauled half the stuff out and re-sorted and discarded and repacked. It happened every year at dawn in the driveway of 75 Dogwood in Scarborough as Mum and Dad packed the car for our annual trip to Nova Scotia. It's in the genes.
We left a big wheeled duffel bag and a cooler both mostly filled with clothes and junk and books that I guess we didn't need after all. The lady at the desk said that the housekeeping staff would take it all and share it around. What will they do with spare snorkel tubes?
The Subaru still squats aft, but Marjorie is secure on the roof and didn't move an inch all the way from northern Florida to Santee, South Carolina, which is where we are tonight. It's sort of like New Minas, without the charm.
What have we seen and heard on the way? Randy was accosted by a two women in the Publix store: "Would you eat collard greens with mashed potatoes?" "No," he says, never having run into a collard green. "See, I told you so," says one woman to the other and off they go.
Bumper sticker: "A lady with a gun has more fun."
Roadside bar: "Rehab Saloon."
Billboards: "Open heart surgery now available."
"Jesus is our accountant."
"Country Cookin makes you Good Lookin"
"Judgement Day May 21 - The Bible Guarantees It"
and at the Florida Citrus Center, you can purchase "Gator Head Wind Chimes." It was hard to drive by.
We ate fabulous bbq for lunch at Ken and Candi's BBQ, shared a serving of brisket, beans and coleslaw, and got a free sample of smoked turkey. Good eatin. Hoping for a big sleep tonight and north again tomorrow. On, on.
By 7 am, Randy was hauling me up the mizzen to stop and lash the wind generator, before I'd even brushed my teeth. The haul went well, thanks to Tracy, Roosevelt, Dennis and Dave. ND is resting quietly in the "Canadian" yard behind the marina,and it's very pretty, albeit very dusty, but lots of trees and grass around, and otherwise very clean. It was a brutally busy day, emptying and cleaning the boat, filling the car, many trips to the dumpster, and so many trips up and down the ladder with heavy stuff.
At the end, the last bits going into the car, well, it was like jamming bodies on the subway in Japan. We just shook our heads and pushed, and then I folded into the tiny space left in the passenger seat and went to drop one last bunch of freebies at the marina and say goodbye to the folks we'd met and helped us out in the last week. They were getting ready for a giant party and bbq, huge grills on wheels with large hunks of pig roasting and giving off wonderful smells. But we were done, left them the tail-end of our liquor supplies, and headed out.
It was so hard to drive away. Equal parts relief and awful distress. It was a bit like abandoning the boat, not knowing what's going to happen next. It will be easier when we know where she's going.
We made it 15 miles down the road to the Comfort Inn in Orange Park. Rum, and then extended showers, cause boy, we were filthy with dust from the yard. Both so tired we only slept a few hours and then lay there thinking useless thoughts...I forgot to tidy the drawer with the wine glasses...etc...etc.
Breakfast is included at the Comfort Inn, and we had coffee, tea, cereal, a danish and a bagel, all pre-packaged or in disposable stuff, and managed to generate 30 pieces of garbage just at breakfast. No recycling on offer.
Suitably caloried-up, we repacked the car. My mother was standing behind me, I swear, as we hauled half the stuff out and re-sorted and discarded and repacked. It happened every year at dawn in the driveway of 75 Dogwood in Scarborough as Mum and Dad packed the car for our annual trip to Nova Scotia. It's in the genes.
We left a big wheeled duffel bag and a cooler both mostly filled with clothes and junk and books that I guess we didn't need after all. The lady at the desk said that the housekeeping staff would take it all and share it around. What will they do with spare snorkel tubes?
The Subaru still squats aft, but Marjorie is secure on the roof and didn't move an inch all the way from northern Florida to Santee, South Carolina, which is where we are tonight. It's sort of like New Minas, without the charm.
What have we seen and heard on the way? Randy was accosted by a two women in the Publix store: "Would you eat collard greens with mashed potatoes?" "No," he says, never having run into a collard green. "See, I told you so," says one woman to the other and off they go.
Bumper sticker: "A lady with a gun has more fun."
Roadside bar: "Rehab Saloon."
Billboards: "Open heart surgery now available."
"Jesus is our accountant."
"Country Cookin makes you Good Lookin"
"Judgement Day May 21 - The Bible Guarantees It"
and at the Florida Citrus Center, you can purchase "Gator Head Wind Chimes." It was hard to drive by.
We ate fabulous bbq for lunch at Ken and Candi's BBQ, shared a serving of brisket, beans and coleslaw, and got a free sample of smoked turkey. Good eatin. Hoping for a big sleep tonight and north again tomorrow. On, on.
posted by Susan at 7:17 PM
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