Day One of Trip West

Saturday June 25, 2011 Departed St. Marys

Today, Sunday, I am sitting in the saloon of Stan Carver's 43 ft Moorings Benateau at Palm Harbor Marina in Pensacola, Fl. I arrived last night at 7PM my time (6PM Central Time here). I first met Stan in St. Marys Boat Services boatyard, St. Marys, Ga, where he and his friend Peter Robinson worked on Peter's 33 ft Moody sailboat periodically over the past nine  months.  The boat was in very poor condition, unfortunately much worse than Peter had imagined.  In addition to cosmetic repairs, they had to replace most of the equipmen starting with the engine.  They peformed all of the work themselves.  Fortunately for Peter, Stan is a whiz at mechanics and a hard worker.  They are both blessed with a good sense of humor and spirit of comraderie which served them well during this daunting undertaking.  Happily, the boat is now back in the water and, after one or more addtional trips to Georgia, Peter will bring it to Pensacola.

I departed St. Marys at 9 AM, Saturday. I was sent on my way by neighbors Carol and Andy Pilsbury on trawler Damn Foole, and Irene Loycano on Valiant Katya. I rode I-95 south to just north of Jacksonville where I took I-10, the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate. Unless I need to make time, as in this case, I plan to use it only when more scenic routes are not available.

The trip to Pensacola is 400 miles and Google Maps estimated traveling time by auto to be about six hours. I find that on a bike my traveling time is considerably longer.  After an hour or so of riding my butt usually begins to ache, one or more other body parts joins in, and my right forearm cries for relief from fighting the throttle spring. Consequently, I usually warmly welcome a rest area. I walk to a distant picnic table to stretch my legs, carrying tank bag and Coleman cooler. A few pages of a novel and a few gulps of water or an apple are sufficient to recharge me physically and mentally and off I go again. Yesterday's trip lasted 10 hours. An hour's halt at a rest area triggered by the need to seek shelter from a thunder storm added to the day's travel time.

Last night Peter, Stan and I dined at a restaurant on the water. I of course carried my purse for I had learned if I didn't I would surely come to find I would need one of its contents like sun glasses, or tape measure, jack knife, etc. However, this night I was embarrassed to find that while I had the purse, it was lacking its prime occupant – my wallet. Duh! (For ready accessibility during the ride, I had transferred it to my new tank bag.) Stan picked up my tab. Today he refused to take repayment in cash but I pretty much got even with him by buying his breakfast and then veggies for the scrumptious grilled steak dinner he prepared on the boat.

Stan is a retired real estate developer and Peter is Director of Emergency Management for the College of North Western Florida. Peter left this afternoon to join wife Diana, and Stan departed in early evening to nurse a nose infection back at home on terra firma. I will bunk on the boat again tonight and ride off to Fairhope, AL tomorrow morning

The recent week or more of surface prep and painting on Simba had tired me a bit, and then the last day's work of closing up the boat for the summer and packing for the trip added to my ennui. To top that, the trip itself was a bit demanding, so I was eager to hit the sack. I slept so soundly I never woke up until my customary 7 AM (a small miracle:) Then today I caught an hour and a half nap as well, so I feel well rested and eager to get moving once again tomorrow.