"Stuck" in Port St. Joe

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Coffee, tasty treats, and conversation every morning in the "Captain's Corner"

The day started as they usually do with a trip to the showers followed by a trip across the breezeway for coffee and treats in the Captains Corner. Today’s tasty treats included cookies and some mini muffins we picked up at Piggly-Wiggly on Wednesday. They usually don’t last long!

Then it was back to the boat for something different for breakfast. Nan Ellen had seen Emeril on TV yesterday talking about Mother’s Day breakfasts that kids could make, so she figured it would be simple enough for us. It starts with a split English muffin with both halves covered in Peanut Butter, and topped with sliced bananas and honey that makes a gooey sandwich. A little butter on the outside and 5 minutes in our Panini Grill made for a really delicious and different treat. We scrambled a couple of eggs on the side to make sure we got in some additional protein. Very filling, tasty, and not too bad on calories, although this is not something we would have every day.

As it was still early, we downloaded all the pictures from the camera and the I-phone so we can get ready to post to the Blog again on Friday.

Today’s adventure called for a return to the Constitution Museum after lunch. We rode our bikes on the trail and returned to the Museum. The museum gave us a history lesson about the area, but it is something that would not be on our list of must visits if you are in the area.

 

On the way back to the marina, we browsed an antique’s shop downtown and then went by the Port Inn and the Thirsty Goat Restaurant and Bar for a drink. Unfortunately, they did not open until 5 pm, so we went to the yogurt shop instead. We decided to go back to the boat again with Nan Ellen working on e-mails while I adjusted and marked the seat heights on our bikes. Having collapsible bikes means that we have to re-set the seat height every time we fold them up and re-open them to ride. I also marked the binoculars with fingernail polish after we set the focus for each of us – mine is a white dot and Nan Ellen’s is pink. After those tasks were complete, it was off to the Thirsty Goat for an appetizer and drinks. 

Best thing here was the cold beer

Cool Goat in the Bar

The beer was cold, but the appetizer was less than we expected. We came back to the boat, folded up and bagged the bikes. For dinner, Nan Ellen warmed up left over bratwurst I had grilled a couple of days ago.

With weather on Friday is expected to be bad, we will likely work on the Blog and start plotting our course on the computer to transfer to the Chartplotter in preparation for our Gulf crossing which could occur as early as Monday night and Tuesday morning. This is a little too far into the future for an accurate weather prediction, but we remain patient and will continue to enjoy our time in Port St. Joe.

Wednesday, April 17

We took advantage of nice weather to finish the job started on Tuesday. When we initially re-tightened the flag pole mount, one of the bolts had broken off and the other two were loose. There were no washers installed on the inside, so it is possible that the nuts simply came loose because they dug into the fiberglass. We needed to pick up some new hardware to fix it properly, and everyone said the local Ace Hardware had a nice selection of Stainless Steel hardware

Nan Ellen needed to mail a postcard, so we mounted the bikes and set off for the Post Office. On the way back, we stopped at the Ace Hardware to pick up some new stainless steel bolts, nuts and washers. We came back to the boat and installed the new hardware. Nan Ellen tightened the screws on top while I held a wrench on the bottom and we completed the project in record time.

After lunch, we decided to do a little bike ride to the Constitutional Museum and set off on our bikes into the 20 MPH wind. 

Bike Trail to Museum and Schools / Ball fields / Recreation areas

Closed today - will return tomorrow

Not sure we agree with this sign!

 
When we arrived at the Museum, we found that they were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we will have to come back on Thursday. We then decided to ride the bike trail its entire length which is about 5 or 6 miles round trip. 

Taking a break at the lake

We stopped at a freshwater lake about midway along the trail and spoke with a couple of High School kids on their way home from school. In spite of the posted sign, we did not see any Gators, but did see one turtle sunning itself on a log. 

Did not see any

A friend of mine (Robert Lyons) who works in Communications for the State of Florida was in town on business, and called us to find our location as he was finished with business for the day in Port St. Joe. We were about ready to head back to the boat anyway, so we agreed to meet him at the marina and give him a tour of the boat. He has a dream to do the Loop at some point in the future, but for now he is content for him and his wife to do long road trips on his motorcycle. They have a motorcycle trip to the North Carolina Mountains planned for next month. We talked Communications and ham radio for a bit before it was time for him to head home. 

The grill master at work

After he left for his home in Tallahassee, we decided to go to Piggly-Wiggly for chicken and corn to grill for dinner. After dinner, I worked on the computer answering a few e-mails and then it was time for bed.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The alarm went off at 6:00 and it was off to the showers quickly since we had to make a decision early this morning. After our showers, we took a look at the weather forecast. It did not look good for the next several days, so we made the decision to stay at least until the next weather window is about to open. That may be the first of next week at the earliest. We are patient and are willing to wait for the right conditions. While we are not the least bit concerned about the boat’s ability to handle the Gulf, we just don’t want to be on a 22 plus hour ride on a roller coaster. We have enough experience to know when to stay in port and when it is time to go. As we are NOT on a schedule, we are happy to stay put in Port St. Joe – a pretty nice place if you have to be stuck somewhere!

We spent most of the day working on the boat tightening up the flagstaff holder, checking the batteries, cleaning out the sea strainers, and checking engine oil levels. We replaced the cover on Little Waci as it had been blown loose during the storms that passed through here on Sunday night. Our dock mates told us the wind was over 70 MPH during the storm. Our boat did not sustain any damage beyond the loose flag mount.

The remainder of the day was spent on e-mails, and planning our future potential stops once we cross the Gulf onto the west coast of Florida.

Monday, April 15

This is the day we return to the boat after our weekend back home. The alarm went off at 4:30 am and I quickly got up to head for the bathroom. Nan Ellen was up surprisingly fast as she normally moans and groans at this time in the morning, but she was focused on getting going, so she surprised me a bit by moving quickly. We nearly got away at our projected time to try to beat the Atlanta traffic, and stopped for breakfast in Newnan, GA after clearing all the Atlanta traffic. Then it was down I-85 to I-185 and Columbus GA.

Once in Columbus, they had changed the intersection where I-185 ends and highway 27 picks up going south. I made a wrong turn and ended up at the front gate to Ft. Benning. They directed me back on the proper path and on our way. At some point, I missed another turn and we ended up going through parts of southwest Georgia that we did not know existed. Nan Ellen’s I-Pad vectored us to Bainbridge GA which was one of the waypoints we had intended in our planned route. I suppose we turned lemons into lemonade with this extra mileage and a tour of a part of Georgia we had not previously seen. More two lane roads greeted us as we continued south into Florida including a 30 mile stretch of the Apalachicola National Forest. We finally came to highway 98 and the Gulf of Mexico. We turned west and in just a few miles crossed the bridge into Apalachicola.

Up the Creek Raw Bar in Apalachicola

It was time for lunch, so we stopped at Up the Creek restaurant for some raw oysters.  They were probably the biggest ones we have had in some time, but were not quite as good as the ones we had last week at Indian Pass Raw Bar. After filling up our gas tank, we drove toward Port St. Joe and decided to swing by Point San Blas on the way. We wanted to see the lighthouse there, but had been told the gate to it was closed. Good thing we did not ride the extra 6 miles on our bikes last week to be disappointed, as you could not see it from the road or the beach. We continued the remaining 12 miles to the marina to offload the car. Then, I took off for Panama City to return the rental car. About three hours later, I was back at the marina, and it was time for dinner.

View of St. Josephs Bay from the Sunset Coastal Grill

 
We walked the mile to the Sunset Coastal Grill for a nice view of the bay and the sunset. The fish was good, and we brought home leftovers for the next day.It is another early to bed night as we need to make a decision early in the morning on the weather and if we want to go or stay in Port St. Joe.

Sunday, April 14

The day was spent mostly preparing for our return to the boat in Florida such as washing clothes, going to the grocery for items we could not find in Port St. Joe. It rained part of the day, so we mostly worked on the computer and watched the Masters on TV. We packed as much of our bags as possible to speed up the loading process on Monday morning.  It was early to bed as we needed to get a VERY early start on Monday.

Saturday, April 13

We had plenty to do today starting with Stilesboro Biscuits. This is a VERY unique restaurant that really is an old country store. Every fourth Saturday, they have the Jot-Em-Down boys playing live Bluegrass music for their customers. I suppose they like the practice, the exposure, and I know they like the biscuits. Alas, this was not their day there, but I brought biscuits back home for Nan Ellen and her mother. After breakfast, we finished sorting through the mail and planning the rest of the day.

I needed to drop off my watch at the jewelers for repair as I broke the band during my fall off the bike last week. Also, we needed to pick up a few things at the store, and I needed a temporary watch to use for the next month while mine is being repaired. Nan Ellen’s mother had a beauty shop appointment, so while Nan Ellen accompanied her, I took off to accomplish what I needed to do. When we returned in the afternoon, it was time for a little yard work. Nan Ellen edged the concrete while I cut and bagged the grass. After finishing cutting, I needed to put on a mask before I broke out the backpack blower. WOW!! The pollen was unbelievable at over 4000 grains per cubic meter of air. To those of you not familiar with spring in Atlanta, you can wash your car from front to back and by the time you reach the back, it is time to start all over again. Our dark gray rental car was greenish-yellow with pollen. The only thing that knocks down the pollen count at this time of year is rain, and that is only temporary. After the yard work was done, it was shower time.

Our good friends on our dock at Lake Allatoona, Skip and Linda Harper, had invited us for hamburgers on the dock. We did not need to be coaxed as it does not take much to get us back to the lake. Skip is planning to help captain our trip across the Gulf of Mexico once the weather clears and we have a suitable calm weather window. After dinner, it was back home to bed.

Friday, April 12

We planned to return home for the weekend to check on Nan Ellen’s mother while we waited on better weather to enable us to stage for the trip across the Gulf of Mexico. We had called Enterprise Car Rental in Panama City (about 45 miles west of us) and arranged for a rental car for the weekend. They actually came to pick us up that far away! Their driver was not in a hurry to get here, and as a result, we did not leave Panama City until about 2 pm for the 6 ½ hour trip home. The trip was uneventful, and we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Marietta – Papasito’s. Their Brochette Shrimp is worth the trip and one of their signature dishes – always enjoyable. Once at home, we spent an hour sorting the mail and then off to bed.