Tides

 

 
I can't help putting this picture first, even though it's not about "Tides."    I bicycle by it each day here at the entrance to the marina and think "I know that boat will probably never be put in the water again."   Someone sure had fun when they painted it.

Also, nephew Drew coached me so that I could get online again with my laptop, so today I'll be able to catch up a little.
 
Okay, now about tides -
 

 
When I want to know whether the water is low or high, instead of looking at how the boat levels with the dock (it's not a floating one, so the boat does go up and down with the water),  I look across at the blue boat across the way.     Something about the person didn't pay the slip fee here and now the boat is just grounded over near the other shore.     When the water is up it looks nicely anchored there and when it's down it looks like this - askew.
 
We are so far away from the ocean here that the tides due to the moon do not affect us.  Instead, when the wind blows steadily from upriver the water drops about two feet and when it blows from the mouth of the river northeast of here, it rises two feet.   So . . . it's been blowing and blowing from the southwest and the water is low.
 

 

 

When I hear music playing on a radio and a steady engine sound, I know it's the crab pot guy.  There are several crab pots just out behind us and everyday he comes and  drives loops around them while he checks them, baits them and throws them back in.

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Tom has occasionally been trying to catch us a fish.   I stopped by a bait shop and brought home some mullet for him to try and it worked!   One night he caught about a 1-1/2 foot long red drum.   I got his picture with it but on his camera so it's not here.      What is here is a picture of the dinner he made the next night!   Drum gently pan fried.  It was probably the best meal we've had on the trip - so fresh and cooked just right.

 

Right now, Tom isn't here.  He's gone to spend time jeeping with his son Jon in Colorado.   Jon will be moving from Colorado later this summer so it's the last time they can do this for a while.

 

In the meantime, I've been living slow and fast.  Monday, a new friend and sailing instructor Laurie Sampson helped me take the boat over to a marina that checks the rigging for free.    I knew already that the boat needed its spreader boots  dealt with - just like the nursery rime, she had "one shoe off and one shoe on."    So now she has new boots!   We also got a steaming light back into service.   The rigging guy, who goes up in a bucket to do this, said that generally her rigging looks fine and assured me she is okay to take out in the ocean.

 

Then Laurie and I took Tumbleweed out to sail.   It was time for lunch so the first thing we did  after we got her sails up was to heave to and have a sandwich and some iced tea.   All the time Laurie was teaching me things and asking questions to see what I did know.    Later, we sailed!   I learned so much from her that as soon as I had time later, I came and typed it all onto a document so I will have a chance to use it before forgetting it.

 

So - then Tuesday I spent bicycling, then hanging out on the front porch of the Bean (local coffee/ice cream shop) that overlooks the harbor for an hour or so, then peddled over to the waterside park where people come to sit in the big colorful slantback lawn chairs left there.    I sat there reading and watching the water, just enjoying.

 

Today is Wednesday and Oh boy, I got a load of laundry done.   Then bicycled around again to take back a movie to Redbox, biked through town and along the water, picked up some ice and a few groceries.    It had been fall-like and cool here, but today it turned off sultry and misty.

 

You can see that I'm getting the hang of  "slow time."

 

Oh, I meant to show you an example of the simple houses here and some other scenes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sunset was pink last night so I got it.

 

 

 

Tom will be back Saturday and we hope to leave on Tuesday or so to see the outer banks (They call this areas the "inner banks."    Water there should be clear and beautiful.