Kaimusailing

When the heat and humidity drop a bit, after sunset, the mosquitoes come out of hiding, in swarms, there is no relief here. The interior of the boat is still hot and humid, even in the evening. I continue packing the car and feel a pop in my, don’t laugh now, my ass. It is on the left side while on the right I have a sore hip. As a result I sleep a total of 3 hours and when I awake I am sore all over. No way I can get back to sleep. I might as well set off to Crisfield.
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I make coffee and eat leftover pizza slices, play wordle, and stow a few more things in the car. Then I trice up the swimming ladder and head on down the highway. The Jetta rental has the normal modern car electronics showing gas mileage, etc. It said it was 52 miles since the tank was filled up, in other words, the full tank of gas had already dispensed 52 miles worth of gas. Ripped off again.
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It was 4:30 AM and the roads were of course empty, mostly, and I headed on Colerain Road which turns into the Laurel Island Parkway, not the fastest roads to I-95, but the shortest route. We flew up I-95 exactly 10 over the limit. The exits for Savannah came by right away. The trip was 700 miles, so I figured out the ¼ point, the 1/3 point, and so on. The 700 miles and 11 plus hours were too hard to think about when I was just starting out and already tired with so little sleep.
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I had topped up on fuel in St. Marys where it was 4.39.9/gal. According to the computer we were getting 47.7 mpg. Not bad at 80 mph. I kept trying to stay awake as the sunrise took place. Traffic was getting heavier, but no jams, no slowdowns. I drove professionally as I have been taught now, with a few Andy tricks thrown in here and there. Someone comes barreling up behind me and I tap the brakes to stop the cruise control, and as the car slows a bit, pull off to the right behind the slower car I was passing, allow the barreler to go by, but I’ve already hit resume on the cruise and pull out behind him and allow him to barrel up the road to get the speeding ticket. My average was coming in at around 73 miles an hour including all the 45 zone earlier stuff.
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I knew I should get gas in Georgia, because the governor rescinded the fuel tax, making it one of the states with lowest fuel costs. When I got up past Savannah I saw 4.19,9 and 4.21.9, but unfortunately I was past those exits before I could take advantage. South Carolina is said to have lower prices than North Carolina, but all I saw was pries around 4.50, then into North Carolina 4.69, 4..79. I needed to stop for a rest stop and also to get brunch. I saw 4.32 and immediately exited, filled the tank, used the rest room, got a cup of coffee in return, but they didn’t have any quick food, so I got a McEgg and Sausage. I was hungry. When we got to Virginia I took RT58 at Emporia and the gas prices were 4.89 and such. The route from Emporia to Virginia Beach is a little over an hour but complicated with construction and confusing exits for RT13 North, which goes over the Bay Bridge Tunnel. There was a sign to take exit 282, so I bided my time through construction, rush hour, merging drivers who were ignorant and rude. I drove intelligently and ended up going onto the Bridge Tunnel without getting hit with one of the Norfolk automatic tolls, I think. The approach to the Bridge Tunnel was beautiful with beaches, ocean, and vessels, the sea. On the other side I was glad to visit the visitor’s center for a pit stop and a painful walk to loosen up both my hips and whatever.
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It took 2 more hours to get to Crisfield but it felt like more. Lots of speed traps and traffic lights on RT13. When I got into town I went to the Food Lion and purchased breakfast ingredients, eggs, ham, bread, cheese, and also steak and 50/50 salad mix, whatever that is. At the marina I checked in and let them know I had a black Jetta with Massachusetts plates over on K dock. I got change in quarters for 5 dollars and headed to the laundry room. It’s 1.25 per wash or dry, so I could do 2 loads. They needed it. I texted selected members of the Bad Crowd and said I wouldn’t be out tonight, but tomorrow, at the Shanty, I will enjoy an Orange Crush or two.
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I found the bilge was full of water right up to the engine mounts. That might explain the high electric bill every month. I tried the bilge pump manual switch and didn’t see any activity. Maybe the pump was fouled and had been pumping all winter trying to suck the water out of the bilge. I put groceries in the fridge and there was a sort of chug chug sound, then nothing. Maybe the power strip was bad. I plugged directly into the outlet. Nothing. I had an ice maker, I plugged that in and poured water into it. It began the laborious process of making ice from scratch out of ambient temperature water.
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I had to go fold laundry. I brought a dock cart to the laundry and put the basket of folded clothes into it and went to the Jetta. I looked for the charging cable for the laptop, also some extra laptop batteries. I needed the charging cable for the phone and took it out of the cigarette lighter socket that apparently hadn’t worked the whole time we were driving. I grabbed my meds, and a billion other things and loaded the dock cart up and brought it up the dock to SUNSPLASH. I actually had a laundry bin of clothing and one of everything else. They were both heavy and difficult to wrestle on board. My bad hip was bad and my good hip now had some sort of muscle strain. I had to move slowly. Fortunately I brought along my ibuprofen.
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The fridge didn’t make any noise but I felt inside, it was cold! Yay! The ice maker kept trying to make ice. The laptop was charging and the phone was plugged into it and charging. I put the bilge pump into automatic and after a while I could hear water splashing outside, the pump and switch were working, I just had to be more patient.
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There was a strange smell, then I remembered I was cleaning and seasoning a pan to fry a steak and now the Origo stove had run out of fuel. The pan was charred. I gave it more water which turned mostly to steam and scraped the pan clean with more water. Now season it and we can eat, drink wine, and go to bed. Uh oh, the alcohol is out. When I added the last of it, the stove exploded, but there was not enough alcohol to do much damage. I put the steaks away and had stale crackers from last year and some cheese, and more wine, of course. Doesn’t matter for breakfast, I have to fast for bloodwork. I found another can of alcohol but decided, wisely, not to try to light the stove again.
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I awoke at about 3 in the morning, aching the ache that an old person feels the day after doing too much, it hurts then, but it hurts even more now. I moved slowly. I tried to sleep some more, but was in too much pain. At 7 I called the blood lab. They said they needed a paper copy of the blood order, could not work with a .pdf file from my phone. I emailed the order to myself and waited till 10 to get to the library when it opened to print out the order, then proceed to the lab. Then I realized I needed to wear a mask, so returned to the marina, got a mask, went to the lab and waited for the phlebotomist. It was a long wait. She took me in and was very conversational and when I told her my address, in Crisfield, she said I grew up in that house. Small town.
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I returned to SUNSPASH and filled the alcohol stove correctly, got it going and fried the steak, made a salad while the steak was frying, made coffee while the steak was resting, then dug into a very nice brunch. Cuddily texted me, what are your plans?, I was thinking of going to Pocomoke to get some items from Harbor Freight and swap the empty propane tank at Walmart. Cuddily said she wanted to go to Lowes to look at storm doors. OK, let’s do it.
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I oiled my bike chain and tried it out. The front derailleur needs some attention, but I was able to bike around. My butt and right hip hurt, but did not affect my bike riding. I drove to the townhouses on the water and Cuddily came out. We drove to Pocomoke and we talked. I needed a therapy session with her. She said what if I gave you bad advice. First we went to Harbor Freight where I bought a fuel transfer pump. The cashier asked if I wanted a warranty plan, I said no, I’m replacing the same pump that I bought a year ago, it failed. At Lowe’s we had an excellent sales pitch about storm doors, the kind that you don’t have to change screen and glass, half the glass slides into a recess and the screen is then exposed. Runs around 300 bucks. Cuddily gets what she wants.
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I changed the propane tank at Walmart while continuing our therapy session. Cuddily didn’t want a man trying to rule her life, we’ve lived long enough, we should be able to have some freedom from stress in our last years. I was getting low on gas. I would try to offload SUNSPLASH’s gas that was 6 months old to help fill the rental car, but not till the last day. I dropped her off and said let’s get together at the Shanty later.
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I had purchased a cheap plastic flower pot and a small bag of potting soil and I transplanted the basil plant into it. I watered. I rode the bicycle up to the Shanty and found they wouldn’t open at the usual 4 PM, they would open officially at 5, maybe start serving drinks at 4:30. I biked up through the large marina and back. I took a seat. I was now thirsty. Belinda, a shop owner, and Karen, who once tended one of her shops, arrived and joined me. Drinks came out. This was a business owner and her sidekick. I heard a lot about plans to get Crisfield going from its lethargic collapse. The Subway shop was closed. No new businesses, no new restaurants, and there was a rumor that politicians were trying to shut the city government down due to the budget not passing. Ho hum.
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Cuddily arrived. Belinda’s fiance arrived. Cornelia Marie arrived without the wonder dog Nori. I wanted to talk to her but I am polite, the more aggressive dominated the conversation. Pizza was ordered, but I would not have any of that. I ordered wings with Buffalo sauce. Rubbery chicken skin. The chef would give them more time in the fryer. More Orange Crushes and Grapefruit Crushes, a few Pinot Grigio’s . The wings came out again and I gave a facial sign not visible to the chef, but others knew it was just more of the same.
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Eventually it started breaking up. Cornelia Marie left, Belinda and Karen left. Cuddily and I were left to continue therapy. We were about to leave when Cuddily said, isn’t that Eve? Yes, Eve arrived. My kryptonite. Fortunately I had my therapist on hand. The bar staff came out and I said this is my kryptonite while hugging Eve, two vehicles on a collision course with all gas and no brakes. Eve hugged me more.
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She ordered more drinks and we hung on and talked. There was a rift in the Bad Crowd, but the core was present except for one other person. We begged Eve not to drive. She said I just have to drive up the road, pointing in the wrong direction. Heaven help her. We broke up. I paid the bill with a piece of currency from the Yamaha motor sale. Well spent. Spent.
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I snapped a sunset photo over the marina as I cycled back to K dock. I could not get back on the bike, not because I was drunk, but because my ass was so sore, I couldn’t get my legs onto the pedals without some calamity happening and maybe more injury. I walked it back to the boat and decided to write it up while it was still fresh in my mind.