DOPI Nick tries to sleep

DOPI Nick goes to bed

Smokemount campground at Smoky Mountains National Park is lovely. Lots of trees, babbling brook. No electricity or water at the sites. Believe it or not, it did not occur to me until Savannah that I could bring an extension cord and a power strip to camp and be electrified.  We could have brought a blender! Not at SMNP, though.

Happiness is setting up and breaking camp in dry weather. Even though I’ve done it plenty of times both ways with Scouts, breaking camp in the rain never loses its lack of appeal. We set up in dry sunshine at Smokemont. No power meant 600 strokes on the pump to get the bed inflated.

We had a campfire. We had loaded up with duraflame logs at Walmart. I was done with trying to get damp wood to burn using those wimpy little fire starters and fanning with the dustpan. Naturally, since we were prepared, it didn’t rain. I really like Walmart. Here’s my song:

            We don’t need no Super Kmart

            We don’t need no CVS

            Our Target ads are in the trashcan

            We’re shopping where the price is best

            Hey! DOPI! We shop where the price is best!

            All in all, its just another trip to the Wal.

We read snippets of Marsha’s great-grandmother’s Bible, and consigned pages to the fire. I’d forgotten that David tried to get Uriah to sleep with his wife to cover up the consequence of his dalliance. Uriah refused, saying if his buddies had to go without, he would too.  That’s when David sent him to the front and told his commander to ditch him. Ultimately, Uriah died because he refused to sleep with his wife when he was on leave.  Weird. David’s story is a reminder that a man should never discount his weaknesses as a source of trouble.

Speaking of sleeping with the wife, I learned some things on this outing. First is that when you are used to sleeping under a sheet with the house “cooled down” to 78, temps at 55 seem pretty darn cold. The mattress sagged. Marsha and I ended up in a valley in the middle, elbowing each other.  Further, I discovered that blankets on top do not help with cold seeping through to one’s back through the mattress.

So, in the middle of the night, we piled out of bed, and I gave the mattress another 60 pump strokes. Then I took one of the poly blankets and put in on the mattress.  Then the other blankets. Then we piled back in, shivering. Marsha soon discovered that I had used the big poly blanket for the bottom layer. The small one was not big enough to reach our feet. Now my back was warm, but my feet were cold. Marsha, as always a step ahead, had remembered her Thorlos, and her feet were warm.

Using the logic that if I try to ignore the problem, maybe it will go away, I lay awake for half hour with my feet staying quite cool. Finally I piled out again and got my Thorlos out of the car. Eventually, I actually got some sleep. Last night, we actually had our act together and got a decent night’s sleep.  How we appreciate the little things! Last night’s fire, we burned dialog books. We have a whole big container of them. These were from the conference at DeKalb where we went with Jeff and Julie. Some fun memories!

In between trying to get to sleep, we actually did drive, hike and kayak in SMNP. We stopped at Laurel Falls on our way up a trail.



We found this sign on the Appalacian trail:
Kayaking at Abrams creek involved a lot of dragging the boats over the shallow rocks to get to the 4 inches of water we need to comfortably (and successfully) paddle. It was pretty, though, and really remote, by our standards.


Overall assessment of SMNP: Rockies, Olympics, Cascades are prettier and offer more adventure. On our way up to Klingman’s Dome, we were passing people who were stopping to rest. I started telling them there was a world-famous tiki bar at the top, as a means of encouragement. This elicited some laughter. Once we got ahead, I started telling people on the way down to comment on how good the beer and fish tacos were. I got a lot of ribbing from people at the lookout who were expecting a tiki bar!

No water = no showers at SMNP.  Now we are a bit gamey. Marsha says motel or truck stop. We’ll probably drive until we get tired tonight and grab a room on our way to Wichita.  Hoh

HHh

Bowling and Savannah

Just 2 nights ago we were bowling at Linda and Don’s place in Lake Ashton. This conjured happy memories of Crestview Bowl and getting loopy on vanilla extract when I was 15, which led further into a discussion of the relative merits of vanilla extract, mouthwash, Nyquil, and Jaegermeister.

Linda was pretty sure mouthwash was poison (wood alcohol), but Don noted he was aware of some military post exchanges where mouthwash was taken from the shelves because soldiers were drinking it.

My score was vanilla extract first, then Jaeger, then Nyquil, then mouthwash. Marsha noted that mouthwashes taste better than they used to. At any rate, cold sober we were hard pressed to bowl 100.

Saying our goodbyes, we headed for Ft McAllister SP in GA. Rain loomed. We got our tent set up before it got really rainy- nice! On the way in, we passed by a marina bar, Fish Tales, so we go on our bikes and headed for beer and fries. On the menu was Shrimp and Grits. “Not them fancy shrimp and grits with the fancy cream sauce, but the way my great grandmammy used to make them before the War of Northern Aggression’.

Fish Tales was delightful, and we began to fantasize about creating a restaurant in Bremerton with a tiki-bar Caribbean motif.  Sunlamps, artificial beach, etc. And GOOD FRIES PROPERLY COOKED.

Savannah has lots of history. Cotton, slave trade, etc. It was founded by a guy named Oglethorpe.  He had 4 rules: No attorneys, no Catholic services, no slavery, and no “rum or strong drink”. This worked for a while, then the Irish came. Today there is no slavery, but the St. Paddy’s Day parade is second only to NY. Schools let out, the trolleys don’t run, and the parade goes for 4-5 hours.

We had a lunch downtown (there are NO marina bars in Savannah) featuring  Shrimp and grits with savory gravy. It was good, darned good, and we might serve this to you if you show up at our door. 

 

The Crab shack on Tybee Island was the first marina bar ever that had no fries! Not a fryer on the place, everything steamed or boiled.  The beer was good, though. They had an Irish totem outside.

Another Tybee marina bar let us dunk the kayaks and peruse the marina. Lots of pelicans, a real bonus.

After our 4-for-4 record of going to bed early because it was raining, (now I know we have to have duraflame logs to start fires), we woke up to no rain. Now we’re off to the Smokies, campground TBD, probably no electricity or water, and sure as heck no wi-fi. see you on the other side.

What we'll miss about Florida

Before we moved here, people told us that Florida was all about hurricanes, bugs, gators and snakes.

After 3 years, we will miss:

Gorgeous sunsets (we'd drag chairs out into the alley. Neighbors thought we were weird. They have never lived in the Seattle area)

Being close to Linda and Don.

The terrific people we've met and become friends with. They are hard to leave.

Wildlife, especially birds, but also lizards & gators. Gators keep you alert when you walk around water, and you see more because you are looking

Pelicans, special mention. I'd love to be reincarnated as a pelican. They fly so gracefully 

Bicycling on the flat

Live Oak trees (I still don't know why they call them that) with Spanish Moss (neither Spanish nor moss, but there you have it)

Kayaking on streams under a canopy of trees

Snorkeling in warm fresh and saltwater

Marina bars everywhere, but especially Crabby Bill's

Having a pool

Sunshine almost every day

Driving the convertible top down all winter long

Being able to walk into 80-degree air conditioning and immediately feel cool

The Keys

St. Augustine

Beaches East and West coast

Living in a magnet location for visitors

An almost perfect Florida day is snorkeling somewhere, then lying on the beach, swimming, and hanging out at a marina bar sipping beer and watching the pelicans.

What I won't miss:

Biting insects

Oppressive heat that makes it miserable outdoors

All in all, I'd rate Florida as a terrific place to live. If kids and grandkids were here, I don't think we'd mind staying.

Tomorrow looks like our last day here. We'll undoubtedly take some sand with us.

Hanging out in Florida

Hi! Thanks for being with us in spirit.

Yesterday was separation day. Having grown weary of waiting for the bank to issue closing documents, we cleared everything out of the house that we were not leaving behind and packed it into Buttercup. We locked the doors one last time and gave the keys to the realtor.

By itself, this brought a flood of emotions. Relief in having some resolution that would end our stay in Florida (not that we don’t like FL, we do, but our minds are elsewhere). Anticipation in adventures to come. A bit of feeling adrift. As Marsha pointed out, we don’t have house keys anymore.

Linda and Don were kind enough to offer us a temporary home as we prepared to make our final launch. Since campsites are scare near Savannah during the weekend, we plan to stay in Lake Wales with them until Sunday.

Snorkeling down a river

While waiting, we headed to a place that was on our “wish we’d gone here list”. Manatee Springs is one of many Florida fresh-water springs, feeding into the famed Suwannee River.  Manatee is deep,  clear, beautiful, and has some fish and turtles to make a snorkeling trip interesting.  Before our swim, we launched the kayaks into the springs run and spent time in the river.  At the launch, I pulled what is now known in our family as the “John Frisch” maneuver. With one end of the boat on shore, I stepped in, almost sat down, and rolled over. Thank God for ziplock bags.

We kept hearing these big splashes, but we couldn’t see what made them. The water was clear, and we saw bass, sunfish, bluegill, catfish, carp, gar, turtles, and one alligator. Alas, there were no West Indian manatees in sight. We finally caught sight of the splasher. It was a silver fish between 1 and 2 feet long that was leaping about 6 feet horizontally and a foot up. We don’t know what it was.

Nearby Cedar Key is famous. We’re not sure why. It is a quaint little drinking town with a fishing problem. We tried to help out by diminishing the beer supply at a waterfront dive that had an outdoor peer for dining. The beer was good, but not the fries. Fries should be golden brown and crispy, not white and limp. Why is it that so few restaurants seem to understand this? Driving around, we found an establishment that offered live and frozen kayaks and also bait rental.  We did not rent any bait.

While camping at Manatee, we were able to test drive the gear. We learned some things. I am starting a new society call Dummies Organized to Promote Idiocy (DOPI). As the charter member, I felt obliged to do things like fail to tuck the tarp edges under the tent so water does not collect. I also was too lazy to put the cooler away in the car for the night. Naturally, it rained. DOPI me. Our foil dinners took forever to cook. We drank more beer while waiting, sitting under a tarp fastened to the car, living “the life”, basically bugspray covered semi-drunk campers waiting waiting waiting for the dinners to cook. Later,while trying to sleep, I heard a loud crash from the picnic table. Mini-bears had found our cooler. By the time I jacked myself out of bed and went out, a raccoon had gotten into a bag of frozen chili. DOPI me.

With things stowed in the car, I fell asleep only to be awakened by my bladder reminded me that beer is something one borrows temporarily. Fortunately, the rain had slackened by then.

Gear winners: the little broom and dustpan, the Eureka! Tent, the clothes line, the camp shower (a great handwashing station), and a silly little camp towel from sports authority that was wonderful in sopping out the tent from where I’d left the window open during the rain.  Sand was everywhere, and I learned that it splashes up the sides of everything when it rains hard.

From Manatee, we went to Fanning Springs (not great but another kayak opportunity).  Then we went to Ginnie Springs, a real find. There is a series of Springs, popular for cave diving. We snorkeled down the river, which we had never done before. Our shoes came with us tied to the float of the diver down flag we’d purchased at Walmart. The ranger at Manatee described  nearby Chiefland as a “squat, grubby, undistinguished little Florida town with a gas station and a Walmart, which is beneficial for us in equipping us to go into the wilds nearby”. We agree.

Next adventure stop – somewhere near Savannah. Stay tuned.

Hot Peppers

For those of you who love hot stuff, there is a wonderful store called Peppers of Key West on, of course, Key West. (on, in, who knows? Both maybe).

Anyway, you walk in and they have this tasting bar. The gal said "we have a range from mild to really hot" and I asked to start in the middle and work up to hot.

She was putting half a teaspoon in a little paper cup and I was pouring it on little round Tostitos. hot sauce can be almost a spiritual experience,and  I worked my way through Beer and Chili, Melinda's, Satan's Ghost, and several more to their very finest hot-hot sauce, "Widow".

By this time, the lady had stopped giving me the paper cups and just gave me the stuff on a spoon. The top of my head was sweating, and I was having a great time.

After 10 or so different sauces, my tummy told me it was time to stop. Marsha bought me a t-shirt with a dog on it shooting fire out its butt, the Key West Chili Dog.

The next morning I was that dog as I spent 15 minutes in the restroom at Sombrero beach noting that hot sauce warms twice, especially if you eat a lot of it. I want to make a sign for our bathroom that says "I'm on island time". Why fool with prune juice when you can make your own volcanic island with an application of hot pepper sauce?

Key West

The house has not closed. All our stuff is in a POD headed for Seattle except our camping gear, bikes and kayaks.

My sister Linda and her husband Don have a place in Lake Wales. We are staying there, sort of. We spent this last couple days in Key West, staying at the Fly Navy building courtesy of Don's service.

Our snorkeling trip went from site to site to site looking for one without numerous (really thick) moon jellyfish. Finally we just went in anyway. Dodging jellies makes for tense snorkeling. We were rewarded with a barracuda that swam just a few feet from Marsha.

A great snorkeling place turned out to be Sombrero beach on Marathon Key. There is a young coral reef off a small point. Free, with a nice beach. Better than the $40 commercial trip. And we found a new marina bar. Life is good.

Even if the house closes, we are planning a couple days camping at Manatee Springs. Leaving Florida reminds us of how much there is to do here.

Still in Florida

Thanks for checking our blog! We appreciate the encouragement of those who insisted (probably under the influence of strong drink) that our lives (or at least our Odyssey)  would somehow be interesting. That remains to be seen. For now, we love you and are still surrounded by boxes and moving stuff. We are also awaiting a closing date, which will determine start date for the odd-essay.

Nick and Marsha