A Captain's Utopia

Day 190 |  Mobile   

Barry removed our pesky alternator last night and we loaded it into the courtesy van we had reserved at 10:00. Off to the rebuild shop we went -- roughly a 10-minute drive from Dog River Marina. As we exited the parking lot we spotted this interesting creation. It appears the cutting torch operator had a bit too much free time and turned a van into a pickup truck. A true conversion van. I must admit, however, that the caprail around the bed is a nice touch. As is common practice, we stopped to refuel the courtesy van on the way back. What a pleasant surprise to see gasoline under two bucks a gallon. A final stop along the way was to the Mobile office of VSC Fire & Security. We had seen it pop up on Google maps and had to swing by for a look. My sister has worked at the headquarters in Ashland, VA, known in early/local days as Virginia Sprinkler, for over 30 years. We swapped a few texts and I later learned she had recently trained the Mobile office manager. Small world.

It was a raw day here with cold temperatures and a gusty breeze. We took a walk around the marina and found a palm tree. It did little to warm my hands and we're still hoping for the palm tree photo with blue sky and no jackets. Another thing we're looking forward to is spotting manatees. I could very well grow tired of the manatee by the time we leave Florida (much as I did of blue herons and egrets on the rivers), but right now bring them on. I spent the afternoon doing some Cyber Monday retail therapy, working on a few computer projects, and doing laundry. The sunset was better than anticipated, although the view of our dock is not the prettiest.

Barry knocked out several boat projects today, and made three trips to West Marine, just because he could. Dog River Marina has an on-site West Marina -- every captain's dream.

We'll pick up our new alternator tomorrow afternoon and stop for a few provisions ... and maybe a little Christmas shopping. We'll install it tomorrow night and hope all works as planned so that we can depart first-thing Wednesday morning, making our way toward Pensacola.