Back in the Eastern Time Zone!

Day 198 |  White City to Carrabelle  |  6.1 Hours  |  45 Miles  |  1 Time Zone  

I believe I was asleep before I clicked the "Publish" button on last night's blog entry and slept soundly until 5:30 when we were startled awake. First I heard a loud rumble, then felt an odd vibration. Finally bright lights illuminated the sky. Thinking that aliens had landed here in the middle of nowhere, we scrambled to see what was happening, forgetting first which way were oriented to the water, and then that Miss Utah was rafted up to us and limiting our view from the water-side ports. All of a sudden we put the pieces together -- we were being passed by the tow Rivers Wilson, the same massive dredge assembly that we had passed late yesterday afternoon.

Shortly thereafter we were up to start our day. I took a quick walk around White City Park to stretch my legs and then we were off. Our route to Carrabelle took us directly into the sun spot, and it was a strain on the eyes for a few hours until the sun rose higher in the sky. Today's signs of hurricane damage were relocated buildings. This little red guy looked to be in pretty good shape until we passed by and saw the tree sticking out its side. We still haven't figured out the sequence of events leading to this -- the roof and opposite wall were intact, so the building must have settled on top of the tree.

There were a few boats seen washed ashore or sunken, but we saw a dozen or so displaced houses on our way to Lake Wimico. The old railroad swing bridge was open and didn't look like it had been operational in years.

Three hours into our travels we met up with, and passed once again, Rivers Wilson. Although it had a 90-minute head start on us out of White City, it could not move very fast with its large and awkward load. Wide open at 8.5 knots, we tracked it down as it was moving along at just under 3 knots. On the passage into Apalachicola the hardwood trees showed no sign of hurricane damage and palm trees grew naturally among them. Wildlife sightings were few today, but the eagle we saw on a daymarker in Little St. George Channel proved quality wins over quantity. We entered Carrabelle Channel and were quickly reminded that this area was devastated by Hurricane Michael. Many docks still remain unusable and there were a few sunken boats along the way. The marina we are in, C-Quarters, had been closed for several weeks post-storm and is still waiting for replacement fuel pumps to arrive so that they can return to being a full-service facility.

We were tied up by 2:00, the sun was out, and it was warm. We changed clothes and went for a quick walk around town. Christmas decorations hung next to the palm trees. Barry visited the World's Smallest Police Station. The town square had a very nice statue of an eagle carrying the flag. I was excited to see a town clock. We stopped in a few independent stores and were warmly greeted by every local we met. They truly are happy to have visitors return to their town. The sun set over the water, and the temperature quickly dropped.

The biggest plus of our day was the return to the Eastern Time Zone shortly after departing White City. Yes, I know I've complained too much over the past few months about this one hour difference, but it has been a major unanticipated inconvenience along our journey. At least in my mind, I now feel that I am not so far away and disconnected from everyone back home.

Tomorrow we have a short list of maintenance items and chores to check off before we begin our overnight Gulf crossing to Tarpon Springs. Our weather window is still looking good for Thursday night.