For it being 1,000 degrees out today I'd say it was a good day. Theresa and I were operating on all cylinders. I went to bed last night at 130 am, more on that later, and was up at 5 am and outside watering the trees and lawn and then got right into landscaping. Here's just a few other things we accomplished today in this misery,
- Trimmed the hedges, weeded the beds, weed-wacked nice lines around the beds and grass. Tomorrow's my last trip with the dump body to the recycling center so today was the day to load it up with brush
- Theresa took the Ford Escape into Trenton where it got new rotors, pads, and the tires rotated- now shes safe for the move
- Removed the batteries from the boat and staged them along with some old air conditioners and metal for the scrap guys, then helped them load up when they got to the house
- Got the fire suppression equipment ready for the guy from Pennsyltucky who answered the ad for the free gas from the boat.
- And why would I need that? I estimated about 30 gallons of ethanol free Stabil-ed fuel in the original metal gas tank in the boat. It must have been two years old, or more. He didn't care. So he shows up with a small handheld battery powered transfer pump and a few gas cans. "I don't think you have enough cans there bud?". "That's okay I'll put the rest in the tank, I ran my truck down to empty". So between the batteries and gas at 8 pounds per gallon I've taken off some weight off for the tow down to South Carolina.
- So the first pump didn't work so he had to make a run to Tractor Supply. While he was gone I sealed the deal on a motorcycle (my neighbors) that we had soaking on Facebook Marketplace for a day or so.
- So when the guy came back and started to empty the tank I wasn't sure if he would get flown to the St. Barnabas or Crozer-Chester Burn Center, but off to siphoning he went. And he got just about every drop out of the tank. A win-win all the way around. Now it's ready for a tank replacment.
- Then it was waiting around for the building inspector from town to come and clear a permit we had hanging from the fall when we installed the wood stove. When he got here, he was here for literally five minutes, "Looks great, I'll clear the permit"
- Theresa then had to do a pedicure run as I waited for the big appointment of the day, the well water treatment company. Well they came at 1230 and left at 4. One guy broke his ass, in the heat, in the dungeon, installing the most beautiful UV filter/water softener/something else system you
could imagine. No more Brita or Berkey filters in this house. It's now direct from the tap over here. No more coliform or PFOA or PFAS. Water sample taken. We're good to go. Check.
- Then it was a road trip to West Marine in Bensalem where I hoped the Gods of a store's Going Out of Business Sale would be on my side. Yesterday we went there and purchased tie-downs to keep the boat on the trailer during the ride. The second stop tomorrow will be down to the trailer place for wheel and axle service and new lights all the way around. But, I bought the 2 foot transom tie downs when I needed 4.
And our winning streak keeps going as the young woman at the register remembered me and said, "Just go and swap them out, quickly". Game. Set. Match.
- And lastly buy a flats skiff. That's all. Wait what? Well those special pills I slip into Theresa's coffee each morning must have kicked in. No, seriously, why does this woman continue to support my insanity? With this, I even have to say to myself, enough is enough.
It was about 1130 pm last night when I was lying in bed trying to absorb all that old-ass air conditioner could pump out. I was tossing and turning. My mind was racing, as it does every night, and most of the days. I thought about how much sense buying that skiff down in Savannah made. But I didn't just need to convince Theresa, but myself as well. Who could I ask? Who's a skiff guy that I know?
So like Santa who sprang out of bed I did the same at 1245 am. Ian Devlin- that's my guy. So I fired off a Message and this morning he got back to me. He green-lighted it from every angle. That was good enough for me. And Theresa was down with it. God I love her.
So I reached out to the seller, a college-aged kid, who wasn't using it as much as he wanted to. And with him going back to college in a month or so he felt it was the right time. He went through everything, like I would, the Good, the Better, and the Best. There wasn't much negative to say except some scratches along the hull from those skinny water oyster bed outings. So he accepted my offer to send him a $1,000 via Venmo and he'll hold it until we go down for the closing on July 17th. We didn’t even getting around to doing the transaction, “You’re good, it’s yours”. It was that easy.
And the 15 footer? Well Ian says it's perfect for that flood and ebb tide game they play down in the Lowcountry. It's perfect for just me, me and Theresa to cruise in, and for me and a bud or client to do the pole and fly fish thing. A 17 or 18 is good for a guide and two anglers, but this will be a "great boat" to learn how to pole and all of those skinny sight fishing areas I won't be able to get to on foot.
And truth be told, with all the alligator talk lately, and the recent death of a young lady in Florida, I was worried that my wading around the Lowcountry wouldn't be the smartest or safest thing. I had nightmares of being stuck up on my Martha's Vineyard ladder on a flood tide with an alligator circling below me.
So get ready my friends. Come down and visit. Come hang at the Shrimp Shack. And get ready to stand on the bow and let's go find some tailing redfish.
