We pulled into Bluffton on July 17th and are pulling out on July 24th. Seven days, like the length of stay for most vacationers. But we're here now permanently, and I have a temporary
driver's license, license plate, which are just for the back end down here, and the application for permanent residency to prove it. It's been a whirlwind week where we got a ton done but have to head back to Cape May for the fifth and final real estate transaction.
Early in the morning I took the ride from Bluffton to Ridgeland to spend a quick minute at The Boat House. The ride reminds me of what Millstone, where I grew up, used to look like before the lot clearing and McMansion building took place. It's long country roads with only traffic happening during the before and after hour work hours of the day.
When I got there I knew I had one thing to tackle. The lower roof of the garage had become loaded with leaves, weeds, and a tree or two. My concern, besides that they shouldn't be there, is
the added weight and stress it puts on the wooden beams underneath. They don't get much rain down here in the summer so luckily things were pretty dry. Luckily I had loaded up one of my ladders from New Jersey and could easily get up on the roof. The concern was would I find a weak spot, fall through, get stuck, rip open my abdomen on the galvanized roofing, and either die after bleeding out or from tetanus.
I did find some weak spots that I was lucky to not fall through so some of these sheets, if not all, will have to be replaced. After this one hour visit it was off to Sun City's Community Association office where we got our new ID's and welcome packet.
Before I left I snapped a quick picture of The Boat House. It's really sick and I have a ton of ideas to do some things here to make it just perfect for what I, and my friends, may need. The house, yes it's a tiny house, is 12 x 24, with a sink and a toilet. I'll discuss that and share pictures in a future post.
In the new house we're getting some work done before we move in. Of course, for Theresa, it's all about the kitchen so we'll, well she'll, be getting new countertops, newly painted cabinets, and new flooring throughout the house.
We took the short drive to Beaufort, which is a town I may like more than Charleston, where we spent some time and pulled the trigger on quartz countertops. We had our floor choice and paint cards with us to make sure, hopefully, it all goes together nicely.
We stopped downtown and had lunch on Bay Street which is their main drag in the city. Luckily I had some quarters and we dropped them in the meter before lunch because after we were done and came out cars up and down the block had tickets tucked under their windshield wipers. But before I opened the door to my truck I looked up and saw Bay Street Outfitters. We dropped another quarter in the box and headed inside.
This is probably the closest 100% fly shop near me. It's an Orvis-partner store and recently the Orvis stores in Savannah and Charleston were closed with the latest gut-job that Orvis did to its customers. We spent some time looking around, I spoke with soon to be Captain and guide Dustin who worked there, and bought a T-shirt to support the local shop.
The fly selection is more crabby and buggy than swimmy and large. I didn't buy any this time around but I might on the next visit. I saw more Enrico Puglisi products in this store than rom one's back home. There's not much for ducktail or Squimpish down here.
I left the shop with a few items in my hand. One the t-shirt in a bag, and an Orvis rod box.....with a new seven and eight weight Helios inside? Nope. Not yet. Dustin was able to hook me up with an empty box so I can send my broken ten and twelve wieghts back to Orvis for repair. And then, just as we were spent and had no energy we took a ride over the border into Georgia.
It was a ride to Clyo, Georgia to pick up the new skiff. By 6 o'clock Theresa was just about done so the picture taking lacked just a little bit, but you get the idea. Corey was unloading the skiff before he returned to college next week. All went well as far as I was concerned until I did some inspecting underneath.
Let's just say he never looked underneath when he bought it in May from the previous owner. Again, I'll leave that for another post, but let's just say it needs a spa day, like everything else I buy. What it really needs is some fiberglass work done. He was killing me. What could have been a deal killer came down to him dropping the price by $2,000 to cover the repair. Now I just have to find a glass guy down here but I have some people down here who could give me some recommendations.
We backed the skiff into the fenced in yard at The Boat House, which now is ringing true to it's name. Theresa and I both wish we were staying put down here but we have to travel north to close and for the annual family Cape May vacation which starts Monday.
Things at The Boat House are falling right into place. I have to come up with a plan and figure out what I'm going to tackle and in what order. Do I do the house first? Tackle the outside first? Time will tell but for now we're off to a good start with both our home and this slice of heaven which will serve me, and us, well.
