Frost on the pumpkin again this a.m. and a rather eerie haze on the water. Our goal today is to go through Mobile Bay to the Turner Marine where we will stay for possible maintenance and to set foot on solid ground for awhile.
The Tom Bigbee river is a scene of total desolation. No people and very few structures in sight. The run down "buildings" we did see probably belonged to fishermen. We both practically shouted "hooray" when we sighted civilization entering the Bay from the Mobile River. John didn't have charts from the Mobile River to the Turner Marine and it was a rather hairy hour or more before we were tied up in the marina. We followed a cargo ship out of the bay area, looking for markers 65 and 63. Supposed to turn between these markers and look for markers 1 and 2, then chart a course for 305 degrees between them. Right! We could see land on the horizon miles away, but there we were in this vast area of ocean water and didn't know where in the heck we were going to end up. It was difficult to see the markers, spaced so far apart and we ran on faith most of the way until we saw #7 and the marina.
We were both deeply relieved to be tied up again and Winston was overjoyed. He hadn't been off the boat for 8 hours and was on a mission. He spotted a cat, however, so there was a great deal of excitement about that. He was a real trooper these past weeks. Deserves a tenderloin if you ask me.
A glass of wine and dinner out would have fit the bill, but there isn't a restaurant at this marina. Alas, the "necessary liquids" had all run out, so we couldn't even relax or celebrate on the boat with a bit of cheer. John tried to rent a car, but they didn't have any at Enterprise and we decided it wasn't worth the effort to keep looking elsewhere. I made a meatloaf for dinner. We were too tired to watch a movie; it was an early night.
Saturday: Still no rental cars. Something BIG must be going on in Mobile. We took a cab to the Food Mart (or whatever) and stocked up on groceries. The driver then took us to a liquor store for the necessary liquids, but it was closed. These things are few and far between down here, state run and obviously very independent. We drove to W. Mobile and found a package store near a mall with sky high prices. We made a mental note to stock up when we return to Mississippi to get our car which is at the Aqua Yacht Marina.
John purchased something called "souse" which looks a little bit like scrapple. It's made from pork snouts and tongues. Ugh! It was labeled extra hot and it about blew his head off when he tasted it. He suggested we use the remaining pieces in chili. I do not want pig snouts and tongues in MY chili.
The weather is awesome. It's clear with plenty of sunshine. The temp is about 50+, and a real treat after the nasty cold weather we experienced at the beginning of our adventure. Now for some shopping!!
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