" When Pigs Fly"

The rain has set in again in spades so we’re sitting another day at Aqua Harbor. We’ve been here since last Tuesday, longer than we intended  but given the forecast, it seemed the better part of valor. We’ve done laundry and cleaning, and done some repairs, so while we sit inside I thought I’d take a few minutes to add a little more information about our stay here.

In our last blog posting it was mentioned that the salon A/C had developed an attitude. Well to borrow a phrase that Anna uses, “here’s the deal”. At times our salon A/C would take it upon its self  to change the thermostat selections from A/C to Heat, temperature selections would change up and down, fan speeds would increase or decrease all for what seemed as no reason. It was really beginning to be frustrating . With our aggravation factor finally met, along with the understanding that there was an A/C guru at Aqua Harbor we decided to bite the bullet and get it fixed. Sometimes comfort trumps cost.

                                                                                             

When the A/C guru arrived we explain all the issues mentioned above. He asked for the owner’s manual, flipped through it very quickly like he was to looking for a missing page, placed a quick phone call, and asked if I had any black tape: BAM-ZAP DONE. My comment; “wow you got to be kidding me”. Then he explained that the A/C has an infrared eye for an optional remote. When we selected a different channel or adjusted the volume on the TV  with the remote at just the right angle the A/C picked up the signal. To confirm he put the TV remote in front of the thermostat w/o the tape, went through the numbers and selections on the A/C unit changed. There was never any certain button doing anything specific but selections were changing. The black tape was put back over the IR eye and we haven’t had any issues since. Time of service call; 5 minutes. Repair cost; priceless.

It was a nice day Friday so I decided to take a walk while Anna was sunning at the pool. While I was walking the docks admiring all the OPB’s (other people’s boats) I began wondering why I wasn’t born rich as well as handsome. The size and array of boats in this marina is incredible. There are also quite a few boats looking for new homes and someone to love them again, but I’ll just stay with what I got. She’s been good to me so far.

As I went down this one dock I noticed an “old guy” reading a paper on the back deck of this very old Chris Craft. Not wanting to be a bother nor be the first to start a conversation, I went on down to the end of the dock. As I made my way back I got to the old guy’s boat again. I just had to ask the size and year of his boat. I could tell that it had to be early 60’s and it appeared to be well maintained. He told me it  was a  1962 56’ Roamer, and that it would be 50 years old next month. Then, as we talked a little boat talk and such, he mentioned he was retired and out of Chicago. I asked what he was retired from, he said he was a retired sheet metal worker. What a surprise, I told him we were brothers from different mothers as I was a retired tinner too. He was out of Local #1, my Local was #2 .

Seems he started down river a year ago last August on his way to Mobile, AL but he lost a transmission here at the gas dock while buying gas, what luck. Anyway it took several months to find parts to fix his transmission because of the age of his boat. So he has been here at Aqua ever since. Strange how we plan things our whole life and then circumstances change for whatever reason and we seem to manage just fine. I wished him luck in his travels and walked away, all the time thinking I hope I don’t look as old as he did ;-)

Saturday was a nice day here in Iuka, MS but we held off leaving Saturday because of the forecast at Big Springs Lake. That’s our next destination and where we plan to spend the night at anchorage. We were both getting a little cabin fever so we took the courtesy car and we went to Corinth, MS. This area is inundated with Civil War History, obviously since so many major battles were fought here. Corinth was no exception. There is a neat Civil War Museum to explain the significance of Corinth to the war efforts. Corinth was the hub of all the railroads in this region with rail lines going east, west, north, and south. That being the case Corinth as well as the Tennessee River was necessary for the supply line for both the Federal and Confederates troops. The need to secure that supply line led to the battles of Shiloh and Corinth. (www.corinth.net) We were on a clock with the courtesy car so we explored the museum and returned to the boat. Later we made the short walk to the restaurant here at Aqua Harbor and had a great dinner.

Sunday was rainy and cold. While listening to NOAA weather late afternoon I learned that the late evening  forecast was high winds with gusts to 30-40 MPH and more rain with possibilities of tornados. With this information Anna and I went into protection mode. We tightened up all the dock lines, set out two additional lines, buttoned all the isinglass snaps, and put the two big 18” balls between the dock and the Pig in preparation of the anticipated blow.

The rain was with us all night. At times it seemed pretty heavy since we could really hear the rain in the aft cabin. There was some wind but we escaped the high winds that were forecast. It looks like our plan to remain here another day was a good decision. It’s rainy and cold. Not much of a day for boating. We’ll probably get the courtesy car and run into town for some last minute items, nothing we really need just mostly to get away for a while.

It looks like we’ll have a good weather window for our departure tomorrow. Since all of this rain is moving toward the south, as are we, we’ll let it get ahead of us before we start out. It’s about three days to Columbus, AL which is our next long stop. There’s no special need to be there at any given time so we just need to relax and go with the flow. Still, boating is more fun than sitting still. We are both more than ready to go tomorrow. 

We will rate Aqua Harbor as the first 5 Pig Marina, this could be as far north as we return up river after we are through looping. A real fiest class marina.

 

See Ya on the water