At Fairhope, AL

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December 17-21: I recover from my floodwaters journey, say goodbye to a crewmember, get a bunch of stuff done on the boat, and prepare for solo travel.

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(continued from North Mobile (Tensaw River Anchorage) to Fairhope, AL)

Despite the delays with our “shortcut,” we got into Fairhope City Docks relatively early in the afternoon. That’s probably because we left our anchorage so early. After paying for three nights and finding someone to lend me a 50 amp to 30 amp adapter so I could plug in — the marina had 50 amp power only — we retreated to the boat to relax.

It was windy. Somehow, waves got right into the marina basin and tossed the boats around. (That first night was actually the worst at a marina that I’ve had since Charleston with Captain John — we were seriously rocking and rolling all night.)

The marina was pretty mellow and laid back, but it also offered a hint of what was to come: sunken boats. There was a cabin cruiser sunk right outside the marina and another sunk in its slip in the marina. The Marina Manager, Sean, said it was a problem everywhere in Alabama. It cost money to get sunken boats out of the water and the owners didn’t want to pay. So they basically abandoned the boats. No one else wanted to pay, either, so the boats were simply left to rot. This took the concept of “ghost boats” to all new levels.

Meanwhile, my pups loved the place. There was no road with fast-moving traffic nearby and no one seemed to care that they weren’t leashed. They really need to run around and, for the first time in a while, they could.

Here’s a view from the dock beside our boat on Monday morning. Despite the clouds, it was beautiful.

A Trip to Fairhope

We decided to treat ourselves to breakfast out the next day, which was a Sunday. I found a place called Panini Pete’s that specialized in beignets. It apparently got some Food Channel love and seems to be trying to franchise. Whatever.

We took an Uber. We arrived before it opened but were soon seated in a glass room that reminded me of a French greenhouse from the 1800s. We got an order of beignets and breakfast paninis. The beignets were absolutely amazing — so good we that got a second order.

After breakfast, we took a walk around town. It was still early — not even 11 AM — and being a Sunday most places were closed. We did manage to visit the bookstore, Page and Palette, which was near the restaurant. And we went for a walk along the Main Street. It seemed like a nice town and I looked forward to coming back when everything was open — maybe the next day?

We found a small supermarket on the main street and went in to buy a few things. Then we Ubered back to the boat.

Getting Things Done

It was a good thing we were in a covered slip at Fairhope City Marina because it rained at least half the time we were there. Of course.

The leak in the galley was still a thing and, unfortunately, we were on the end of the covered slips with the port side of the boat on the open side of the docks. So when it rained really hard, the leak reared its ugly head. I was getting used to it and now knew how to catch the water before it would soak into the wood shelf beneath the window. So there’s that.

My stove stopped working and I tracked it down to an empty propane can — my first! The boat has two very small ones — maybe two gallons each? — in a propane locker on the swim platform. I opened the locker to switch bottles and get the empty one out to be filled. That’s when I discovered how poorly designed the locker is. Basically, the bottles sit on fiberglass at the bottom of the locker. Cutouts hold the bottles and a 2 gallon gasoline can for the dinghy’s motor in place. The trouble is, when I’m under way, the swim platform is often covered with water. The water gets into the propane locker. The metal bottles are sitting on the bottom. And after three years of exposure to salt water, they’re rusting.

So not only did I need to fill the empty can, but I needed to get as much rust off of it as I could and paint it.

Fortunately, I still had cans of oil-based spray paint that Janet and I had used to mark the anchor chain and rode way back in Chicago. One can was white. I did what I could to get the rust off, make sure the can was completely dry, and sprayed a ton of white paint on the bottom, anywhere I saw rust. Eventually the cans will need to be replaced with aluminum ones, but for now at least one of them is in better shape than it was. I’ll paint the second can when it’s empty — two months have passed and I’m still using it!

I think this is also around the time I finally fixed the light switch in the bathroom. Flicking the switch didn’t always turn the light on. Or turn it on right away. Or keep it on. I had no idea what was wrong with it, but I removed the switch, removed the leads from the switch, blew on them, and then plugged them back in. When I replaced the switch, it worked perfectly. The problem must have been a loose connection. It’s worked fine ever since.

Alyse’s Departure Plans

About a week before, Alyse had suggested getting a hotel room near the airport for the night before her departure. Her flight was on Tuesday, December 20; we’d arrived on Saturday, December 17. I thought it was a good idea — it would make it easier for her to get to her flight on time. I figured I’d rent a car on Monday and drive with her into Mobile. I wanted to go to West Marine to buy a 50 amp to 30 amp adapter to have on board the boat and to return the one I’d borrowed for my time at Fairhope. We could have a late lunch together afterward and then I could drop her off at her hotel.

I did some research and found what seemed like a good restaurant to go to in downtown Mobile for lunch: Dauphin’s Casual Fine Dining. It was on the top floor of the second tallest building in the city.

So Alyse spent most of Sunday afternoon and evening packing her bags. That giant suitcase emerged from her sleeping space — honestly, I don’t know how she fit it in there with her — and she filled it back up with her stuff. We left it out between the galley and the table overnight.

On Monday, we took an Uber to the car rental place where I’d reserved a car. I think it was Enterprise. When we arrived, there were two people working there and both were with customers. A telephone rang nonstop — without anyone making a move to answer it — during the 20 minutes or so that we had to wait. Finally, we got the car, drove it back to the marina, and loaded up her luggage and my freshly painted propane can. My pups had been walked and were safely tucked inside the boat.

I suggested that we go into Fairhope and walk around for a while. The shops, after all, would be open.

Alyse was not interested. “I’m getting on a plane tomorrow,” she said. “Why would I want to buy anything?”

Still, I somehow managed to talk her into a quick visit to the bookstore with its coffee shop. We had coffee and breakfast pastries in the back room where I managed to trip on a step and land on my ass. When young people fall, onlookers snicker. When older people fall, people come out of the walls to offer assistance. How embarrassing!

We didn’t do any other walking around. Alyse simply wasn’t interested and I wasn’t going to drag her from shop to shop. So we headed into Mobile, stopping to fill that propane can along the way.

A Day in Mobile

It turns out that the West Marine we went to was right by Alyse’s hotel. I went in to look for what I needed and, of course, they didn’t have it. But they called the other Mobile location and discovered that they did.

I was all ready to drive to the other side of town but Alyse suggested that I just take her to her hotel since it was right there. She didn’t seem as enthusiastic about lunch in Mobile as I did. (Honestly, she never seemed enthusiastic about anything.) I told her I didn’t mind driving back. That lunch would probably be good. That there was no reason to go to her hotel so early, before lunch, and just sit there. She agreed and we got on our way.

The other West Marine was walking distance from the marina at Dog River that I’d originally booked. I was very glad we hadn’t stayed there. It was just as empty and industrial as I thought, with nothing around it at all other than this relatively small West Marine and a fish restaurant. I went in and bought the adapter I needed. And then I bought myself a Christmas present: a handheld marine radio I could use as a backup in case the radios I had on board failed. It would also be handy for talking to buddy boaters on a chat frequency while monitoring Channel 16 on the other radio.

From there, we headed into downtown Mobile. We found meter parking on the street less than two blocks from the building where the restaurant was. I used my credit card to pay for two hours.

The restaurant turned out to be a rather posh affair, with tablecloths and cloth napkins and well dressed, well trained servers. They sat us at a table by a window — the whole place had windows — looking east, at the tallest building in the city and out over Mobile Bay. Lunch was great and it wasn’t even very expensive. Even Alyse was impressed and really seemed to enjoy it. She picked up the tab — she did that often when we dined out, probably because I paid for fuel and marinas on the entire trip.

Here’s a view out to the south from our restaurant. Nice day, eh? I used to the dismal weather but I was also sick of it.

Afterwards, we returned to the car. It was raining again. Of course.

I drove Alyse to her hotel. She was right; it was about 1/4 mile away from that West Marine. It had a shuttle to the airport, which was farther down the freeway. I helped her get her luggage out and we said our goodbyes. She disappeared into the hotel. The next time I’d hear from her she was the next day, when she was on the plane waiting for it to be pushed back.

I was now cruising solo.

More Errands and Chores

When I returned to the boat, the first thing I did was plug in the adapter so I could return the one I’d borrowed. At least I tried to. It didn’t fit. Sean said that there were two kinds of 50 amp plugs. I had the wrong one. I called West Marine. They tracked down the right one in their Pensacola store, which was about an hour away by car. I’d have to go get it in the morning.

 
Apparently, 50 amp plugs come in two flavors. I’d bought the one that worked in 250v systems (left) but needed one that worked in 125v systems (right). Did I mention that this “pigtail” adapter, which is only about 18 inches long, cost $55? But with the correct one, I could plug my 30 amp cord into a 50 amp power source. I had a similar one that enabled me to plug 30 amp cord into a standard household outlet; I bought it so I could use my portable generator if I needed to.

I stowed the now filled propane can back in the propane locker. I’d need to figure out a way to keep those cans off the bottom of the locker.

I started repurposing Alyse’s sleeping space into storage space. I pulled out the dirty linens to be washed and started storing things in there that had been stored in various places around the boat. I disassembled the dog kennel that had been taking up space on the aft deck and slid it deep into that space. Then I set up a clothes hanging bar and added clothes and boxes of things that I probably shouldn’t have brought along anyway.

In the morning, I extended my stay by another night. More weather was moving in — mostly high winds this time — and I was concerned about conditions in Mobile Bay. There was a small craft advisory and I wasn’t sure if it was in the bay or offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.

Then I took the car, with my pups, to Pensacola. It was a boring drive on a freeway on yet another gray day. I navigated to West Marine and traded in my wrong adapter for the correct one they had waiting for me. I even got a $5 refund because the new one was cheaper.

Afterwards, I decided to take a drive through the downtown area and maybe take a walk and have lunch. I found parking on Palafox Street and got out with my pups on leashes. It wasn’t the kind of quaint downtown I was hoping for. But there was an interesting indoor/outdoor eating area called The Garden that consisted of airstream trailers converted into foodtrucks and a handful of kiosks. I ordered a chicken curry dish that was a ton of food. I ate half and took the rest with me for a short walk around the area with my dogs. Then we all piled back into the car and headed west on back roads along the coast this time.

We were back in Alabama when the sky opened up and it poured rain on us.

I stopped at laundromat to wash the clothes and towels and bed linens I had in bags in the trunk. The marina had a washer and dryer but the dryer was broken. I ran three loads. Normally I’d do other errands while I was waiting, but the only other errand I had to do was food shopping and the supermarket wasn’t anywhere close. So I waited, reading a book on my phone.

Next was the supermarket, where I loaded up on whatever I’d need to feed myself for the coming week. It was a Piggly Wiggly supermarket and pretty deluxe, with an excellent cheese counter. I bought way more food that I should have and even bought a few bottles of wine for the wine cooler. I also bought all the ingredients for a recipe called Swamp Soup that Sean had given me in our marina Welcome packet.

The route back took me right through downtown Fairhope. Although it was still raining, the town was beautiful, all lighted up with holiday lights. It was December 21; Christmas was just four days away. It looked happy and festive and I wanted to get out and walk around. But it was dark and rainy and I had milk and other dairy products to put away.

It was a gorgeous evening and the lights in Fairhope were stunning. I’m still angry with myself for not at least stopping, getting out of the car, and taking a decent photo. This is all I have.

Maybe in the morning?

Leaving Fairhope

But I didn’t have time in the morning. I had to return the car early in the day or get hit with an extra day of car rental charges. I Ubered back to the marina where I had to prep for the day’s cruise by cleaning everything up, fueling up, and getting the toilet tank pumped out. Then it was nearly noon and I needed to be on my way.

As I cast off from the fuel dock at Fairhope City Marina, I realized that for the first time since shipping the boat to Chicago, I was cruising solo.