St Augustine is full of old buildings, quaint shops and plenty of history. This being the oldest European settlement in the United States, St Augustine has survived a myriad of wars and battles starting over 50 years before the first pilgrims landed at Plymouth. The oldest house, the oldest schoolhouse and the oldest drug store, all stand here in what is called the Oldest City of God. We have enjoyed staying here with its friendly people and rich history.
We are currently living the marina life which includes showers, laundry, a dock to step out on, so no dinghy-ing to shore, and power for a window air conditioner that sits on a top hatch. We have no anchor to worry about dragging and no limit as to how many friends can come visit, since we no longer have to use the dinghy to get them to the boat. There is a restaurant in front of us with some great live music if we choose to open the door and listen. We have made new friends and have settled into a daily routine… well, that is if falling off the boat is something you call routine.
I had been cleaning the boat and had just started with some cleaning of the lines. I took a large step from the top deck onto the first top swim step. There is a small, foot step to make for an easier step, but I bypassed this so I could step stretching over the lines laid out on the swim step. From this first large step I am not sure exactly what really happened, but when I put my foot down it started to slip, I tried to catch myself but I was by now doing the splits with one leg stuck high on the deck while the other slid out in front of me. I think I tried to grab the raid-arch, but only managed to jam my fingers and slam my back leg, which I think set me on my tush. I’m pretty sure I caught a cleat with my foot while bouncing up and over the side of the boat. I then landed on top of the line hanging from the side of the boat and tied to the dock. I held on thinking for a brief moment I might be able to crawl across the line, without landing in the nasty water, to get to the bottom swim step. What I was thinking... I have no idea, other then the fact that I have watched too many movies where stuntmen do these types of things. Before I could bring myself to reality that this would never work I flipped around the line and fell in the nasty water. Falling in the water in a marina creates a belief that surly one can walk on water and not have to actually swim in the muck. Believing in miracles did not help me this day and I realized I was going to have to find a way out of the water. I swam to the back swim ladder and tried pulling it down so I could climb up and out of the muck, but the line I had landed on caught the ladder when I pulled on it which only caused the ladder to hit me in the head…. You ask, where was Carey during all of this; well, he was sitting in the boat reading, not having any idea what was happening. With no hero in sight to rescue me I had to pull myself up onto an inverted ladder and lay there until I could regain my wits. I saw there was no other way out of this lovely water, so with a quick look around to see who was or was not watching, and with great effort, I ungracefully climbed back on to the boat. Hosing myself down with fresh water and assessing my injuries, I could not figure out what else I had hit on my way overboard. I had bruises all over my legs, arms and other unmentionable places. I had cut and sprained my ankle, and my head was growing a knot the size of Kansas. Life on a boat can be dangerous! I have healed and the bruises have all faded way. I am now on crutches after some minor foot surgery, which is not near as painful as when I fell off the boat.
If you want to see the latest development with Carey’s trike (the SoLo) you can check out the pictures at http://www.motiveind.com/ click on the portfolio tab. There is a picture of the SoLo with “website coming soon” written across it. If you put your cursor over the picture other pictures will show up in the frame to the right. We are excited to see what might come of the project.
My sister and Eddie are coming for a visit in Aug., Else and Richard, friends from Colorado are coming in Sept. and Jared should be back down in a month. Jared and Ruthie have been in Maine living the farming life while their boat is still in Savannah. Jared will be coming down to work on the boat engine and will stop in for a quick visit with us.
As it turned out, Carey and Jared went up to Savanna to put the new engine in, while Ruthie came down to hang out with me. We had a great time together and plan on driving up to Savanna once the guys are done with the engine installation. They seem to be having their own adventures.
I think that wraps it up for now.
