Lemons-Lemonade

 Well, today did not go as planned…. We have been having a slight leak of antifreeze from our engine, and then it went from annoying to worrisome yesterday.  Tom worked on troubleshooting and it was unclear as to whether progress was made.  We left the dock this morning at 8 am behind Steve and Kathy and 5 minutes into the trip Tom went down to the engine room to see what was happening.  We were losing large amounts of antifreeze into the bilge and it was not a safe situation to continue traveling.  We returned to the dock, tied up and Steve and Kathy returned also. Many phone calls and consults later, it looks like our water pump for the engine is bad and needs replacement. Anyone who has dealt with supply chain issues lately knows that is scary, but somehow Tom found one in Texas that is being overnight FedEx’d to us here at the marina and we should have it tomorrow morning.  Steve and Tom are pretty confident they can swap out the pumps, so that is the plan so far…

Unexpected repairs and breakdowns are part of boating, so you just have to roll with it and make lemonade out of lemons… We did manage to find a rental car here and used the marina courtesy van to go pick it up at noon. This afternoon the 4 of us toured St. Simon’s island and saw some beautiful neighborhoods. We went out to the lighthouse and walked the park, the pier and around the historical area. There is a desolate beauty here which is unlike any other place I’ve been… And these huge oak trees with all the Spanish moss! They have to support the limbs with wooden poles so they don’t break off as the trees grow out in all directions!

An unexpected treat was stumbling onto the ukulele band performing outdoors at the public library.  As they explained, the group now has all sorts of stringed instruments as well as a harmonica and flute.  They were so much fun to listen to and they performed lots of “oldies” from the 60’s which were right up our alley! We finished up the afternoon by touring the old fort and original settlement of the island.

Dinner on Steve and Kathy’s boat rounded out a pretty good day which didn’t start out that way. Here’s hoping the water pump arrives and solves the problem!








Comments

Lynette said…
I have a great bar towel that says when life gives you lemons, add vodka!
April 29, 2022 at 6:12 PM
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