Lake Martin Bugs

I am a coward when it comes to some insects, especially those of cockroach variety. In fact, my aversion to them is so great that I shudder when I type the word. So, I will just refer to them as “them.” Unfortunately, here in the woods by Lake Martin, near Dadeville, Alabama, they are very common. In fact, they are everywhere.

I knew we have them back in Florida and they are everywhere there, too. However, my husband puts so many pesticides on our tiny lawn and around our house that someday the EPA may designate it as a Superfund site. So, I don’t have to deal with them at home. But these tiny cabins in the woods are infested.

Wil came up with the perfect solution after our first visit here when I couldn’t sleep because I imagined every knot in the knotty pine walls was crawling toward me. When we arrive at our cabin, the first thing we do is set off several bug foggers inside our cabin. Yes, several. The same way that Wil puts 3 or 4 times the necessary amount of pesticide on our lawn, he puts 3 or 4 foggers in this teeny tiny cabin.

While the foggers are working their magic, we launch our boat and take a cruise, then drive into Dadeville to buy some groceries at the PIggly Wiggly. By the time we return with our perishables, it is time to air out the cabin. Of course, Wil has to pick up the dead ones while I put away the groceries. Then he sprays a bug barrier spray over the thresholds and around baseboards. I put boric acid powder around the porches.

Of course, I am still careful. I leave lights on in the bathroom and kitchen area all night. I leave nothing on the floor. I close up all of our suitcases and bags at night. I seal up every bit of food tightly. But, at least I can sleep without worrying about having an encounter with one of “them.”

I realize my fear really is irrational. But, most phobias are irrational. I have no problems with ants and spiders which can actually bite and cause pain. I enjoy the flitting around of dragonflies and butterflies. I coo over ladybugs and delight in seeing bees on my flowers. Even the overly-friendly carpenter bees on our deck don’t bother me. I do avoid wasps and mosquitoes and yellow flies, but I don’t run screaming like I do when I encounter “them.”

On this trip we encountered a whole different insect problem. We left our boat in the water overnight, docked by the cabin, at the end of a 20-ft dock. This morning, Wil went down to put some stuff in the boat before we headed out. He found hundreds of ants in the boat! Those determined little critters had marched down the 20-ft. dock and across the mooring rope and down into the back of the boat.

I suppose they were after some stray cookie or chip crumb. We do eat in the boat, so I’m sure there are some tiny crumbs in there somewhere. Are the ants really that desperate? Oh well, at least I don’t have to worry about ants in the cabin. The same extreme measures we take to keep out “them” will work on ants, too. 

Now, we are formulating a plan to keep ants out of the boat next time. Meanwhile, Wil killed the ants with regular spray insecticide and sprayed the mooring lines to discourage them from trying it again. We’ll see how effective that is when we head out to the boat in the morning. 

It does kind of make me wonder what is next...a plague of locusts?

Our little old boat meets the tow boat...again.

Wil and I own a small older motor boat. It's a Bayliner Capri, 19 ft., built in 1999. Wil had wanted a boat for some time, but new boats are really expensive and we were novices, so we bought a "starter" boat. Despite her age, she's a sweet little boat. However, she does show her age. Her carpet and upholstery are, well, less than pristine, but her hull is sound. She lacks some amenities we'd like to have and she's certainly not flashy, but her i/o engine chugs away pretty reliably...most of the time.

One reason we can own an older boat is that Wil is very mechanically inclined and, with his engineering background, he is fearless about tearing into her engine if she needs repair or maintenance. He is very good at keeping her running, even if parts of her engine are held together with chewing gum and twine. Well, realistically, it's more like clamps and wire.

Three years ago, shortly after we bought the boat, her engine refused to start one evening on Santa Rosa Sound. Fortunately, we were smart enough to have purchased a membership in BoatUS. It's just like AAA Auto Club, except for boats and trailers. We called them that night and were towed back to the Navarre boat launch. But the grizzled old sea captain who towed us didn't know where to find the narrow channel into the boat launch and he ran his ship aground very suddenly, causing our boat to slam into the rear of his. We sustained some hull damage to the nose of the boat that Wil had to putty over and then we screwed a rubber bumper onto it to hid the putty and protect the nose. Wil replaced the worn out starter and we were back to boating.

In 2010, we had to call BoatUS again when our boat trailer began to disintegrate on I-85, just north of Montgomery, en route to Lake Martin. That was a memorable Labor Day and we ended up spending a few days on Lake Martin with no boat and then spending many dollars and miles getting a new trailer for our boat.

Since then, all had been well until last Saturday. We really wanted to watch the Blue Angels beach air show, but there's no way we would ever brave the traffic. You see, thousands and thousands of people descend on Pensacola Beach for that day. Car traffic backs up all the way over the Bob Sikes Beach Bridge and the 3-mile Pensacola Bay Bridge pretty early in the morning. By mid-morning, all the parking spaces at the beach are full. But, we decided to take our boat, anchor somewhere close and watch from the water. It was a perfect solution.

I researched the best place to watch the show. Of course, that would be in the Gulf. BUT, we are reluctant to take our little old boat out in the Gulf, especially since the seas were predicted to be a bit rough. Friends of mine was going to watch from the sound side in Little Sabine Bay, so we decided to meet them there. I read on-line that you have to get there by 9 AM to be assured of getting a spot.

Protected waters were forecast to be rough and choppy and there was a very good chance of rain, but we decided we could weather all of that. We launched at Navarre boat ramp and headed out to cruise the 18 or so miles to Little Sabine Bay, at the foot of the beach bridge. Early into the trip, we learned that rough and choppy was REALLY ROUGH! Our little boat was being tossed up by the swells and then it was slamming back down. We continued on, but pretty slowly and holding on tightly.

Then, less than 30 minutes into the trip, we ran into a rain squall. There was thunder and lightning and wind and pouring rain. We donned ponchos, slowed down a bit more, ran the bilge pump, and continued on. We were over halfway and it would have been foolish to turn around. Of course, it was foolish to continue on, too. In hindsight, we should have pulled over into shallow water and ridden out the storm at anchor.

But, we made it to Little Sabine Bay, found our friends, and tied our little boat up to their larger one. That small bay is very protected, with only a narrow inlet, so the water was very calm there. We had a great day there, despite on and off rain showers, some rather hard at times. At one point, we even saw a water spout (a tornado over water), but it didn't come our way. All of the civilian planes scheduled to perform in the air show had to cancel, but the Blue Angels lucked out with a window of opportunity at their appointed time. They had to fly their low show, but it was still awesome!

An hour or so after the show, we decided to head home, knowing we'd have to go slowly in the rough waters of the sound. We packed up and prepared to go, BUT our little old boat's engine wouldn't start. Wil tried several things and friends came to offer help and advice, but no matter what they tried, the engine wouldn't start. It would turn over and occasionally almost start, but it just wouldn't crank. We got a clue about what the problem might be when Wil took off the air filter to get to the carburetor and water poured out of the air filter. Hmmm, yup, I think water was our problem.

So, we called BoatUS...again...third time in three years. It took a while for the tow boat to get to us, but Little Sabine Bay had cleared out pretty well, so boat traffic wasn't an issue. A fairly young Captain Mac attached the tow rope and we headed out shortly before sunset. The tow boat had to move slowly, because of the rough seas and towing our dead weight. Once again, we ran into rain. Captain Mac called my cell and offered to let us ride with him inside the tiny enclosed space on his boat, but we donned ponchos again and weathered the rain on our boat. We didn't feel right about deserting her.

The trip was over 2 hours and pretty miserable. It was well after dark as we approached the Navarre boat ramp. I was more than a little anxious remembering the last time we were towed there. However, Captain Mac was highly competent and navigated the narrow channel flawlessly. He took us right up to the dock without incident.

As we got out of the boat, we told him about our previous experience. He had a funny look on his face as he apologized for what we had gone through 3 years ago and assured us that the grizzled old sea captain didn't work there anymore. We were curious. He explained that he is the OWNER of the local BoatUS towing service. He remembered that night 3 years ago, because, not only was our boat damaged, but our boat had punched a hole into the aluminum hull of his tow boat! When he saw it and got the story from that captain, he fired him on the spot.

He smiled and said it was good to meet the little boat that had punched the hole. He apologized again, but we assured him that our damage was minimal and we had patched and covered it. He left a few minutes later and we trailered our boat. We remarked about how coincidental it was that the owner was the one to tow us and that he remembered our experience and now he had towed the very same boat.

We worried about our little boat. We didn't know what the actual problem was, but we both felt it had to do with water. We didn't know how it had affected the engine. We discussed various possibilities, from serious to minor. We drove the boat home and backed it into our garage to dry out. Our HOA will only allow us to keep our boat at home for short periods of time, 48 hours is the maximum.

The next day, Wil decided that the problem might be water in the gas tank. Water probably entered through the gas tank vent every time the rear of the boat was plunged down into the rough water. We took the boat to a gas station and filled the tank back up, even though it was still 3/4 full. Back home, we parked this time so the truck was in the garage and the boat was in the driveway in the sun. With the new gas and all the gas getting stirred up in the drive, the engine would crank, but only run for 2-3 minutes before puttering out.

Wil thought he might have to siphon out all the gas to get the water out and then fill back up with fresh gas. I shuddered at the thought of losing 20+ gallons of gas at today's prices! I knew there had to be some chemical on the market to help. So, we bought a siphon hose, but also found and bought 2 bottles of Heet, a product that takes care of water in gas tanks. The Heet worked and the engine ran like a charm.

That afternoon was beautiful and the water in the sound was smooth and glassy. We took the boat out for a sunset cruise. We launched as most people were hauling their boats in and people were leaving the beach in droves. We saw only one or two other boats along the way. We headed east to Spooky Island, just off Hurlburt AFB. We anchored and sat on the sandy beach and ate cold fruit as the sun sank. The ride home was just as perfect. Our sweet little old boat glided across the water like butter in a warm pan. It was easily one of our most beautiful cruises. The cares and worries and frustrations of the previous day melted away with the setting sun.

I strongly suspect we'll buy a new larger boat when we are financially able, certainly not this summer. Then we'll sell this little old boat. In a way, I'll be sad. Though she has certainly had her problems and stranded us on more than one occasion, she has been a great starter boat. She has endured our learning. She has even taken our abuse, though it was always unintentional. This "Knotty One," as we named her, has taught us many lessons. Her legacy will be our love of boating and the wisdom we have gained.

Rude and indecent people!

Wil and I stopped off at Firehouse Subs in Navarre for a late lunch today. I saw two people in two separate incidences who show how inconsiderate and uncouth some people can be. So often, teachers get the blame for how students turn out, but with examples like these adults in students' everyday lives, teachers face an uphill battle getting students to behave and learn.

My first encounter was at the ladies room. I went to the bathroom while we were waiting for our food to be delivered. The ladies room door was locked. It is a single person bathroom, so I stepped back to wait my turn. I waited a LONG time. A lady inside was talking loudly and sound echoes in a bathroom, so I couldn't help but hear a little bit. The conversation was something about shopping. I decided that the lady must have a child in there with her. With 2 people in there using the facilities, it takes longer.

Finally, the lady came out. No, there was no one in there with her. She was on her cell phone. I guess it takes longer to use the bathroom and wash your hands while trying to talk on a tiny phone. But the real kicker is she didn't even flush the toilet! So, I know all she had to do was pee...I saw the evidence. So, was she so distracted that she forgot to flush? Or did she think the flushing toilet would drown out her conversation?

When I came out of the ladies room, she was sitting at a table waiting for her food. She was still on the phone. When her food was ready, she picked it up without any interruption in her phone conversation. She was still on the phone as she walked out. From what I could overhear, the phone call wasn't anything important, just shopping and mundane things. It certainly wasn't important enough to exhibit such rudeness and inconsideration.

I am somewhat of a cell phone addict. My iPhone is turned on and beside me 24/7. It's my phone, my alarm clock, my calendar, my grocery list, my GPS navigation, my house alarm remote, my satellite TV remote, my library, my source for news, my camera, my photo album, my music player, my address book, my notepad, my pocket internet, a link to Facebook, my lockbox of personal information, a link to my email, instant messaging, a flashlight, a dictionary, a multitude of games...oh, I could go on and on. Last week, my phone had a glitch of some kind and wouldn't come on. I've never been in such a panic.

BUT, with all that, I try to never ever be rude with my phone. I try not to ignore the world around me. I try not to let phone calls slow me down. I never use it in the car without my bluetooth headset and even then I do it sparingly. I don't let the phone control how I behave in public. Except in dire emergencies, I don't let the person on the other end of the phone connection become more important than the people around me. Incidences like today make me even more determined to be considerate about my phone use in public.

I also wonder at the example that woman was setting. She was old enough to have teenage children. If she is a parent, I wonder how her kids use their phones. Kids are smarter and more imitative than people think. Do you think teens will be polite with their cell phones when adults do not set the proper example?

The other incident didn't involve a phone at all. It was all about a lack of common decency. A lady came in to order food with 2 small children, a boy about 6-ish and a little girl between 3 and 4 years of age. The little girl was old enough to be out of diapers, carry her drink, and carry on a conversation. The startling thing was that the little girl was stark naked! Oh, wait, she was wearing sandals.

Now, I know the child was very little and little kids don't really care who sees them naked. People around raised their eyebrows and whispered to each other and pointed, but no one ran screaming. The little boy asked his mom why his sister was naked. Mom said that the little girl didn't want to wear her wet swimsuit, so mom had put just a shirt on her, but the little girl didn't want to wear it and took it off. Obviously, they had just come from a beach or pool. So, Little Miss Naked just cavorted around the restaurant with no clothes on. Fortunately, they were also getting carry-out, so her stay in the restaurant was mercifully short.

So, at what age do you teach your child that it is inappropriate to go naked in public? I think this child was old enough to be taught that. Let's hope no pedophiles were around getting their jollies. I also think the child was young enough that mom could have insisted on clothes, despite what the child wanted. Mom was taking the easy way out and giving the child her own way, rather than being a good parent.

Someday, that little girl will be sitting in a classroom like mine. What is going to happen when the teacher gives the girl something to do that she doesn't want to do? If the little girl has never been made to conform to rules, then the poor teacher doesn't have a chance. Yet, who will get the blame? The teacher, of course.

It's July and I don't want to even think about school right now. However, I can't suppress the teacher in me. I see incidences like these all too often, rude adults raising rude children and parents who take the easy path rather than the right one. I'm sure I'll meet some kids and parents just like these come August. SIGH. Fortunately, these kinds of people are still the exception and not the rule...so far.

Boat camping and thunderstorms are not a good mix

Wil and I had been wanting to go camping on our boat. We thought we'd enjoy spending an overnight on our boat anchored in Santa Rosa Sound. We have a small gas grill and air mattresses to put on top of the back-to-back seats that fold out to a relatively flat 6 ft. We packed carefully--plenty of food for meals and snacks, extra clothes, towels, toiletries, entertainment, etc. Our boat is old and fairly small (19 ft.) but it has been a great starter boat for us.

We launched about 3 PM from Hurlburt and cruised to Crab Island. Since it was a weekday, there was no problem getting a prime spot to anchor there. We played in the water. Wil set up to grill burgers for dinner. Since there were patriotic festivities going on at Harborwalk, we got the benefit of those. We watched an awesome mini airshow with replica WWII planes flying over.

We worried a bit about the weather, since the sky was dark and rumbling to the north, but we kept an eye on the radar on our weather apps and the storm slid to the east of us. We got only a few sprinkles, not enough to get anything wet. Then, to the east, the most glorious rainbow appeared in the sky! It was bright and visible from horizon to horizon. At the same time, over our shoulder to the west, a beautiful sunset was vying for our attention. As soon as the burgers were done, we settled down in the front of the boat to eat and watch the sun slip down behind the clouds.

We pulled up anchor and moved to the other side of the bridge to watch fireworks. I know, July 5! It was a bonus getting another fireworks show after the 4th. The current was strong and Wil had to fight the anchor to get it to catch and then to hoist it up later, but the fireworks were worth it.

After that, it was time to start settling in the for the evening. We cruised back to Hurlburt and made a stop at the dock so that I could go to the bathhouse. I'm not really into primitive camping, so I wanted a proper sink to brush my teeth and wash up a bit. I also wanted a turn at a proper toilet at least once! Other than that one time, it was the water or piddle packs for the rest of the adventure.

We left the dock and picked out a spot to anchor just southeast of Spooky Island (named for the gunships, not because it's scary). We were out of the channel, but not so close to land that the bugs would find us. We were also right across from the end of Hurlburt's runway, so we soon got to watch all the planes. They did some touch-and-go landings, but before midnight, all the planes were down to stay.

We blew up our air mattresses, cuddled for a while, and made one last check of the weather before going to sleep. The only possible stormy/rainy weather was way up north, over the Alabama line and to the east and it was barely moving The Gulf to the south was completely clear, so we went to sleep pretty confident that all would be well. It was easy to fall asleep with the cool breeze and the boat rocking me. It was late, after 1 AM, and we were tired. Wil was snoring before I fell asleep.

Two hours later, I awoke to Wil stirring and some thunder rumbling. Wil assured me that the storm was off to the south and the wind was blowing it west. Still, he seemed a bit worried. The thunder wasn't that far away and the wind had picked up. I picked up my phone to check my weather app, in hopes of confirming Wil's forecast. However, I was puzzled. My app showed the wind from the south and the storm headed our way! It seems that Wil's app was still on Navarre, but I had set mine to Hurlburt. A few miles can make a difference with the wind.

We watched the storm grow and inch closer on the weather radar. It seemed that a thunderstorm was inevitable. We discussed our options. Wil had the best idea. We would go to the Hurlburt marina and put our boat in one of the empty boat slips there and ride out the storm on the boat, but under shelter.  We quickly stowed things and raced to the marina. A couple of other boats our size had been anchored a hundred yards away, but they stayed put.

We were lucky to find several empty covered boat slips and secured our boat in one of them. There was a cover overhead that covered most of the boat, but we knew the rain would blow in from the front and back. Most of our belongings were already in waterproof containers and we put the rest into plastic bags, pulled as much as possible into the middle of the boat with us. The storm had been getting closer and closer in the 20 minutes it took us to get to and get settled in the marina. We had only been in there 10 minutes when the storm hit.

It hit with a fury. The rain was a deluge. There was near constant cloud-to-ground lightning. The thunder was deafening at times. The overhead shelter was a godsend, but I still felt vulnerable with no walls around to protect us. Wil was an angel, reassuring and comforting, even pulling me into his lap during the worst of the storm.

We had a couple of umbrellas, one of them quite large that helped to further keep the blowing rain off of us. We huddled and constantly checked our weather radar apps, thinking it would be just a matter of time before the storm blew over. We planned to head back out after the storm, cruise a bit to help dry the boat and then make breakfast.

However, it was not to be. The storm rolled on and on. We ended up spending nearly five hours in that boat slip. Somehow, the storm to the north and the storm to the south met right over us and merged into the perfect storm. Instead of moving, it just sat over us and grew. Between squalls, Wil dozed while I nervously distracted myself with Sudoku on my iPad. Later, I finally dozed while Wil watched a movie on his iPad.

Eventually, we decided to throw in the towel. We waited for a lighter patch of the storm, when the rain slowed to a sprinkle and the lightning seemed to subside. Wil made a dash to the truck to bring it closer. We unloaded the boat, tossing everything inside the truck. Wil made me stay in the truck while he got the boat loaded on the trailer. We pushed our luck a bit further and stayed under another shelter long enough to flush our engine (because we cruise in salt water), then headed home.

We were wet and exhausted. I was a bit discouraged that our perfect evening ended so badly. We drove through Whataburger and bought breakfast. At home, we just left the boat hitched to the truck and only unloaded essential items. We showered, ate breakfast in bed, and slept a couple of more hours, warm and dry and safe.

We rehashed our evening and decided that camping on the boat had really been fun...at least right up until the storm. We'll do it again sometime, hopefully with a happy ending. We did think of a few things we'll bring with us next time, just in case another storm should find us. Now, we have another shared experience as a couple. Years from now, we'll be remembering our first camping trip on our boat and how we braved the storm together!