The drive from Wilmington, NC had been long and we were tired. We ordered a pizza and crashed. Early the next morning, in a misty drizzle, I went to the boatyard. Linda, the office manager, greeted me with a smile; Jackson and Luna, the office dogs, barked incessantly. Erik, the yard manager, came out of his office to shake my hand. It was a great reception! In the Travel Lift slings, lifting from the yard hydraulic trailerβ¦soon to be in her natural element. Linda told me precisely where in the yard JO BETH had been put once the work done in the late fall had been completed.
The exceptions are the hauling and launch areas which are usually concrete or asphalt. With the rainy weather, she sat among sandy puddles and tufts of wiry grass, in the storage area of the yard.
Boats were packed in tight, with just a foot or two between them. I found a ladder stored beneath a nearby boat, stood it beside the port side boarding gate and climbed up. I drove back our to Air BnB to report to Lisa, but first made a quick stop at the Starbucks on the way. When we arrived here last fall with my newly afflicted pinched nerve and much uncertainty as to the road forward, I spent a lot of time at Starbucks doing research on my condition, searching for doctors and medical massage therapists, etc.
The first time I stopped in, one of the staff noticed I was having trouble with my left hand as I went to pay for my order. By this time, my fingers had curled into a something resembling a claw. She waited patiently and after a few moments asked if she could help.
I placed my hand against the counter, palm up, and pushed my fingers flat. She counted out the change for me and the instant I released the pressure on my fingers, they contracted back into the claw shape.
