("The Headless Pisser"...aka Jeff)
(Where my hat took the plunge...)
(Me & Glenn)
(River/Tour boats, River Street, and the gold dome of City Hall)
(Some tug boats...)It had been rather low-key around here, but this past Sunday we actually communed more with the outside world. Glenn's brother, Jeff, had been threatening to take us for a ride on his boat for a couple three weeks or so. This past Sunday we finally rode the river, and I must say that it was a really nice time. Jeff gave us a call in the early part of the afternoon asking us if we wanted to hit the boat later that afternoon. I had been feeling a might wonky over the past day or so (lack of sleep, mainly) and had started settling into spending the day at home, but I didn't want to say 'no'. As I said, it had been something we had been trying to coordinate for a few weeks. After engaging in some light personal prep (which included beer gathering), we headed down to the dock by the Sea Ray dealership (Jeff works there) to meet up. In addition to Glenn, Jeff, and myself, we also had one of Jeff's sons Clay, Clay's girlfriend Kim, and Jeff's nephew Cameron (whom I'm told was named after Ferris Buellers' best friend). We set out with Clay behind the wheel on what was to be a nice trip.
Clay, being a bit of a speed demon, was fast out of the gate. The sun was bright and the wind from the boats' momentum was high. Made it a little difficult to snap some pics of the passing scenery (got quite a few blurry photos out of it), but it felt really good. Spent the entire trip sitting in the rear of the boat, which was really nice. Still got to see everything we passed. Jeff's boat isn't small, so it was very comfortable for the six of us. One of the first places of note we passed, was the Bonaventure Cemetary. That is by far a favorite place of mine here, so I wanted to try and add to my photos of the place by getting something from the water. As mentioned prior, we were moving along at quite a clip, so I only had time to snap a quick one or two. Can't really see a lot from the river, and the photos didn't pick up much besides. (Was a little bummed, but its not like I can't venture over to the cemetary itself any time I wish.) A little ways after that we passed Fort Jackson. (There are several forts here in Savannah.) I happened to be looking at the opposite side of the river as we were passing, and Glenn didn't chime in until we had whizzed well past the place. (I would be able to snap a quick one as we whizzed past later on the way home, but it was really too dark and it came out a bit blurry...drat...) Then it happened. Something I was trying very hard to avoid. We weren't long past McKinley when I saw a shot of the sun coming through the clouds that I wanted to try and capture. I shifted forward so that the shot would clear the roof of the boat, and I felt something get whisked out from under me. I'd been sitting on my hat to keep it safe. I turned to see it go flipping through the air and splash into the boats' wake. Glenn quickly called out to Clay who slowed things down and turned the boat around. I'm happy to say that my hat was located and pulled from what could have been it's watery grave. I wouldn't have given two craps, but it was a hat a friend gave me...has his bands name on it. Plus, it was a really nice ball cap. After that, it was back on course at top velocity.
We saw several factories and such along the way. A concrete factory, electrical plant, coal mill, and the intensely foul smelling paper plant. Saw tug boats, paddle boats, couple of freight ships, shrimping boats...the river was having a busy day. But then I'm sure it usually does. It was cool. We eventually back tracked a hair and docked at River Street to grab some grub. Hit one of the establishments I remember from my days in college, "Spanky's". Chicken fingers and beer. Then it was back to the boat for the trek home.
Ya know, when Clay was hauling ass down the river when the sun was up...didn't bother me that much. When it got a bit darker...there were a few times that weren't entirely white knuckle time, but...let's just say that I'm glad that Glenn and Jeff were onboard. They both grew up driving boats, they both have Captain's licenses, and Jeff spent a number of years in the Coast guard. Glad they were there to point certain 'shallowness' issues to him. Things that might be as plain as a person's nose during the day, but that became a bit more difficult to eyeball at night. Aside from that, once the sun went down it became very peaceful and relaxing out there. Saw a pelican or two, and even a couple of dolphins breaking the surface. Things slowed down a bit as we neared the docks...there was a sighting of the mysterious "headless pisser" (hehe...Glenn's the culprit who snapped that one...brothers...)...our outting was drawing to a close.
Mosquitos. Sand gnats. Whichever they were, they were in full force when we got to the docks. Really thick. Interestingly enough, I don't think I really got bitten much, but the sensation of clouds of small bugs swarming you is really annoying. Thankfully they disipated once we were by the truck, and we were off home.
Hopefully there will be another boating trip in the future that will be a bit more conduscive to photo ops.
(It's raining quite steadily at the moment...gotta love the rain.)
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