How can any breakdown be ‘lucky’?  Let’s see……………

 

Everyone left the rental house and went their separate ways – some staying on the island, others heading to Tampa and we made a short trip to Apalachicola to see their Farmer’s Market.

I really like both of their logos that are seen in their marketing.  This second one I thought was especially cute having seafood and flowers represented.

No photos of the actual market.  Growing produce in Florida’s summer is tough and (my opinion) not the absolute best time to visit a farmer’s market, but I wanted to see it anyway.  We saw one produce stand, one stand selling baked items, another with herbs and a few more tables selling various goods.  All of these were under cover in the pavilion.  A few vendors were selling their art wares nearby in the grass.  This was all happening near the dock for the local shrimp boats, so I had to get one photo, which is why I forgot to take a photo of the actual market.

There are several state parks in town, along with some historic houses, a botanical garden and this memorial.

I had some time to spare, so I walked through the memorial park and took some photos of their sculpture.

I had extra time because of this!

We just left the Farmer’s Market and was going to have lunch in town before heading home.  Nope, not going to happen.

After removing the wheel, it was decided we had a broken axel………on a trailer……..that was carrying a heavy boat…….280+ miles to home.

Now comes the lucky part – really.  We were within 100 yards of this place.

The gentleman (blue shirt) you see in the other photos was the owner.  It was his suggestion to (slowly) drive boat & trailer to the marina, off-load the boat, allowing us to get the trailer fixed minus the extra weight.  It probably wasn’t going to happen that day  since it was Saturday.  He jumped on the boat and got it off the trailer after Eric backed down their private ramp.

Yep, our boat is being stored in one of their slips until we return.  Think about it.  We’re paying for them to keep it AND we’re paying for covered space at home AND we have to pay to get the trailer fixed.  😦

They suggested a repair shop in Medart, FL (50 miles away).   Eric called the guy, said he was open until 1pm (uh ho) on Saturday.  His next statement reminded us we were (1)back in the south and (2) small town America.  “Don’t hurry and get any speedin’ tickets.  I’ll stay ’til you get here”.

After driving, safely and slowly, Eric was even more impressed as this gentleman has his own welding shop and fabricated axles on site.  This was a win.

 

Now what? Time for lunch!  Since we didn’t have the trailer & boat, options opened up for traveling and worry-free parking.  Spring Creek Restaurant in Wakulla county was the place of choice.

A few Wikipedia facts:

• opened in 1977 and passed down through family members of the Lovel family.
• they use their own boats and product from local fisherman to furnish the restaurant.
• serves only Wakulla-caught mullet, softshell crabs, shrimp and fish.

Apparently it was the restaurant of choice for this Corvette Club also.  We didn’t really see them much as they were in a private room and had already arrived by the time we got there.

The restaurant is noted for their garlic butter with crackers and/or rolls and homemade buttermilk ranch dressing (Eric loves it by the way) that accompanies all of their meals.  Eric ordered the fried grouper with cheese grits and mine was a grilled grouper sandwich.  Both were delicious.

 

We finally got home, later than expected, without our boat.

 

Why ‘lucky’?  I did some calculations:

~SGI to Apalach = 15 miles over 2 long bridges and a causeway

~Apalach to Panacea = 49 miles, some of which is nothing but pine trees and sketchy cell service

~Panacea to Perry = 60 miles of pine trees and more sketchy cell service

~Perry to Home = 180 miles of pine trees, lots of sketchy cell service and interstate miles

 

There’s a pattern.  We could have been stuck on a bridge or have to walk #@&! miles or stuck along the interstate with trucks rushing past us or any number of other undesirable possibilities.  This was truly a lucky spot to breakdown.  The rest of the silver lining...………………..this means we will be going back up there to retrieve boat and trailer, thus another trip to a favorite part of the state.

Stay tuned for that trip – its already being planned.

 

Ginny