forgive me pretty baby but
I always take the long road home...
- Tom Waits
The train schedule, a key part of my plan to get back to Charleston to retrieve my jeep and trailer, was not kind to me. When I checked the schedule a few months ago it was ideal: Get on the train in Palatka about 3 p.m., arrive in Charleston about 9 p.m. Once in Palatka I went to book my reservation only to find the schedule had been changed: Get on the train in Palatka at 9 p.m., arrive Savannah at midnight, wait in the Savannah train station until 6 a.m., then catch another train and arrive Charleston at 9 a.m. Had I done that I suspect I would have been worthless the next day. I mean six hours in the middle of the night in a train station, I could not see getting any good sleep there.
One way car rentals were not available. On a whim I check Lyft, $987.00. There were flights out of Jacksonville to Charleston by way of a layover in Miami. The only other option was a greyhound bus. Twelve hours, Palatka to Jacksonville to Savannah, Columbia and Charleston with a bunch of small towns and truck stops mixed in. At least it was during the day, basically 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Not a great option but the best of the bad ones.
And then the drive down to Palatka to retrieve SPARTINA, the drive back to Charleston where I had dinner with good fried Pete, then a good nights sleep at the hotel, and then, finally the drive back home.
A lot of time on the road, but you know, it was worth it to make that sail.
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My apologies to Enrico, David, Bob and Kent. They were kind enough to leave comments on the blog. I did not see them until just now and have added them to the appropriate posts. In the thick of sailing I simply missed them. I do always appreciate hearing from other sailors.
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