Saturday 26 December 2020
Southport, FL
As seems to be the norm when renting
any kind of vehicle, the 10-foot U-Haul van I had ordered was not available due
a mechanical problem, and I was issued a 15-foot van in its place, at the cost
of the smaller van. Five feet longer is
not just 50% bigger; it is a LOT bigger.
When Frank and I placed all the bulkier and heavier items in the box, we
had no need to stack any of them as there was plenty of floor space available. The van came with a half tank of fuel,
meaning I am only required to return half a tank with it. I immediately ran to Sam’s and filled up
taking 35 more gallons. Big tank.
Now we are going after the
checklist with abandon getting those last items packed and loaded.
Driving this monstrosity home, I
quickly realized it is NOISY. Thus, when
I got home, I pulled out the two headset intercoms I build for use on our noisy
boat and placed them in the truck’s cab.
We may well need them.
Mary has yet to select the sewing
items she wants to take along. Oh, and
shoes…. Now I hope we have enough truck!
Scott, the seller called
yesterday and arranged for me to call him when we get to Birmingham so that he
can meet us at the boat in order to do a quick turn over and swapping out of the big
electrical shore power cable adapters. he is keeping his for his next boat.
Weather forecasts in the area of
our first few days of operation show relatively mild temperatures with no
rain. We hope to run south quickly to
escape any really cold days.
0700 will be COLD tomorrow when we depart Southport for the 371-mile trip hoping to get to Rogersville, AL before dark.
