March 31 - April 6: Brunswick, Kissimmee, Tallahassee
The transition period between our sailing and hiking phases is three weeks long. This period has a fairly packed schedule, and I’ve discovered that we could not cram in as much as I’d like, especially while in Tallahassee. Here is a quick recap of our first week which wrapped up in Tallahassee.
Leaving Utopia for Seven Months
We returned to Utopia Monday morning after the boatyard’s three day closure. It took about two hours to put on the final touches for long-term storage.
It was strange knowing that we were leaving Utopia for nearly seven months after only living on her for five months. We both felt like we were abandoning our home. The thought of it sitting there unattended brings a few worries, mainly based on the unknowns. For me, I fear finding a boat interior filled with mold and mildew. Jimmy wonders if something that worked great beforehand would just simply stop working after we dropped the boat back into the water.
Then there is the concern of tropical storms. Will the halyard mouse lines remain intact? Will the boatyard properly secure all of the nearby boats this summer? Just how active will this hurricane season be? We need to realize we believe we have done a decent job of stripping down the boat and hope that our insurance helps us out should a bad storm head to Brunswick.
After taking a few photos of the boat we hopped into our loaner car to begin our three-week road trip. It may have been sad to leave Utopia, but we were quite happy to grab Baxter and check out of the Red Roof Inn.
Leaving Baxter for Four Nights
Since Jimmy and I were heading to a conference hotel that did not allow pets, we dropped Baxter off with a nearby sitter we found on Rover. Dropping Baxter off brought on some more worries. He’s been through so much change the past week and now we dump him off with strangers. We wonder Will he be okay? Will he be lonely? Will they be nice to him? Will all the pets get along?
Finally meeting the sitters brought some relief to our worries. Once inside we opened up his carrier to observe how he reacted to his newest surroundings. Baxter snooped around a bit before one of the two resident cats came to inspect the latest visitor. During the nose-to-nose meeting, the house cat made a small growl, and twitched his tail. Baxter responded by slinking away to continue his investigation of the room and we left the house hoping all would be okay.
We didn’t hear back from the sitters until late afternoon the following day (Tuesday). They sent two photos of Baxter looking a little nervous and said that Baxter is very interested in their cats. After an incredibly busy week, talking to a lot of people, and feeling pampered by staying at the Gaylord after a week at the Red Roof Inn, we picked up Baxter on Friday morning. The sitters met us outside with Baxter his carrier, making for a nice quick transition. They said that Baxter eventually played with their cats during his stay, so I suppose that is a good report, although rather short.
Back on the road again, Baxter, normally quiet in a car, meowed and purred for nearly an hour. We were not sure what was going on in his head, he appeared to be very happy to be back with us before he fell fast asleep.
Back in Tallahassee for Four Days
Our schedule was built around two main schedule constraints: the Florida Water Resources Conference in Kissimmee, FL (April 1-5) and the Flip-Flop Kickoff Festival in Harpers Ferry, WV (April 19-21). With these bookends, we created a road trip that managed to squeeze in all of the places we wanted to visit before starting the hike. This only gave us three full days in Tallahassee plus a half day last Friday, with a departure Tuesday morning. I wish to have had more business days in town because three doctor’s appointments spread between Friday afternoon and Monday left a small window to visit our work colleagues. Also, our hiking preparations have kept us busier over the weekend than planned, leading to skipping a trip into Shell Point to see friends there. Whining aside, there are a couple of positive points to share and one about my pre-hike jitters.
Doctor’s Visit for Sprained Ankle
Ten days after last week’s ankle twisting, my ankle and foot were still swollen and bruised. I managed to get an appointment with my physician on Friday and was provided very good news. No fracture showed in the x-ray, and there does not appear to be any major damage in the foot and ankle. She sent me over to a physical therapist, who agreed that I was strong enough to begin the backpacking trip as scheduled. I was warned that the ankle will be prone to sprains for 6 to 8 weeks, therefore I need to be very careful with my footing through May. In the meantime, I have a set of exercises to help strengthen the ankle during this healing phase.
Springtime Tallahassee
A pleasant surprise for us was that yesterday was Springtime Tallahassee. This is a fun annual event in the downtown area. Jimmy and I walked over to the parade route, saw our nephew who was working the Cadets along the course, viewed the vendor booths, and ate a delicious Filipino food truck entrée. After visiting several fairs and farmers’ markets on our trip around Florida, it was a treat to end our trip with a hometown event on such a beautiful spring day.
New Hiking Shoes and a Pack Fitting
Over the past month or so, Jimmy and I have been putting some miles onto our hiking shoes while wearing our packs. I purchased my shoes and backpack in 2018 and planned to use them on our thru-hike. However, towards the end of our eight-mile hike last month my toes were touching the toe box, a clear warning that it was time for some new shoes. I also wanted to have a pack expert double check the fitting of my pack, so off to the Tallahassee REI we went.
The Tallahassee store is rather small and did not carry the correct size of the shoes that I’ve been wearing the past six years. I could wait until I get to Washington, D.C. to purchase my brand and new size up there, but that would mean starting the thru-hike with brand new shoes. This is something I do not want. Instead, I purchased a different brand and hope, hope, hope the shoes work out for me. I’ll need to wear them every chance I get in the next two weeks. If they don’t workout, then I guess I’ll be visiting that Washington, D.C. store after all.
The pack fitting went well. I was able to verify that the hip alignment was correct. When I mentioned that I have some pressure on my clavicle, we played around with the load lifters which might help with the issue. There is a small chance that the Osprey may not be the ideal pack for me because of the way the straps close in towards my neck. If I am unable to resolve the pressure points along the hike, I may need to look into a new pack purchase.
So it appears that my pre-hike jitters are starting to erode away some of the confidence I’ve recently built up. Even with these pre-hike jitters, both Jimmy and I are eager to get started on this hike.
The Next Two Weeks
From here we head west and say goodbye to Baxter one more time. Next Sunday we will be leaving Montgomery for Gadsden, and the following Sunday is the Flip-Flop Kickoff festival in Harpers Ferry.
We plan to continue posting each Sunday. These will be created on our phones and may need to be scheduled a few days in advance as we play with cell phone coverage. Just like in cruising, we’ll be figuring out a lot of things along the way and sharing it here.