The Adventures of Captain Gale: South = Cold?

From: briangale@alum.bucknell.edu [mailto:briangale@alum.bucknell.edu]
Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 9:24 AM
Subject: South = Cold?

Greetings from the icy depths of the southeast. Another week down the East Coast, with 19 days left to get to the Bahas for Christmas day (mom, I PROMISE I'll be there). On reviewing my journal, it has not been as intersting of a week as those past. After fixing the water pump last Friday, I've had nothing worse than a loose alternator belt, which means only one of two things must be happening:

a) I'm geting the hang of repairing things, or
b) the engine has a complicated and nefarious new plan that it's working on.

Only time will tell.

I mentioned that the firepower has increased as I have continued south. On Sunday the South really upped the ante in the shape of the LeJeune firing range. Essentially it's a five mile stretch of the ICW that they shut down at random intervals to shoot stuff. There's no warning, there's no close place to wait it out if they ARE shooting, you just round a bend and there's either an armed "patrol" vessel waiting to stop you or there isn't. I rounded the bend and foun no such welcome, so I continued south, hoping that the patrol boat didn't get bored or cold and knocked off a little early...



The place was deserted. And just plain eerie. You come around a bend and find where the amphibious vehicles have been practicing crossing rivers, including one vehicle stuck in the bank. Around another bend you find a couple of tanks, a few other abandoned vehicles, various towers. It's like an enormous version of some kid's sandbox, and I half expected some booming mother's voice to remind the kid to pick up after himself.

On Wednesday night I made it to South Carolina. The first thing you come to in SC is an enormous outlet mall with a free dock. I'm sure there's a New Jersey joke in there somewhere... I was thankful for the free dock, but with temps dropping into the 20s at night still, I was not up for shopping.

The rest of the week has been cold and rainy, but thanks to the water temperature (55), I have been spared the freezing rain that some of the rest of the state has been blessed with. Needing groceries and a chance to warm up, I showed up in Charlestown this morning and am treating myself to a day in civilization. It's going to reach the 50s by the weekend, something I've not experienced since Maryland. I keep saying it, the warm weather has GOT to be right around the corner...

I hope all is going well with y'all. Next week will find me in Georgia and possibly Florida. Send warm thoughts, I've GOT to get out of this foul weather gear!

-Brian
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