Day Six in Fort Pierce, aka Gypsy Gulch
Manual labor takes a back seat to intellectual struggle
Rain fell this morning, fortunately squelching any possibility of going to work on the blisters with mysterious chemicals. Instead, we went to the library (freer from mosquitoes than our boat) in order to plan the process of reconstructing the integrity of our hull. We extracted a thirty-three step procedure from a host of booklets, pamphlets, leaflets, and other reading materials, united only by their muddled language. Our plan established, we bought what items we could at Walmart before shelling out more painful amounts at West Marine. Tomorrow, we will try to prepare a quarter of the hull in the morning, then another quarter in the afternoon provided the morning session goes as planned. The entire process will take an estimated six days.
After lunch, we tried and failed to wire the new stereo. A large collection of wires and a small set of cryptic instructions doomed our attempts to even turn the system on, let alone generate sound from the speakers. After an hour of fumbling, poking, and electrocution jokes, we admitted defeat and read for pleasure.
Later, we walked the two blocks that constituted historical downtown Fort Pierce. Apparently, every store closes earlier than its official 5 p.m. time, making the area a virtual ghost town well before the sun sets. The bar in the middle of the downtown area posted the most astonishing hours, 11 am to 4 pm Monday through Wednesday, 11 am to 8 pm on Thursday, 11 am to 10 pm on Friday, and closed Saturday and Sunday. The locals clearly do their drinking early or elsewhere.
Supper was two cans of Walmart-brand chili, one can of Walmart-brand sloppy joe sauce, all mixed together with four uncooked hot dogs. This was preceded by a salad, making it one of the biggest hobo meals we’ve eaten since we’ve been living in the boatyard, which is situated 20 yards from the train tracks.
The post-dinner hours were, of course, filled with reading, writing, and resting for the work ahead, which starts in earnest when the sun rises over our stern tomorrow morning.