DODGING THE BULLET

We headed south from Bucyrus, Ohio towards Kentucky, then Tennessee, and just into Georgia before we called it a night at the Welcome Center/Rest Area. After leaving the plant, and on one of our load checks, we noticed that the cover on the last boat had come apart at the seams. We had been experiencing high winds due to a storm that was headed our way. At our fuel stop, Craig climbed up in the boat and went about securing the cover as best he could, so that the loose ends would not beat against the gel coating on the boat as we traveled down the road. He did a darn good job and it remained in place the rest of the way.

As I mentioned, we stayed at the rest area, seeing the signs regarding no overnight parking, but we parked there anyway, along with the other 40 truck and trailers that were there. In the middle of the night we heard the rain start falling, and the rain and wind stayed with us all the way into Forest Park, Georgia. Along the way we saw a vast array of accidents, most minor, but one major, where they were still trying to extricate the victim from the car, which had been pushed up against the concrete barrier.

We pulled into the dealership in Forest Park and went about off loading three of the four boats we had on our trailer. As the rain continued to fall, and the wind blow, you would think it would be at least a little bit chilly, but both Craig and I were sweating inside our rain gear as the temperature was in the 70's. With the paperwork signed and just about ready to put in the departed stop in the computer, the phone rings, and this is where we were able to dodge a bullet, but not without sweating a few bullets.

It seems Brunswick had made a error in the paperwork and wanted one of the boats that were taken off our trailer, put back on and delivered to a dealership about 60 miles away. We had just spent about 30 minutes putting all the equipment away and now we had to redo what we had just done? Well, with some emails between the dealer and Brunswick, and some phone calls between us and our company, thankfully it was decided that the dealer in Buford, GA would come into Forest Park and pick up the boat themselves. WHEW! Expressing our gratitude to all concerned, we continued on our way to Florida.

With the knowledge there was parking for the night by the dealership, we powered on, and arrived in Orlando around 8pm, but not without stopping at the service plaza on the Florida Turnpike for a well deserved Starbucks! The rain had finally stopped during the night and we awoke this morning to blue skies, a gentle breeze, waterfront property, and the local wildlife enjoying the amenities. As we wait for them to beckon us onto the property, to off load the one boat left on our trailer, we were thankful to have dodged several bullets during the past 24 hours, and looking forward to heading north.