Yesterday I neglected to include the funeral procession that passed by the boat! We heard a jazz band playing just outside the fence. A tuba, slide trombone, trumpet and drum. I immediately said it was either a wedding or a funeral. Dozens of mourners carrying flowers were following along swaying and dancing to the music. I grabbed the camera and Jan grabbed Trixie and off we went to watch. They proceeded to parade down by the riverside where a basket containing the remains was floated into the river and flowers were thrown in afterward. The music continued to play mournfully at first and the tempo became more upbeat as the ceremony concluded. I tell you that you just cannot see this sort of thing traveling by car.
Well Steve apparently could not stand being away from us so this morning he called and asked if there was room for him on the dock. Of course there was. We are still the only boat here which is totally strange. The fellow in charge says all spaces are reserved. Now occassionally a boat shows up but when they tie up and find the gate is locked, they leave. Not all of them go voluntarily. One older man with a pontoon boat full of people found the gate locked and came to ask us for the code. I would not give it to him. I explained that you have to pay to stay and we agreed not to give out the code. He was steamed and said they could just climb around the gate. He did but it was dangerous and the women and children were afraid to try. So he climbed back in and they departed. Others did the same.
Around noon Little Funhouse arrived and we docked him stern to stern with Cbay. Now we are three again. The morning’s agenda is to walk over to the Johnny Cash Museum and have lunch. Then tonight we are going “honky tonking”. We’ll see.
The Cash Museum was most interesting and we learned or were reminded of many things we had forgotten about this multi talented man. A songwriter, singer, actor, poet and painter. He did it all and did it well. Served in the Air Force, designed his own house and managed his charities. Well worth the visit. Steve is a picker and I think he liked it.
Lunch at a place called Tequila Joe’s which was definately not worth it. Then we walked about visiting the Goo Goo Gift Shop where Jan made a purchase and I ate a hot fudge sundae. Then return to the air conditioned boat for the heat of the day.
But our rest was soon interrupted as a very pretty young woman in a cute party dress climbed over the gate and came down on the dock where she proceeded to diligently search around while her very big boyfriend waited outside the fence. Jan was going to walk Trixie and asked the girl what she was looking for. Turns out she was geocaching. Now it just so happens we know what that is due to an incident at LGYC which is another story for another time. It is a fast growing hobby among certain segments where sites on the internet list hidden caches throughout the world. You are given the GPS coordinates of the hidden item and using your smartphone or tablet you can attempt to find these things. Once located you may win a prize(not likely)or just add your name to a scroll inside giving you the right to check this one off. It is far more complicated but you get the picture.
Soon Jan and Trixie were joined in the search. Then Steve and I go out and soon the boyfriend is allowed in through the gate. They are a couple who play in a band. Tonight they are going honky tonking to listen to music but the girl was raised on geocaching and wanted to take a side trip. Their names were Krystal and Jimmy. She was cute as a speckled pup. Reminded us so much of our daughter Kelly. She was all energy and would not give up.
The site provides clues from others who have been successful. One clue was a picture of a lady holding the small capsule in her hand and standing next to a power box on the dock. They scoured over that box to no avail. Another clue was “teeftewon”. She was lost. I said “no wet feet” spelled backwards. They don’t pay me the big bucks for nothing. I interpreted this to mean you do not have to get wet to find it but there were other opinions. Another clue said I cut the string. Nearby hanging from a guywire was a sparkplug looking item on a piece of fishing line. Krystal kicked off her party shoes and before I could stop her she leaped off the dock, caught the guywire with both hands and moved hand over hand out to the item. Not only were her feet wet, she was wet to the waist. And it was only a fishing lure! Now she was soaked but undaunted. Just like Kelly. While she continued to look in the area pictured in the photo, I tried to determine exactly where the photographer had stood by having her pose in the spot where the background buildings across the river lined up. I used my camera to get it right. Then I looked at everything within arms reach and reached out and plucked the damn thing out from under a pipe where it was velcroed. I palmed it and waited until they were ready to give up and then announced that I had it. Joy and celebration ensued. Krystal recorded her info on the scroll and even offered to include me but my great modesty made me decline. And people wonder how I stayed ahead of all those lawyers for years.
Then as any good father figure would do, I mentioned that her dress was soaking wet. She said it would dry in the sun but I persisited. This is touchy but it never stopped me before. I said that whatever was underneath that dress would not completely dry and she would be miserable and chapped by evening’s end. She agreed it was a problem and we had a solution. Come aboard Cbay and use Jan’s hairdryer on the dress and undergarments and also take a shower to remove all the river bacteria. She assented and we all went into the AC to cool off while Jan assisted Krystal. Soon she returned clean and dry and refreshed for an evening on the town. Cbay is a full service organization.
Now it was time to cross the river once again and see some sights. Here they are.
By the way, that dog’s name is Cinderella and she is somehow involved in the street act but obviously on break. How those balconies do not collapse is beyond me.
We had a wonderful pasta dinner at Demo’s, a local favorite for fine dining. A full day for sure.
