Day Six - Saturday - Grand Harbor  to Mobile, AL… and back  

Welcoming AURORA's new crew, Brett Bockhop

Brett and I arise early and as we walk past GLASS SLIPPER, her lights come on and we know from dinner last night that they and VELA NARCOSIS will be heading out today.  It is bittersweet because we have enjoyed their river knowledge and waterway companionship but they are anxious to move on and so we wave as we walk past their boat.  Climbing into our cars, him in his Camry and me in Kristine’s Mini Cooper, we head off for Mobile, Alabama 450 miles south on the Gulf of Mexico. We will pre-position his car at the marina and then come immediately back to Grand Harbor. In a week or two after getting AURORA to Turner Marina, we will drive his car back to Wisconsin. Just recently retired as a a Wisconsin DNR forest ranger, Brett has taken a part time job managing one of our state forests in the far northern wilds and would like to be back in the woods in early November.  Kris will be taking her Mini and driving back to MKE tomorrow morning while Brett and I head off down river with AURORA.  

Saturday traffic is light and we make slip arrangements, park his Camry in the lot and head back to Grand Harbor 450 miles north.  Brett did ask if the marina wanted a key to his car but they declined saying they had no need of it. The ride back is long but arriving at the boat around 8:30 PM we take note of the empty slip where James and Stacey’s boat had been berthed when we left early this morning.  More surprisingly, we find that AURORA is flanked by several large and expensive-looking boats including GOLDEN GIRL on the outside of our pier.  She is massive next to us, around 100 feet, with lights in the main salon revealing a chef and deckhand serving the main course to her owners. Both Brett and I glance up just a little jealously but when we step down into AURORA’s main salon, Kristine has set a table with bowls of hot chili, toasted garlic bread and a cold drink.  It occurs to me that we are receiving exactly the same service as that multi-million dollar vessel moored next to us and my penis envy evaporates like the steam arising from my bowl of chili.   

Penis envy averted... mostly!

Kris relates her day’s adventures including watching two other boats come in behind us and on the other side of the slip, both 10 to 15 feet larger than ours.  As she observed the two captains talking to each other, her thoughts ran to two men comparing penis size as they surreptitiously eyed each other‘s boat.  And then GOLDEN GIRL pulled up to the dock dwarfing both of their boats.  Serious penis envy must have ensued on their parts because they both stopped talking and disappeared below decks not to be seen again. A valuable life lesson... there is ALWAYS  someone smarter, richer, better looking than you.  Damn.... I really, REALLY hate that lesson!