Back in Florence April 14

Since my last post we have closed on the 48 acres of land  in Florence Alabama and are beginning the arduous task of pulling up roots in Texas and moving to Alabama. We are trying to sell off some of our holding in Texas and get rid of things that we don’t really want to move. .

 I am back in Florence Alabama which is by all considerations our new home. I drove up last week by myself while Carol is still in League City taking care of loose ends and getting ready to join me. I drove up with the small trailer in tow carrying our John Deere 6 wheel “Gator” all-terrain vehicle with an upside down canoe on top and all sorts of stuff hanging off the sides. I must have looked like the Beverly Hillbillies moving to Alabama. It was a long days drive through Lousiana and Mississippi by myself and as much as I complain about Carol’s telling me how to drive I would have probably have been here several hours sooner if she had been along as would not have gotten lost near as many times as I did.  I was real glad to see Annie floating in Florence Harbor when I arrived.

The first day here was Friday and I decided iI was going to go see our new land via the water in our inflatable dinghy. . Our property has about 1/4 mile of frontage on Cypress Creek which empties into the Tennessee River about 1/2 mile down-stream from Florence Harbor Marina. I got out on the River and it was really windy  but made it up to the Creek although the dinghy was pounding as I  motored into the wind. I made it to the Creek and the first two miles going up the creek  was absolutely beautiful with high limestone bluffs and hardwoods overhanging the creek. The water is clear and cold and it was really pretty swift. I could only go so far, however, as the prop was hitting rocks on the bottom so I turned around and headed back to the river and the marina. When I got back to the boat I changed clothes as I got  little wet on the river. As changed clothes I couldn’t find my wallet. I decided that i must have left it in the truck or maybe it had fallen out in the bedroom. I looked and looked and found  nothing. I tore the truck and boat apart looking for it. Checked the dirty clothes bag, the washing machine and nothing turned up. I  looked in the dinghy…underneath the cushions, under the gas tank, behind the cooler…no wallet. I had to face the inevitable fact that it was gone, overboard most likely at the bottom of the Tennessee River or ten miles downstream never again to be seen. . Fortunately I don’t carry and money in it but it had all of my credit cards, American Express, Master card VISA,  medical liscense, health care card and most important my drivers liscense. So today I am up off to the local courthouse to see about getting an Alabama driver’s liscense as I will ultimately have to get one. After waiting for  half an hour at the local courthouse I find that because I am from out of state  they cannot help me. I have to go to the State Troupers Headquarters across the River in Muscle Shoals . So off I go to find the State Troupers headquarters. After and hour and a half wait (like take a number) they were very nice but in a very nice way told me that I looked like a terrorist  they could issue me a temporary liscense only if I had my birth certificate, my social security card and a passport picture ID. I didn’t need all that stuff to get into medical school and probably couldn’t come up with that stuff if I was back home ! So after wasting most of the mornings in lines I decided that is was going to be easier to try to get something done back in  Texas. So I call Carol back in Texas  and being the wonderful wife that she is,  it’s her turn to go to the Texas Department of Public Safety and stand in line which she did, and after harvesting all of the necessary forms and gathering pictures, documents, passports,etc etc overnight mailed me the package that would be required to make me legal to drive again. This process required most of the day for both of us, me in Alabama and Carol in Houston. Now here is the kicker….about 4 PM my cell phone rings and its the Florence Police Department. They asked me if I had lost something!!!! Get this! Some fisherman had found my wallet floating in the Tennessee River about 10 miles down stream 24 hours after I lost it and had turned it in with everything in it.  What are the chances of that happening ??? …..a gazillion to one. Anyway we had gone through the process of cancelling all the old cards getting new ownes issued but the best thing was that I have my drivers liscense.

Meanwhile I am back at the property which we have nicknamed Rancho Bebo North. I have been walking all 48 acres of it trying to figure out how to get a road cut in so we can start clearing the site for the house and shop/barn. Tomorrow I meet with the engineer/ surveyor to review the topographical maps and will get some ideas on the best way to get a road in there. I have already met with the land clearing people that will actually put the road in and they are ready to move as soon as I tell them where. Hopefully we can begin this week. The land is pretty heavily covered with old growth trees and its difficult to get a perspective from any one vantage point as its difficult to see more than a hundred feet or so in any one direction because of heavy vegetation which will only become more pronounced as the weather warms up and the foliage increases.

There’s not a lot for me to do on the land right now  until we get the road in and the house site cleared. . I need to get things rolling and then will spend most of my time on the boat catching up with varnish and boat maintenance. Annie has been outside since September and and is in need or a lot of varnish work. While she looks pretty good still, if the varnish starts breaking down it will be a monumental task to repair so I have to give the entire boat two or three coats of fresh varnish. I am getting the boat ready to continue the voyage up the Ohio River which is still receeding from flood stage. Not sure how long that will take…maybe a month or so of dry weatehr and then we can take off again but will be within a half days drive of Florence so I can monitor the building project.

Carol is heading up here next week and will say for 10 days or so and help with the boat work and varnish. When she goes home  I will probably return to League City and bring the  CAT  track loader up here and continue with the land clearing till it’s time to take off in Annie. When thqt happens depends on the current in the Ohio River and upstream from the Tennessee River.

Ron Beberniss aboard Annie

Florence Alabama