Awoke, yesterday, to weather that was trying to be a late spring day yet failed miserably. A cold wind from the east brought with it single digit temperatures that was more early spring chilly, when near or on the water. There were wind gusts in the high 30's and low 40'skms/hr.. Rowing to shore brought with it the knowledge that there would be strong wind gusts to fight on the return passage.
Yet a trip to town was required to get to the bottom of my med delivery at the local post office. The postal staff seemed at a loss to locate the package without its tracking number.
After my Daughter's insistence, yesterday, that no tracking number had been sent to her email (the email was never even requested) and no receipt given, it seemed time to try to contact the postal station in the Shopper's Drug Mart in Halifax from where the package had been sent.
It seemed ironic that the postal union was poised to go on strike by week's end coupled with the mess a non-union employee at Shopper's Drug Mart had done to my delivery. We truly get what we pay for it seems.
Trying to get through to the postal station at the Shopper's Drug Mart was a test of my patience. After a number of non-answered calls another route through customer service was attempted via the telephone menu system. Customer Service was able to transfer my call successfully.
They keep a detailed log of such registered packages yet they needed details like the day and time the package was sent and the form of payment used to be able to find it in the database to ascertain its tracking number. The answers to all the clerk's questions were unknown to me. It was time to get back in touch with my Daughter.
My call woke her up. She and my Son-In-Common-Law had slipped back into the night shift after their time spent with me on Makina. She said she would set her alarm for another hour of snoozing and then head to Shopper's and try to get the tracking number.
With an hour or more to kill it seemed like a good time to take a walk to the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission outlet, which now has a cannabis section, to re-supply. The further away from the harbour the more springlike the day became. The plants spoke of nature's awakening.
An auto parts business was passed on route. The opportunity was taken to check if they had 40amp fuses for my recharger. Two under rated 30amp fuses were filling in at the moment. They had them in stock, so a package was purchased.
Back on the harbour a visit to the Laughing Whale Cafe seemed in order to recharge my phone and get a hit of their fine Java. At 16:00 it seemed like a good time to check in again with my Daughter. She had indeed slept through her alarm, yet the trooper that she is she jumped up and headed up to Shopper's.
At 16:30 she called back with the tracking number!
This was still under the wire for the local post office as they close at 17:00. With the tracking number they were able to locate the package as still in Halifax. It should arrive the following day provided the postal strike did not commence!
The time had come to attempt the return passage to Makina. The wind's gusts slowed me down and taxed my strength yet she was finally reached and the diesel heater refueled so as to sit this wind out in comfort.
A listing of my sailing posts:
@novacadian/categories-of-novacadian-s-sailing-seasons
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