Spring Break

 

We have seen and done SOOOO much since my last post. 
If you follow us on Facebook, you will have seen a picture version of our adventures. 

After Red Rock we set up shop in an RV park in Bakersfield, California.  Not our normal M.O. I know.  But we were there for two reasons; take care of some business, and meet up with our friends Shabumi. 
 
We met them in 2013 in Marathon and instantly clicked. On their way up the intercoastal last April on their boat (Shabumi) they stopped in St. Augustine and we showed them the nation's oldest city.  A great time was had by all.  So, when we knew we were headed out west we contacted them and made plans for Spring Break.  I am so glad we did!

We had an action packed week criss-crossing the central part of California.

The first stop was Morro Bay.  And it was the first time we had seen the coast since visiting Hub's mom back in Texas.  
The Cali coast did not disappoint.  From driving through vineyards, stopping at the James Dean Memorial, coastal fog, to scoring the last campsite at the State Park, the drive getting there proved to be an amazing experience.  

Once we set up camp we visited Morro Rock and beach.  We were greeted with insane inlet breaks, fog horns (not as common on the East Coast), playful sea otters, and sand dollars everywhere.  
It's incredible how different the west is from the east.  But for this sea-loving family it felt so good to breathe in the briny air.   
 

We woke up early the second day and, after a scrumptious breakfast prepared by Chef Hubs, we all hopped into the Shabumi van and traveled north on 1.  We stopped at Moon Rock Bay, San Simeon State Park, an elephant seal area, had a picnic on a random beach (which was amazing) and finally hit up Morro Park on the way back.  Afternoon cocktails were had, then dinner out~ finished by stories by the fire. 





 
 

And... we were just getting started!

The second leg of this trip took us to the Sequoia National Forest.  But not before we stopped for a wine tasting in one of the many vineyards in Paso Robles.  We saw lots of happy cows along the way... and a few factory farms too.  We drove through orange groves while admiring the mountains waiting for us in the distance. 
And true to traveling with Shabumi we landed a nice campsite at the foot of the mountains next to a river.  It was warm and breezy.  The kids LOVED it.  There were wide open fields to run and play while the grown-ups enjoyed a little more wine, this time with cheese.  
After our repast, the kids (and dads) went to the river to swim.  The moms enjoyed the quiet :).  
Another early morning led to a breathtaking day.  We piled into the van and went up into the park proper (something we could not have done in the RV).  And wow.   Just wow.  





There were moments when Coco would just stop.  My girl who is ALWAYS moving and SO noisy was stunned.  It was such a beautiful thing to see her overcome in that way.  I was.  Hubs was.  But she really got it.  All of it.  She let the whole experience wash over her.  It's one of those memories that I will always hold in my heart.  It was also one that I only took a mental picture of.  I've learned on this trip that not everything can or should be documented.  It needs to be felt.  She felt it and it's now part of her soul and it's going to be with her forever and I am so grateful that we got to share the experience.  
 
 
The last stop on the itinerary was Yosemite National Forest.   It was a CRAZY drive with so many twists and turns that I was sure Hubs was going to stroke out.  But he handled it like a champ... like always.  We didn't have a campsite (because there weren't any available) but Shabumi rolled the dice and won.  Someone didn't show up for their reservation.  Score.  I will say we never would have rolled those particular dice.  It's not the way we travel.  But, I have to say we probably should in the future.  I talk about being open to possibilities... well they get it in a way we don't.  So taking it in as a lesson~ trust the universe even if you can't schedule it.

Yosemite was everything that you think it would be.  It was grand and spectacular.  There is no way you can truly experience it's majesty in only a couple of days.  But a couple of days was all we had.  

It did remind me a lot of the Grand Canyon in that there were SO MANY PEOPLE!  I had no idea. Getting up early helps.  You have the trails all to yourself. Or, if you go off the most popular trails (like Hubs and Shabumi Hubs did later in the day). 

The Money Question

Someone (so many people) asked, "How can you guys afford to do what you are doing?"  

The answer I want to give is, "How can we not?" I mean this is LIFE.  I don't want to spend the time I have here on this planet slaving away and missing out.  I want to see things, do things, explore, find and create.   But I know that's not what he/she/soooo many people mean.  So I keep that to myself.  The real question (and the number one inquiry) always comes down to the money.  

Well, if you know us personally you know that we are absolutely not rolling in the dough.  I broke it down a little in the Crew page on the blog... but for those who want a little bit more this post is for you.  

We were just like so many other people out there 10ish years ago.  We had stuff.  New stuff, big stuff, little stuff... we had ALL THE STUFF.  
Then we had a baby.  And we realized that we didn't really need all the stuff, or the bills that go with that stuff.  What we wanted and needed was to give our girl (and ourselves) something MORE.  Something bigger and better and unique to us as a family. 
Unfortunately,  we had already dug ourselves a pretty impressive hole.  So, we dug our selves out.  Day by day.  Inch by inch.  Penny by penny.  

About 2 months after Coco was born we started plotting and scheming our way to a life afloat (She's 8 now).  We had pictures on the fridge of the places we would go.  We scoured the net for the right boat for when the time was right.  We worked.  We worked so much and never saw each other.  We stopped buying 'things' and started paying off the things we already had.  We cooked at home instead of going out to dinner.  We cancelled the cable.  We used the library.  We skipped the mall and learned to love the thrift store.  We politely declined the invite to the movie.  We invited people over for coffee instead of meeting them at the coffee shop.  We kept track of every single dime we spent.  EVERY SINGLE DIME.  

We still enjoyed the things that mattered to us.  Amazing food (thank goodness Hubs is a chef), walks on the beach everyday with Coco (pays to buy before the market takes off), and living in St. Augustine we never were lacking for entertainment.  We just learned how to find it.  We didn't go without the things we wanted.  We just took our time and made educated decisions when buying them (no more impulse buying).  

It wasn't easy.  It was so challenging and frustrating sometimes.   But I don't remember the $5  coffee I didn't get~ ever, or the new shirt I didn't buy.  I do feel grateful that our house is paid off and we saved enough that we~ CAN.JUST.GO.  And there is zero guilt.  

Are we living the high-life now?  No.  We still live on a super tight budget.  And yes going back to work is on the horizon.  Are we living?  Hell yes!  Every single day is open to what we want to do instead of what we have to do.  

I remember a few years back a customer (I was tending bar at the time) said that it was all great and good now to have my toes in the sand and live a bohemian life.  I bit my tongue because that's what you do, but if I could have really responded I would have said SCREW YOU!  Life is too short and magnificent to not have your toes in the sand or your head in the clouds.  And you can absolutely be responsible and respectable without sacrificing that.  It sucks that the norm is to put your head down and follow the crowd and that is what makes you normal. 

So the money thing.  It's money.  We need it to buy food and shelter.  So we sold our 'stuff' and saved the money we did make for years and years.  We live super simply with the big picture in mind every day.  After making some stupid decisions for years, we started making smart ones.  We caught up.  We managed and now we coast.  For a little longer.  
 

The Dream

There has been progress.  Lots of progress.  Things are looking different.  We have had a few, “This is as bad as it is going to look”, and ‘it gets worse before it’s better’.  But, truly, there is positive change.

The windows are in.  Most of them.  That was huge, because there was water flowing into the boat… and that, obviously is not good.  Floors are going down, cabinetry up.  All good stuff. Although, Hubs came home the other day and offered me good news and bad news… Bad news~ ripped out the galley, good news~ I get to pick out the new counter top.

Finally, I think we have found a rhythm to the work-on-the-future versus live-in-the-now conundrum.  We have evaluated our parts in the big picture of this scheme we have plotted.  I think (with hope mixed in there) that we are each comfortable with our place in the project.
Having a schedule has helped.  It’s funny because we really do have every day scheduled for the month.  It makes it a lot easier though, less frustrating.  A whole lot of communication upfront to avoid disappointment later.

I am still waiting to put my mark on the journey. Hubs is still waiting for me to put my mark on it as well. I know it will happen.  I know it’s not yet.  I mean, I’m here.  I’m committed to it.  I’m all in…. with a great big smile on my face.  It’s just not really part of me yet.    I need to get comfortable with it. Not the possibility of it. I need the everyday life part. I am still very rooted in the now, because I have to be.  I think that is the part I need to play now for our family, to make it work. To make the right now part of our life work.  We have a 5-year-old, a house, and the rooted on land life… for right now.
The dream is very much alive in me though.  Now, if I could convince my husband :)

And, Away We Go

The Hubs and I said to life, "Hey, we are going to take you on.  We ARE going to have adventure.  So get ready..here, we cooo."  Life interrupted, "Tsk, tsk.  You mustn't forget your responsibilities."

Oh right.  Responsibilities.  I needn't bore you with all the lame details.  Needless to say, finances were assessed, work was found, and the business of planning our future was gotten down to.  And, yep we had a newborn too.  But that's the joy!  So, we found that joy by playing pass the baby and savoring the time we  had~ when we had it, and hunkered down for the five-year-plan of five-year-plans.

I don't remember, if before we chose this destiny of ours, if I was a planner or a schedule keeper.  Now I am.  There is absolutely NO WAY to do what we were planning on doing without a schedule.  Multiple ones in fact.

There is the family schedule, the work schedule, the financial schedule.  I was a slave of the calender.  No complaints though.  I mean, we had a lot on our plate, but we also had an awesome baby.  A baby that didn't really sleep that much.  So, we would have been on lock down anyway.  At least we were paying some bills, RIGHT!