The Worst Drive EVER

We said good-bye to our friends Shabumi and proceeded to white knuckle our way out of Yosemite.  It was the worst drive ever for Hubs.  Twisting, turning, up and down to get out of the Sierra Nevadas. The scenery was incredable, not that we could appreciate it because it was also so treacherous.  RV remember.  
After smoking breaks and one lane bridges we found a sweet spot outside of Sonora on lake to stop for the night~ Tuttletown Recreation Area.  Still dry camping.  But found the sun again after being in the mountains. And there was not a single person around. It was a nice treat after so many people in Yosemite. 
Coco and Hubs scavenged for rocks (we have so many rocks from so many places) and found sticker burrs like tacks.  We are still picking them out of our shoes weeks later. 

Tis the Season

I'm always pretty introspective  this time of year. It's the holiday season. Coco's birthday kicks it off.  Hubs and I remember  our first  date. My birthday falls a couple of days before the finale. We finish everything off with the new year. 

So between the regular festivities, there is the celebrations of us. Our family. 

That's what this blog has been about. Our family. 

It started out as my take on the boat life. But now it's just our life. Very cliche. But also very real. 

We aren't  living the boat life now. We are just living. We are finding our way. Struggling, surviving our choices, looking ahead to what is next, grateful for the opportunity that hard work has allowed us, and putting what we have out into the universe hoping that we get it right, that we get an experience worth remembering and holding on to. 

I put it all (well most) of it out there because that's who I am. I share. I learn from it.  I could keep it close and not put it out in cyberspace, but, for me, there is an accountability and responsibility to the reality of adventure I want to participate in. 

This world of blogs, and social media is connecting if we let it be. It's is also cruel. People can hide behind anonymity and be hurtful for spite or jealousy. They can project their insecurities. 

The trick is to not get lost in what other people say~ be it to your face or behind an anonymous screen name. 

So, this year, I'm going to look back on how I/we got here. How my family went from boat life to just life and how amazing that we have the choice to do that. I'm going to recognize the compromises we make to live a life that is full,  but challenging, and completely ours. 

Stuff

While we sort through our stuff in a house we have lived in for 12 years I am so glad Hubs and I are pretty minimalist.  Not that we don't have a ton of things (some we need, some we don't), but we both like to keep it simple. 

After living aboard Airabess we realized that even we have too many things.  Things that we really don't need to have a full, amazing life. 

In an effort to get the heck out of here and get back to our boat we are trying to process all of our possessions.  There are a few items that are super sentimental and I am fortunate to have an amazing friend who is going to hold on to those items for me.  Everything else has got to go.  

If we don't use it it's outta here.  

As I've stated before here, this process is overwhelming.  Clothes, and furniture, and knick knacks, tools, and books... 

Even Coco is on this bandwagon.  And she is 7.  Most children are pack rats.  They want to keep everything.  EVERYTHING.  But, she has surprised me as of late.  The week we came home she, of her volition, went through her room and started a give-away pile, and a sell pile.  She still isn't too keen on tossing anything (and some of the things she wants to sell... well they aren't really sell-able), but she is motivated.  She is as ready as we are to get back to our boat.  She wants to go home.  

Home.  It has changed for this crew.  I love our beach cottage. Over the last 12 years, Hubs and I (mostly Hubs) have ripped out every wall, cabinet, and counter top... even the floors came up and were replaced.  It's ours, part of us.  I never thought I would so willingly let someone else take up residence.  That was before our Shakedown. 

That was before I realized home, for this family, isn't our house.  It's us and it always has been.  I/we just needed to remind our selves of that.  We are not completed by the things that we own, but the experiences we have.

The Shakedown

The Next Step

I haven't posted in awhile because we have been readjusting to being on land.  And I'm sad and overwhelmed by it all.  

A sad sight.  But it is temporary.

I am so very grateful to have a home to return too and wonderful friends to welcome us back.  But,  the novelty of a big bed, reliable WiFi, and unlimited water... it's kind of worn off.

We left Airabess patiently waiting for us in the Keys.  And when we return we have a ton of projects to do.   Some before we get her wet, but most we can do while aboard.  I never thought I would be so excited to work on her. 

Unfortunately, we have sooo much to do here at home.  We have decided to go big for our next adventure.  To do that we need to rent our house.  To rent out our house we need to sell most of our belongings and get our little beach cottage ready. It's going to take some time. It takes time to make time... wait that's money.. anyway.  We are busy, busy, busy... again.  

Hubs is in crazy work mode (we hardly see him anymore).  Coco and I are wrapping up this school year.  I am working with the nonprofit I started last year, Earth's Lifeline Global Warriors,  teaching eco-classes around our little town, along with the odd job here and there.  And, because I really don't have much to do, I am working on getting my yoga teacher training certification.  

We have our lists again.  The working ones, the planning ones, the things to go, to sell~ you get the idea. 

All of this and a summer to do it in.  

I'm not complaining though.  I am so very fortunate to have this challenge and the reward waiting at the finish line is even sweeter.  


If you are interested in Earth's Lifeline Global Warriors, Inc.~ what we do and how we do it~ click the link.  It is something I am very passionate about.  I plan on working on expanding it as we travel.  Let me know what you think.

www.earthslifelineglobalwarriors.org

It's quiet... So I'm contemplative.

The things I crave are changing. 

Before, sitting on a  tin covered porch during the rain would have been my desire.  Now... Well, now a good book in the cockpit after dark is home.  It is comfort. It is what drives me. 

As I have gotten older,  the simple life has come more naturally to me.

 Once I shed the bonds of expectation (or realized that I could)~ the truth of who I am came out. 

I live for sunsets. 

I love good red wine. 

I don't see the necessity of struggle just for the sake of 'measuring up'. 

I want more than that. But less. 

I want time with my little family in beautiful places with excellent food.  And I want it while the water laps against the hulls. 

I don't want the constraints of 'stuff'. Rather,  I yearn for experience and culture and a different view. 

Some of these desires translate easily to shore. But there is just something different about living them afloat. The elements effect you more acutely. You are more vulnerable, but also more alive and aware. 

Everything is intensified~ the joys and the sorrows,  the mellow and the drama. I, after only a few months, will take the extreme highs and lows of emotion this life lends over a "comfortable" existence on land. 

I wouldn't mind (a little) bigger boat though...