Okay, it’s been a long time since I had enough bandwidth to upload photos. Now I have this Telcel data plan and I’m going to put it through it’s paces. So here it is folks, all of the pictures from San Diego through Puerto Los Cabos… after the break Sorry for all of the duplicate subject matter. I got a little lazy towards the end.
They say no man is an island and as we embark on this adventure—replete with our water maker, mini solar farm, new high tech rigging, etc—I feel it is appropriate to acknowledge and give thanks to all the people who helped us get here. As a knowledge worker, my ability to fund this trip came from an excellent education. The formal education I received was one of the best in the world, but my parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents all contributed to developing my intense curiosity, troubleshooting skills, and general competencies. Without these skills, and the reassurance that I could do anything that I set my mind to, I would never have been able to contemplate such an outrageous undertaking. ...
This photo roundup covers the going away party and a few other highlights. Enjoy
Vick and the kids are heading to New England this weekend to start saying goodbye to all of our East Coast friends and family. I’ll follow a week later and spend a week and a half there before we all return to Convivia to start the 3 week countdown to casting off. At this point I’m suspended in this twilight zone between the elation that this new life brings, and the stress of leaving behind so much that we’ve built (in our communities, in our relationships, and at work) and the stress of what we still must do to get off the dock. ...
I’ve found, time and again, that no plan is the best plan. This weekend was a perfect proof of that theory. On Friday night we still didn’t know where we were going. Would we go back to our old tried and true anchorage (Horseshoe Cove) or brave the sail-in-sail-out anchorage at Aquatic Park? Would we prioritize getting a good view of the fireworks, shoreside activities, or visiting with friends? As it turns out, we managed all three. ...
This weekend we attended our last NBOG event. NBOG or Nature Based Ongoing Group, is a small community of home-schoolers and their families who strive to teach their children awareness and respect for the interdependence and interconnection of all life. In addition to being a wonderful community for Ruby NBOG has provided us with an amazing group of likeminded parents. Saying goodbye was much harder than any of us expected. ...
Today we helped cast off the bow lines of Britannia, Amanda and Krister’s Canadian Seacraft 36. They have begun their two year trip around the Pacific. On November 22 I wrote this, “Last night we had a great time laughing and comparing notes with Amanda and Krister from s/v Britannia. We’re making it a habit of meeting and befriending people that are about to sail to Mexico though. I’ll have to spend some time thinking about friendship among people on the move.” Little did I know then how much fun we were getting into. We snuck our friends though our forward companionway many many times after the kids were all snug in their berths for the night. We’ve shared margaritas, bottles of wine, cups of coffee and lots of long talks, laughter, and smiles so big that our cheeks hurt. ...
2010 was an amazing year. Among the many significant milestones were our first family cruise, the purchase of our dreamboat, the jettisoning of most of our worldly possessions to move on to said dreamboat, lost teeth, first bike rides and first ocean passage. Our transition to boat life, despite it’s smells, minimalism, and tight quarters has created a stronger, happier, more cooperative family than we had on land. 2010 looked like a very hard act to follow. ...
Our family doesn’t have a strong Christmas tradition. A couple of years ago we celebrated Christmas and a birthday with friends. Last year we opened presents, ate breakfast, and jumped into the car for a big drive to Los Angeles for a week long sailing trip. This year we stayed home on our boat and enjoyed spending time with friends and neighbors in our marina. We decorated Convivia with Waldorf paper stars, white lights, and ornaments on the inside; bought, decorated, and redecorated a tiny tree that fit nicely in the middle of the table; cut dozens of paper snowflakes; lit a peppermint scented candle; and enjoyed the company of our friends in the days leading up to Christmas. ...
Say hello to a stranger on the street. If they look interesting and willing to chat walk with them up the block. Tucker met Andrea in Vermont many years ago this way and we had such a great time with her. Make friends with a friend of a friend. You see someone at a friend’s party and then the next one and so on. At some point, have dinner with the friend of the friend and see what happens. ...
Last week was hard. I’m not sure what aspect of the work/life package was hardest, but it wasn’t just me. The whole family was under strain. By Friday I knew we needed a reset. “We’re going sailing tomorrow,” I told Vick as we were cleaning up from dinner. Saturday morning, we all woke up early and got moving. I’m glad we didn’t set the timer because the clean-up may have taken more than one hour. Still by 11ish we were ready to get under way. I was fiddling with something on deck when our friend and fellow cruiser Carl stopped by. “You guys going out today?” she asked. “Yup, probably out to the Gate and back, it looks like a great day for it, want to come along?” “No thanks, we’re going out too. After I pick Christina up, we’re going to drop anchor at Clipper Cove, do you want to go too?” At this point I’m thinking, “Victoria would never go for this.” but when she popped her head out and asked what we were talking about I implored Carl to talk her into it. I was relieved when I noticed the signs of her wheels turning as she figured out what we would need to do to get ready. “I guess we’ll need ice,” she finally said. ...
There has been a rash of theft in our marina lately. It started with a bunch of fishing gear getting stolen off of some power boats, but this Saturday I found my bike had been stolen. This kind of thing can really make you question the quality of the average person… until you come back from your errands to find an annoymous gift in your cockpit. We think one of our friends down the dock left the toy castle for the kids. They had a ball playing with it but agreed that it wouldn’t fit in our boat. The next morning Ruby and Olive raced down the dock to return it and were perfectly delighted to put it back aboard Gemini. ...
Yesterday we woke up before 5am for the 14th consecutive day. Our parenting style dictates that we just roll with this, as unnatural and seemingly untenable as it is. Vick and I believe that its our responsibility to call it a night so that we can rise with the kids (see my earlier article for more on this). So we’ve been dutifully rising and shining at 4-5am and using lattes to get us through the week. ...
I’m a crunchy, touchy feelie, hippie parent. As such its often hard to come up with just the right words to tell your kid that biting her mom and laughing about it makes you wildly, furiously, and deeply unhappy. As a hippie, touchy feelie, AP, parent you are not, for example supposed to say “Do that again and you’re out of the family.” Nor is it encouraged to shout “Are you insane?” It’s just not the thing. Conversely the suggested mantras “Biting is not okay” and “We don’t bite sweetie,” just don’t really satisfy the deep, furious, wild feelings that are floating around the house at such moments. ...