A is for...

Well, it happened again. I knew it would, it does every time we meet non-American cruisers: that "I Am So Out of My League" feeling. The embarrassment began the minute we introduced ourselves--in English as we always do, as we must because it's our only language, but the second, third, or fourth language for whomever we are meeting. Linguistic survivor's guilt, I call it. Directly after introductions, there is the de rigeur ice-breaker, the corollary of "So, what do you do?"  For sailors and world travelers it's, "So, where are you coming from?" This invariably elicits an enviable enumeration of countries that either makes perfect geographical sense or otherwise begs questions with ultimately intriguing answers--if, that is, one knows where in the world anything is to begin with.

Road Trip!

We're on our way to Annapolis for a two-day charter on a 38' Lagoon that just happens to be for sale. What joy!

It is Commissioning Week at USNA - bizarre that this bit of my ancient history is popping up on our way to the imminent future. Twenty-four years - to the day - after I sat with my family in the grass on Hospital Point, watching the Blue Angels air show, we will sit on a catamaran, out in Severn Bay, Ean and I, and watch another air show.

Rich the broker will be our captain. We will sleep on the boat on Monday night, and then he'll join us and we'll be out and about for Tuesday and Wednesday. We'll stay on the boat (docked) on Wednesday night, and on Thursday, regrettably, we return to the Midwest. Instead of going straight home we'll drive directly to Madison, where we're signed up for a three-day Hoofers sailing course that will lead to ASA 101 certification.

We're thrilled to be taking such concrete, positive steps towards the Boat Trip - but all these sailing-related plans and activities remind us that we have A LOT to do before we can "cast off." (The nautical metaphors are really hard to avoid, we find.). Preparing our house for sale and getting my prelims and proposal done are tops on the list.

But let's not worry about that just now. Now, we will enjoy our road tripping and our sailing.

The Future is Here, and It Waits

I am in the Bahamas for a few days, helping my mom out with some lawyering and other chores.  I am reminded that HERE is a good place to be.  While Ean is back in MKE, where gray is a primary color and temperatures are in the 50s, it is sunny and 80-something here, sky blue and sea teal.  I have taken some pictures of our future (temporary) home: also affectionately referred to as "mom's backyard." 

The middle piling must go.

Looking down on "our" dock from the house.

Strictly Sail Chicago

I'm sitting in a weather seminar, speaker is Lee Chesneau. He is making me feel d-u-m. Ean is in the diesel maintenance session. Hope he's having more fun than me. We went to George Day's ten things they didn't tell me about cruising. Good stuff. He and his family circumnavigated in late 80s - similar route as Andante, some of the same ports. It feels like I FIT here.

We toured a Hunter 50 - big and beautiful, with a jacuzzi under the master berth, for pete's sake. And, they say, a walk in closet - but really it's more like "edge in sideways" closet. As Ean commented, if you want to walk in, you better not put any clothes in there. But who are we to talk. Boatless dirt dwellers. Wish there were catamarans here.

We're having trouble with PATIENCE. But as I continue to do my executor duties, the money is becoming more real. And as the money becomes more real, so does the boat. Spending the inheritance on a big fat cat. Pretty crazy. But better than a big house, better than a bunch of stuff, better than traveling on airplanes and staying in luxury hotels, better than keeping it invested in the stock market for "a rainy day." So by process of elimination....

But my dad left me something more important than the money. He left me with the idea that we can do this, because he did it. He picked up and changed his life and had a grand adventure. He left me with the impression that The Boat Trip was the most important thing that he ever accomplished - a guy who started and ran a successful business, built launch pads and airports and all manner of buildings that still stand, made lots of money... He considered our time on Andante as the best time of his life.

WE CAN DO THIS. Lucky lucky us. And as we just heard from George Day - it's better to be lucky than to be smart.