December 18, 2007
We're continuing to downsize and get things packed up for either storage, Goodwill, or to take to the boat. This is very emotional for me. Not so for Frank. If it was up to him we'd get rid of everything and start over in the future anew. Is that a Man Rule?
I didn't even do Christmas cards this year. I've quit all of my volunteer jobs, gotten off of every board I've been serving on and still feel my plate is full. We're now planning our last week in the Denver area; trying to orchestrate the timing of tying up all loose ends so we can leave Colorado by 1/31/08. It looks like we will fly straight to Houston, take care of yacht club and residence business, celebrate my Mom's birthday, see my daughter and our grandson, then drive to Dallas. We'll spend a couple of days there with my Sis and her family, then fly back to Denver to pick up the Tahoe (which will be loaded with our personal effects to take to the boat), then drive to Ensenada on Feb. 7th. We plan to sail up to San Diego, leave the boat at the IPY dealership there for upgrades, then go back to Ensenada for the Tahoe. We and Destiny will stay in San Diego while the workers work around us. We'll get provisioned and organized, try to fly to VA to see Ma, Tom and Mary some time during February, then be ready to head out (hopefully) by March 1. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Don't you wish you were us?
December 14, 2007
Frank and I spent time with our web designer, Erik. Now we know more about updating and managing our website, but also feel that we may not know enough to keep us out of trouble - yikes!!!!
November 26, 2007
We're back from our trip to Ensenada, and I realized I owe some more answers to peoples' questions... On what will we do for food, water, etc. We have an onboard reverse osmosis water maker. Our system converts sea water to very tasty, consumable drinking, bathing, etc, water (we secretly think this is where some bottled waters probably really come from). Destiny's water tank capacity is 300 gallons and can be replenished as needed. However, the majority of our life will be spent in fairly civilized localities, so we will go shopping for our grocery and other supplies. I think some folks think we will be living in the middle of the ocean! We will be able to stay in touch via email and our web site, conducting most personal transactions online. We will carry a satellite phone but won't use that as our primary mode of communication. We'll also be able to make phone calls via the Ham radio, and a service called "Skype". My sister and Brother-in-law in Texas have been kind enough to allow us the use of their home address for "snail mail" and bulk items. Well, that should do it for now on the Q & A front. Stay tuned ...
November 21, 2007
It is the day before Thanksgiving and we are on our way to Ensenada. This is our last trip down together before Frank’s retirement. We’re pretty excited…he has been packed for nearly 3 weeks. So far this has been the easiest Thanksgiving holiday travel we have ever experienced. DIA was not crowded at all and we found no lines – anywhere in the airport. We should arrive in San Diego by 4:30, and hope to arrive at the marina in Ensenada by 8:00 PM. This will be our first Thanksgiving on Destiny. We are going down alone as our family members all had otherwise plans for the holiday. We’ve not seen turkeys in the grocery stores down there so we’ll be happy and give thanks for our many blessings over whatever delectable culinary treasures we are able to muster up. Probably fish tacos.
Well fate was at work as we traveled again. Timing is everything when coming to Ensenada. We landed in San Diego on time; we only waited 10 minutes for our luggage and another 10, for the bus which takes us to the trolley stop. We got off the bus as the trolley was pulling into the station. We rode the trolley to the border – and as always I spent the ride wondering why we are usually the only people with luggage, are among the minority of English speaking passengers, and who look like we actually paid for the ride…things that make you say, “Hmmm”. This time the walk across the border was crowded with folks headed south. Many of them carried garbage bags for luggage, and were in a rush. We arrived at the bus depot as the ABC bus was loading up. Frank and I purchased the last two tickets to ride. We made it to the marina by 8:40. Not bad, not bad at all. When we arrived, Laurie and Brian Anderson who are boat sitting Crazy Notion greeted us and gave us the good news that they had washed Destiny down for us as a homecoming gift, AND that they had bought a turkey and invited us for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Life is good.
11/22/07Happy Thanksgiving!
And Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad! Frank and I got some chores done and headed out for some sailing. He is teaching me things, like what buttons to push to raise and lower sails, and to set the auto-pilot and to change the direction of the boat when we are about to run over things like big fishing buoys. I also pushed the button to make water, and flipped switches to turn on the generator and switch from shore power. It was fun. It was cool out, then came the sun and it got hot out, then the clouds came out and I had to put on my jacket again. After making sandwiches for lunch I was so worn out I had to take a nap.
We spent a very nice Thanksgiving dinner with Laurie and Brian. They cracked us up telling us how they went shopping with a measuring tape and got strange looks from other shoppers as they measured turkeys in order to find one that would fit into the yacht's oven. I felt badly that I had nothing to contribute because we had not yet been to the grocery store. So I took over some packets of cherry flavored instant green tea for a beverage and a bag of Hershey’s (new!) Hot Cocoa kisses. The meal was so good, as was the hospitality and warmth of our neighbors. We have once again been blessed to meet two more wonderful fellow yachties in Brian and Laurie. We love this life.
November 7, 2007
People ask us questions like, "Do you know how to sail?", "Aren't you scared of being out in the middle of the ocean?", "What do your children and family think about this?", “What will you do for food, water, Coors Light - this to Frank of course (big smile there)?", "How will you get mail, watch TV, stay in touch...", and so on... We get kind of tickled over some of them because, after all, we aren't leaving the planet. So, for my part, I’ll try to answer these questions as they come up, or as thoughts come. If you have questions you’d like to ask us, please send them to us on our web site “Hailing Destiny”, and we will post the questions and answers for all to see.
In answer to the "fear" questions, I suppose we could be as fearful on our boat as we would be flying or driving, skiing or scuba diving. We would be insane if we didn't feel some element of fear; however, we are not embarking on this endeavor unprepared. Anyone who knows Frank knows that he has got every aspect covered, studied, investigated, and referenced. I'm pretty intense as well whenever necessary. We both also have tremendous faith in each other, our intellect, our skills, our training and in God. There will be times that we will wonder what on Earth we were thinking, but I've done that with jobs, friends, hobbies and even a new pair of jeans!
As for skill, Frank is an accomplished sailor and I am learning. I can't think of anything in my life I've done that required that I be completely versed in all aspects and nuances before moving forward. Learning is part of the process, and not knowing everything is probably going to keep us from becoming overconfident and cavalier about the whole thing.
Kids and family...well that is a bag of mixed nuts. Jennifer, my daughter, thinks it is cool that she will now have the means to get away to exotic and beautiful places. Jen loves the water and is a beach bum at heart. She has gotten used to my not being around much since my move to CO from TX, but we have always been close and this will not change that. Karen, Frank's daughter, is thrilled and is very excited for us and for the opportunities for travel for herself as well, in spite of the fact that she suffers terribly from sea sickness; she is an adventurer and ready for anything. Bill, Frank's son, isn't so enamored with this whole idea. I think he thinks we are crazy, but he supports his Dad and we know he'll come around and will definitely come to visit. As for the rest of our family, they all know we are but a plane ride away, and an email away.
I think that’s enough for today, I’ll answer the food, water, and other questions next time. Until then, keep dreaming and so shall we.
October 26, 2007
Shortly after we purchased our boat, we moved her down to Cruiseport Village Marina, in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. We have grown very fond of the other boat owners and of others we’ve met down there. When we got settled in we found that Destiny’s next door neighbor, Crazy Notion, is owned by a couple named Joe and Peggy Shafer who happen to be fellow Colorado neighbors from Aurora. We are constantly amazed at what some folks would call coincidental happenings in our life. Frank and I just smile and say, “Yep, that’s destiny at work again!” Joe and Peggy were a huge part of our official de naming/renaming ceremony over Labor Day weekend, and they have been like guardian angels watching over Destiny for us during our long absences. We feel we have found life-long friends in those two.
We try to get to Ensenada as often as possible to check on the boat and to move things down bit by bit. If all goes well we hope to move her up to San Diego by the second week of February for some outfitting before the official “bon voyage!” Our plan is to head south from San Diego by March 1, 2008.
