I knew the “P” word would get a reaction.  We have an appointment next Saturday to see a 30 foot and a 36 foot boat and we will probably look at a 38.  What the heck I’m sure it is out of our price range but we are there so might as well.  The forums suggest getting on as many boats as possible.  We haven’t broken all of this news to our 2-year-old Sheltie,  Oakley.  Having her cruise with us will bring new meaning to the phrase ‘poop deck’.  I think our 19-year-old son is excited.  He probably doesn’t think we are actually going to do it!

So the money is in the bank and I got Gary the book, Chapman Piloting and Seamanship for his birthday.  He should have read all 928 pages by now 🙂

So when are we going to start shopping for a boat and learning how to sail it I ask him.

Still waiting for an answer………..

I have been reading a lot of posts on the Cruisers Forum discussing why people chose to live aboard and cruise.  Many are escaping the issues facing us all in the US; the economy, too much government interference is common and crime.  I’m not sure Gary and I are doing this for any of those reasons, but last night we were sorely tested.  Our son had his truck broken into while he was at work.  It was parked in a well lighted grocery store parking lot.  They smashed his window, used a crow bar to totally destroy his dash-board to get his stereo out causing thousands of dollars in damage.  They took his backpack which thankfully had only a bathing suit and socks. Yes insurance will cover it but what a senseless act to a kid working to help pay for college.  But it is a lesson learned and there will be an alarm on the truck very soon.  Which brings up another topic of what insurance to get on the boat.  But I’ll save that fun discussion for another time.

The beginning of our story is probably a lot like others.  We married some 30 years ago and learned to sail on a Force Five 14 foot sailboat.  We carried our dream of owning a sailboat through the years raising our son. We traveled a lot and spent some time on the water but never pursued our dream. Then last July, my employer of over 28 years decided to lay me off.  Needless to say it was one of those life changing moments and we began to rethink our plans.   With our son going off to college, Gary and I have started our quest to buy a sailboat, learn to sail a boat much bigger then 14 feet and hopefully eventually move aboard and start cruising. We both agreed on the name, surely finding a boat will be much easier 🙂 

Everyone keeps telling me that things happen for a reason.  Perhaps that is true.