Kintala has been sitting in Middle River for a bit longer than two weeks. A span that, in my old life, amounted to a normal vacation. After this summer it feels a like a vacation hard earned. But we are slowly working our way back into the cruising life.
Vacation or no, at the moment I'm feeling a bit lost, struggling while trying to reset my days. There is still boat work to do. There is always boat work to do. But none of it is set against a deadline or threatening to do us in. Some days I don't do any boat projects at all, and it feels like playing hooky. A new part for the Merc showed up two days ago and still remains un-installed! (The old part is zip tied and working fine...does that even sound like me?) We take walks, listen to tunes, swim, work on Spanish, read and write, and watch the sunset blaze across the sky. We mosey over to Starbucks for coffee and Wi-Fi, can catch the $1 bus to the beach. Instead of boat work chewing up every ounce of energy I have to spend in a day, I'm back to doing boat workouts; resistance bands and isometrics in a gently swaying cockpit, breathing ocean air. How sweet is that? A cold front eased through. It is cool enough for sleeping under a light cover and drinking hot coffee in the morning.
How sweet it that!?
Via Facebook and blogs we are watching the herd make its way down the ICW. I have to admit to being glad we are not a part of the parade this fall. It is much better sitting here than it would be facing the Ditch and running from the cold. Our southbound friends should not be jealous though. If even a single hurricane or tropical storm had found its way to southern FL this past summer, it would not have been so good to be here, And we are not out of the woods quite yet. Hopefully our luck will hold just a couple of weeks more. If it does we will be sitting pretty just an easy day sail away from Biscayne Bay. As soon as the season is truly closed we will be heading that way. I'm feeling the need for some water I can see through while setting the hook in a white, sandy bottom. I needs me some time in No Name Harbor and some days spent with all of Kintala's canvas catching wind. Just the idea of spending several weeks sailing around the Bay, a place we know and are comfortable with, has me smiling.
This is the lifestyle we were looking for when we set off to go cruising. Unfortunately I'm still looking over my shoulder, waiting for the next impending disaster to darken the sky. There is no telling how long those shadows will linger. Maybe, given the relentless challenges that have filled this first year, shaking off the feeling that some new threat to our cruising life is lying just over the horizon, will take a long time. Knowing that we have managed each one that has come along so far, from the boat taking on water at Oak Harbor to the tussle that was The Bear, is kind of encouraging. But that knowledge is tempered by our being battered, bruised, and still not sure how much longer we can manage to keep going.
But right now we are living the good life. I plan on milking it for all it is worth for as long at it lasts.
Cheers!
Vacation or no, at the moment I'm feeling a bit lost, struggling while trying to reset my days. There is still boat work to do. There is always boat work to do. But none of it is set against a deadline or threatening to do us in. Some days I don't do any boat projects at all, and it feels like playing hooky. A new part for the Merc showed up two days ago and still remains un-installed! (The old part is zip tied and working fine...does that even sound like me?) We take walks, listen to tunes, swim, work on Spanish, read and write, and watch the sunset blaze across the sky. We mosey over to Starbucks for coffee and Wi-Fi, can catch the $1 bus to the beach. Instead of boat work chewing up every ounce of energy I have to spend in a day, I'm back to doing boat workouts; resistance bands and isometrics in a gently swaying cockpit, breathing ocean air. How sweet is that? A cold front eased through. It is cool enough for sleeping under a light cover and drinking hot coffee in the morning.
How sweet it that!?
Via Facebook and blogs we are watching the herd make its way down the ICW. I have to admit to being glad we are not a part of the parade this fall. It is much better sitting here than it would be facing the Ditch and running from the cold. Our southbound friends should not be jealous though. If even a single hurricane or tropical storm had found its way to southern FL this past summer, it would not have been so good to be here, And we are not out of the woods quite yet. Hopefully our luck will hold just a couple of weeks more. If it does we will be sitting pretty just an easy day sail away from Biscayne Bay. As soon as the season is truly closed we will be heading that way. I'm feeling the need for some water I can see through while setting the hook in a white, sandy bottom. I needs me some time in No Name Harbor and some days spent with all of Kintala's canvas catching wind. Just the idea of spending several weeks sailing around the Bay, a place we know and are comfortable with, has me smiling.
This is the lifestyle we were looking for when we set off to go cruising. Unfortunately I'm still looking over my shoulder, waiting for the next impending disaster to darken the sky. There is no telling how long those shadows will linger. Maybe, given the relentless challenges that have filled this first year, shaking off the feeling that some new threat to our cruising life is lying just over the horizon, will take a long time. Knowing that we have managed each one that has come along so far, from the boat taking on water at Oak Harbor to the tussle that was The Bear, is kind of encouraging. But that knowledge is tempered by our being battered, bruised, and still not sure how much longer we can manage to keep going.
But right now we are living the good life. I plan on milking it for all it is worth for as long at it lasts.
Cheers!
| We've been endlessly entertained by this guy practicing on a flyboard right in front of our boat the last 2 weeks. |
1 comment:
About time you took a vacation.
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