If you like high adventure, cruising is probably for you. Here are a few snapshots of the adventure we have had:

Packing supplies in a rental van from UHaul and having a person (me) ride in back although the Sticker on the window says clearly: no people back here; danger to life, yadda. But there I sat, in a chair donated by Lawson’s folks and then donated to workers before we left because there was no room on the boat. I enjoyed my renegade rides in the back of the van as we collected the last supplies in Ft. Lauderdale and frequented the neighborhood laundromat. I even drank a beer back there. Me, rebel, sitting in a beach chair in the back of a van, sipping a beer. Me, high adventurer on land, if yet not on sea.

Once on the boat: while Lawson took care of the high adventure of captaining the boat and all of the truly sailing-type things, I began the high adventure of everything else, such as, how to wash dishes in a space smaller than a microwave with a fridge taking up half of that surface space that was not to be opened at all if possible lest everything inside go bad. And speaking of microwave and toaster for that matter, we had neither, so get ready to warm up stuff in a skillet missy.

Keeping a seven year old boy entertained when TV is no longer available – and eventually wifi is not available and every downloaded show and movie has already been watched.

Making said child do homework or I guess school work we should now call it every day, day in, day out, no tutor or teachers to bear the brunt of the unimaginable amount of patience this requires( even moreso for a superbly stubborn little boy – wonder where he got that from?)

Playing dockhand when you are a newbie – this is high adventure! I never know what I am doing or if what I am doing is remotely right/ acceptable/laughable/etcetera. All the while wondering when I am going to fall overboard. (It hasn’t happened yet – knock on wood!)

Seeing an expanse of islands and sea so f-ing beautiful you feel as if your heart will break.

Getting so much clean, fresh sea air you feel you have wiped out decades of city living.

Feeling such a love for your comrades in arms – your fellow adventurers on this crazy lark – that you know, deep down, that however crazy,this is a good thing.

I could go on and on but bed is calling. Tomorrow we head to a Marina on our way to g-town. Leaving this little village of farmers cay, pop 50, behind. May return next week for their big annual festival. But we are going to go with the flow as April Mitchell will be here next week – we are so very excited to have our first (and probably only) visitor for this crazy shakedown hiatus.