Recently some of our sailing friends posted on their blog that their countdown had finally gone below 100 days, reaching double digits, and they were feeling somewhere between elation and panic. As you can see by the screen shot, today our timer hit single digits, and strangely I share the elation, but am thankfully missing the panic.
Two years ago when we returned from a four month "shakedown cruise" to Alaska I knew I wanted to see more of the area, and to do more traveling by boat. Twelve years before that, on my first attempt to sail to Alaska, both the area and the mode of travel left me wanting more. My desire to explore has been with me as long as I can remember, and the idea of traveling by sailboat has stuck in my head since reading books about the sailing lifestyles of the Smeetons, Hiscocks and other early pioneer "cruising sailors". That trip twelve years ago taught me a lot; sailing skills, boat maintenance, navigation challenges, interpersonal relationship issues, financial responsibility, the list is long and varied. Some may argue that quitting jobs and leaving on an open-ended vacation with minimal savings shows I haven't learned much in the financial responsibility category, but I feel like my sailing, navigation, and maintenance and repair skills are certainly much better than they were. As for interpersonal relationships, the tensions and challenges of preparing for a life change like this can be a struggle, but I feel like Nicole is not only up to the challenge, but together we compliment each others strengths and weaknesses to make a good team.
Guess I better quit wasting time in front of the computer and get back to the "to do before we leave" list, time seems to be running out.
Yippee!!!!!!!!!!
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