Nomad will be heading toward Hawaii in November. Brian and his friend, Jeff Ault will leave Fiji and travel 2800 miles of an unconventional sailing route to get Nomad closer to Santa Cruz. This trip should take close to a month. They will pass over the equator, possible hitching a ride east on the equatorial counter current, then pass the Line Islands up to the Hawaiian Islands. Once in Hawaii, Nomad will await our return in early summer to sail him to somewhere between Alaska and Portland (we haven't decided yet) and then down to Santa Cruz.
While Brian and Jeff are sailing, Eloise and I will fly to California and busily attempt to get our new home set up before Brian gets there in December. "The Dome" is where my Grandma Krake lived before she suddenly ended up in nursing facilities before her death. We have many good memories of sitting in the living room with my grandma playing the piano for us. The dome belongs to my mom and is only about 300 meters up the hill from where her driveway starts. Renting this place makes us very excited because it is in a beautiful setting for Eloise to explore, it's a short walk down to visit Mom, and I can garden to my heart's content.
Returning Nomad to Santa Cruz also makes us excited because he needs some cosmetic projects and other projects done, and we like sailing with our friends aboard. It also puts us in a good position to do short trips into the Pacific once Eloise is old enough to be a helpful mini crew member.
So, that's the current plan. Eloise has no idea that her life on a boat is soon to be over. This makes me sad. There are so many things that she knows and understands already that would be irrelevant to a child in a house. For example, today she looked out of the cockpit onto the side deck, saw Brian's handline, and made the sign for fish. She knows that a coil of plastic line can bring a beautiful flopping creature aboard. She also knows those creatures are yummy. Or, when the sound of an outboard approaches, she knows it is a boat with people in it, and waves, even if we are inside and she can't see them. She also can distinguish when that outboard belongs to our dinghy or an unknown boat. Eloise also knows that when we're in the dinghy, if she peeks over the side while in my arms, she can see coral and fish while we're moving. She likes to do this. I know that the transition to a house will be hard on her. She'll have to re-learn routines and people and rules. It's a good thing she has a trusty (crusty) blanket and me to hang on to during that month without Daddy, in a new bed, new house, etc.
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