Aren't you excited?

So, the most common thing we hear when people hear about our trip is, "that's so exciting!" and second is, "that's so romantic." Not to dash anyone's image of sailing away into the sunset but . .. Let me tell you what we've been working on. I've been applying for new health insurance, sorting through papers, and figuring out how we're going to manage finances from a distance, starting to collect things we'll need/want or things we can give away to local schools as we get to know people in villages along the way, and getting in visits to friends and family. People have become more precious to me than ever as I imagine not being able to call up or drop in on someone when I want. Brian has been building cabinets, reinforcing other cabinets, building supports so that our table area can turn in to a very comfy bed for 2. Anybody want to visit?

Still to be done: Get the SSB installed, make a sun awning, buy more supplies, get a liferaft, have a goodbye party (Sept 9, 1:00 til ? at 321 26th AVE), give the sails a once over, give the engine a once over, have someone else give the electrical system a once over, buy replacement parts for everything we couldn't live without, haul the boat out of the water and repaint the bottom and replace the through hulls, stock food and other supplies, and the list goes on. It's strange to me that for some people this is completely foreign, for me it is familiar because I've been thinking about it for over a year, and yet to cruisers many years into this life these steps would be elementary.

So, no, I'm not excited. But I'm looking forward to new places, new people, a view of the world outside of oh-so-comfortable california, being challenged by poverty, weather, and newness. Already I'm dreaming of teaching kids how to read Spanish, or floss their teeth. I can't wait to have the children teach me new words or their best way to eat a mango.

Yellowstone

Brian and I just got back from our 2 week land voyage. I insisted on a return to Yellowstone National Park, a blur that caught my fancy the year my parents drove our family around the United States in an Isuzu Trooper II with two car top carriers strapped on top. Then, we were in the park less than 24 hours, as best I remember. But the Morning Glory Pool sucked my breath away even at the aloof age of 13. This time the bubbling power spilling up through the white encrusted soil in various colors and muds and temperatures was jump up and down delightful. Bison eyeballing me without an ounce of friendliness and baby great horned owls squeaking from limb to limb made me wonder why people sit at home watching TV when there's so much REAL stuff out here to be felt and known in 3-D. Brian and I felt like we were on a second honeymoon getting to backpack 5 nights in a row.

New

Well, here's my first ever blog post. I apologize right now to Carmen for telling her almost 2 years ago that I didn't know WHY someone would want to have a blog. Communication. Connection. I get it.

In a year of new things, this blogspot is one small, satisfying, somewhat manageable new---unlike hopping on a 42 foot sailboat and leaving all the olds in my life except my husband, and the saxophone I'm going to squirrel away somewhere. We'll be departing in September sometime towards the end of the month. It's not like having a plane ticket, however. We'll leave when we are as ready as we feel like we can get. Nomad is already strong and seaworthy, has lots of water and fuel storage. Anything else we get done will just be bonus.

"itinerant good"
I enjoy the name of our boat but the frequent use of it has already stolen some of the meaning I associate with the word, "Nomad". So, I didn't want to put that in the title. Itinerant is the suggestion the Thesauras gave. It's a good concept to summarize the next phase of our lives. "good" comes from a quote my mother-in-law sent a couple of weeks ago. Brian and I have been looking for a blessing or prayer that was a guiding purpose for Nomad and our lives aboard her. We've tried on and off for a year to write or find one. All the we tried seemed awkward or not quite right- too complicated or not enough. When I read the quote Sharon sent, I said out loud, "there's our blessing." I'd heard it before so it wasn't new but it was exactly the right timing and the right sentiment.

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
~ John Wesley

As far as we can figure, that is our purpose on our voyage. Without the help of God, it will be a paltry amount of good. With the Spirit, we hope to be guided and used as we are to be a part of more meaningful works than we could ever accomplish on our own.