The Baja Ha Ha....let the games begin

Our crew arrived safe on Friday and we have been working our tail ends off doing last minute boat work and provisioning. We are so thankful Patricks sister is here and her awesome husband Steve. We did take time out for some fun at the Baja Ha Ha costume party and met up with the group we will be traveling with tomorrow morning. There were a lot of kids - Jacks age even, so we are ready for the work to end and the fun to begin. There were prizes given out to the best costume is several categories. Jack ran up against a baby lobster in a pot that stole the prize. Maureen nudged me into the wench category, and I embarrassed myself to win an awesome set of binoculars so it was totally worth it! So this time tomorrow we will be in Mexican waters. I am unplugging myself officially after this post, until we get to Cabo San Lucas in 10 days. Thanks for following us and we will catch up with you south of the boarder.

Alex and Blake visit us in San Diego

And I was one happy Mom. We had an action packed weekend. From touring the Midway, to getting the ba-Jesus scared out of us at the Haunted Hotel in the Gas Lamp District. We managed to find time to put Alex to work as he lifted Patrick up the mast to change a bulb. Jack watched as Alex held Patricks life on a rope wrapped around a wench. It was so good to have all my boys around. Jack was in pure heaven too. Saying goodbye today was hard. Tears were flowing on my end, knowing I wont see them until the Holidays. They will fly into Ixtapa for Christmas, and we will have a warm tropical reunion. Two months will be the longest on record that we will be apart as a family. They are growing up and I need to let my baby birds fly out of the nest I suppose at some point. This trip will give them no choice but to spread their wings and fly. And fly they will. I am a lucky Mom to have three amazing boys, who have big kind hearts. I will miss them.

11 more days until we leave U.S. waters

But who is counting? Well, I for one am. As much as I have grown to love this city these past two weeks, I have come to realize that I am happiest with the wind in my hair and sails. Jack and I have taken a break from the Calvert school plan this week, and have taken our learning into the Museum. San Diego has more Museums then people. We purchased the 7 day 14 Museum pass, and have been filling our days with history, science and art - HANDS ON. I must say - it has been fun. A pause here to give a shout out to all of you who e-mailed me and sent your love over the last blog post. Worry not, I am fine. It has been my experience that the hardest things, have been the most worth doing in my life. This trip will fall into that bracket I have a feeling. It is not always easy, but the sweet moments that are witnessed on an adventure like this, make it all worth it. Patrick has been spending his days prepping the boat for our two year passage. From new rigging, to shopping for all the extra parts and pieces should something fail, like....the water maker.( converts salt water to fresh) My biggest fear. One thing we can not live with out - fresh water. We hear that parts are hard to find once we leave the U.S.. So he is crossing all the T's and dotting all the I's so we can be as prepared as we can be. This coming weekend, our boys Alex and Blake are coming for a visit. We are looking forward to showing them the sights we have discovered, as well as taking them through the HAUNTED BALBOA PARK.....Jack is beyond excited about their eminent arrival. Last weekend, my Student and friend Brian payed us a visit along with his son Matt. It was so good to see a familiar face, one that I have missed seeing. We have not connected with anyone here in San Diego yet. That will change soon. There are almost 200 boats leaving San Diego with us on the 25th ( the Baja Ha-Ha) Not sure where they all are, but this is a big place. There is a gathering - costume party - on the 24th, so a meet and greet will take place then. Our crew will arrive on the 22nd - Patricks sister Maureen and her husband Steve are coming with us to Cabo San Lucas. Steve plans to stay on and help us cross the Sea of Cortez. I am really looking forward to having them here with us. So things are good. Life is good. It is what we make it to be after all.

Would you like some cheese with that wine?

OK, you get to be the cheese and I get to be the wine. Life on a boat is not easy. It is not all sunsets and sunrises. Living in a very small space with two other beings is a challenge. We are always negotiating space between one another. Waiting for one person to pass so the other can move forward. The space is so small that you can hear the other person think even. And now on to the daily tasks of laundry, taking out the trash, cooking in a confined area, storing food, finding the food that you stored, taking a shower, the toilet( I will spare you the details, other then saying we are our own sewage plant). The tasks of daily life have become a challenge. They take more time, and more effort. Homeschooling adds added pressure, that I know I am creating probably. I worry that Jack may be far behind his peers when we return. Yes, cheese, what he will experience on this journey will be greater then anything he could learn in a class room. But our school system, which he will return to, doesn't measure his intelligence in this way. So, I worry that what we are teaching him won't be enough. Time for a sip, or a gulp. School has stressed me out. I have forgotten about the vows Jack and I took before we opened his Calvert box, and trust me, Jack has too. This program has us both on the edge. Teaching is hard, really really hard. Learning is too. So just when I needed it, Divine intervention showed up. After a yoga class I took today, while seated, the teacher asked us to change our view on all the things we needed to do today. To approach everything we do from a place of gratitude. For example, rather then saying, I HAVE to do laundry, say, I GET to do laundry. I am LUCKY I have clothing to wash, I HAVE to go the the market, I GET to buy food. I am LUCKY I have money to buy food, I HAVE to clean my house (in this case boat) I GET to clean my boat. I am LUCKY to have a boat, (or a roof over your head) I am LUCKY to have the opportunity to travel the world, spend time with my husband and son Jack, and experience things most people only dream about doing. I am lucky, oh so lucky. So back into check I am. Back into the graces of gratitude. Back into the place of trusting that Jack will learn, and thrive. I am lucky to have this time with him, to guide him, and teach him. I have had enough wine.

Life at the dock - San Diego

We are settled into another new routine, in another new environment. I personally am counting down the days until we are anchored off a quiet beach again. The good thing is, which I TRY to stay focused on ( just between us, I have had a few melt downs since arriving in San Diego. More on that another time) is that everything one could imagine is available. For example, I was craving Ethiopian food last night, and BAM, went on the Internet, found a place, and off we went. We live in the land of abundance. My observation so far on this journey is that all this excess somehow manages to disconnect us from our self and one another. I know I will miss a lot of THINGS that make life easy, but the trade off will be a deeper connection, a simplicity that arises from living in a simple way. I got a sample of it when we were in Catalina for two weeks. Photos posted in this blog, down town San Diego, Sunset from our cockpit, Jack reading....love that he just picks up a book now! And hoping this is the only photo you will see of our life raft. We had it inspected and reloaded with food, flares, and all the necessity's should we have to abandon ship.

Catalina transition to San Diego

We had such a great time during our two week stay on the island of Catalina. Jack fished and caught lots of Halfmoon fish, which tasted soooooo good. There is nothing better then freshly caught fish. The following photos are of Avalon. I could not stop taking pictures of the sky. The array of color was spectacular. I must have over 100 photos of the daily sunsets/sunrises that blew me away.

We arrived in San Diego yesterday. The 13 hour crossing went very well. Once agin, smooth seas and calm seas. We saw several Grey Whales, two HUGE sun fish, and lots of Dolphins. We are at the Cabrillo Marina, which is very nice. It is great to have unlimited hot water again. The trade off is that the ocean water here is murky brown, so no water action unless we head to the nearby beach. We have full use of the Shearton Hotel pool, which looks very nice, free internet accesss, and even cable, which I have not mentioned to Jack yet. I do not even miss television, and It is good to see Jack pick up a book on his own, without me telling him it's time to read! So that cat may stay in the bag. Patrick is on his way to pick up a rental car so we can begin to explore this city. I found a near by Yoga Studio already that I may see if I can sub a class or two while we are here for three weeks. Stop by and say hello if you find yourself in San Diego. We are here until the 25th.