Boat Filter

Crossed another item off the list! What a relief! While Jared was home recovering and the kids at the movies, I tackled the task of clearing out the rest of the storage unit and closing out our account. It wasn't that large of a space, however, it was pretty full.

The past few days found me sorting through a lot of stuff. I asked myself again, how did we acquire so much? Anyway, all of the things we are keeping are stored in our shipping container at my parent's property, while the remainder has been donated or sold. 

It is a nice feeling to have that task completed, yet I know we have one final clear out of the house before we set sail. One thing at a time...

We have a different view when it comes to shopping now. Those cute home decor and crafting aisles don't call my name any longer. We use what I call the "boat filter" when shopping. Can we use this when we move aboard? Will it fit? Will it be useful while cruising? It really helps. 

I am looking at our pantry with a new view as well. If we do end up going next summer, we can take food aboard if we find a boat in the U.S. Most likely though, it will be in Europe, so we need to begin using up all the canned items to ensure we don't have boxes of food we can't use. Of course, anything left over we cannot take, would go to our local food pantry. 

We are slowly working through the to-do's and I know we'll get there...eventually! #goals

Boat Show Blues

In my last post, Jared had a fever during Matt's triathlon. Well, that fever developed into a hospital visit and diagnosis with pneumonia! It's obvious that we are not going to make our trip down to the San Diego Boat Show. Huge bummer, because we both were excited for the trip. Jared even said last night that we should still go. Yeah right, buddy. I called the airline (Alaska Air) and had our tickets postponed for later use (instead of eating the cost of the airfare, they will credit your account the full value of the tickets for later use). The hotel wasn't as cooperative. We still might have to end up eating that $300, but I am hoping to hear back from the manager soon that we won't. 
6-28-16 UPDATE: the hotel refunded the entire amount! We are thrilled! :)

Yesterday, I took the kids to go spend a few days with their grandparents. After all, they were so very much looking forward to going, and this would give Jared a nice and quiet house to recover in. 
My parents happen to live very near my in-laws', so I deposited a second load of stuff to go into storage. I got the shelving all put up and organized the boxes. There isn't much left to bring over, as the storage unit is just about cleared out. That will be my task today and tomorrow, getting the rest out of storage.

We had our yard sale last Saturday and it went well. After it was over, we took the remainder to the donation center. Anything that was not taken by the donation center went to the landfill. That was a mini adventure it itself. You see, Jared has always made that trip. Since he was sick, I just decided to suck it up and do it myself this past Tuesday. The kids have gone with Jared before, so they were excited to be my helpers in this endeavor. 

We arrive at the landfill and Matthew is telling me what to expect and how we will have to drive into this big building and back up the trailer before offloading it. Wait, what? Backing up with a trailer is NOT one of my better skills. I mean, I haven't really had much opportunity to practice, but I already know the couple of times I tried sucked big time. (Flash back to when I dropped off stuff at our storage container at my parent's house. The darn trailer kept jackknifing! It was so frustrating. I know I have to turn the wheel opposite and everything, but with a walnut orchard right behind me, it isn't so easy. I ended up figuring it out, but let's just say it was not my best moment. Note to self: make time to practice this skill!)

Anyway, back to the landfill. Turns out the big building is closed for the day due to maintenance, so we have to drive out to the landfill. The spot they indicated was about a mile and a half out. No biggie, as long as I am going straight, we are all good. Now, if you've ever been out to a landfill, you know the bouquet of aromas that await you, even with the windows up. The waste-water treatment plant is just next to the landfill. I know this much, because I took my 5th grade class out there for a field trip when we had to learn about water filtration for a unit in science (NGSS Unit 3, 5th grade). The kids had to design and construct a device that would filter dirty water and produce clear water at the end. Cool experience, but I digress.

We made it out to the spot and I am greeted by one of the employees who tells me that it is easy to get flat tires out here, so be careful. Great. 

I pull up to the big semi-circle of trucks dumping their loads of trash. "I'll just pull up over here to the side and off-load." I thought to myself. "Then, I can just swing around and take off without needing to back up the darn trailer". Good idea, but it was not to be. Another employee comes over and asks me to move into a specific spot to off-load the trailer. This entails me pulling out and then backing in to the middle of the activity. I went ahead and let him know that I was not the best at maneuvering a trailer while in reverse. He just smiled and said it wouldn't be a problem. 

After backing up slowly and trying to keep things as straight as possible, I finally stop to check just how far back I had to go. There were so many vehicles driving in and out behind me that I decided to check in with the guy to see if he really wanted me to back it all the way up. I think he got the idea, so he said I was fine where I was and that the huge dozer to my right would be right along to scoop up the load and push it into the pile. Ok, fine. I off-load the trailer as fast as I can, while making small talk with the nice employee. How they can stand that smell is beyond me. It's worse than your typical dairy farm experience. Guess they just get used to it. 

A few minutes later, we are pulling away from the landfill and heading home. Another item crossed off the list.

Just 'Tri'

This post is about how I learned a great life lesson from my 10 year old. But first, the story...

Yesterday, Matthew participated in his first triathlon.
The Pacific Grove Triathlon, Sprint Distance.
It is a .25 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike ride, and 2 mile run.
He never showed any signs of nervousness, only excitement and the anticipation of adventure. After all, Jared does these things all the time, and I've done a few half-marathons over the past couple of years, so it was only natural that the kids would want to follow in our footsteps.

I, on the other hand, was the nervous one. No, that's an understatement. This mama was worried about her little one out swimming the ocean and racing with all the older participants. And sharks. Matthew, who is 10, was the youngest competitor. My only consolation, was that Jared would be racing with him. At least having his dad out there to watch out for him, made me feel a little better.

The morning of, Jared woke up with a 100 degree temp, so this meant he would not be racing. Matt would be all on his own. However, he did agree that while he didn't feel well, he would go down and help Matt get his transition area set up.

Matt was in the first "wave", which included all the other males aged 19 and under, as well as the relay group. Matt was the youngest and smallest. This did not matter to him. He maintained his calm yet excited demeanor the entire time. I must have shown what I was feeling (I really did try and keep my worried-mama feelings to myself) because he said "Mom, I really want to do this. I can do it!". While waiting for the starting signal, he went into the sea to warm up and get himself in the zone. At 8:40am, the announcer started the countdown and they were off! Among the crowd of people, I could barely make out Matt as he dove in and began the swim portion of the race. Now this is the part I was most stressed about, being out there in the water with hundreds of other people. I've seen in past events, where people swim over others, and one gets kicked, hit, slapped, and water flies everywhere as racers try to swim as fast as they can. My biggest worry was that Matt would get hurt out there, despite Jared reassuring me that there were divers, kayakers, and other life guard personnel out in the water keeping an eye on things. About 8 minutes later, we see Matt coming towards shore and I let out a relieved breath. He made it! As he exited the water, a huge wave of excitement washed over me and we all cheered as he made his way to the transition area for the bike portion. Jared ran off to help Matt, and so Zach, Cadence, and I ran over to the exit area to watch Matt take off on the bike portion of the race.
Zach and Cadence took turns ringing the little bell and we cheered Matt on as he completed both laps on his bike. As he was coming in to the transition area for the run portion, we raced off to the next starting point to see him off on the final leg of the race. As Matt emerged from the transition area, we stood by cheering and Zach ran over to give him a hug. What a sweet moment! The rest of the race went well and we were all so excited for him as he ran past the finish line earning his medal. He had a huge smile on his face the entire time!

He was not tired and said "I feel great! I could do this again"! Ah, to have the energy of a child... He skipped off to get his chocolate milk and other race completion goodies. One racer looked over at him and said to me, "He did the entire thing"? "Yep", I replied, looking on with pride.
We were then alerted to the fact that Matt earned 1st place for his division, so we walked back to the awards area for his announcement, medal, and photo on the block.
So the great life lesson I learned from all of this? To just try.  To follow your dreams and achieve those goals; not let fear get in the way and ignore the "what ifs". It's not easy for me. I am both a worrier and a planner. But now, I am going to try and relax a little and go more with the flow.
After seeing Matthew complete this race, and my other two asking to do it next year with their brother, I am realizing that my kids totally get the bigger picture: just try. Look for the fun and adventure, instead of worrying about what could go wrong. They have the right idea. 

So about cruising? Of course I am excited about this trip. The time with our family, exploring various parts of this world, and all of the adventure that goes with. 

I do still worry a little about the things that could go wrong, however, not as much as before. We will plan and prepare the best we can and  most of all, just enjoy it one day at a time. 

One

Yesterday found us back at our storage unit clearing out another trailer load. This makes three in total.

I made a comment to Jared while loading up that I truly felt like we had gotten rid of a lot the last time I was here (last week), yet it sure didn't look like it. I swear this stuff multiplies when we aren't looking! 

I read an article the other day on how it eventually gets to where the stuff owns you. You pay to move it with you, pay to store it, pay the stress of having to eventually deal with it all. And for what? Memories. Nostalgia. Or just too tired / no time to actually go through everything and throw it out. I plead guilty to all of the above. I am a sentimental person and a lot of these things have value to me. The cards we received when we got married, had our babies, graduation mementos, travel souvenirs, you know what I am talking about. All of that stuff you slowly collect as you go through life, My husband's answer to all of this: "take a photo, it doesn't take up space". At first I just ignored him, applying the "men just don't get it" philosophy. Now though, I think he has a point. I can place those cards in a memory book or just scan them. Now, if I could just find the time...

Later on that evening, as I was going through yet another box, I found this poem. It is a small plastic card, meant to keep in your wallet, and I think my mom gave it to me back in high school. It must have been around the time I was applying to various colleges, writing essays, and feeling like I had this huge mountain to climb. I remember her telling me to just take one page at a time, one essay at a time. Now, I am applying this same wisdom to this task of selling all this stuff. One box at a time. One day at a time.

I want to give a shout out to all the other bloggers out there who have or are going through this same stage. It helps to read about it, seriously! Knowing that it is possible, that others made it through and are now on their adventures, gives me the grit to push through and tackle this task. Thank you for inspiring us all. I hope in the future, we can help someone else get through this process. 

This is what I am dealing with right now, y'all. 

Just now, Jared walked by and asked  "you're posting that online"? 

Me: "Yep. Just showing what we are dealing with. Later on, we can look back and see all we've accomplished"!

Jared: "Yeah, how we had way too much crap."  

I shake my head as he walks off, but I know that in the end, it will all be worth it. Time to grab this mug of coffee and dive in!

~Stef

Crabby Visitors

These red crabs have been coming into the bay off and on over the past few months.

Here is Z checking out the visitors from the dock. He also brought one onto the boat earlier that day.

From what we learned online (Wikipedia): "Pleuroncodes planipes, sometimes called the pelagic red crab (or simply "red crab"), tuna crab or langostilla, is a species of squat lobster from the eastern Pacific Ocean. Pleuroncodes planipes lives on the continental shelf west of Mexico, and is unusual among members of the Galatheidae in that it lives in shallow water. It is usually found only south-west of San Diego, but in warmer years, its range may extend northwards into California.This is usually indicative of an El Niño event."

The kids enjoyed watching them swim around the marina and after a few attempts, Z caught one so we could get a better look. Science and Geography lesson for the day, boom!

Friends in town!

Last weekend, we had friends come to visit. Of course, this meant we had to go tide pooling and, you guessed it,... sailing! We had 14 people on board! The kids (and adults) had a blast!

The previous day found us hiking at Garland Ranch and then lunch at Baja Cantina in
Carmel Valley. What a great day!










Tide pooling and beach fun at Asilomar Beach,

 

Boat Kids

People often ask us what changes we will have to make once we toss the dock lines and set off for adventure. While there are adjustments to be made, I don't think the kids will have too drastic of a change.

We sail often.

<--Here are the boys from a few years ago, Z helping with the jib.

     Z helping with the main sail this past weekend. ---->

 They love to hang out on the bow. I imagine them doing this at each new port!

C still falls asleep while underway. Every. Single. Time. Sometimes, Z joins her for a nap.



We are always outdoors, whether we are just on an exploration adventure, taking a hike, playing at the beach, surfing, fishing, or tide pooling.

surfing and playing at the beach

exploring

Rock climbing gym = training to climb the mast later on! 

  ROV team: the kids built a freshwater ROV along with some of  my students. They now want to build a salt water ROV to take with us on the boat. M says that it would also clean our boat, allow us to explore what is around us while at anchor, and perhaps even take photos. Plans are in progress. #kidspiration (kids and inspiration) = awesomeness! 

 tide pool exploration

whales and other wildlife







Having a mom for a teacher means that they are testing out activities before I bring them to my classroom, working on experiments in the kitchen or in the garden, and testing out new technology. We do summer work anyway (review and prep for the grade level ahead), so it isn't new to have me sitting down with them going over a few lessons each day. Mind you, it's not for hours, as I want them to have their down time (I need it as well). The only change is their classroom will be our boat and the world.

Dive class for the kids.

  Fireworks over the bay last summer (view from our boat in the bay).

They all love seafood!







I think we are going to be just fine. =)