Here we go!

We have been asked by a few of our followers for updates, so here is a quick one! 

In a nutshell: We are a few days from moving out of the house, loading up the rental truck, and leaving our little town of Pacific Grove. Our good friend, "fire chief Mike", as the kids call him, is going to look after Sunny for us while we fly out to the BVI for the boat survey and sea trial. Afterwards, we will fly back to our home base at Jared's parents to load up our travel trailer and head off on our road trip across the USA (yes, after picking Sunny back up, of course). 

First stop will be to drop off our pallet of stuff to our shipping company and then take the next month or so to travel while we wait for it all to arrive in Tortola. I'll write a dedicated post on the why/how we decided to use this particular shipping company in a later post. 

From there, we have a very loose plan to visit the Grand Canyon and then make our way from there. I'd love to take the kids up to Yellowstone and visit family and friends along the way. Then, possibly Mt. Rushmore and ?? If you have any suggestions on must-see stops, please comment below! We'd love to hear your ideas! =)

~Stef

Giving Back: Hands Across the Sea

One of the many reasons we decided to go cruising with our kids was to give them a large perspective of this world. They've grown up in this tiny hometown with the usual suburban life---which don't get me wrong, we LOVE our hometown, and our friends are very dear to us-- it's just that our kids were starting to pay too much attention to material things and take a lot of things for granted. I think we all were, in a sense. You wake up, go to work/school, come home or go to different activities...there wasn't a whole lot of opportunities for enjoying quiet family time, as we were pretty busy! It was time to slow down, show our kids that there is so much more to this world, and sort of shake things up a bit.

We are starting off right away with the first leg of this journey. While in the Caribbean, we have volunteered to work with Hands Across the Sea, a literacy promotion program. The goal: get new books in the hands of kids and promote the love of reading. Our family will be helping to build libraries, deliver books, read with children, as well as a provide little teaching, as needed.

It is such a great program and one that is close to my heart. I absolutely LOVE reading, in fact, our entire family would be considered bookworms. Back home, the bookshelves were overflowing (and don't even ask about my classroom library)! In order to make room for new books, we would place others in the small little neighborhood libraries around town. It was a nice way to  give books a new home in our own community. Sometimes, movies would show up in those little libraries and we'd enjoy a free movie night. It would go right back into the library the following day along with a couple of our contributions. What a great concept as it certainly promoted the reuse and recycling of books!

This little free library is right
around the corner from our home.

We are all about giving back while on this journey and this opportunity will enable us and our children to do just that, while experiencing and working with different cultures along the way.

Here is their website, for more information (or if you would also like to get involved): http://www.handsacrossthesea.net

Goodbyes and See You Laters

Had a little taste of the cruising life today, as one of my closest friends drove away. She and her family bought a gorgeous river front home on the coast of Maine, which had been a dream of theirs for years. Today, she finally realized her dream. As we stood there in the early hours of the morning (we had one last coffee walk) and watched the huge moving truck arrive, it hit home that this would be the last time we would see each other for awhile.

For the past year, we have been hosting yard sales in our effort to downsize, planning out our adventures, chatting it up at work, and grabbing coffees on early morning walks. Excited for one another's upcoming move, we enjoyed sharing in each other's experiences (and frustrations, successes, etc) with planning such a thing.

A week later, we had our "sailing away" bonfire with friends, as we will be leaving a few days afterwards. It was so great to see everyone, but also quite emotional.

Goodbyes and see-you-laters are a large part of the cruising life. Guess I had better start getting used to these situations. Still....it's not easy...
~Stef

Buying a Boat Overseas Part 1

Hold on! Things are about to get crazy!

photo from 2012

Originally, when we started our boat shopping mission, we figured we would buy in Croatia. There is a rather large charter industry there and lots of boats for sale. The prices were attractive as well. We even went as far as having a friend who happens to live there take a look at boats for us (thank you so much, Jack!).  Lots of boats, good prices, and who wouldn't want to start out in the Med?

As how stories usually go, this was all too good to be true. Yes, the prices are low, but it is because the commission for the broker is not included. When you figure that cost into it, the prices are comparable with everywhere else. On top of that, the seller requires a deposit be sent directly to them, instead of using an escrow account. THEN, they will only release the boat AFTER the charter season, which is usually around November. For us, that would mean sending an unsecured deposit (hoping the seller didn't run off with the money), wait around for November to conduct the sea trial, haul-out, survey, and then finally take ownership. Wintering in the Med, potentially spending more money down the line, and putting our adventure on hold at the same time? No bueno. Thus, our search for the boat shifted down to the Caribbean, where our broker also happens to live. We have to pause for a sec and give props to him, for his patience with us during this process. He was super supportive of our goal to start in the Med, but also cautioned us against the concerns mentioned above (much love to you, Clive, for putting up with us).

So, we diligently searched online for our new home. We bookmarked a few, kept an eye on the prices, and analyzed the data. We picked out our top three and waited. Not that we didn't want to buy right away, but we had to get the house sold first. Let me tell you, that itself was a whole other process...

 Keeping the house spotless with three kids, a dog, and two cats? This girl was going to lose her damn mind. On top of finishing up a school year with a wiley class of 5th graders with summer on their brains, and packing up my classroom, things were just a teeny bit stressful.
**disclaimer: I love my job and my students, but ask any teacher how they are feeling during the final month of school and you will get an eye roll followed by an earful! ;)

Thankfully, we didn't have to deal with it for long, as we went into escrow on the house days before school let out (insert a huge gigantic sigh of relief here) and it meant we could FINALLY make an offer on a boat! Jared and I made a list to compare our top three. We looked at the condition (best we could based on the photos), inventory list, hours on the engines and generator, system upgrades needed, etc. After making our decision, we spoke with Clive and set things in motion. We offered, received a counter, countered-back, and finally arrived at a number all parties were happy with.

So, at the time of this writing, we have sent our deposit, scheduled the survey/haul-out/sea trial date and are researching plane itineraries.  We are hoping to charter a boat for the duration of our stay in the BVI instead of staying at a hotel, so we can take the kids exploring (hopefully on our exact boat, if we can swing it) and provide a little taste of the cruising life for the kids.

After the survey, we will fly home, pack/ship all of our stuff to Tortola (where our boat is located), and then slowly make our way to Florida, where we will then fly out to move aboard. Our stuff will take about a month to arrive anyway, so we are using up that time by driving across the country on an epic road trip! It will be a lot of fun and we will get to see some of our homeland that we haven't before. All in all, a good way to kick off this traveling adventure.

The next post will update on how things went with the survey, introduce you to our new home, and talk about the intricacies of shipping stuff to an international destination.

The Pechan Adventure Academy

The books and other curricular items are packed and ready to be shipped to the boat, but there was one last thing I had to do before we leave.

For California, if you wish to homeschool your children, you must file a Private School Affidavit with the CDE (CA dept of education). This exempts the kids from the attendance laws for the state and will allow us to operate as our own educational institution. So, with the final submission of the forms (easy and all online), the Pechan Adventure Academy was born.  Yes, our school consists of only three students, but at least we are all legit as far as the state and school district are concerned.

The usual filing date is October 1st each year, however, since we will miss August and September, I submitted the form this month to have us covered. Then, when October rolls around, I will re-submit the form to cover us for the remainder of the school year. All of the details are provided in the link above, or feel free to send us an email for more info.

Being as I am a teacher for the district, I had an easier time determining what we would use for curriculum. I chose to follow the same state standards and will use the same programs (with some supplementing, of course) so that when the kids re-enter in the future, they will be familiar with what their peers are using. Here is what the kids will be using:

Math: MY Math for grades 3 and 5, and Big Ideas for 6th grade.

(2018-2019 school year: grades 4 MY Math and Singapore Math. Grades 6 & 7 Big Ideas Math, Singapore Math.

Science: we will follow the NGSS standards (no textbooks for the NGSS yet), have a lot of hands-on science activities, as well as STEAM integration. We will also be participating in a few citizen science projects.

Language Arts: Benchmark for grades 3 and 5, and Study Sync for 6th grade.
(2018-2019 school year: Benchmark for grade 4 combined with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for grades 4/5, and 6. Grade 7 is using an integration of online curriculum such as Big History Project and Study Sync.

Social Studies: Scott Foresman for grades 3 and 5, and Study Sync for 6th grade.
*In our district, 6th grade has a CORE class consisting of ELA and History. Study Sync incorporates both.
(2018-2019 school year: Scott Foresman grade 4, Ancient Civilizations supplemental curriculum for grades 6 & 7, as well as Study Sync.

Foreign Language: Duolingo (a great app and lots of fun) as well as interacting with people we meet on a daily basis.

I have quite the collection of supplemental materials in my classroom library. I plan to bring these along to use when appropriate (and will write about them in separate posts).

On the Move!

Exactly that! We are on the move! We've sold the house and bought our boat! Can I just say how GOOD that feels to be able to write that sentence! 

We close escrow on the house at the end of the month and it has been quite the whirlwind of activity around here! In addition to packing up the house, I've had to pack up my classroom. Over 16 years of teaching means a u-haul FULL of stuff. I even threw out and gave away a bunch of things I hadn't used in awhile and the u-haul was still packed. I think the more tired I grew throughout the day, the more I got rid of. It's always good to have a large purge throughout the career, so it was about time.

I must admit, I do love my job and will miss my classroom. The bright side is, it will all be waiting for me when we return. Still have to pack it all up though, which is not fun. As I took down bulletin boards, packed up books and supplies, and personal things, I kept thinking about the HOURS I put into this space. Ask any teacher and they'll tell you: setting up a classroom is no joke. It takes WEEKS! That also doesn't count prepping for the new crop of students either. Sigh, but it has to get done. 

So, today I finished getting everything out and packed up into storage. Next week, I will go in and make sure things are cleaned up and organized for the teacher moving in to my classroom. I am lucky in this sense, as it happens to be one of my dear friends. She was C's teacher this past year and decided to take the 5th grade spot while I am gone ( and she is going to be amazing)! Just love her (shout-out Laura!).

With that all behind me, I will now tackle packing up the rest of the house. The kids have been helping me out a great deal, so Jared can get some work done. We've pretty much sold everything and have the last items scheduled for pick up in a couple of weeks. I decided to have a final yard sale this coming weekend and we will donate whatever is left.

Now, about the boat. She is a Leopard 46 catamaran. I'll update the boat page and write a dedicated post with all the details in a few weeks (after we get out there and see her). We are flying out as soon as we close escrow on the house to do the haul-out, survey, and sea trial. We'll spend about a week in the BVI with the kids while this is going on and then head back home to get all of our gear/belongings packed up and shipped out. It will take a few weeks for all of our stuff to reach the boat, so we have decided to take a road trip across the country. The plan is to buy a small travel trailer and take our time driving from California to Florida. From there, we will sell the SUV and travel trailer before flying out to move aboard. 

There is so much to do between now and then, but that's all part of the adventure. We are getting there, and now after 9 years of planning, we are actually DOING it! =)

Our Boat's Medical Kit

Preparing for cruising takes quite a bit of planning ahead. In this post, I will talk about our medical kit and what we are packing into it.

We took the kids to a final checkup last week (dental and also their pediatrician). While there, their pediatrician went through an extensive list of medicines we might need, discussed our plans in the event we need to contact him, and so forth (I'll post a list below later on in the post). After a hug good-bye and bon-voyage wishes from the office, we were checking one more thing off the big list! We still need to acquire Sunny's medication from the vet, which will also go into this bag (she takes a pill for allergies and fleas).
Jared and I are seeing our own doctors for our own list of medicines next week.

We also ordered a huge medical kit with additional supplies and enough room to store all of this "just in case" medicines. This comes with a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, CPR equipment, and a large variety of bandages, and other supplies. It will be a tight fit, but I think everything will pack inside there nicely. It is perfect for the boat, bright neon-orange, water-proof, and clearly labeled. We will store this along with our bright neon-yellow ditch bag.

A frequent question we are asked is how we knew what to ask for. Basically, after reading other sailing blogs and talking with our medical professionals, we arrived at a general list of "just in case" medications and supplies to have on board.  We also have search and rescue experience (Jared was a part of the SAR team when we lived up in the mountains), have taken multiple CPR, first aid, and emergency responder courses (most recently last summer), and will have the ability to contact our medical providers if the need arises.

The medical kit we ordered came with the following supplies:

*stethoscope
*blood pressure cuff with gauge (aneroid sphygmomanometer)
*CPR pocket mask and a face shield
*foil bunting
*diagnostic penlight
*forceps
*gloves (disposable)
*bandage scissors
*emergency airway kit (set of 6)
*rescue blanket
*instant cold packs and heat packs
*burn dressings
*ll sorts of different sized bandages, gauze, tape, and surgical dressings
*sting pads
*ammonia inhalants
*alcohol prep pads
*PVP prep pads

In addition, we also added:

SAM Splint (multi-use splint)

*neosporin (antibiotic ointment)
*motrin (for kids and one for adults)
*tylenol
*aspirin
*nasal spray
*tums
*pepto bismol
*additional bandages (band-aids, waterproof, variety of sizes)
*vitamins
*sunscreen
*aloe vera gel (for sunburns)
*aquaphor ointment (for dry skin / irritated skin / good for chapped lips as well)
*saline drops for the eyes
*white distilled vinegar (for stings)
*apple cider vinegar (this helps takes the sting out of a sunburn)
*all of the prescriptions from our doctors: variety of antibiotics, skin creams (to combat a multitude of infections), eye drops (to combat a variety of eye infections), ear drops (ear infections), inhalers (for asthma), stomach meds (traveler's diarrhea, worms, etc)), cough syrup, and I am sure I am forgetting something (will update when I go back through the kit). Of course, we will not administer these without first consulting our doctors.

I am sure we will continue to add to this list as we go along. If you have a suggestion of something we should have, please comment below! Countdown to setting sail is about a month away!

Our logo!

After enlisting the amazing talent of our friend, Sheryll, we are proud to reveal our new logo! =) Stef tweaked it a bit to make it look more like a Leopard catamaran (before it was a Lagoon).

Now to get busy ordering our boat cards, and using my heat press to create some awesome boat swag! =)

(no, this isn't the really exciting news I posted about before, although we think it is pretty cool to have this awesome logo. Will update with the other news soon!)

Moving Forward!!

Exciting news that I can't write about just yet. Will update soon, so keep checking for the news! =)