12/1/14
Beaufort, SC
Posted by Bill

Well we are back from our trip back to Ohio. I don’t call Ohio “home” because it doesn’t feel like home any more…we have really made the transition to cruisers. First, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, I know we did. We are truly blessed and are thankful for what we have, especially our friends and family.

We left the boat at Port Royal Landing Marina and rented a car to drive to Ohio. We stopped in Cincinnati, Columbus, up to the lake house, to Akron, back to Columbus and then back to Beaufort. It was non-stop activity and we were disappointed that we didn’t get to see everyone we wanted to catch up with. We just ran out of time before we realized it. We have only been living on the boat for a little more than 2 months, but it was a major shock to make the trip back. The first thing was driving on the freeways…OMG…people have been fearful for us on the ocean, but let me tell you…the freeways are insane. Especially in the cities, including Columbus. We used to just drive pretty much on autopilot, but it was insane coming back. I don’t know how we did it in our old life. It scared the shit out of me (damn near literally). The other major thing was the weather and landscape. For the most part we are used to warm, sunny, green, and water view. Coming back to grey skies, snow, cold and grey city landscapes was a real shocker. When we arrived in Cincinnati it was 19 degrees! I found myself thinking “why did I do this for so long”? I am pretty sure that I can never go back to that.

There were some benefits…first and foremost seeing family and friends, followed by unlimited running water, a toilet that flushes that you never have to empty, a toilet and shower that is not shared by a marina full of boats and is steps away versus hundreds of yards. Then trash that is picked up for you, a bed that doesn’t rock in the wind and waves, not having to worry about your home dragging on to the rocks while you sleep, being able to jump into a car to go get something, and climate controlled environments everywhere you go.

I was surprised to look back at our old lifestyle through the new eyes of a cruiser. It looked like a daily routine that was pretty much removed from nature, centered around work, a sedentary lifestyle (for the most part), stuck inside for the better part of 5 months of each year, massive amounts of time wasted on television viewing, little understanding of the wasteful consumption of natural resources and energy, and a general drudgery of a repetitive pattern year in and year out. It made me wonder why we did it for so long, but I realized that most of it is necessary to earn a living and maintain our American lifestyle. It was all so bizarre, and I am so glad that I don’t have to do it any more.

Our new world as cruisers is not nearly as comfortable or convenient. Nature is in your face every day, and each day brings something different, but it feels so much more “natural” and is very liberating. I still wonder if it is worth the price of not being with your family and friends, but we are pretty much committed to living this way for awhile, and I know I cannot go back to the old way of living.

So much for the emotional dump!!! Now we focus on getting the boat ready to move south again. We have several projects that need to be finished before we go. We had parts ordered and shipped while we were gone, so we can fix some of the crap that broke in the last 2 months. Today we loaded the boat with all of the parts we ordered and the provisions we bought while we had a car. Then we washed the boat, shopped for more liquor and fresh seafood, and Tricia did another stellar job of cooking fresh scallops and shrimp…I’ll never get tired of fresh seafood! I also did some passage planning for our push to Florida, looking at weather and tides. The big decision is whether we go offshore around Georgia to Florida, or do we take the ICW through Georgia? The ICW has some really bad shoal areas in Georgia, but can be managed at the proper tide level. Looking at the weather for the next 10 days, the best departure day is currently Saturday, and the ICW seems the better route. We will monitor, complete our preparations, and adjust appropriately, probably deciding at the last minute. Such is our life afloat, pretty much dictated by Mother Nature.

We’ll go back to more pictures and less emotion in the blog, but it was important to express the feelings we had in the last weeks because it was so dramatic and such a contrast…something I didn’t quite expect… and something I thought was important to share for whatever it is worth to you. The take-aways: family is more important than anything…don’t take it for granted, live some of your life closer to nature, don’t take our natural resources for granted, don’t be a slave to consumerism…save and invest your money so you can break the routine while you still have your health, and, you don’t need all of the stuff you think you need!

Lastly, we want to thank everyone who put us up in their homes and shared food, drink, home, and pets (Victor). I also want to share some of the photos…we had a great time!!!!!

We got to go to the OSU/Indiana game and sit in the club seats thanks to Cindi Englefield and Dave Kaylor who invited us. Great time!:

Daughters and Sons in Law who cooked Thanksgiving dinner for us!:

Grandson Wrigley:

Grandsons Maddox and Jameson, or as they would say…”Maggots and Fudiden” (LMAO!!!):

Grandson Oskar:

Granddaughter Caedence:

Grandson Bradley:

Grandpa and Keegan:

Grandma and Keegan:

Grandma and Jameson (Fudidin..LOL):

Finally…someone asked if boats put up Christmas lights…yes! A boat in our marina:

We can’t express how much we miss everyone!!!!