Savannah...safe and sound...and stinky.

After four long months, Andy finally made it back to the boat safe and sound!  Originally, I was supposed to get back first and then he would join a few weeks later.  It turns out to be a pretty good thing that Andy got back first as I’m not sure I would have known what to do (I have to say, my lady sense kind of kicked in and anticipated this). First off was the smell….it smelled like it did when we bought it.  You know what we did then?  Ripped it all out and started over!  But this was anticipated.  You can’t leave a boat closed up for four months in the middle of the wettest place on earth and expect not to have a little mold and a little stink.

 

I’m not sure the order of things, but lets imagine Andy is working hard at cleaning and scrubbing and decides he wants to go in to shore to get more paper towels, cleaning solution, whatever (cold beer?).  He pumps up the dinghy, lowers it, unlocks everything, and goes to start it.  The outboard carburetor freezes up.  Minor set back…Andy being the handy man he is, gets that fixed pretty quickly (relatively speaking) in between rain showers.  Now he’s off to shore.  Almost there and “vroommmmm….put, put, put”….nothing.  Water in the fuel tank.  I’m guessing he paddled back to the boat at this point (more than likely in the rain).  He dried out the spark plugs, carburetor and fuel tank and got her going one more time.

By this time, it’s probably time to eat and not wanting to hop right back into the rain, Andy decides to have a nice hot bowl of Ramen noodles.  He goes to light the propane and well, no good.  The solenoid is stuck closed.  You can guess my laid back husband is starting to lose his patience.  After all, he’s been traveling for four days and comes home to sleep in a stinky boat with no fan (it broke right before we left), and no ability to raise the hatches since it’s raining cats and dogs and now every attempt he makes to get things right is failing.  You know the drill….one problem leads to many.

So he does the only thing a man in his position would do…he goes to grab a cold beer.  Not happening…the fridge isn’t keeping its charge. 

I’m glad I wasn’t there. 

Lots of trips to ACE hardware later (and no doubt lots of cold beers at the Rusty Anchor), all is on the way to working the way it’s supposed to.

One thing that wasn’t nasty that I felt sure would be was the head.  Andy said it was surprisingly normal, with the exception of one poor goby that was unfortunate enough to be sucked in when Andy filled the bowl with water.  He made his way back out on the next flush, but you can imagine he wasn’t happy.

Even with all of the problems Andy had, I think we’re pretty lucky in the overall scheme of things.  It was the first time leaving Savannah for more than a week and given the things that could have gone wrong, we’re in pretty good shape.  After all, the boat is still there, right (and floating)?  And it contains all the stuff it had in it when we left J.

Just three more weeks and Jake and I will be happily reunited with Andy and we’ll all be bitching about the rain and smell together (because in reality, that boat will never get aired out if there isn’t a break in the clouds).  We’ll be sporting new sheets for Jake’s bed and new fabric for our pillows (that should take care of some of those smells).  We’re bringing a new wifi booster antenna – if the post office ever gets it here – and some cable so Andy can hook up his latest purchase, a depth sounder!  I’ll have snow pea with drawls (and all other fresh veggies while we’re talking about it) and Jake will miss Chick-fil-a, but I think we’ll adjust fine as we eat our $1/lb tuna.

Living on a boat sounds strange to some, but we’ve learned from this trip that as uncomfortable and cramped as it can be at times, it’s a small price to pay for getting to wake up every day with each other while living our dream.  We’re definitely looking forward to being a family again.

Thanks to everyone for all of your prayers and well wishes…it looks like it worked.

Which way do we go?

How do we decide where to go?
We let Jake drive, of course!

How do we decide where we are going to go?  That’s a question I’ve gotten quite often since we’ve been home.  And the answer isn’t very straightforward.  Sometimes, we go with the flow (Mexico, French Polynesia, Cooks).  Sometimes, we purposely go off the beaten path (Kiribati, Marshall Islands).  And sometimes we go with the wind (Micronesia).  We rarely research things more than a few countries ahead of time because not only might we change our mind, but the information starts getting all mixed up in our heads and the result is that we have a lot of information but can’t remember which country it goes to so we have to do it all over again…total waste of time. 

Sometimes, though, you need to at least pick your general path if for no other reason, than to have something to look forward to.  After Pohnpei we’re heading to Yap (we may stop at Chuuk but that’s still under debate) and then Palau.  From there, well, we are at a crossroads.

We originally told everyone we were going to cruise for 5 years.  We’re halfway through that timeline and nowhere near done.   The question is, do we stick to that timeline (maybe pushing it out to 6?) and get home to spend some time with the family, let Jake go to school and we get jobs (by “we” of course you know I mean Andy), then buy another boat when Jake is in college and do the other half of the world? Or…do we keep going and play it by ear, risking disappointing family and friends patiently awaiting our return?  I can hear all the diehards now screaming at us to not worry about what others think and “live out our dream!”  Well, I hear you…but…that’s easier said than done.  Andy and I are both very close to our families (and each others) and would hate to totally miss out on our parents golden years (don’t worry Papa’s…I don’t have you in your graves yet, just a figure of speech) or for them to have to watch ALL of Jake’s growing up via the internet (not to mention, we have to watch our nieces and nephews grow up the same way.

What this means for our route is that we have to decide between a few options:

1) Leave Palau and make our way back towards the Solomons fairly quickly (route to be determined), making our way through Vanuatu, New Caledonia and then ultimately Brisbane, Australia.  Take the pulse of everyone both on board and on land…sell the boat, go home.  We’re figuring this could be done in 2-3 years.

2) Leave Palau and go to the Philippines.  Explore South East Asia thoroughly, head the wrong way back through Indonesia, PNG, and the Solomons, ultimately ending in Australia.  Sell the boat, go home.  Really no idea how long this could take.  The open windows for moving from country to country shorten in this part of the world, due to unpredictable weather patterns.  But darn, it sounds fun.

3) Basically do the same as option 2, but pick a few countries in SE Asia and make them our priority.  Skip Indonesia and high tail it to Australia.  We could fit this in our 3-year plan but would miss more than we would see (and we would be acutely aware of that).

4) Throw caution to the wind, sail through SE Asia and keep on going until we hit the east coast.  Not likely, but we’ve never fully marked this off our list.

For now, we’re leaving it open.  But that decision is going to come upon us very soon as time flies when you’re having fun, right?  How will we choose?  I would like to tell you that we will consult numerous sailing books, write pro and con lists, weigh the risks vs. rewards, and make an educated decision.  That would be the prudent way.  In reality, we’ll probably have a 10 minute discussion based on emotions and gut feelings, agree fairly quickly, and point the bow in the decided direction.  That’s the Andy and Monica way.  Regardless, stay tuned…we have a lot ahead of us and regardless of the decision, it promises to be interesting.

In the meantime, I'm leaving you all with the latest pictures of Jake living it up in sunny California! Andy will be back on the boat in a couple of days with Jake and I to follow in another few weeks.

Jake and Gigi waiting for breakfast at Lake Arrowhead

Jake and mommy in the bumper cars (not a bad way
to let off a little stress if I do say so myself :).

Outside the Children's Science Museum in L.A.

Watching his hair stand up on ends.

Building a wall.

School Days

I've been seeing all of these cute pictures on Facebook of everyone sending their kids back to school with titles like "First day of 1st grade,"  "First day of Middle School," "My baby's in high school!"

It got me to thinking about our school...what grade is Jake actually in, 1st or 2nd?  Should we continue year round with intermittent breaks or take a long summer break?  Are we doing enough?  Do I have the right curriculum?  Blah, blah, blah....  This summer has been good for me.  It's allowed me to get a good look at how Jake is doing compared to others (i.e. how I'm doing as a teacher) and also to remember why we chose to homeschool in the first place (besides living in the middle of the ocean on a boat).  And finally, to remind me to quit comparing him to others (I know, that's the first thing I did).   I'm not going to go too deep into this...not because I'm afraid of the arguments but because I'm still working it out myself.  See, I like rules.  I like to follow rules and I like to check boxes off of lists that show that I'm following the rules.  I'm having trouble with this as a "boat"schooling mom (incidentally, sometimes I have trouble with the lack of routine for myself!) because rarely can we check the boxes nice and neat like.  But what I can say is that I have gotten more compliments here on his manners, how articulate he is, his vocabulary, and just what fun he is to be around.

So when an opportunity to have some fun came up this week, guess what we did?  We ditched the books and went on a field trip!  Jake and I drove down to San Diego to see some of our cruising friends who were also home for a visit.  We hadn't seen Rutie, Neal, and Corie (s/v Rutea) since American Samoa so it was really nice to sit down and hear about their travels to New Zealand and Fiji and share our travels further north.  In between visits, Jake and I managed to take in the U.S.S. Midway (one of Jake's favorite ships) where he received his "Junior Pilot Wings" and then we spent another 4 hours at the San Diego Zoo.  Both of us slept like a rock last night.

Jake made me take this picture :)

Today we're back at the books with a boring old Math test and some mandatory journal writing (something I'm trying to make him do after our "field trips"), but the spirits are a bit higher and the student is a bit more agreeable.

I've vowed to quit worrying so much about how we're doing by everyone else's standards and just follow my gut, which has served me well in the past.

Last weekend, we went to the U.S.S Iowa with Papa and Gigi to kick off our
week of field trips.

On a totally different subject...Andy has two more weeks left in Afghanistan and he is counting down the days.  He'll be back in Pohnpei by the first week of September and we'll join him shortly after.  He sent me a picture of him and his co-workers so I"ll leave you with that....the next picture I post of him had better be in a bathing suit, a tan, drinking a beer on Savannah!

Confessions of a Shopaholic (that would be me)

One of cruisers favorite hobbies is bragging on how they can get things cheap or even better, free.  This post is not to criticize those people - I think it's great - but to confess that I have never been and apparently, never will be a good bargain shopper (I'm going to go out on a limb and speak for the captain here as well...never used a coupon, I'm pretty sure).  Oh, I've had my moments when I thought I was a convert...like buying Jake a new/used button up in Pohnpei for $2.  Or buying some really cute used surf shorts for $.50 at Kwajalein's bargain basement.  But looking back, I'm pretty sure that was because I have an inherent need to buy things and those were the only places I could find anything I liked (after all, Target has yet to expand outside of the U.S.). I. Love. To. Shop.

With that all out on the table, it won't be a shock that I might have gone a little overboard being in the States for three months (incidentally, according to the credit card bill, Andy's suitcase will be a bit heavier when he returns as well).  To my defense, we won't see these things again until we get to Australia, and we have no idea when that will be.  Enough said...I have a problem.

The first two months were more personal type purchases, mostly bought at outlet malls and Target...bathing suits, tank tops, tshirts, toys for Jake, etc.  But now that we're getting down to the wire, I've made a list of necessary items and this might actually be useful to some of you (I'm going to turn this into a productive post if it kills me).

• Long shorts - For women traveling in remote areas, these are a must (or long skirts, but I don't need any more of those).  I find shorts to be more comfortable on our hiking trips and days out in town.  I only had one pair of long ones...and they were red.  I think all of the locals knew me by my shorts (or my smell, by wearing these shorts every day, not sure which).  So now I have three more pairs, including two black pair - good for dirt as well as wearing over and over without people noticing (maybe).

• Large Drybag Backpack - Ever since I saw our friends on s/v Eyoni with one of these in Mexico, I've been envious.  I finally bought one today.  These are perfect for bringing laundry back from the laundry mat and not getting them wet in the dinghy or from the constant rain.  Laundry mats in Micronesia are pretty cheap so we use them frequently.  The fact that this is a backpack adds a second bonus in that it won't kill my shoulders when I'm trying to carry it back and forth (or Andy's - he usually does the lugging if I ask nice enough).

• Collapsable Bowls - I already had some of these but two years of nonstop use have worn the rubber down and created tiny (and not so tiny) holes about midway down the bowl making pancakes in the a.m. a very messy ordeal.  This time, I bought a pricier version from Target as they appear more sturdy than the ones I bought last time online.  If they last more than two years, they'll be worth it...we'll see.

• Water shoes - this is a no brainer and apparently I have no brain... I don't have any.  Andy uses his scuba booties, but I have fins that fit my feet so I never needed the booties.  I wear flip-flops every time we go trekking through a river and you can imagine how that turns out.  I found these Teva's at REI on clearance and love them.  They look like regular shoes but have holes for drainage on the sides and are extremely comfortable.  I almost spent the $100 for a pair of Keens but after trying these on (and taking into account the "stinky" reputation of Keens), I went with the much less expensive Tevas.  I have high hopes.

• Wine stoppers - Andy will say this is a waste as we never leave a bottle half full, but I think they're necessary.  What if we don't drink the whole second bottle?

• Various replacement wires - We have discovered that almost every wire we have onboard (for electronics like TVs, iPods, computers, etc), have corroded at the two year mark.  So I've bought new ones and sometimes two of them.  One of Andy's military sayings he's brought aboard is "one is none and two is one."  I think it applies here.

• Wifi booster antennae - We have one of these and it's been an absolute necessity for us, but.... it's dying a slow and painful death.  I'm on the search for one that not only boosts the signal going out, but coming in as well.  I haven't bought this yet, so all suggestions are welcome.

The list goes on and on (a whole new suitcase full), but I guess that's enough confession for now...I still have a month and a half left....ugh...  The good news is, we've paid off our debt and everything from here on out is money back in the kitty....so all is good.  My rationalization is that we'll be back in the land of nothing before we know it, right?

In the meantime, Andy is wrapping up his gig in Afghanistan and thinking about travel arrangements to go home.  Keep up your prayers and nice thoughts...I think they're working.

Photography by Andy

If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you'll know that Andy was a professional underwater photographer in the Navy and in retirement, has moved on from submarines to sharks.  We're constantly asked if he's ever going to sell his pictures.  Well, we've finally gotten a website together to share with everyone.  We still don't have an official "name" for it (all suggestions welcome), but we have his best photos up and available to everyone.

http://www.andrewmckaskle.smugmug.com/

Even if you aren't in the market for underwater photos, they're beautiful just to browse.  Take a look and feel free to pass it on to friends and neighbors.  There's a slideshow on the front page, but if you click on the "galleries" link, you'll find hundreds more pictures.

Right now, we only have the basics available.  But as word gets out and we understand more what people are looking for, we can expand the offers.

All feedback is welcome!

Peaks and Valleys

We've had some highs and lows this past week or so...

The lowest part of the week was when I received an email from Andy telling me that three of his coworkers were shot and killed by an Afghan security guard.  He was a bit shaken up as they were great guys and they worked fairly close together.  I can't imagine what their families must be going through. So I ask anyone reading this, that you keep the families of these guys and all of the guys and girls over there in your thoughts and prayers.  This one hit a little too close to home for me.

More time with Jett....making brownies.

The highs of the past two weeks were numerous.  Jake went to Vacation Bible School with his friend Arlie.  They learned about a mechanism called LifeStraw that purifies drinking water.  The church was trying to raise money to buy these devices for the people in Africa.  Well, the kids didn't think they raised enough through the offerings so they decided to have a lemonade stand to help.  They ended up selling enough lemonade to buy three LifeStraws (about $60)!

These movers gave the kids the jump start they needed.

I took Jake to his first minor league baseball game!  He had his first cotton candy (thankfully and surprisingly, he didn't like it) and he came home with a foul ball (notice I didn't say he caught a foul ball).

Fun at the Tides game.

Balloon man made Jake a snake.

Early this week, Jake and I went to Washington DC to visit a few of the Smithsonian Museums.  We saw the Natural History Museum, the Air and Space Museum, and then we went to the new add on to the Air and Space (I have no idea what it's called) out by Dulles airport where we saw the Spaceshuttle "Discovery," the Concord, numerous WWII planes, The Spirit of St. Lous, and too many others to count.  Remember the Pegasus rocket we found on the beach in the Marshalls?  We're pretty sure we saw that there too.

While in DC, we also spent some time with one of Andy's old high school friends and her two kids.  Jake had a blast and it was nice for us to catch up as well.  I'll tell you what, though....I am exhausted.  I need to go back to the boat to get a break from my vacation.

Remember Chili Dog?

We go back to California tomorrow morning and will stay there a bit longer before heading back to Pohnpei.  I've been trying to think of something to write to keep all you boaters interested (if yore still reading) but we've just been so busy, I haven't had a chance to put all of my thoughts down.  I can say it has been an eye opener for me to spend so much time back in the states.  It really puts things in perspective (in more ways than one) and makes me appreciate all that we have and what we've created in our little bubble out there on our 40 ft island.  The time with family and friends has been so nice, there aren't even words to describe it.  I've never felt so welcome and loved.  But I miss Andy terribly and am looking forward to things winding down.

BUT...not just yet....more to come from Sunny California!

Getting shape in Virginia...sort of

Jake, body surfing in the Atlantic

Apologies for the long lag in posts but we've been having so much fun, I've had a hard time keeping up.  We made it to Virginia and immediately, Jake and my friend Jennie's kid, Jett took off and they were inseparable all week.  We went to the beach, swimming in the pool, and we even introduced Jett to The Bass Pro Shop (can you believe anyone hasn't been there?  :) ).  If you have kids, you can understand how well they got along when I say that they had one fight all week after not only playing together every day but living together as well....and Jennie and I were lucky enough not to even be there for that one.  I also got to catch up with old friends.  Jennie threw me a party and I was so overwhelmed by all the people came...it was great to catch up with everyone.

Slightly disturbing that there was a deer head stuffed
animal, but the kids enjoyed it.

Jennie, Ray (my "old" boss), and me

Jennie, me, Fabiola by Jennie's pool, pre-party

Jennie is one of my friends that inspire me to try to get back in shape...well, at least try to take on a different shape.  (She's going to be irritated with me for writing about her...I'm trying to see how many times I can say Jennie in one post)  The first day we were here she was in a stand up paddle board race and paddled 10 miles in the ocean!!  She managed to get me to swim laps in her pool in the mornings, run a few times, and get this...I went to a cross fit class.  For those of you who have never done that, well...I still can't walk very well.  But we had a great time and I think it might have been the kick in the tail I've been looking for (as I sit here eating my Hardees biscuit in my running attire...I made need a harder kick).

She's going to kill me for putting this up, but I think she looks
great...plus, I don't think she reads the blog anyway :)

We're at another friend's house now, in Norfolk, and Jake is having fun going to Vacation Bible School in the morning and playing tourist with me in the afternoon.  We went to visit the U.S.S Wisconsin yesterday along with the nautical museum here and he had a blast.  He got to build a little submersible with pvc pipe and motors and actually drove it in the water.  Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera so I can't share, but I can assure you he has a pretty good chance at engineering in the future!

Andy is doing well...he's got about six more weeks and then he'll be heading back to Pohnpei.  He seems to be happy enough, although I think he's officially over the working thing and ready to go back into retirement :).