How is it that months pass like weeks? Oh yeah, I’m teaching again! As our adventures continue, I left you with Tim in San Diego where he can see Mexico and I am in Sequim where I can see Canada. Tim’s purpose for returning to San Diego was to complete a Captain’s License Intensive that was two weeks long. He had a couple weeks to get ready and then it was full-on, full time plus weekends learning and then...THE EXAMS! Yep! True to form, Tim devoured the information and learned a ton! He passed all his exams with nearly perfect scores! Tim is now a 100 Ton Inland Captain, and 100 Ton Near Coastal Mate, both include Sailing Endorsements. He wrapped up his coursework and had two weeks of socializing in the marine environment with an British friend, then family, and included our buddy boaters Steve and Janny. He had a wonderful time of decompression.

Next up? The sale of New Adventures to a new owner so we can upsize! Tim had a huge list of clean-ups, touch-ups and to-dos and then a very large amount of packing out to do since I had given up on a teaching job and had planned to join Tim in San Diego once our house had sold, there was a lot of stuff to do life with on the boat. It had been nearly two months since we had seen each other and we were not liking the solo lives we were dealing with, so Tim decided to ship some stuff, get a huge suitcase and fly home, to his new home Sequim, WA. His Captain’s License was waiting for him in the mailbox the day he arrived. It was so good to have him home.

Leaving the boat in the marina in San Diego meant that when my Christmas Break from school came we would be on the road and down there to pack out the boat and get it detailed like selling the house. The trip is 1,325 miles one way and we spent 7 days on the road driving over my 17 day break. When we arrived at the boat, there were no surprises. That was a huge relief! We needed to get so much done. We also made time for our friends Steve and Janny, as Steve had surgery while we were there and we wanted to help them out as needed. We also spent one whole day sailing with our daughter. The dolphins came to play! Danielle loves dolphins and they played off the bow while we were under full sail. They were so close and it was just a special moment, almost as if they know you love them and want to make your day special by showing up. We took no pictures or video, we just entered the moment. A moment to treasure.

Frustrations were afoot in a major way for me as I tried to figure out how to pack out all our belongings so we could present a spacious and clean boat. Somehow I thought I could pack out in one carload what a truck and three carloads brought aboard! I packed and compacted, resorted and shifted, stuffing small items into tiny nooks and crannies as our Toyota Camry sunk lower and lower to the ground. It was really looking good after six days, I was so excited! I did my best to estimate what we had left with our personal bags, toiletries, foodstuffs, pillows and computer bags. As the final load out began, decision time was upon me! It is not all going to fit, what will we leave behind? First out was the bin of galley items, that wasn’t enough. Next, our ditch bag with the medical kit, now we are getting closer, but still not enough room. Okay then? Alright, the spin-lock life vests and Yes! The rest fit in leaving space for Tim to see out the rear view mirror. There was now no bounce left in the shocks and half of a trunk load was left on the boat. Oh wait! I forgot to mention that we shipped five moving boxes of clothing and outerwear to Sequim! They were waiting for us when we returned.

I did not sleep much during this time as I was obsessing about how to make it all fit. Relief came as we left the marina and drove to Redding where all our house items are in storage. You see, unloading the boat was only half my battle, next was what to leave in storage and how in the world was I going to get what I needed back to Sequim? I needed my massage table and linens and a few supplies to come back with me. I unloaded the car, gave foodstuffs to our friends, and spent four hours unpacking and reloading the car in a completely different way from the trip up while parked at the storage units. I managed to repack the car in such a way that while it was still squatting at the bottom of the shocks, Tim said it drove better. I was able to get our most important items back to Sequim, like our nice set of kitchen knives (the furnished knives bend and are unsharpenable and dangerous) and my massage table and supplies. I also needed to retrieve some winter clothing and shoes. While I fought with packing, Tim did some client work while we were in town. We each had our battle to win that day. All in all, we left the boat looking fantastic, brought home the essentials, and enjoyed some wonderful family and friendship time.

New Adventures is on the market and ready for sale. Just as soon as we put it up for sale, the interest began. New Years Eve we received a call, then New Years day, many more calls. We arranged to have our boat shown by Steve & Janny on the 7th to three parties. We received an offer the 8th and Tim had to rent a car and head back down, 1300+ miles to get the remaining items and final touch-ups. Tim took the new owners out for a sea trial and training on all the systems. They loved the boat! He said, "Compared to my Catalina 36, this is a Mercedes." He kept saying, You have a beautiful boat!" She had much more experience sailing and extended cruising for years. She had even refurbished a larger Cheoy Lee and loves them. There is a saying in boating, "The two happiest days of a boat owners life are the day they buy it, and the day they sell it." We don't agree fully, this is a sad day, Tim was in tears a few times as he was turning it over. Another chapter is closing and we could not be more excited to see this close and turn the page. Happy New Year!

It has been far too long since our last entry. We are still going to share our time in the Sea of Cortez in February and March before returning to San Diego, CA and taking the next steps in our adventures. For now I will skip the details of our difficult return trip, known as bashing, because it’s against the wind and prevailing currents. San Diego to La Paz took 12 days, the return trip took 19 days! We are going to share with you our current land adventures! Are you ready?

A number of times here on the blog we have talked about being free to embrace adventure, loosing the tethers of countless items and things so you can be free. We arrived back in the US on Easter Sunday, April 16th at about 0415. We checked in at the Customs Dock where we had to wait for our clearance. We decided to sleep. A couple hours later we were roused from our sleep to complete our Customs Check-In. We had to surrender about 45 eggs since they were not from the US, you know those eggs that were not washed or refrigerated? Yes, those! Why so many? Because the trip back was so rough, I did not cook like I did on the way down! Oh well, life goes on. After getting settled in the Marina we crashed out! Sleep felt amazing after our long journey north. We tried not to sleep all day so we could return to a bit of the normal awake in the day and asleep at night routine.

Several days after our return, we secured our boat once we were done checking things out from the rough return, we rented a car to drive the 680 miles back to our house in Redding, CA. It was time to see how the house faired through the winter and how the students and couple living at our home cared for it. Not many seem to take care of rental property the way an owner would. The trip was filled with feelings of dread for me. When we arrived at the house it was a relief to see all was in relatively decent order. The long wet winter that included a number of high wind storms left the exterior and roof of our house in need of attention. The yard was in desperate need of spring cleaning and grooming. We still had our office at the house and that was also our room.

Tim and I rolled up our sleeves and got started with our intent set to get the house on the market ASAP. After meeting with the realtor and getting our list of things to take care of, we finally listed 8 weeks later! Days and days of working over 12 hours to pack, store and then stage the house for photos and listing for me. Tim battled the heat clock every day to replace edge shingles and fix paint in windblown areas. We also finished the stair railing in the entry way. With the skills of a good friend Jim, we completed the upgrade vision we had to tie the door, stairs and entry.

After finally getting the house on the market, Tim and I left on a much needed vacation to see family and friends in the Northwest. This was supposed to be my 50th birthday progressive party since we did not have the chance to plan a big party for me in Redding. This trip was cut short by taking care of some family business in Arizona for a week. Then right back to San Diego to hang out on the boat for a few weeks before our return to Redding for some appointments.

We did not anticipate being in Redding for such a long time and when we returned to the boat before leaving for Arizona the freezer and fridge had shut itself off! Oh gross! I will spare you the details and I will say it was days before the cabin smelled clean again!

We are again making some course changes with our lives. It was the sudden loss of both of our jobs that dropped us into this life altering adventure. Tim has the sea days he needs to apply and then test for his Captain’s License. When life has expenses and incomes are gone, there comes a point when income has to flow in again. Together we made the choice that in this next season I am going to find another teaching position so Tim will have the time and space to finish the tasks for his Captain’s License, change our corporations and finish other life details that are needed.

I agreed that I was to focus on getting the house ready for market in my areas and once the house was to market, my focus was to shift to finding work. If you are not a teacher or close friends with a teacher, teacher applications take HOURS to fill out! Some may take 10 hours! I spent the next 8 weeks filling out applications, applying for my teaching credentials in other states and keeping my pulse on 30 plus districts where I was willing to work. The locations had to be in a place close to ocean and moorage. I spent hundreds of hours in this process. Once I came to the place where I had applied for all the jobs available in our target areas and was waiting for calls to interview, I gave-up! Only a couple places responded to say positions were filled and I had one call for an interview from July that was scheduled for August.

August 1st came and something shifted! All of a sudden I had three interviews in one week! I received a call from a principal asking if I was still looking for work. I interviewed the next day and had a job offer the following day! From the three interviews: one I had not heard back from, one I had an offer from, and one that wanted me to spend a day with staff to be evaluated. The job offer in hand became my yes, it was the first application I submitted in my process, and it is the place we really wanted to live and have as our land base - Sequim, WA. My offer came late Friday afternoon and asked if I could be there by Monday, in two days’ time. It is a 700 mile drive, I went up on Monday and started New Teacher Orientation on Tuesday. While completing my training week we sold the house with a very short closing period, which we wanted.

After four days of training, I rushed back to Redding to complete what I could in three days’ time before my job formally started. Tim flew back as well. We worked like crazy for these days. We had many unique challenges such as attempting to get our 4-poster bed frame down the stairwell. We had to saw off the bottom of the legs. We added new stair treads the previous year and it raised the step just enough to keep us from being able to carry the headboard and footboard down.We signed our closing papers, and I left that evening to return to Sequim. Tim stayed on until the end of the week selling and donating furniture that we had decided we no longer wanted to keep. Followed by cleaning up the house so it looked great for the new owners. I left Tuesday and returned to Sequim where I can see Canada. Tim left the following Monday for San Diego where he can see Mexico. And the adventure continues…