I’m catching up a bit because I had no internet access for nine days. This is from Nov. 30, 2011.
So far, we are really enjoying the beautiful orange sunsets lined with palm trees on the horizon… and that’s about it.
We have been working non-stop on this boat and feeling like we are getting nowhere. As soon as we finish a project, something else breaks or pops up. It’s not all sunsets and margaritas. In fact, we are having trouble finding a good margarita at all. I’m starting to think margaritas were invented by a Mexican in Texas.
I was laughing to my sister about how it seems that living on a boat might be really good preparation for motherhood: If you hear a strange noise, you have to check it out no matter what you are doing day or night. It also requires constant attention to detail and all the patience you can muster.
There are so many aspects that have been challenging – we have moved where we don’t know the language, where to buy parts or get service or how to fix what’s broken. It also seems like if a projects seems easy and everyone says it’s a breeze, for some reason it won’t be. Oil change – no big deal, right? One week later and we still have no clue and are tired of getting covered in oil. It has been hard to stay positive about everything and enjoy our surroundings. We both have had days where we just wish we were back home. The trick there is that one of us freaks out while the other stays calm and holds on to the idea of adventure, and then we trade. This is fun, right? I guess we have to remember that we decided to take on an enormous learning curve that will hopefully start to round off soon.
We finally drew a line in the sand and decided no matter what the projects on our list are, we were going to head out to the nearby islands and try to enjoy ourselves. So we are headed out today to find the reason we left everything comfortable and easy to challenge ourselves and move out here.
Plotting an Escape 
Hang in there… It’ll get better. 🙂 we are planning on a march visit
Yeah! that will be so much fun. We should have the kinks worked out by then , too ; )
Oh my gosh, you crack me up! Everything worth something is hard work. I’m so glad you can let out some steam to us and that y’all don’t take it out on each other. All the hard work makes the enjoyable times soooo much better. You can do it and you WILL do it! Go team Andersen!!! Love you and miss you.
Thanks! The support is very appreciated. I like that… Team Andersen. haha!
Remember when I told you that the sailing was the easy part…..it’s all the other “stuff” that’s harder to learn? You are obviously “learning” allot right now and each day means you are one step closer to doing more of the sailing and enjoying. Never fear, you are closer than you think. And don’t forget to shoot me an email with any “silly” questions you might have about doing this or that. You know I’ll be happy to help.
FYI, we’re in your old neck of the woods, Nacognoches, Texas, picking up an RV we bought and freezing our tails off. You should be glad you are where you are with the warmth of the sun.
Hope you enjoy the islands….I know you did when we stopped there briefly.
Fair winds, Gary and Lois
The good part of having had lousy margaritas is that you have to keep looking!!
Thanks Gary! You are/were such a great help in our learning experience. I’m sure everything will become easier and easier as we figure things out. We did pick a challenging way to go about achieving this lifestyle, and I’m sure it will be worth it.
That’s cool that you got an RV! You needed to be more mobile again? I hope it takes you to amazing places, like Texan did. We will have to remember to keep you on “speed dial” for all our questions.
Take care,
Mere and Tim
Wanted to say Hi. I’m your Mom’s vet and have bought a boat this year with a similar dream. I know exactly how difficult what you two are doing and this is a 24/7 adventure. We so enjoy everything you write. You’re doing an incredible job of chronicalling everything. Your adventure certainly isn’t easy, but you’ll come back with incredible strengths and skills for your next set of adventures. Hang in there. You have a group of admirers back here at home. Cindy
Hello Cindy! My mom had mentioned that you are trying to escape on your boat too. What a small world! I’m am so glad you enjoy the blog. Thanks for the support, too. Looks like we might spend a good portion of summer up your way, so we will have to have coffee and chat about a sailor’s life sometime. haha!
Meredith I love this post, just because it truly shows how focused on y’alls dream you guys are! Just remember it will all be worth it, and you will have great stories to tell! This is such an awesome time for y’all, and all the ups and downs only make you two grow closer together 🙂 (how cheesy did that sound lol) Garrett and I planned out our own backpacking trip through Central America and there were tons of bumps in the road, language barriers, scams, random problems we didn’t expect, etc, but it was such a great experience for us to be on our own and go through the problems together. Sounds like you guys are doing a fabulous job at that!
It is completely true! If we don’t grow together we wouldn’t be able to keep this up. It sounds like you two had an amazing trip of your own 😉