Dark & Stormy Night

 Southern Cross II made landfall this afternoon in Virginia Beach.  They had a great trip.  They are presently enjoying a delightful little dark rum & ginger beer drink, Dark & Stormy.  More accurately, they are enjoying many, many Dark & Stormies.  It will be a Dark & Stormy night.

They caught some fish.

These are huge mahi mahi, and one of my favorite fish.  Ryan promises me the freezer is full.

A beautiful sunset from their sail.  Doesn't my darling husband look happy & relaxed?  Meanwhile, back at home, the kids were making me a little crazy.

So I just left them at Dees with a piece of carrot cake.

Don't worry, I didn't leave them for long.  We actually had a leisurely day.  They only bicker when I'm on the phone or trying to take a shower.  Well, at least they go to bed.  Most of the time.

One Week to Go

It's been a busy weekend.  Wendy was in town so we went out to dinner last night. The food was terrible, but the company was great and we both enjoyed ourselves very much.  She had a great time on the sail to Key West and I hope she can jump on somewhere with us this summer.

According to the SPOT personal tracker, Southern Cross II, was about the same latitude as Moorehead City around lunch time.  I'm sure it never occurred to them to pull over and catch the Charlotte race.  That's what I would do if I were the captain.  But, I have to admit, sitting here in my PJ's on the couch watching the race is quite comfortable.

Yesterday I took the kids to Wonder Works, a local tourist attraction.  It's a science-type museum/attraction, but we didn't go to the main part of the building.   On the top floor they have this maze of ropes suspended from the ceiling and participants don climbing gear and clip into an overhead bar to navigate all the courses.  I've done it once before with Zachary, but heights are not my thing.  Zachary wanted to go just to the ropes course, and he had a blast.  We went there on a field trip with his class just a couple of months ago, so he's been begging to go back for a while.

 Underneath the ropes course is the arcade.  Evan played his favorite game and earned lots of tickets.

Meanwhile, Spider Man continued to traverse the ceiling.  I zoomed too much on the camera, so the picture doesn't show the height.  He's about 2 stories in the air here.

Then Evan and I played peek-a-boo behind the rails at the snack bar.

Today we had the family over for lunch.  I made red beans and rice and everyone thought it was wonderful.  Tonight I started gathering clothes for the trip.  I realized I wear the same few outfits over and over, but the thought of being "limited" to the same few outfits for 2 months unnerved me a little.  Then I just got over it.  It's weird for me to write this, but I am realizing they're just clothes and it's not a big deal.  I'm nurturing my inner "Type B".  It's such a change for me!

Tomorrow we may go to the beach.  There are a lot of tourists in town, so if the kids aren't up for it I'm not going to push it.  We may just hang out here and swim in the pool, or we could head to the zero entry pool at the spa/resort across the street.  Tuesday we are going to the water park, Wednesday we're going on a dolphin watching cruise, Thursday is the boys' pre-birthday family party, Friday Zachary is testing for his 2nd degree orange belt, Saturday is my performance, and Sunday we hop on a plane!

I'm hoping my darling husband will have missed our children so much that he'll whisk them off somewhere wonderful when they wake up Monday morning and let me sleep in.  One more week to go!

Dale Jr. needed 500 more feet to win Charlotte.  He ran out of gas on the last lap of turn 4.  Man, that just sucks.

9 Days and Counting

It's getting closer to go time.  Ryan has a SPOT personal tracker on the boat and sends me signals regularly.  As of 2:30 local time, they were about the same latitude as we are here, just in the Atlantic instead of the Gulf. They are making good time.  The weather reports are still favorable so it would appear all things are good onboard.

Things are better off-board too.  I got a great butt kicking via my yoga instructor, Paul, plus I got to have a great lunch with my friend (and Paul's wife) Lori.  I came home to reasonably happy children.  It was nice to have a break.  Both kids were fairly low energy today and Evan is still running a fever.  It has me slightly worried, so I just have to keep an eye on him.

This afternoon Zachary had an optional martial arts class that he decided to attend.  It's a bonus class only offered on Fridays.  We rarely go because we usually have something else going on, but today he wanted to go.  He's testing next week for his 2nd degree Orange Belt, so I figured an extra class might prove helpful.  The class was taught by the owner of the studio, not his regular teacher.  The studio owner is particularly strict, so I'm always a little nervous when Zachary has him.  After class the teacher/studio owner Mr. Richard asked to speak to me.  He said they are filming a commercial for the studio and he would really like Zachary to be in it.  He went on to say Zachary's form looks great and he is doing a phenomenal job.  I was stunned and delighted.  I'm hoping they'll film next week so he can be in the commercial, Mr. Richard said he'd let me know.  Zachary has worked so hard for his achievements in martial arts, and it's been very good for him.  It hasn't always been easy, but my little guy has hung in there and overcome adversity to get where he is.  Yes, I'm obnoxiously proud of my son.

Tonight, after I put tired kids to bed early (woo hoo!), I caught the last half of "Adventureland".  The music is so great and reminds me of high school and college.  So I proceeded to download $20 worth of music from iTunes and stroll down memory lane.  The kids love music and I can't wait to play "The Lovecats" for them.  I think they'll love it.

What to Take, What NOT to Take

Today's been a lonnnngggg day.  I was up at 4:00 a.m. with Evan running a high fever.  So, off to the doctor this morning.  He has tonsillitis and Zachary has an ear infection.  At least they were both sick at the same time so they'll both be on antibiotics until we leave.  I guess that's a good thing, meaning that if they have to get sick it might as well be now.

On the sailing front, the crew is heading north via the Gulf Stream.  Above are Teresa, Jason, Trey, and Lew.  I'm guessing they are having a blast.  Yes, I'm a little jealous.  Ryan's having a blast with some of our closest, funnest friends and I'm home with sick, whiny children.  However, antibiotics work quickly and I have a sitter coming tomorrow so I can go to yoga and run some errands (and have a break from my lovely children), soooooooo tomorrow will definitely be better for me.

Since my day was a bit challenging, I allowed myself to start thinking about packing.  Only a mild panic set in.  What should I take?  The Wii?  My juicer?  If we left today I think I might NOT take one whiny child.  What toys should I take for the kids?  How about the enormous amount of stuffed animals they each sleep with?  Will I be able to find my special gluten free pancake mix (the ONLY one my kids will eat that's gluten free)?  I've got to start potty training Evan soon - so the little potty?  And what of the clothes, etc. for me?  We'll be stopping at various golf destinations so our clubs are onboard, so I'll need golf clothes, golf shoes (wish I had put those onboard already!).  Anyone that really knows me is aware of my extreme fondness for fabulous shoes.  Should I bring any fun shoes or just stick to flip flops?  What about purses?  I need yoga & Pilates clothes, running clothes, and belly dance clothes as well.  None of these are the same!  I plan to keep active this summer - I enjoy finding classes along our journey.  Then of course I need boat clothes, nicer clothes for museums and shopping, and swimsuits.  At least the kids' clothes are easy.  Storage isn't as big an issue on this boat since we have a lot of space on this boat, but I am loathe to junk up this boat like we did our last one.  I'm glad I still have 10 more days to figure this out.

On a really sweet & mushy note, Ryan sent me a sweet e-mail last night as he was about to get out of cell range.  Awwwwww.  He also sent me this self portrait, just in case I forgot what he looked like.

He doesn't look as happy as he should, does he?  Maybe he misses me?  Hang on honey, the kids and I will be there in 10 days!

Photos from Key West

Here are Ryan and Wendy having fun in Key West

The change of crew arrived yesterday!  Here are Jason and Trey.  Their parents, Lew and Teresa, got there tonight.  The four of them will help Ryan take the boat to the Chesapeake Bay area.


The weather is favorable and the crew plans to depart Key West tomorrow morning.  I certainly hope they have me a key lime pie in the freezer.  I also hope Teresa took Ryan to the David Yurman jewelry store so I'll have a great birthday.  She's done this in the past, she's a very good friend!!

The kids and I had a full day today.  We went to the toy store to make a list of their birthday wishes.  It was a little confusing to Evan, who wanted to take home everything.  Zachary's list is a mile long.  We'll have a pre-birthday birthday party for both of the boys next week with Uncle Kurt, Aunt Denise, and Gran.  Zachary's birthday isn't until June 24, and Evan's isn't until July 21, but we'll be away from our family then and we wanted to share the celebration with them.  Not to mention how fun new toys will be on the boat,

Tonight I had bellydance class and rehearsal for our upcoming show.  I'll be a shimmying fool until it's time to put on my sailing clothes and slip into island time.  

13 Days Until Our Adventure Begins

Our summer sailing adventure is about to begin.  At least for me and the kids.  Ryan departed our Port, Panama City, with (Cousin) Wendy and (fraternity brother) Fred on Thursday and made landfall at Key West on Sunday morning.  He's resting there, changing crew, and plans to head North on Wednesday, weather permitting.

Zachary got out of school on Friday, Evan the Thursday before last, and now we have two weeks of summer to enjoy before we head to Baltimore to meet Ryan and the boat.

We had an after school party for Zachary, his classmates, and the neighborhood kids on Friday.  We had an awesome water slide and lots of pool toys.  We had almost 70 people here and it was a blast.  It was a great way to end the school year.  Now we're just making the most of our next 2 weeks.  We have plans for the water park, the beach, the science museum, the movies, and, of course, the sports arcade.  In between all the kid activities I'll squeeze in yoga, Pilates, and Belly dance.  I have a show June 4th to prepare for.  And at some point I have to pack our clothes for summer and prepare the house for the house sitter.  It's a super busy but quite exciting time.

13 days until our sailing adventure begins!