Roots

It's been some long years on the road, a total of nearly 5 years since we first left the US and moved to Costa Rica, and then onto the sailing adventure. We have been able to travel in all sorts of conditions, not all of them comfortable, but none of them boring. We have also been able to see a lot of once-in-a-lifetime things and even now, telling some of the people we meet our story, it doesn't seem real. A few times, I've had to look back through the blog and pictures to remind myself how incredible and epic it has been.

The "sevensailors" have put down roots: as it were. We found a house in the Historic District of downtown area of Wilmington, a 'short sale' from a bank, and since we first saw it, Rachel knew it was the one. We put in an offer, and things quickly fell into place for us to be able to buy it. Actually, the closing was moved up a whole month from January 15th to December 17th! No one on board Mehari was disappointed as I've mentioned, since moving back on board two months ago it has felt like "The Incredible Shrinking Boat". With winter weather quickly approaching, we've been spending more and more days in places like the public library, the mall, or anywhere but the boat. 

A few days before Christmas, we moved in for our first night's sleep in the "new" house. I guess new house is misleading, as the house was built in 1920, but it is a two story 'colonial revival' and has lots of character. It needs some work, which is exactly the kind of house we were looking for. The yard is in rough shape, weeds, overgrown, etc. It also is in need of painting, and a lot of small cosmetic work. 

But the 'bones' of the house are good, it is very solid, and it came with everything to get us started, even a refrigerator and a washer and dryer! No more laundry-mats!! It is completely wood floors, old plaster walls, dormer windows, and lots and lots of room! Our whole world could easily fit in the dining room so once we move in it will be the task of getting furniture, beds, basically everything! We brought over our things from storage, including a folding tables and folding chairs, so we're off! For the first week, we're so used to being in small spaces together, we kind of move from room to room as a group thinking and dreaming of ideas for the house.

empty rooms......pretty much how they still look!

We're really excited for the new adventure of getting settled in here, finding good deals for furniture and  learning all over again how to adjust to land living and setting some sort of routine. 

Rachel's goal is to quickly set up her school room, and get the kids back in a routine for doing school. We also joined a YMCA fitness center located only a few blocks from our house, so she'll be there quite a bit with the kids, swimming and hanging out.

That's the update for now.  We'd love to hear from you or better yet, swing on by if you're near the East Coast! We'll go hang out at the beach and stare at the horizon..........

River Rat ;)

On the house hunt

We knew that once we landed in Wilmington, our days on Mehari would be short lived. Since coming back to the boat from Alaska, it has seemed to be shrinking literally by the day.

We are now heading into winter, which for boat life, means mildew, condensation, and very chilly nights. Although we've been pleasantly surprised by how mild the winter has been so far, we have had several COLD nights into the mid-upper 30's and we have no heat! We do have a small propane heater we can use to 'take the nip' out of the air, but nothing we can safely leave on all night, which translates into: pile on the blankets!

All this means, we need to get in a house, and soon. Rachel and the kids are feeling like they need to devote some serious time to refocusing on school. School has been a challenge, for at least the past year, as life has had us pulling into a lot of other directions. I'll have Rachel write more about transitioning school from the boat. 

Also, we have come back with a trailer full of household 'stuff' half of which is in a storage unit, half in the trailer at the marina, and half in the boat.......wait a minute, that's 3 halves! You get the idea! Stress!!

We looked at rentals for a bit, and found them to be expensive and all requiring a one year lease! We just want to get off the boat for a few months and get our bearings....is that asking too much?!

4th Turkey Day on Mehari

Well, because we just pulled in to Wilmington, we still don't know anyone........at least not well enough to have any invitations for all 8 of us to come over for Thanksgiving dinner :) we're celebrating on Mehari!

Thanksgiving is a family favorite holiday for all of us, one: because of the awesome meal, which Rachel manages to create out of our little kitchen with a two burner stove, and two: the inevitable movie/nap to follow! We all really love the time of year, it's starting to get crisp outside, leaves are gorgeous, and it's just a great time to relax as a family, not that we've been lacking family time these past few years. 

We spent the day cooking, we ate rotisserie chickens (that's all we can fit in our little oven) stuffing, potatoes, green beans, corn, cranberries, and this year, Emma dazzled us with two sweet potato pies she made with crusty marshmallow top! They were fantastic!

We also thought over the past 5 years, and where we ended up celebrating Thanksgiving each year..........

2008: We had just moved to Costa Rica earlier in the year and ended up celebrating with a group of "gringos" at a country club and did an impromptu potluck. It was loads of fun, there was a pool table there, and it ended up being a big party with almost 50 people! 

2009: We had moved onto Mehari only 5 months earlier, and had sailed a few Greek islands, and had made our way over to Turkey and had spent 2 1/2 months enjoying empty bays, new cities and the amazing hospitality of the Turkish people! I don't know if we've put it other posts over the years, but Turkey was easily one of our family's favorite places. We also found a rotisserie chicken there, made cous-cous, lots of fresh veggies and a Mediterranean salad. I don't remember dessert, but I'm sure honey, yogurt and some kind of chocolate were involved. 

2010: This year we were in Israel, living in Jerusalem. Miles was only 2 months old, and we spent the day in our apartment, eating hummus and pitas, I believe also we had Chicken (Turkey's are a pretty uniquely American thing) and Israeli salad, similar to Mediterranean, but lighter on the goat cheese and feta :(

2011: This year, we were making tracks toward crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It was right before we left the Canary islands, off of Morocco (although they are technically Spain) and we had a great day playing in the sand, hanging out at the beach and of course, playing football with some friends we met along the way. "Imagine," a boat with a family, us and a couple from Switzerland and Italy all made a potluck on the beach and Maggie even made a pumpkin pie and an apple pie! It was a epic day and the following day, our friends left to cross the Atlantic and we left to sail to Senegal, West Africa. Pretty unbelievable sitting here thinking back on it now:)

2012: This year finds us, having returned from an incredible summer in Alaska, fishing salmon, and travelling a LOT of miles there and back (20,000!!), visiting loads of friends and family along the way and looking forward to our new life in Wilmington. This town seems like a good fit for us, and we have really enjoyed exploring and learning some hidden gems. Our family is getting into thrift store shopping and there are tons of neat little shops here that we've been digging through. 

So, thank you to everyone who has supported us these past few years, we'd love to keep in touch with you and tell you about some exciting news happening over the next few months! 

Arriving in Wilmington

Here's a photo from the chart plotter, showing us pulling into Wilmington, we're the little triangle in the middle.
We had a good 3 day motor up the ICW, seeing about 60 dolphins on the trip which was really cool, but it was cold and windy, which was not so cool. Rachel also had a good trip 'sailing' over land in the car and meeting up with us each night.
It feels really good having all of our 'stuff' and boat and people in the same place and tucked into a marina, even though we're far from settled. Now that we're in Wilmington, we're all anxious to see what chapter is next!

Thanks everyone for all your prayers and support. We'll keep you posted on the start over process. With what little we've seen of Wilmington, it seems like a very cool, old town with lots to do for families, good for homeschooling, and a good fit for us!

"The Fisherman's Widows Club"

Yes, I have officially joined the group of the many women here in Alaska known as the "Fisherman's Widows  Club" (hypothetical of course!) The fishing season is in FULL swing and the fishing boats and  crews are coming and going.  Our crew has been gone for over a week now but we have been able to talk to the boys a few times.  They are doing great and trying to stay warm!  This has been a tough adjustment for our family for the obvious reason that we have been traveling closely for the past 3 1/2 years together on a boat the size of most peoples garage.  So, although we are missing each other we are all staying busy which helps!

Maggie has been working like crazy at 3 different jobs.  She is loving the independence and is learning a ton! Recently she got her driving permit! It think I was more excited!!  Like she puts it...."Only 2 years late,  but hey,  that's what living and traveling on a boat does!" So guess who does all the driving when it's the 2 of us?

Emma also got a job 2 times a week helping a friend down the street clean house.  She loves it too!  She feels independent and is learning a lot also.  We are focusing on school,  school,  school......but she is not too excited about that! 

The little's,  Emma and I have been involved with the summer library reading program.  There are activities once a week and the kids have been able to make some friends.  Last week we were a part of making 4th of July decorations for the Library, and then the girls got to march with the "Big" parade through town. Miles and I sat, watched, waved and caught candy!  Miles was thrilled!  His new phrase was......"Momma,  open!!

So for now we are enjoying Alaska and trying to keep warm.  

Thanks for reading  - Rachel!   

"The Last Frontier"

Welcome to Alaska

"Sign post forest" over 70,000 signs!

Early morning fog from the road

A river runs through it.....om the way to Homer

On the border

Yesterday was a really beautiful day, driving through South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. Wyoming was super flat and pretty dramatic, nothing but flat prairie in every direction, and then slowly the Big Horn mountain range rose up out of the plains and still had snow on their peaks. Awesome!

We made it as far as Billings, Montana, and found a campground on the Yellowstone River. It was a great spot. The campground had thick grass to set up the tent on, we sat by a campfire for a while, roasted some marshmallows, and slept like rocks. It is getting cooler, the further we go north, even though it's May. I think we might need to add another couple of blankets in a day or two!

Today, we're hoping to make it across the border into Canada and up maybe as far as Calgary.......we'll see. 

tent pegs......check!

We're past Missouri, back on the road and last night was in a little State Campground called Weston Bend.

We ended up getting there quite late, and tested our skills by setting up the tent in the dark. All the little ones were already asleep, so we just laid out the beds and simply transferring the sleeping kids inside. It was an OK first night in the tent, we had no air mattresses (well, we did, but no pump to air them up and no desire to do it at 10:00 pm :) so we slept on the good 'ol ground for the night. Keeps you humble, eh?

In the morning was cereal, a quick shower in the campground, and we were back on the road, heading to Erik's brother's house in the Black Hills of South Dakota. On the way, we saw mile after mile of farmlands in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

After a long driving day, we arrived at Aaron and Darla's late (again! are you seeing a trend?) and they had beds already set up for us and a nice toasty fire in their backyard. We spent a few hours catching up and then were fast asleep! It's amazing how tired you get sitting in a car all day! Aaron and Darla have been working hard on their property for the past 3 years and the amount of work they've accomplished was amazing. Hundreds of trees cut and cleared, a house built, and utilities installed. Pretty overwhelming looking at the property next door which is still raw. We spent a couple days there, hanging out, sleeping, and EATING! They raided the freezer and we had some awesome steaks!

So, in a couple of days, we're off towards Montana and then Canada. See you then!

Missouri photos......

St Louis arch

Kelsey and Emma

Kyle, Emma, and Maggie

John loading the canoes

Rachel, Miles and Lily....ready to raft

Emma and Jen were stuck like glue

Family reunion!!

1200 miles down.....

Hello from the road,

Well, we got some miles under our wheels, but still have a LONG way to go. We ended up packing all day last Sunday, getting the boat ready to leave for several months. It was a very strange feeling, cleaning the boat, and looking at all the memories we made in there. It was also a bit sad as we drove away and looked back at Mehari, sitting on blocks, and all the decks cleaned off. We had to take down all the sails and tie everything that was loose, down tight, as she will be sitting there through hurricane season, and you never know......last year they had a small hurricane go through Beaufort area and there was some flooding in the marina, but no damage. We are praying for the same result this year!

So, once we had the car loaded, and I mean over-LOADED, it was 10:00 p.m. and way too much work to try and stay on the boat again, we decided to just set out on the road and see how we felt. The kids (and us) were all excited to get to our first stop in Rolla, Missouri with Rachel's sister and family (they have 6 kids also) and so we ended up driving all night and the next day, 1100 miles straight! Rachel and I took turns driving and napping, so it wasn't too bad. The kids, once they were wedged in and comfortable, slept all night. It was actually somewhat peaceful, as it rained almost the whole way, and they were snuggled in. 

We've been here in Rolla for a few days, and have had a great time hanging out, playing lots of games, and even worked in a canoe trip down a beautiful river near here, the Current River. It's a really pretty and the water was crystal clear and super cold when the canoe flipped!! It gave us a LOT of motivation to make sure it didn't :)

It's time for us to say goodbye, or more accurately, see you later, as we will be coming through here again in the fall on our way back to North Carolina. So......some tears, but not too many. The next stop for us is probably a campsite tonight, depending on how far we get towards the Black Hills of South Dakota. We are heading to Aaron and Darla's house (Erik's brother) so we will write more from there! 

~eight explorers?

Mehari "parked"

Here she is!! This is Mehari's new home for the next few months, until we get back from fishing in Alaska. It is supported and braced (in case of a hurricane) and it should be safe. It was really sad leaving her after all the memories and adventures we had with her, but we'll be back soon!

It's in a boat yard called Bock Marine, and they seem like they really know what they're doing. Plus, it's a boatyard that let you do your own work on the boat. Something that is becoming harder and harder to find. So, when we do come back in the fall, all she'll need is a new coat of bottom paint, and she's ready to launch!