Hey there!!

We're super glad you're here and are taking time to share it with us!

We invite you to stroll through pages, blog posts, photos, maps, etc, dream and take a wander through our experiences, sailing around the Mediterranean, having a baby abroad, and now our new adventure......moving back to the United States

One of the things we've been doing since we've returned, is answer a LOT of questions on how we were able to plan, and afford the trip we took (and what the H-E-double hockey sticks we were thinking) We realize we've been extremely blessed, don't think we forgot that! We also thought it would be cool to launch a podcast where we interview families, so there you go!

The following post has a link to the podcast, but we still keep getting so much traffic to this site, we thought we better give you loyal followers, or new friends, something new to read once in a while!

It would be fantastic if you would go there, listen to a few episodes, and leave us a note or a review on what you think of the project. It's something totally new for us, which is exciting, but scary nonetheless!

And you may as well have a peek of where we landed in the US: The star is in Wilmington, NC right on the coast, so we're not too far from our sea roots, and we're loving our new 'hometown' :)

Podcast Launch!

It turned out to be an incredible amount of work, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've noticed a trend in myself lately that I have a bizarre power to drastically underestimate how hard or how long or how much a project is going to take to complete. I think it may be "rose colored" glasses, but either way, it's annoying as heck!! By the end of the day, I'm usually left wondering what I got done.

See? ....just that paragraph was longer than I wanted as an intro! :)

At any rate, we launched Family Adventure Podcast!! It's officially on Itunes! and we'd LOVE to have everyone's help in getting the word spread. The best way is to post this link on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc. and see here it goes! www.familyadventurepodcast.com/itunes Also, it's critical to Subscribe, and Rate or Review the podcast on itunes. 

If you're not appley, go through this link to Stitcher: www.familyadventurepodcast.com/stitcher. Stitcher is a popular podcast engine for Android, tablets, etc.  

Thanks in advance for everyone's help! Let us know how you like it (or don't) and we are excited to see what this may lead to!

Erik & Family

A new Chapter.....

As many people have followed this blog over the years, and we've been amazed by the people we've met through our adventures, we had a difficult time simply closing the chapter to the adventure and trying to pick up again with 'normal' life. Some of our reader have been curious how the kids have adjusted back to life on land, living in a new town, and picking up the pieces to their schooling.

Kids are amazingly resilient and adaptable as we've seen, and I think we as the 'grown-ups' have had a more difficult time in some ways. The emotions of this adventure are really hard to simply put on the shelf.

So, we're prepared to embark on a new adventure!! This one is all about helping families do and achieve big dreams and goals. We get asked frequently questions like: "Where do you start planning an adventure like this?" "How much does it cost?" "Weren't you scared of pirates?"

Our plan is to start a new platform called:  www.familyadventurepodcast.com! It is going to be a weekly podcast/radio show where we will interview families who have completed, or are currently traveling and adventuring in all sorts of ways: sailing, biking, RV'ing, etc.

These are families who have left the comforts of home and we are thrilled to meet them and hear their stories of success, failure, things they wish they'd done differently, everything! We want to inspire families to learn what option are out there, and more importantly, how they can set and achieve big goals!

We'd love to have you on the journey with us and please visit us at: www.familyadventurepodcast.com

Thanks for all your support through this website over the years, and we'd love to hear from you!

BIG NEWS!!

So, something pretty amazing happened during Maggie and Levi's trip to Israel that at least deserves it's own blog post!

Josh had asked for Rachel and I's permission several month ago for Maggie's hand in marriage. We love Josh and even more importantly, we know how much he loves Maggie. So, we agreed, not knowing exactly how or when they would be able to get married. The trick with international relationships is visas and residency papers have gotten very complicated all over the world. I don't think any nation is easy these days to get permission to live and work in.

But they are committed to each other and to making their relationship work, so when we sent Maggie and Levi to Israel, we were expecting an excited phone call sometime during the trip to hear about the proposal.

It came only 3 nights after they left. Once Maggie and Levi had arrived in Israel, Josh was anxious to propose and he had a great set up planned for Maggie. She love Nicholas Sparks books, and he had hollowed out a section of her favorite book and hid the engagement ring inside. He then had a dinner set up and afterwards, a quiet dessert set up on a roof top overlooking Jerusalem. He had friends get it all set up with candles and once they were on the roof, he gave her the book. She loved it, but didn't realize you had to open it to get the REAL gift! She was ecstatic and though tears, accepted his proposal.

They then joined the friends who had helped set it all up and had a group celebration! Good times!

Maggie and Levi - Globetrotting on their own....

Things have been moving quickly since we've been back to the US, especially since we've arrived in North Carolina after our road trip last Summer. Maggie and Levi were invited by some dear friends we met in Israel to be in the wedding of their oldest daughter. Of course, Maggie and Levi jumped at the opportunity to make another trip back to Israel and see all of their friends there again.

They also invited their cousin and his wife, Corey and Alida to make the trip with them. So they met in New York City 'on their way' and spent almost 3 weeks traveling around Israel and hanging out. 

It was a bit nerve-wracking for us, partly because our kids were traveling to the other side of the world, but also because we wanted to go with them!! Of course, no complaints at all from Maggie who was able to see her boyfriend who she has been maintaining a long distance relationship with (with a visit in the middle), so she was ecstatic to see him. He's the dashing British bloke in some of the photos. 

They had a great visit and the wedding went well. Corey and Alida also fell in love with Israel. Maggie and Levi were the 'tour guides' showing them some spots they really liked from our time there. Places like the dead sea, En Gedi (a nature walk with waterfalls) and of course, Sea of Galilee. They also spent a lot of time walking and walking and walking around Jerusalem. It is really an ideal city to walk because the weather is usually amazing, and you can hardly throw a falafel over your shoulder without hitting a archaeological site of something incredible. 

Here's a couple pictures from their trip: 

More pictures at: Picasa photo album

What pipe?

Of course, not all is roses when you buy a 93 year old house, and we planned on finding a few surprises :)

One that wasn't a surprise was the fact that when you ran the tub or sink in the 2nd upstairs bathroom, water was gushing down the wall by the front entry. So we knew that was going to priority number one after moving in, as the bathroom was off limits until we had it fixed. All of sharing the other bathroom upstairs was like old times on Mehari, so no big deal. 

I tore into the wall one Friday morning, tracing back where the leak was coming from, and removing all the old lath and plaster wall that was all the rage last century. It must have been a lot more time consuming building this way "in the old days" but it sure makes for a LOT stronger wall! I mead this thing was solid! And almost 3/4" thick. A lot different than the 1/2" flimsy drywall you find in most places today. 

I also had a plumber friend I'd met on a house inspection scheduled to come over and give me a hand when I got stuck (notice I said when, not if) And when he saw the old pipes and connections in the ceiling, he pulled out his phone and started taking pictures saying "this was back when men were men!" I'm not entirely sure if that's really what you want to hear from your plumber whose on the clock and being paid by the hour.....

It took no time at all for us to find the problem, the huge 4" cast iron drainpipe running down the inside of the wall, was totally split and water had been just pouring straight through it and into the crawlspace below. I mean pouring. So, problem located. He ran to get parts and I got the rest of the section of wall torn out, and when he got back we started cutting. 

We ended up cutting out a 7 foot section of cast iron, carried it out and threw it in the front yard. As soon as it landed it broke into three pieces and desenigrated. 

So, new pipe installed, dry, and ready to go. All that's left now is a small repair to the wall by the owner :(

New year......new place

As we're getting settled in, we're trying to find our place and how we fit in Wilmington.

We're all really enjoying exploring new corners of our neighborhood, and finding great deals on furniture for the house......what can you say? Craigslist is amazing! For people reading who aren't familiar, or in a counrty where it doesn't exist, Craigslist is basically an online classified place where people can list (for free) things they want to sell or job listings, or whatever. 

It really blows our minds after seeing some very different places in the world culturally, that Craigslist is just an awesome place to find great deals on stuff and, it turns out, meet some really cool people in the process! Talk about a win-win!

There's been two occasions now where we found something on Craigslist, a table or desk, and by the time we call, it's already sold. But in both instances, the people have said, I have more stuff to sell, so come by and see what you want. They've both ended up giving us some crazy "package" deals. In one case, it took 4 trips with a pickup to bring everything back to the house!

So, we decided we'd show some of the things we've picked up and how we've been able to so far, fill our whole house with furniture for less than $1,000! Not too bad for 3 weeks work so far! At the rate we're collecting, we might be thinking of starting a 2nd hand recycled furniture shop :)

Also, about a 10 minute walk from our house, is an awesome farmer's market/grocery store where they specialize in locally grown fruit and veg and also locally made honey, etc. It's a great reminder for us of some of the markets we were able to shop at during our travels, so that's been cool as well. A huge bonus of shopping there, is the bakery/coffee shop inside which has incredible coffee for $1.00, I mean really, let's keep our priorities straight!

So, "baby steps back into society", and that's a snap shot of our last couple of weeks. We'll post some of our furniture "bargains" in the next post. 

~ Hems

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..........

Stop in Charleston

We spent the weekend down in Charleston, South Carolina visiting some friends that we'd met in Turkey almost 3 years ago! It is only a 3 hour drive from here in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

They finished a 3 year circumnavigation by boat last year and now since we're "neighbors", we wanted to catch up with them. It was a great time hanging out with them and their sons, Emile and Peter. 

This photo was in a toy store in downtown Charleston and this may be as close as Emma may get to France for quite a while!

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!

Waiting for the bridge

Sometimes on the ICW, you don't arrive at the bridges exactly when they open, so you end up sitting in the channel, waiting for a while until their next scheduled opening.
There are workers sitting in the control towers (in the middle in this picture) and we communicate with them using the radio, being sure to address them as: 'Bascule Bridge Master, we are requesting an opening!'
It feels like we're asking permission from the trolls under the bridge to pass in a children's fairy tale, but that's how it is. Kinda funny!

Coffee from the "road".......sailing in some chilly weather :)

Ready for Launch (or......as ready as we'll ever be!)

It's been a drizzly couple of weeks, first with the hurricane (although compared to the devastation in New York and New Jersey we don't have anything to complain about!) and then the residual storm this week pushing rain and COLD down here, we haven't exactly finished our list of things to  do on the boat before we can put it back in the water.

Although we did manage to pick up a bigger propane heater for the inside of the boat, because with lows in the upper 30's, and NO insulation to speak of on a fiberglass boat......it's been.......brisk! And there seems to be only so many layers you can wear to bed. 

"ICW" in North Carolina

We were scheduled to go back in this Friday afternoon, but it looks like Monday at the soonest, maybe Tuesday. Something that is super critical for us going back into the water is making sure we coordinate with the tides.
We have to make sure we go in at "slack high tide" which means the water is as high as it's going to get and shifting to the low tide for the day. Of course, the tide changes everyday, so it's all in the scheduling. We are on a small river, called Core Creek, off of the main part of the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) And the tides RUSH through this section and trying to motor our boat out into it with the water either rushing one way or the other is not a fun prospect. 

The ICW, if you're not familiar, is a 3000 mile canal system, most of it natural inlets, salt water rivers and bays, along most of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. It is possible to travel the coasts of several states without the hazards of traveling on the 'open sea'. Although you have to pay a lot more attention in the ICW than on the open sea because there is a lot of traffic from barges, other sport boats, sail boats, fishermen, and bridges! Not exactly the set-the-autopilot-and-read-a-book kind of watch. On the other hand, it's usually pretty flat water, so no one is feeling  crummy.

So, we're scrambling to finish all the chores, while Mehari is sitting on blocks. Projects like: a new toilet! some fiberglass repairs to the rudders and back deck, painting the entire hull with anti-fouling paint, and what seems like a thousand other miscellaneous projects. All while doing laundry, shopping, and shifting stuff off and on the boat.......oh yeah, and living! 

I think we'll all be glad to get back in the water, and back to a 'normal' routine.....which I'm not sure we know what that looks like, but are willing to learn ;)

From the ICW in North Carolina.......

Hems

Hurricane Sandy

Are you sensing a trend? We arrived in North Carolina 'just in time' for a hurricane warning!

We got back to the boat on Thursday late in the day, only to find we'd had a couple leaks over the summer, and some flooring was ruined and a stack of school books were black with mold and saturated with water :( We ended up in a hotel for one more night until we could get a handle on things, but I can't say the kids broke down crying about the school books (Rachel and I did!) 

Friday consisted of cleaning up the boat, moving things we've stored onboard into our trailer to try and move , and getting situated for what looks like a pretty serious storm. 

Today is Sunday afternoon, and we're about halfway through the storm, it's been downgraded to a tropical storm and then back to hurricane. The eye of the storm is about 150 miles off-shore, but as of this morning, we've seen almost 3" of rain so far, and plenty of high winds.
We are really glad our boat is out of the water during the storm, but try to imagine challenges like: walking up to the bathrooms in the mud, getting off/on a wet cockpit, living out of an ice-chest with no running water, and and all of us cramped in here, running a small space heater to dry things out. We've managed a few movies to be sure :)
We're just trying to keep our spirits up and know it'll only be for another couple of days, and then we can get on the process of starting a life. Although, for right now, this IS life, and we've learned that as long as we're together as a family, we can do ALOT!! We keep trying to remind and encourage each other, and know we've already done some really hard things and this is just the path to something else. 

The plan, as of 5 minutes ago, is to paint the bottom of the boat later this week, get it launched back in the water, and make the trip down to Wilmington, NC. We will then be living on the boat and then it's job hunting time and looking for a house to rent. Wilmington is loaded with historic homes, and boasts over 300 blocks of "historic district"
We'd love to find some old homes to fix up as rentals ourselves, and if anyone has some money to invest, from our research this looks like a growing spot. I also know an excellent contractor/remodeler who is currently out of work! Seriously, drop us an email if you know someone interested.

So, that's an update, we'll send another note once the storm is over, and let you know everything is OK, thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!

~ Soggy Hems

Eastbound

Our time with family in Missouri has come to a close :(  and time to head east toward Mehari back in North Carolina.

It's been 5 months since we've been road nomads.......all the way to Alaska, fishing, and camping, and all the way back. And we thought boat life was hard! I think we'll all be glad to be in our 'most familiar' beds, back on the boat. The boat has been sitting out of the water in a boatyard just north of Beaufort  NC, a place called Bock Marine. We're also a bit curious how she's done sitting empty all this time.

Cousins' farm in Missouri

playing in fall leaves

Some of the highlights from our time in Missouri were Levi and Erik going to John's basketball practice every morning and getting a thorough workout. Of course, all the cousins (12!) had a ball hanging out and riding a mototrcycle, a quad, and feeding chickens, turkeys and a horse. Our kids got a little taste of farm life, doing chores in the early morning.......they managed to survive. 

making sure the hotel beds are *soft enough.

Erik managed to squeeze in a VW bus show in Springfield, the girls had a shopping day, the 'boys' went to a gun show, and we had a few game marathons, mostly Apples to Apples, and the grownups even managed a date night ;) and the house was not burned to a crisp when we got back.

Now, we've been scootin' along through Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and finally, North Carolina. 

ice cream break in Kentucky

Catching up......

Ok, we've been a bit occupied the last couple of weeks, but finally sat down for a minute to catch up with the blog and give everyone an update of where we are and what we've been doing!

We spent almost 3 weeks in Arizona all said, catching up with a LOT of friends, family and also doing some work 'stuff' on a commercial property we own. Maggie and Levi and Emma were put to work in between visiting friends, doing a lot of painting, cleaning, staining, sweeping, and organizing our life up to this point. I must say, even though the boat life has it's challenges, living day after day out of suitcase is no cup of tea either. I would rather have everything unpacked, even if its into a small 400 square foot catamaran! Which, I am excited to say, we will be back on in a few short weeks! (Not everyone shares my excitement, but I think they're warming to the idea)

We are now in Missouri, (not Misery!) visiting Rachel's sister for a week or two and all the kids are catching up with their cousins after a long time away from one another. Rachel's sister and her husband, Stacy and James, have 6 kids as well, including 2 teenagers they've adopted from Russia two years ago, so while there's "only" 18 people in the house, it's a good chaos and were really enjoying our time here. 

Photos to follow when we get a spare few minutes of peace and quiet, and pry the computer back from the kid's fingers!

Hems

A pause on the road trip of life.......

So it turns out trying to keep a blog updated on a road trip while tent camping in next to impossible. Almost every minute of the day is spent driving and setting up or taking down the tent, sleeping bags, and getting things set up to do frivolous things like eat. :)

Anyway, we are back in our 'native' town of Prescott Arizona and have been having a great time catching up with friends and family from being away these nearly 5 years. It's really felt like a homecoming for us and the kids are having a blast catching up with all their friends! We're here for a few weeks, going through storage, reconnecting, and trying to assess the next step of life......turns out that's not so easy!

We will be posting some blogs about the road trip and the cool things we got to see and do since Alaska......we promise.....over the next couple of days!

Hems