I write this from Spa Creek in Annapolis. Yep, we’re still here. And it’s absolutely fantastic. Life has ebbs and flows, we all know this. Many times the darkest days are followed by the brightest. It’s just the way it is. And for us it hasn’t been any different. This isn’t completely fair. Our dark days were far from dark. We know we’re lucky and we know we’re living on a boat, not working, and touring down the US East Coast (via Ice Cream Shops…jesus, seriously, WTF with the ice cream?! The muffin top is so well fed at this point it’s getting worried it will be asked to move out as the IDGAF Belly wants to move in). So when I say we’ve had some “tough” days I know you all will roll your eyes. I’ll excuse your judgement at this time but you’ve been warned.

We’ve had some tough days emotionally. It’s not the storms or Atlas smacking us down after taunting the gods by posting an Instagram stories. What’s been hardest for us is the lack of play dates for the boys. We know we’re hardly unique with this challenge in the time of Covid but when one reads about other assholes who are “living the dream” it always involves kid boats meeting up at exotic locations and other frivolity and shit and stuff. Everyone having a great time with kids entertaining one another while parents drink sundowners and fend off handsy spouses. This has not been our reality and we were getting a bit miffed by this.

Our time thus far been wonderful…but intense. And isolating. I’m not complaining. We love each other. Truly. And we work really well as a family. Truly. The boys are awesome together but, come on, they can’t play together constantly. ANYWAY…finally we’re meeting up with kid boats and it’s absolutely FANTASTIC!!! It has been, yes, here we go, let’s say it all together…a GAME CHANGER.

So, for those that aren’t sailors, Annapolis draws boats from up and down the US East Coast each October because of the US Sailboat Show. It’s a big deal. Boats are pouring in to the area and each day brings new arrivals and people that we’ve been communicating with electronically for months. Finally we’re together. Finally the kids are getting matched up. It warmed my heart when Oliver was greeted by another 7 y/o boy who promptly asked “do you like living on a boat?” What a great question! He responded by saying “I guess so” and off they went to play. #perfect

So, as you can imagine, we’re happy. Things are looking up. We’re actualizing components of our dream and as all parents know, when your kids are happy there’s, literally, nothing better. Our boys are happy. Mom and Dad are happy. We’re still in Annapolis which was not our plan. The plan of sailing down to the Potomac, up the Potomac and staying in Washington for 4 or 5 days is dead. WTF were we thinking? Almost 250 miles of transiting down, up, down and back up to Annapolis when you can drive there in 1 hour? Yeah…so we’ve picked up a mooring ball here in Spa Creek and Atlas won’t be moving for the next 3 weeks. Amazing. We’ll have spent 5 weeks in Annapolis when all is said and done and that’s fine with us. We’ll be heading to DC next week, via car, and staying in an Airbnb (unless anyone has a lovely Pied-a-terre sitting empty in DC?!) while we explore our beloved nation’s capital. This is fine and sounds great to us. Even Bo is happy. He’s getting regular walks around a lovely neighborhood and meeting other dogs on his regular outings. We’re damn near locals at this point.

We expected to enter a new phase of the trip when we entered the Chesapeake and we have. It’s fantastic. We’re thrilled to be here. The kids are happy. The dog is happy. Boat projects are getting done. We’re seeing old friends, we’re meeting new friends. We’re making plans and exchanging ideas with like minded people who are heading the same direction with similar goals. Life. Is. Good.

We hope you are all well. We love seeing comments and hearing from you all. Please say hello. Please reach out. We think of home and those we’ve seen along with way often. This has been a challenging and profoundly rewarding 3 months so far. We’re looking forward to our future in this incredible journey. It’s been big leap and change, one not without some risk. We’re glad we’ve made the leap.