Some impressions about cruising so far...

(Submitted to WHSYC Headline by Jon Kumin,

    written by Nick and Megan Olberding)

Things that we really like and confirm our commitment to this lifestyle:

1.  We've met a lot of really honest, open, genuine folks both on land and on the water.  Some will be friends for a long, long time.

2.  Getting up with the sun and going to bed with it.

3.  Having a beer at 11AM if we feel like it.

4.  Cool fishing birds, cool fish, cool whales, dolphin, squid, octopus...the sealife is incredible.

5.  Spending so much time together.

6.  Mexicans.

7.  Full moons and star filled skies.

8.  Sunrises and sunsets.

9.  Figuring out what bus goes where in a new town.

10.  Visits from friends and family.

11.  An ongoing and always increasing appreciation for the USA.

12.  AM coffee in bed.

13.  Having a partnership unlike any other that we will ever face.  Succeeding and failing together.

14.  The beauty of it all.

15.  No distractions.

16.  Sharing new places with familiar faces.

17.  Being surprised and surviving and thriving.

18.  Appreciating the little things:  showers, phone calls, movies, email, etc...

19.  Landlubber questions.

20.  Reading books.

21.  Being with our spouse 24/7.   Yep, we still love each other.

There are a few things about cruising that we really could do without and make us want our old life back:

1.  Constantly reorganizing the boat.

2.  Digging for stuff...see number 2.

3.  Crusty old salts and cruiser opinions.

4.  Various fumes:  diesel, gas, oil, sealants, glue, the head...

5.  Anchor worries in the middle of the night.

6.  Bad weather forecasts.

7.  Rolly passages.

8.  Rolly anchorages.

9.  Not having a car.

10.  Paperwork hassles with Mexican port officials (what they do with all these copies is a mystery).

11.  Mexican music.

12.  Things on the boat that break.

13.  Bugs.

14.  Rotten fruits and veggies.

15.  Rebuilding the head.

16.  Rebuilding the other head.

17.  Fixing things that have already been fixed.

18.  Overly enthusiastic cruisers.  I am sure that WE were these nerds about a year ago.

19.  Salt.  Salt everywhere.  Clean it up today and there will be more tomorrow.

20.  Ducking, crouching, and otherwise contorting to fit in whatever space on the boat needs attention.

21.  Tourists that flew here in three hours when it took us three weeks.

22.  Cruiser gossip.  You would think some of these retirees were in tenth grade.

23.  Lack of fresh water to clean with.

24.  Missing family and friends.

25.  Idiots on boats.

26.  Dog tacos.

27.  Megayachts that run their generators 24 hours a day, everyday.

29.  Getting jacked by check-in and check-out fees.  It is a total scam. Imagine paying $50 or more every time you moved your motor home to a new town. Imagine that you had to check in with immigration, customs, and maybe the agriculture department at each trailer park too.  Totally loco.

30.  Boat work.  It never ends.

So, you can see that list two seems to be heavier than list one.  That is not to say that the bad outweighs the good.  The day that happens, we'll pack it in and start a new adventure.  They say that more than anything, cruising in a small boat brings you very high highs and very low lows.  We could not agree more. There have been so many moments where we felt on top of the world and never happier about our decision, and there have been days we thought of selling the boat.  For us, cruising so far has been filled with contradiction:  relaxing and tense, carefree and full of worry, peaceful and violent, quiet and noisy, lazy and busy.  Pick your antonyms...it will apply to cruising.  Those contradictions are a part of everyday life ashore, but on a boat it seems amplified.