Is a really nice woman who said yes to packing it up and taking a sail for a while. Lest you might think our trip is all clams on the half-shell, sunsets and s'mores, I will from time to time include, as Paul Harvey would say, the other side of the story. Included below are a couple of Jo's posts to her office that she's agreed to let me post here. This is a section of the blog we'll now refer to as "Behind the Blog". It explains, in sometimes vivid detail, the rustic and charming nautical side of our life afloat. Its all just a matter of perspective.
A post from Cuttyhunk:
Subject: Behind the Blog... Hi there - It's Sunday. I'm sitting on the deck of our boat squeezing in a quick email before we lose signal again. We're in the middle of Cuttyhunk Pond. It's a wonderful moment in time... our holding tanks are empty, our water tanks are full, we have plenty of food in the galley, we got fresh lobster right off the boat for dinner last night, Drew fished and actually CAUGHT something, it's sunny, we have internet access... surely there'll be a rainbow, too. Things are going too well! Compare this with last Thursday in Newport when we were on day 2 with no water other than bottled, the mooring we were on was extremely ROLLY, everything was wet, and had I had internet access, I would have sent out a call for someone to PLEASE RESCUE ME!!!! This is a very interesting experience because you just never know what will happen next! Our water tanks last about 3-4 days, depending on if we acually want to shower. For me, the answer is yes, but the kids seem to be okay with the beachcomer look! Our holding tanks are generally full after about 48 hours. The boys can extend this timeframe a bit, but I won't go into too much detail here! Our food supply is good for a couple of weeks, along with propane, and we have a generator so we can repower cell phones and computer batteries as needed. Hot water is very limited, so I generally have to boil some to do dishes - I really miss the dishwasher... among other things! When Pat posts some more photos on the blog, you'll see what grocery shopping and laundry via dinghy are like! The slogan for Cuttyhunk Island is "if you can't relax here, you can't relax". This is something that has always been hard for me, so we'll see how it goes... we plan to stay here for a while. Today was a great day. Hoping it's a sign of good days to come!
A post from Oak Bluffs:
Subject: Behind the Blog... Hi there - We're in Oak Bluffs Marina on Martha' Vineyard. It has poured rain ALL DAY. It was laundry day - 1 wet dinghy ride, 2 blocks to the laundromat, 2 weeks worth of clothes and sandy towels, 2+ hours, and 3 large laundry bags tucked inside some garbage bags to stay dry, and we're good to go.... oh, and about 12 million quarters! Pat took the kids to ride America's oldest merry-go-round located right here in Oak Bluffs while I watched the laundry spin and knitted part of the left arm of a sweater I'm making for Emily. They came back with pizza which was nice. This is definitely the wettest day we had yet, but nothing is leaking so that's good. Also, we won't have sandy sheets tonight. We have neighbors today... a fishing boat tied up to us because the harbormaster has authorized up to 3 boats per mooring ball in preparation for the Monster Shark Tournament that begins tomorrow... really, ESPN is even here. Apparently it's a huge event. The kids can't wait for the big Weigh-Off on Friday. Having a boat tied to us combined with the storm is making things extra rolly this evening. So far it hasn't had a negative impact on the Pass The Pigs game underway in the "dining room". We're nearly out of food, except for about 40 cans of tuna... Pat is the only one who likes tuna and he really stocked-up when we came across a Trader Joes on the way to his brother's house a few weeks ago. Thank goodness for cheese and crackers and apples and wine, but as of about an hour ago, we're out of those items too. Heading to the grocery tomorrow, rain or shine.
Hope the sun is shining there!
And so there you have it from the other side of the boat. We'll keep you posted!
A post from Cuttyhunk:
Subject: Behind the Blog... Hi there - It's Sunday. I'm sitting on the deck of our boat squeezing in a quick email before we lose signal again. We're in the middle of Cuttyhunk Pond. It's a wonderful moment in time... our holding tanks are empty, our water tanks are full, we have plenty of food in the galley, we got fresh lobster right off the boat for dinner last night, Drew fished and actually CAUGHT something, it's sunny, we have internet access... surely there'll be a rainbow, too. Things are going too well! Compare this with last Thursday in Newport when we were on day 2 with no water other than bottled, the mooring we were on was extremely ROLLY, everything was wet, and had I had internet access, I would have sent out a call for someone to PLEASE RESCUE ME!!!! This is a very interesting experience because you just never know what will happen next! Our water tanks last about 3-4 days, depending on if we acually want to shower. For me, the answer is yes, but the kids seem to be okay with the beachcomer look! Our holding tanks are generally full after about 48 hours. The boys can extend this timeframe a bit, but I won't go into too much detail here! Our food supply is good for a couple of weeks, along with propane, and we have a generator so we can repower cell phones and computer batteries as needed. Hot water is very limited, so I generally have to boil some to do dishes - I really miss the dishwasher... among other things! When Pat posts some more photos on the blog, you'll see what grocery shopping and laundry via dinghy are like! The slogan for Cuttyhunk Island is "if you can't relax here, you can't relax". This is something that has always been hard for me, so we'll see how it goes... we plan to stay here for a while. Today was a great day. Hoping it's a sign of good days to come!
A post from Oak Bluffs:
Subject: Behind the Blog... Hi there - We're in Oak Bluffs Marina on Martha' Vineyard. It has poured rain ALL DAY. It was laundry day - 1 wet dinghy ride, 2 blocks to the laundromat, 2 weeks worth of clothes and sandy towels, 2+ hours, and 3 large laundry bags tucked inside some garbage bags to stay dry, and we're good to go.... oh, and about 12 million quarters! Pat took the kids to ride America's oldest merry-go-round located right here in Oak Bluffs while I watched the laundry spin and knitted part of the left arm of a sweater I'm making for Emily. They came back with pizza which was nice. This is definitely the wettest day we had yet, but nothing is leaking so that's good. Also, we won't have sandy sheets tonight. We have neighbors today... a fishing boat tied up to us because the harbormaster has authorized up to 3 boats per mooring ball in preparation for the Monster Shark Tournament that begins tomorrow... really, ESPN is even here. Apparently it's a huge event. The kids can't wait for the big Weigh-Off on Friday. Having a boat tied to us combined with the storm is making things extra rolly this evening. So far it hasn't had a negative impact on the Pass The Pigs game underway in the "dining room". We're nearly out of food, except for about 40 cans of tuna... Pat is the only one who likes tuna and he really stocked-up when we came across a Trader Joes on the way to his brother's house a few weeks ago. Thank goodness for cheese and crackers and apples and wine, but as of about an hour ago, we're out of those items too. Heading to the grocery tomorrow, rain or shine.
Hope the sun is shining there!
And so there you have it from the other side of the boat. We'll keep you posted!
2 comments:
I love seeing Joanna's side of things - don't forget to save your notes for the best selling book "Disposing of your husband at sea without the kids knowing". Our email is sbeams@twcny.rr.com. Hope to hear from you soon!
What an amazing adventure!! Quite a difference from the days on Lake Thunderbird.
Looking forward to reading your posts and living vicariously through the Ehlers Family.
Joyce
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