The beginning....

9/3/11
It's official! We did it! The kids are gone, the cars are paid off and the husband is retired! I guess it’s time to start planning the retirement years…..
Or not…
…so, we bought a sailboat.
“What?”  they say…”you’re kidding!”
“No, we’re not kidding…we REALLY did buy a  sailboat.”
“Why?” they say.
 “For the adventure!” we say.
This is the beginning of a new adventure for us.  The transition time, the “golden years”, the time when you decide do something different; when all the commitments and responsibilities of raising kids, paying bills are done( well, that never goes away)… when you move from one world into another.  Yes, we’re a little nervous about  the change in the "status quo" and wonder what will happen when we leave our comfort zone to let “whatever comes” be the norm, but we are ready and willing…
We always wanted to “sail away into the sunset”… sounds exotic, doesn’t it? A tropical paradise image pops into mind with warm waters and no worries…. but, we never thought it possible and didn’t have the courage or the  means and thought if anytime,  it would be later in life. So, we forgot about that dream for a while, stopped to raise a family and make a home of 25 years. 
Now, that that’s done,  we feel it's time for a new adventure! The “wonder-lust” is tugging at our sleeves. It’s time to go before we settle back down on the couch and watch the world go by.
 We do have some sailing experience.  Years ago, in the pre-children life, we sailed with friends to Hawaii following the trade winds up to Alaska. Another trip we sailed down the coast to Baja, stopped in Mexico for a few months then and back up to San Diego.  We were seasoned sailors then... but , now a little rusty. We know the basics of wind and sail. We hope it will be like riding a bicycle…some things never change, other things will be a learning experience this time around. Our bodies are older, wiser, slower and heavier and balder ..and “ I can’t see without my glasses!”
(oh, boy…really)
The first step is the decision, the next step is the actual going….can we really pull away from the dock of land bound life and cruise on a RV on the water?
To steal a line from another cruising blog: "You won't know, if you don't go!"

                                                                  

                                     So....here goes to the next adventure of our lives!