Five Years Ago ...

Our first solo sail ... on Lake Pontchartrain, 2010

Five years ago today, I turned 43.  Five years ago tonight, we saw our sailboat for the first time and made an offer on her ... what a birthday present!  

I'd found her on Craigslist that morning, and knew she wouldn't last long.  I told Ken that all I wanted for my birthday was a trip to New Orleans to see her.  After work, we picked up our friend, Ted, and headed to New Orleans.  Ted's been living on his sailboat for years, and we wanted him to come along to give his opinion.  I knew I was gonna want this boat!

After the deal was made, we celebrated at Margaritaville in the French Quarter.  It seemed the perfect place for birthday/sailboat purchase celebration.  

Ken and Hudson, the guy who sold us the boat, sailed the boat from the South shore of Lake Pontchartrain to the Northshore, where our house was.  I don't think Hudson planned on sailing that day, but we'd never sailed before!  I drove Ken to New Orleans to sail the boat home, and drove back to Slidell to meet him and Hudson.  Below (and above) are pics of our first sail on our own.  Our friend, Ted, took these pictures from his sailboat.  We weren't going on the lake without nearby support, but we survived and had a great day.

I can't believe five years have already gone by since we purchased Nirvana.  Since then we've changed her name, fixed a bunch of blisters, painted her hull & bottom, replaced the ports, renovated the hatches, soaked & cleaned the heat exchanger ... and all sorts of other fun things.  Notice the peeling & dull paint job in the pictures ... she's come a long way.  

Six week haul-out in April, 2010

New ports

We've got a lot of plans this coming year for Nirvana.  The electrical and plumbing systems need some attention, and we need to add some things for cruising.  It's gonna be another crazy year!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

Trip Around The Sun!

This was my picture on Google yesterday.

Yesterday I celebrated another trip around the sun ... Ken and I are now both 47 years young.  Does another year older bother me?  Heck no!  It's better than the alternative.

 Didn't do a whole lot .. another work Wednesday.  I did get treated to lunch at Copeland's by my Dad.  I love that place, with all their rich and calorie-loaded food.  My mom treated me to lunch this past Monday ... two hot lunches in one week!  It was nice to take a break from cold sandwiches.

Since we're going to the World War II Museum at a later date for my birthday, I didn't want to do anything that would require extra spending ... we've got a budget to keep!  So, we grabbed take-out pizza with all the toppings (and extra sauce) from "Papa John's" ... our favorite.  Snuggled on the sofa, with my sweat pants and sweat shirt ... I was a happy girl.

I had plenty of birthday wishes, including some from many of you ... thank you so much for your kind words!  Several of you wished us the best with living on our sailboat soon.  That's the best wish we could ask for, so please keep the good vibes coming our way!

I received the Hawaiian wish above from a friend that went to Hawaii with us in 2009 ... love it!  I really hope that I'm celebrating next year's birthday somewhere tropical on Nirvana.  Don't get me wrong .. I have great parents, friends, and an amazing daughter ... I just want to add a little more to my life.

As mentioned in the picture above, it appears that even "Google" knew it was my birthday.  I didn't know what to think about that.  Should I be creeped out?  They're watching all of us!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

Another Year Older ... With Turkey!

Twenty years ago ... at age 26

 

This past week I celebrated all that I have to be thankful for ... good health, great family and friends, the best daughter I could ever ask for, and a husband that not only shares my dreams but is working hard to make them come true!

 

I also celebrated another year of life ... woo hoo!  46 years and counting ... that is truly something to be grateful for!  I hope I can celebrate another forty-six, cause they sure do go by fast!  I was looking back at old pictures and came across the above pic ... twenty years ago!  I swear I remember that day in our backyard, with Ken taking my picture, like it was just a few months ago.  Each day is truly a blessing!

 

I've been slowly going through old pictures that were taken way before digital cameras, and getting them stored on my computer and free cloud storage for safe keeping.  I also came across another picture of me ... 30 years ago!  I was sixteen at the time, and had just met Ken.

 

 

And what did Ken look like when we met?

 

 

Such a cutie!  Check out what he's got in his hand ... a Rubik's cube.  He's cheating!

 

It's really neat to go back and look at old photos.  I came across a lot of our baby girl ... where did that "baby" go?!  I wouldn't wanna give up the beautiful young lady that she's grown into, but I miss that little baby girl sometimes!  She was (and still is) so cute!

 

Look what she's wearing ... sailboats!

 

 I don't think my birthday has ever fallen in the same week as Thanksgiving.  It's usually the week before, so I feel like we've been celebrating all week long!  We went to my mom's for dinner the night of my birthday (Tuesday), and my aunt and uncle were there too.  Thanksgiving Day we rode about an hour away to my brother's place in Mississippi.  The weather was perfect for a day in the country!  We had some amazing food, and a great time visiting with family.

 

Today is Black Friday, but I'm not going near the stores!  I'm grateful to be home with my husband, who once again is working hard on house repairs.  I am truly lucky!

 

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

Stopping Isn't Failing!

Photo courtesy of msnbc.msn.com

As I was drinking my coffee and watching the morning news yesterday morning, I heard that Diana Nyad was debating whether or not to continue her swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys.  For her sake, I was hoping she could continue.  Whether or not Ms. Nyad continued her swim, she was a success and a hero to me!  However, she had been trying to achieve her dream for over 35 years and she deserved to achieve her goal.  On her fourth attempt she'd already endured 41 hours of swimming, numerous jellyfish stings on her lips and face, hypothermia, and a bad overnight storm.

Diana Nyad's plan was to celebrate her arrival in the Florida Keys along with her 63rd birthday, which is today.  Unfortunately, she arrived in the Keys ... without achieving her dream.

Ultimately, the jellyfish were her greatest challenge and the main reason for stopping her swim.  As she said on the Today Show, "It was devastating.  On the other hand, it's like life isn't it?  We don't always get what we want.  All our dreams don't come true. This is a big, big, larger-than-life dream.  This journey over the last three years has been magnificent.  What I've learned, and the spirit of it, I don't have any regrets."

This morning I saw a clip on the news of Ms. Nyad, and she said, "I'm not a quitter.  Maybe this isn't possible.  Things aren't like they used to be ... those jellyfish".  Her words really struck me.

When hearing her comments about the jellyfish, I recalled hearing about the invasion of giant jellyfish in Japan and how it's thought to be a cause of pollution in the ocean.  I couldn't help but wonder of Ms. Nyad's experience with jellyfish was also an indication of man's bad habits.

Another thing that really struck me was her statement about not being a quitter.  I totally agreed with her, and was hoping that she wasn't beating herself up for having to put her health first.  As her news story was being introduced, some idiot reporter said something to the effect of ... "Diana Nyad's attempt to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys was a failure".  I got so angry when I heard that.  A failure?!  Just the fact that she'd attempt such a thing ... for the fourth time, and at 63 years of age ... come on man!  How insensitive!

The final thing was her words about not always getting what we want and her magnificent journey over the past three years in her attempts to achieve her dream.  All of this made me wonder, "What is considered a success?  What's considered a failure?"

I think that going for your dreams and doing your best is a success!  The end result may not be the desired result, but it does NOT mean failure!

My thoughts then went to our dream and plan to go cruising.  WHEN we go, will we be considered a failure if we hit a reef the first six months and sink our boat?!  Will we be considered a failure if we decide we've had enough after a year or two ... or ten?  What if we realize that we hate cruising?  Does that mean we've failed?  My answer ... hell no!

It takes guts to go for one's dreams, no matter what they are.  Stopping after making every effort and doing your best is not a failure!  Never trying because of fear and insecurity ... that's the failure!

So, "Happy Birthday" Diana Nyad!  You are amazing and a true success story!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

Lady Luck and Birthday Meatloaf!

Meatloaf and Patty singing the infamous "Dashboard Lights"

Ken's birthday was this past weekend, so I gave him Meatloaf for his birthday!  No, not the food (although I have a great recipe) ... the band!  About 8 years ago we saw Meatloaf in concert and it was great!  So, when I saw that Meatloaf was coming to a nearby Mississippi Gulf Coast casino around Ken's birthday I bought some tickets.

The new Margaritaville Casino was nearby, so before the concert Ken and I made a visit to Jimmy Buffett's new place.  While we're not "high rollers", Ken and I enjoy playing $5 blackjack.  We quickly took a seat at a table and were immediately approached by the pit boss.  He was a great guy and in just a few minutes we had a $30 comp to the restaurant ... nice!  After about an hour and a half of playing cards and drinking free Landsharks, it was time to move on the restaurant's bar to use our comp for more Landshark and a huge pile of nachos!  We were starting out Ken's birthday night pretty good ... free beer, free food, and we each won at the blackjack table.  Ken won $15 and I won $75 ... enough to cover our concert tickets!  

Loved the decor ... check out the pineapple chandelier!

Enjoying a Landshark at the restaurant bar ... it looked like something from the Flintstones!

The restaurant is pretty cool, with Jimmy Buffett videos and music!

All those Landsharks required a trip to the bathroom ... the prettiest bathroom wall I've seen!

As the sun set, the bay's bridge lights made some pretty scenery.  We were wishing that our sailboat was docked in the marina!  

After stuffing ourselves with nachos and beer, we made our way to the concert.  We had great seats!   I have to admit that Meatloaf himself no longer has the voice he had 8 years ago.  His band pulled him through the show.  His voice quivered and he just couldn't sing anymore ... kinda sad.   However, Meatloaf puts on a great show, and his band is full of talent.  The piano player, saxophone player, guitarists ... all were amazing. Patty, the female vocalist, still has the same great voice that she had the last time we saw her.  We're not usually fans of female singers, but this woman has such an awesome voice!  She sang almost the entire show, and she really puts a lot of energy into her performance.

At the end of the show the band shot t-shirts into the audience, and as Lady Luck would have it ... I caught one!  It fits Ken ... a great way to end the night.

It's not too often that we can go to a concert, play blackjack, drink beers, eat nachos and bring home a concert t-shirt ... all for free!  Needless to say, we had a great time.  It's always better when you win!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

MLC's Birthday!

It's late afternoon, and I just realized that today is somewhat special!  Two years ago today, Mid-Life Cruising, sometimes referred to as "MLC" was born!  I can't believe two years have gone so fast!  While we're no big web site, we're happy with over 79,000 views.  We should hit 80,000 by this weekend!  We are so thankful for your time and your comments.  We love hearing from you, and it makes this tough journey towards our cruising dream much easier.  It also makes us much more accountable ... LOL!

Ken and I have come so far with our cruising plans, yet we have quite a ways to go!  Here's our very first post, called "Mid-Life Crisis"?!

Mid-Life Crisis?!  That's the question my 18 year old daughter was asked by a friend of ours the other day when told of our plans to sell everything and sail away.  Not an unusual response!  It's interesting to watch a person's face when we tell them of our future plans to live on a sailboat and travel.  Their eyebrows raise and they're thinking we've lost it.  We've been told that there are pirates our there and it's dangerous, or that we'll be back in a few months because we'll get bored or tired of always being inside a sailboat.  We grin and try to remain polite as we're thinking this person obviously has no clue of the vast cruising grounds and community that await us.  We can not wait!  So, we've started a Facebook page and this web site in order to learn from other cruisers and sailors as well as educate those that are not familiar with cruising.   Also, we'd like to share our experiences with those that hope to live the same dream as ours.  Continue to follow, as we have a lot to learn.  We're familiar with boats, but are just learning about sailboats and how to sail and just purchased our own sailboat.  Hasta luego  ...until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

So, that's our very first post with a picture from our 2009 Hawaii vow renewal trip.  Two years from now ... we should be in the Caribbean!  Doesn't seem that far away now!


I mentioned earlier today that we have some exciting news ... what a great way to celebrate MLC's birthday! We couldn't have planned it better!


Hasta luego ... until then.   Mid-Life Cruising!

Rennaisance Fest!

While time keeps moving forward and I'm now another year older, we went back in time on my birthday.  Yep, back in time to the days of jousting, sword-fighting and big dresses with corsets.  Ken and I met our daughter and her boyfriend at the Louisiana Rennaisance Festival, which has been going on every weekend in November for many years now.  We had never been to this festival before, so we thought we'd check it out.

It turned out that the weekend's theme was pirates, so we thought that was appropriate!  There were plenty of men and women dressed up in pirate attire and medieval costumes.  Some of the costumes were really elaborate, and some people appeared to be stuck back in time permanently!

Overall, we had a great time.  After all, any time spent with our daughter is always time well spent!  I must admit that we were a little disappointed with the main attraction ... jousting.  We imagined a big arena with horses running at each other full-speed while armoured men tried to stab each other with their swords ... not so much.  The jousting was on a tiny field with armoured men cracking jokes and using slapstick comedy to pass the time.  The horses "ran" at each other a total of two times, and the men just thrashed their swords in the air.  Oh well,  no violence to be enjoyed today!  Although, we did get to take in a sword-fighting demonstration.  Notice the "Queen" to the left that they were fighting over.

There were a few events that were pretty good, such as a husband and wife that hosted a wildlife show with their falcons and owls.  The birds of prey would fly out of their cages and provide a graceful demonstration of their skills.  I love wildlife, so I really enjoyed this demonstration. 

We also took in a raunchy comedy act, "The Other Woman", and watched a glass-blowing demonstration.   The guy created a beautiful glass mug, which was pretty interesting.  He explained how all the "energy" gets caught up in the glass, and placing the hot glass into a kiln helps release the energy slowly.  This prevents the glass from cracking while cooling down ... there's your science lesson for the day!

To wrap up the day our daughter gave me a really cool brown, leather Pandora bracelet.  I've been wanting one of these, since I like earthy jewelry and we'll be living on a sailboat soon.  She also gave me a really nice silver charm showing a mother and child ... love it!  Then, Ken gave me two more silver charms to add to the bracelet, a palm tree and a hand showing the "peace" sign.  So, I've got peace, palm trees and family ... that says it all!

So, another great birthday!  I don't feel any older but I swear I lost more hair in the shower yesterday than ever!  Also, who's been writing these articles stating that redheads don't get gray hair?  I've been counting on that, but I've definitely noticed a few lately ... damn it!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

Forty Five?!

Yes, today I am forty-five years old!  I can't believe how the time has flown.  It seems like just yesterday I was sixteen, hoping that when I turned thirty I would still be feeling young.  Thirty seemed so old at the time.  Now I'm 45, and 65 doesn't sound old ... or that far away!   Luckily my fears did not come true, and I don't feel any different than that 16 year old.

Today also marks two years since Ken and I became the proud owners of our sailboat, now named Nirvana!  Yep, we made the deal for Nirvana on my 43rd birthday.  Needless to say, that was a pretty awesome birthday!   Although we're not as far along in our cruising plans as we thought we'd be after two years, we're pretty happy with the progress that we've made on our sailboat.  Part of the fun of cruising is getting there, so we're trying to be patient and enjoy the journey.

We're big fans of "Kid Rock", so I thought I'd share a funny little song that he sang about getting older, called "Forty!".   We first heard this song at this year's New Orlean's Jazz Fest and loved it.  I think you'll enjoy it too!

I'd say we have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  We hope you do too!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

A Birthday Weekend!

We're on a boat!  (Photo thanks to our friend Ted, who took this from his mast)

Ken's 45th birthday was this past weekend, and an excuse to kick back and have fun was way overdue!  Our friend, Renee, shares the same birthday as Ken and it was her 40th.  So, the celebration started Friday night with Renee, her daughter, our daughter and her boyfriend, and another long-time friend and her boyfriend.  The night started off at the Daiquiri Shoppe (they actually have a drive-thru here in Louisiana) where my daughter and her boyfriend introduced us to "Granny".  "Granny" turned out to be a blow-up doll, which really made for a bunch of laughs.  We even took "Granny" to Copeland's for a late night dinner.  We love to be crazy, and the looks on the people's faces as we walked to our table ... priceless!

Granny looking over the menu at Copeland's       Ken n Renee (the birthday guys) and daughters

Saturday was spent recovering, and Sunday the same group came over and piled onto our sailboat.  Nirvana had never had 8 people (plus our daughter's dog) on her at one time, but everybody fit on her just fine.  We headed out to the lake, dropped anchor, and spent the day with food, drink, music and good company!  Our friend, Ted, joined us on the water in his sailboat as well.  We had plenty of noodles and floaties to hang out in the water for a while to cool off, and the dog even had a floatie to "chill" with everybody. 

Above pic:  creating a work of art!  A few "floaters" got too far away to ever make it back to the boat, so we pulled up the anchor and saved their life!  =)   The above picture is Ted in his boat after picking up our daughter and Renee's daughter.  We went even further out to pick up a few others "floaters".

After everybody was back on the boat, we headed towards home and made a stop at "The Dock".  This is a little bar and grill with live music every Sunday afternoon.  We got there just as the band started playing and enjoyed a few tunes before heading back home. 

"The Dock" ... that's our sailboat mast in the background!        "The Meanies" playing on the waterfront

Ken and I were worried about having so many people on the boat, as well as being in the 90-something degree weather.  However, the day couldn't have been any better!  I think this was the best birthday Ken has had in a long time.  We really enjoyed time with our friends, our daughter and her boyfriend.  In fact, this was actually the first time our daughter had ever been on our boat!  I think she and her boyfriend also had a really good time, and hopefully our daughter is embracing our sailboat a little more now. 

Later that night after everybody left, we sat and thought (as we often do) about how quickly time is flying by.  Ken and I were younger than our daughter when we started dating and now he's 45!  I'll also be 45 in a few months, and yesterday our daughter started her second year at LSU.  It really is mind-blowing just how fast the years pass.  Our daughter recently told me that I still think I'm 16 ... I told her that she's right!  I told her that other than being wiser, we don't think any differently than we did when we were her age.  I also told her that she'll be in her forties before she knows it.  Before we know it ... we should be living on our sailboat!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

*We'll have more pictures on our Facebook page once we get them from friends n family!   They oughta be crazy!

One Year Old!

We can't believe it, but one year has already passed since we started this site!  We've learned so much and have "met" so many great people sharing our dream.  If you look at the bottom of the page, you'll see a map which shows where our visitors are from.  We love checking this out and seeing the map continue to fill up.  The stat counter is also pretty cool, and we've got over 21,000 views so far.  Thanks guys for following along with us!  We hope to have a lot more interesting year to come.

This time next year we plan on having our house sold and be about six months away from "livin' the dream"!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!