Middle-aged couple making the transition from the traditional expectations of society to the "outside the box" lifestyle of full-time cruising on a sailboat in the Caribbean.
Last week, I added a video of our scooter rides through Isla Mujeres, Mexico. In the future, I hope to video more often, and I wish I would have gotten a lot more videos during our time in Mexico. However, I don't know if I can get accustomed to doing everything with a camera in my hand ... kinda takes me out of the moment. Since I only had videos of our scooter rides, I put together this slide show of our time on the island.
With videos being the new rage, I thought I'd see what it's all about and put together a few clips from our scooter rides on Isla Mujeres. It was a blast riding around the island and the views were gorgeous. It's a simple & short video, but gotta start somewhere. There's lots of room for improvement and I've already learned that next time I need to hold my phone in the "sideways" position! You may want to hit the "full screen" button to see this better ... sorry!
I hope you enjoy this short clip .. and the music!
By now we've all heard about the terrible tragedy in Connecticut four days ago ... 20 little children and 6 adults were shot and killed at their elementary school. While I don't want to dwell on such tragic news, I feel compelled to at least dedicate one post to these victims, their loved ones, and the first responders. It would be easier to just flip the channel as the story unfolds, but what if we all did that?! If my child was taken from me so early and violently, I'd want to know that others cared about the loss that my family and my community had endured.
I've seen the faces of the victims, learned their names, and learned a little bit about each of them. This took my breath away and really made this nightmare a reality. I literally still cry every time I hear of a victim's life or the trauma that the survivors went through. While the shooter isn't worth my time, his mother and family are also victims and my heart goes out to them. The first responders also deserve our compassion. They viewed a scene that will haunt them the remainder of their life.
My thoughts are with this community during their difficult time. After all, this could happen anywhere and we could easily find ourselves in a similar nightmare. While I feel helpless, I do know that I can "care". I can do my part by living right, having compassion for others, and raising our daughter to do the same.
If you've followed our blog for a while, you know that we love Kid Rock! As he's matured, so have his songs. Here's a few of the lyrics from his song on the "Born Free" album called "Care". We love this song and I thought the lyrics were appropriate for this post.
"Care" ... Kid Rock
Day by day my life gets colder. My eyes grow thin as I get older.
Peace in pieces, bloody and bruised. I feel so helpless and confused. 'Cause I hear screaming on the left,Yelling on the right
I'm sitting in the middle
trying to live my life. 'Cause I can't stop the war
... Shelter homeless, feed the poor.
I can't walk on water. I can't save your sons and daughters. Well, I can't change the world
and make things fair
.
The least that I can do,The least that I can do,The least that I can do is care. Ooh, yeah, oohI pray and pray for life's salvation.
Faith is tried and true in tribulation.
Love is lost and lonely, check the news
And with these open arms I'll wait for you
And here's the music video ... take a listen!
Speaking of caring, there are still a ton of great people in this mixed-up world! In my last post, I wrote about a generous follower that donated to our cruising kitty. Since then, we've received yet another donation from another generous follower! We can't convey how appreciative we are of these donations, and how it warms our heart to be touched by such kind people!
Thoughts of sailing to the forbidden waters of Cuba often fill my head. The Cuban waters are said to be beautiful and pristine, barely touched by today's world of tourists and commercialism. The locals aren't allowed to own boats (they might escape), which also allows for plenty of space for cruisers. The culture, buildings, old cars, music and people are said to also be amazing. It's been said that Cubans welcome Americans with open arms, and the US Coast Guard are the ones to fear.
Tell someone they can't have something and they want it even more ... ever heard of Eve and the apple? I know and understand the history of Castro and Cuba's relations with the United States, but it's hard to accept that our freedom ends when speaking of visiting Cuba. We're free, but we can get into trouble by simply visiting a place?! Hmmmm.
Hopefully things will change in the near future, and we'll be able to sail to Cuba someday. We'd love to visit soon after it's legal, before the mass amount of tourists and hotels change its ambience. Until then, I hear that we could possibly visit Cuba if we have a sponsor or some sort of project like journalism or education. If things don't change, we may have to hit up one of you Canadians to be our sponsor! What does that mean? It's my understanding that the US doesn't want us Americans spending money there ... isn't it always about the money? Having a sponsor would indicate that they're paying our expenses, and therefore we're not spending our American dollars in Cuba.
We'd love to hear from American cruisers that have sailed to Cuba. You can even be anonymous ... just share your experiences!
I came across the video below of Havana, Cuba in 1958 ... before Castro's influence. It seemed to be such a glamorous place, and I love the music. Enjoy!
After a whirlwind weekend in Florida, we can relate to the above photo. The older we get, the longer it takes for us to recover from a good time! Today's Friday, and we're almost back to normal.
Leaving town was almost impossible, and after coming home Sunday night we were quickly thrown back into reality. This past week has been really tough, with being exhausted and fitting in work and hurricane repairs. Sometimes it seems that we really pay for leaving town!
Without going into a bunch of negative talk, let's just say that the hurricane repairs to our house have NOT been going smoothly. Ken has been trying to find the source of our leaky roof. You know how boat repairs just seem to grow ... same goes with our house. With repairs complete on our home before the hurricane, and now re-doing sheetrock two and three times ... ugh! Add to that some damage to our rental from an overflowing a/c in the attic AND the 8 month old pool pump destroyed by hurricane waters ... Ken replaced it before we left town and it's already burned up from oblivious tenant. Pump number 3 to be installed tomorrow, and damage from a/c is just gonna have to wait for repairs. We gotta get our house finished and sold! It's been 4 months since we started renovations to our home, 2 months since we put it on the market, and 6 weeks since the hurricane damage ... we seem to be going backwards.
Speaking of going backwards, I thought I'd take a look at one of our top posts ... Anticipation and Frustration". I had written this post back in October, 2010 amd wanted to refresh my memory. I spoke of our hectic life and wanting to get our house sold no later than Spring, 2011 ... now I'm hoping for Spring, 2013! It doesn't seem like much has changed, but at least we're ALMOST finished with our house and it is on the market. We haven't had any viewings yet, but until the repairs are complete we're not pushing things.
Wait, I said I wasn't gonna have a bunch of negativity. This is our life ... it is what it is. We did have a great time with friends and this Sunday is gonna be a "No Work" day. Maybe it shouldn't be, but it's required to keep our sanity and a positive attitude.
Makes me think of that song, "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" ... we don't wanna "close our eyes for good" but we do look forward to the days of slowing down. Guess we need to stop being wicked.
Jimmy Buffett wearin' his "FREE SEAN PAYTON" shirt ... nice!
This past Sunday Ken and I were off to New Orleans for another free concert due to the Final Four event. After Ken finished work for the day (again) we headed to the city around 3:00, just in time to catch the end of Big Sam's Funky Nation. We'd heard of this local band, but this was the first time that we'd listened to them ... they were really good!
Next was local legend, Dr. John, and although he's been around a long time he's still got it!
Dr. John
Following Dr. John was a band we'd never heard of, the Avett Brothers. They turned out to be yet another great band, really jammin' on the cello and banjo (among other instruments). We love to see bands that use more than just the usual instruments.
The sun set and at exactly 8:00 Jimmy Buffett came on stage, and the crowd cheered when they saw what he was wearing ... a "Free Sean Payton" t-shirt! As always, he put on a great show and had a huge screen behind him that showed great views of the tropics. We felt like we were off on some island with him!
As the show was coming to an end, a big surprise! Our Saint's football coach that our city loves so much, Sean Payton, walked on the stage! Sean proceeded to take a spot behind the bongos and played them during the song, "Changes in Latitudes, Change in Attitudes" ... so cool!
Who Dat on the bongos?!
Payton on the bongos, and the blonde backup singer that's been with Jimmy forever ... lucky girl!
Here's a video of Sean Payton playing the bongos with Jimmy. The next day the news reported that Sean Payton jokingly said he wasn't worried about his suspension 'cause he got a job with Jimmy Buffett!
Looks like Sailor Jerry was in town too ... sweet car!
Needless to say, we had a great time and wished we didn't have to go to work the next day!
This week's "Frugal Friday" tip may seem like yet another common sense tip, but aren't they all? I mean, being frugal is just a way of life and it's really not rocket science. Anyway, my tip for today is ... have a little patience. It seems that today's society is always in a hurry ... too much of a hurry!
When you're in the market for something, do a little research and hold out if you can. For instance, I've been wanting a hammock for Nirvana for quite some time now and recently decided that I'd like to start actively looking for a hammock for the upcoming summer months.
I surfed the internet a little bit, only to find that most hammocks were a little pricey. Since we've not yet begun our cruising life, I knew that I didn't need a really expensive hammock ... just something to get us through a few seasons. So, I decided to hit the Wal-Mart, Target, and Academy stores to see what they had to offer. It turned out they didn't really have much either. Then, I decided to go where I should have begun my shopping ... the outlet stores.
As luck would have it, the very first outlet store that I went to had what I was looking for ... woo hoo! Yep, the local "Ross" store had four hammocks on clearance for just under $10 bucks! These canvas hammocks came in a variety of colors, and included a matching storage bag.
So, my find is just a reminder to be patient, be flexible, and shop around! Now, I'm not saying that in every instance you should give up quality for a cheap price. However, a lot of things do have an inexpensive substitute that will work just fine.
In my life, there have been many times when I knew of something that I wanted and managed to make it fit into my budget. No, I didn't stretch my budget! I just took my time (heard of island time .. get used to it!) and looked around for substitutes that would have the same or similar effect.
A great example is when I decorated our home that we moved into a few years ago. I saw really expensive "looks" in magazines and stores, thought about the effect I was trying to create, then found very similar substitutes. Now, if you insist on getting things as soon as the desire hits you, then this won't work for you. But I tell you, I am very pleased with the look and feel of our home. I don't think I'd feel much different if I'd paid $60 per curtain panel instead of the $8 per panel that I paid. The savings caused me to go without curtains for a little while, but I've learned not to stress the small stuff. If that was going to cause me to stress, than I was gonna have a rough road ahead of me .. LOL!
As I mentioned earlier, having patience is also a big factor in living the frugal lifestyle. After all, the consumer's lack of patience is what the marketers are counting on! Why do you think they place all those "impulse" products at the checkout counter?
Not much exciting happening lately. Unfortunately, football season is over here in New Orleans and we haven't spent any time on the water. I've been working with Ken the past several days painting the inside of a client's house. I don't mind painting, as long as I don't have to paint trim or cut in ... just roll! After several days of "rolling" while dreaming of the day we become cruisers, the song "Roll Me Away" by Bob Seger kept running through my mind. After all, this song is about hope and choices! Plus, before Ken and I bought a sailboat we spent a lot of time on our motorcyles. They've been neglected for quite a while now .. time to clean them and go for a spin soon!
Here are a few of the words to this song ...
Stood alone on a mountain top, starin' out at the Great Divide
I could go east, I could go west, it was all up to me to decide
Just then I saw a young hawk flyin' and my soul began to rise
And pretty soon My heart was singin'!
Whether on two wheels or on the waves of the water ... just "ROLL ME AWAY"!
The Louisiana heat and humidity are making the outdoors feel like a sauna! Throw in some work on the weekends and sailing just hasn't happened lately. Then, would you believe ... we were told this past Saturday that we're about to have another vacant rental ... again!! Needless to say, when we did have some time off this past weekend we were still pretty stressed. At least we were given a little notice this time.
So, not much else going on and instead of moaning and groaning I will choose humor. This is a funny little video with Will Ferrell called "The Landlord". If things don't improve I'm gonna start drinking with Pearl!
Well, Ken and I haven't done much regarding our sailboat preparations lately. However, part of our cruising plan is to get our house in better shape in order to sell it this coming year. Ken has squeezed in a little exterior work on our house whenever the weather cooperated and he had a break in between jobs. The soffit and fascia are prepped and ready for paint!
We've had the Christmas tree up since Thanksgiving and my daughter and I bought all kinds of stuff yesterday for baking. I've always thought that turning on the Christmas tunes while baking chocolate chip cookies and fudge with my family is the perfect way to get in the Christmas mood! We'll probably be filling the house up with the scent of cookies and fudge tomorrow, then package some of it (we have to save some for us) to share with others. The annual Christmas boat parade passed by our home Saturday night, and they really had some beautiful boats this year (where was my camera?!) It made us think about joining the parade next year. Looks like we'll need to get those mast steps so we can decorate Nirvana!
We've been thinking about several "future cruisers" that we've been following that have made the transition to "present cruisers" in the past few months. Some have made passages from Texas to Florida so far, and a few have made their way down the East coast and are now in either Florida or the Bahamas. We've followed them along the way and are learning a lot from them. We're so happy for all of them and look forward to the day that we all meet! We know that this holiday season will be extra special for them, as it will be their first holiday season "livin' the dream"!
So, wherever you are for the holidays Ken and I wish you all a "Merry Christmas", "Happy Hannukah", "Kwanza" or just "Happy Holidays"! Whatever way you say it, we wish you all good times and a new year filled with living your dreams, or at least getting close to it!
Here's a little video from Jimmy Buffet explaining what it's like to spend Christmas in the islands. Enjoy!
I heard this song on my way to work this morning and it made me smile! It makes me ready for the weekend and sailing. We haven't been in about a month, so we're looking forward to it. This is a great song that will put you in the Caribbean, even if it's just for a little while. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
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