Friends and Foes

Can you believe our dock neighbor, scurrying in and out of her vessel like a cockroach for the past ten years, repeatedly complained about our family until, at our wits end, we moved to the other side of the marina!  Which leads me to the question...why do some people feed off of misery and discontent???  One of the resident pirates told me that her family has been in St. Augustine for over one hundred years, as has his family.  He shook his head and proclaimed  that each generation of her ancestors was more mean spirited than the next.  As a result of her inner torment, our cats are now harnessed 24/7 and our kids feel they are constantly under surveillance by the noise police.  After plotting my revenge for days,  I've cast away my hatred and like a balm on my wounds, Lulu and Ryan, our dear friends from Maine arrived for a week!!!

Many memories of boogie boards and beaches...late nights and laughter...

How sweet the taste of true friendship!

The boys and I are flying back to Portland July 14th for a months stay at my parent's lodge on
Moosehead Lake.  Can't wait to smell that New England air!

Hope you are all doing well and embracing spring.

Family

We are doing well in our little corner of the ocean.  The boys both received new sponge bob pajamas in honor of pajama day at Blake's school.  Dante refused to take his off for forty-eight hours and caused many a chuckle to sneak out of frowning tourists as he trotted about town.

There is nothing quite like the love and encouragement of a parent.  It convinces you that any journey can be attempted and finished if only you can see your self through their eyes.  My parent's visit was such a needed gift for all of us and we feel rejuvenated and inspired to continue our adventure.

It was wonderful to meander through the streets and sit in the sun...hardly any tourist sights were seen...beautiful non-agenda afternoons!

Blake went bungee jumping for the first time and Dante on his first tilt-a-car ride...

On a final note, legos have won the prize for the best toy on board!

Days of Discovery

March has been full of mischief.  Promises of warmer weather quickly snatched away, stolen bikes, and our galley seemingly shrinking.  It's not that I am turning morose, as some say my last blog hinted at.  Quite the contrary, I feel more alive and determined to embrace every joy than ever before.  It's just that I tire of tasks that were once so simple, turning to tremendous repeated efforts a la Sisyphus!  Let me give some examples.  At the end of a long day, I could once simply flop in to my snug bed.  Now, I have to disassemble the dining room table, re-make the cushions, and carefully place in two side boards.  A stroller which could once be wheeled inside the garage now needs to be closed, hoisted and jig-sawed tightly in our dock locker.  Cooking dinner on two tiny burners with counter space smaller than our cutting board tires even the most industrious girl out not to mention heating the water (carried from the dock spout) in a small kettle and trying not to repeatedly slosh water on one's toes!  I could go on...

And yet, our days are a continual discovery of each other and our selves.  We laugh at the lack of space and the hardship and somehow sleep has never been sweeter, a stroller never so fabulous, dinners never so delicious!

We are still learning how to slow down.  Finding cafes and fountains where Dante will be content to let us people watch and talk about everything or nothing.  That hasn't happened in years!

Hope you are all doing well.  Please continue to stay in touch.

luctor et emergo

The words have been hovering over my soul for days now.  I've incorporated them in to my play that I've been struggling through, muttered them as I completed my grueling tri-weekly jog, and softly whimpered their sounds in the midst of some dark dream.  After looking at the stain glassed window hundreds of times and giving assorted translations to those who asked,  I finally decided, once again, to check on every intellectual's best friend, Wikipedia for a definitive answer.

luctor et emergo

I struggle and emerge

Motto of the Dutch province of Zeeland to denote its battle against the sea

the motto of the Dutch province of Zeeland: Luctor et emergo, meaning "I wrestle and emerge"

What has my life been on the boat if not a constant struggling and wrestling juxtaposed with surrendering and relinquishing???!!!  And talk about emerging...  true identity and life truths continue to find me at every turn.  

I am truly a New England girl.  I feel like a foreigner in Florida's shallow sun.  Despite my continuous efforts to deny it, writing and the theater has and will always be my true calling.  I'll be poor the rest of my life if I can contribute to those two passions in some small way.  I won't ever go back to a menial job I can't bear.  My two boys are the most beautiful conundrums, riddles that always surprise me and leave me longing to be a better mother.  My husband was right (how hard to type it) when he said I would only be happy if I was writing as if my life depended on it.

There...how's that for a healthy gallon of honesty!

St. Augustine endears itself to me.  Every errand is ripe with people watching and some sort of drama.  It's bike week in Daytona and currently the town is inundated with biker men and boys with the occasional sighting of that elusive vixen, the biker babe.

We still speak longingly of Maine, despite the knowledge of what the state resembles in mid March.  Thanks to all who continue to encourage me with e-mails and phone calls.  

I'm returning to my play.

Peace,

Rebecca

Relearning Rhythms

Still at a standstill!  Our dinghy is growing some sort of aquatic moss and our spirits are restless.  When you live aboard something that is supposed to GOGOGO it seems entirely wrong to be hanging around the same place day after day!

However, we learn more and more about our home du moment as family comes and we do highly informative touristy things. Speaking of family, we got a visit from our beloved cupid (aka Greg), who not only introduced John and me 14 years ago, but finally got married to his own true love!

We've been getting our fair share of rain as so many of you are getting dumped with "the white stuff". In the Carolina's, a few inches caused thousands of car accidents by panicked drivers...reminding me of when I drove my car into a snow bank as Blake jumped up and down in the back seat, excited we might have to call the police...AHHHH YOUTH!

Dante and Blake continue their growth by leaps and bounds, physically and even more so mentally. Lots of firsts for Dante...merry-go-rounds, living across from pirates (they moved us across from the Black Raven), balloon dueling...and lots of happy hundreds for Blake...walking the streets in a downpour, dock racing, balloon dueling...

We are missing Maine intensely this month and all those we hold dear...

Beaches and Boys

Now that John is working at a local restaurant and our boat's topside starts to resemble a cluttered front yard (complete with plastic shovels, assorted game pieces, and a bicycle) it has truly hit me that we are staying here in St. Augustine until hurricane season descends upon us!

I have finally admitted defeat in one of my many mommynag vs. boyswarriors  battles..."NO RUNNING ON THE DOCKS!!!" They swerve after pelicans, skid to a teetering stop before a slip's end, and slash at imaginary dragons with delight!  I smile and surrender to youth's beauty after locking Dante in his "naggie" aka lifepreserver.

We visited family in Cocoa Beach...returning spoiled rotten by soft rugs, big screen TVs, and comfort food.  Honestly in shock by our primitive hull and lack of space.  Now, three days later, it all seems perfectly normal again...

Multitasking here in the marina lounge...doing laundry and now I'm up for childcare...that would be my farewell song...

St. Augustine Splendor

Ten days since my last posting...240 hours of high jinx and drama on the high seas!!!  We officially ran aground...stuck in the muck as we prefer to say.  John had tried to put on our fenders and our salty tiller decided to make her own decisions.  We have hit bottom before and our motor smoked and spat us off.  Not this time.  The mud was so thick and black you could hear it sucking and sniggering victory!  The feeling of the boat gradually tilting was bizarre.  The kids thought it was great fun and called it tilt-a-world. An hour later, an old-timer in a coon hat came to pay us a visit.  Said his name was brownie, a cajun creole with a smile for life.  He offered us a ride ashore which we declined until the boat finally settled when the tide reached it's lowest.  Before that mudflat happened however, Seatow showed up and plucked us off faster than Blake and Dante could scream YEEEEHAWWW!

We experienced our first outside passage as a family...over 100 miles in the ocean.  It was breathtaking and terrifying at the same time.  Although I was harnessed to the cockpit, during the hour of the wolf I sat rigid...refusing to look over my shoulder, convinced some shadowy figure wished to toss me into the inky black above or below...

Ten miles further out, our new found friends aboard their vessel Liberty, sailed on through the night.  It was a comfort to know that we were making the passage together.   They are leaving St. Augustine this afternoon and we feel rather glum about it.  Their ten year old son, Josh, had become great friends with Blake.  It's hard to be constantly letting people in only to release them so quickly from the bonds of friendship.  It is the ebb and flow, the bringing and the taking of the tide that is our new paradigm...The inner heart remains safe from this, however, and we cherish all of our new friends knowing we will stay in touch and perhaps meet again as we travel this amazing world!

St Augustine has so much to offer as a safe harbor where we can hopefully build up our sailing kitty and do some work on the Vindhler.  The oldest city in the US, it's full of ancient forts and historic houses dating back hundreds of years...come and visit us....or at least send a card!

Bondellio's
Vessel Vindhler
General Delivery
St. Augustine, Fl.
32084