Trips Archives

October 19, 2016October 10, 2017

Annapolis Boat Show & What’s Next?

Annapolis Power Boat Show 2016

Scott and I spent most of the summer looking at different marinas looking for those that take liveaboards. Just about all of them had 1-2 year waiting lists, with the exception of a couple. But that can change at any moment.

All of our friends and family keep asking us if we really want to live on a boat? Well, let’s go back to where this all started. It was about six years ago when we were at the Seattle Boat Show and we fell in love with the Lagoon Catamaran (since then, we have found others we love more). But we came up with the grand idea, of retiring on a catamaran in the Caribbean and sailing around the world. Why not? We don’t have kids, we don’t want a big mortgage and what a better way to retire?

Then came the next two questions. How can we afford a catamaran and what if we don’t like it? I grew up on boats and in my 30’s had a nice cruiser. However, Scott has not spent any long term time on a vessel. I then started reading lots of sailing books, including my first book A Sail of Two Idiots: 100+ Lessons and Laughs from a Non-Sailor Who Quit the Rat Race, Took the Helm, and Sailed to a New Life in the Caribbean , a story about a couple in Arizona that sell their home and buy a catamaran in Florida (sight unseen) with NO SAILING experience at all. If you like to read, this is a must read for sure!

What a great idea! We could sell our house now (instead of 10 years from now), use the money to buy an old power boat in Seattle to live on and cut our living expenses by two thirds. So began the journey of selling our business, selling our extra stuff and planning on the sale of our home. That was until this year, 2016 when we found out marinas are hard to find. Then we wondered……Do you sell your dream home for a boat and marina you don’t have yet? The other issue is we don’t want to give up any of our proceeds for a real estate agent, as we want to use as much of the house equity to buy a boat.

As we sat on our deck this summer enjoying the sunset and cocktails, we came up with another (crazy) idea. We knew our next door neighbor would soon be putting their house on the market, so what if we put a sign out next to it that said “For Sale By Owner”? Well, that day came and sure enough, Scott put the sign out (just two weeks ago). Now what? Sure enough, realtors started calling us every hour and we told them, bring us a buyer and we’ll talk.

Just as all of this happened, we headed out the door to the US Power Boat Show in Annapolis. We had been to the US Sailing Show there three years ago, so we were looking forward to another fun visit. Our purpose was twofold. Look for types of boats we could live on and also tour the history of Annapolis. We lucked out with beautiful weather! This show is different than others. They have live music, bars on every corner, many floating docks and seminars.

This show ended up being a bit different than we had hoped for. It has lots of runabouts and weekenders. Then it had lots of mega yachts…..not much in between. With that said, we did fall in love with three boats (if we won the lottery!).

A Trawler?

First up was a 49′ trawler from North Pacific Yachts. Here’s the funny thing…..we don’t like trawlers, but we liked this one!!!

How about a Yacht now?

So onto the next yacht, this one was the 58′ Prestige 550 Flybridge….Gorgeous!!

A Power Cat!

Lastly, we fell in love with a power catamaran! The 44′ Aquila (say Tequila….with an “A”). While it was only 44′ it felt larger and roomier than the 60′ power cat we went on from Horizon.

The inside galley, opens up to the outside with this awesome bar.

Lots of storage space in the guest stateroom

Realistically, these boats are just a lottery dream purchase! We did take a water taxi to some used boats that might fit our goals. The journey was fun too!

A salesman had recommended we look at Vikings (not convertibles) for a liveaboard. We haven’t seen many of them in the Seattle area, but luckily there was one at the used dock we could preview. This was was a Viking 44′ 1988 for $130,000. Honestly, this is a great liveaboard – too bad it’s in MD, not Seattle.

This boat was very roomy and updated for a 1988!

The galley was surprisingly big! Even the sink is regular size!

The master stateroom had plenty of storage and features of a standard bedroom. The closet was big enough to hang a ball gown!

The master head had tons of counter space! And more storage space in the spare stateroom.

We did look at a Carver, but we didn’t like the smell of it. LOL. We were in Annapolis for four full days and only did the show for two. They had great booths and vendor tents, including wine/beer tastings.

A tour of Annapolis History

Then we spent the other two days, exploring this very old city. Most of the founders arrived in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s. Main street and the side streets still have the same cobblestone roads and homes. We toured William Paca’s house, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. We also toured the Naval Academy and the Maryland State House. If you haven’t toured Annapolis, I highly recommend it for the history lesson.

What’s next for Scott & Ally?

During our trip, we talked at length about where our plan is going. Are we comfortable giving up all of our belongings, our home and the comforts of a home simply to see if we like living on a boat and saving money? What if our home appreciates more and more over the next ten years….would we be better off in the long term keeping it? Then came another idea! What if we buy a used “weekender” boat that we can enjoy with our golden retriever Mac in the Puget Sound and see how Scott enjoys spending the weekends on it? While it may not save us money on a monthly basis short term, it could save us a lot long term. So now begins the hunt for a smaller, used “weekender”. Funny how we got here. 😉

Stay tuned for the January boat show……I’m sure there will be lots to look at then! Cheers,

Scott and Ally

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April 13, 2016April 18, 2018

Quick trip to the Caribbean!

Belize Tour in 48 hours

Last month, I literally went to the Caribbean for 3 days…..yes only 3 days! It really was a whirlwind trip and I’m so glad I was able to check it out. I was considering moving to Placencia, Belize on the Caribbean side to help open a resort. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite come to terms and we went our different ways. With that said, I still loved the resort and what they are building, which is why I want to share this great place with you.

Placencia is a peninsula on the Caribbean side of Belize, which is a country just south of the Yucatan Peninsula and north of Guatemala. It is a very quiet and laid back community with very friendly people. Let’s start with my journey getting there!

I left Seattle at 5am and arrived in Dallas, only to find out that my next flight was delayed by over an hour. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but I still had to catch a flight from Belize City to Placencia via an island hopper (Cesna). That flight was scheduled for 4:25pm and I was now due in at 4:10p. Yikes! That would mean I would have to get through customs, security and on another plane in 15 minutes. Sure enough, we land at 4:15p and I was panicked. Belize City airport is not a big airport, in fact, you step onto the tarmac, then into customs and turn left and you are through security to the next airline. I flew threw customs and security in about 3 minutes. As I approached Maya Island Air, they were so friendly and assured me I still had plenty of time! Whew. My airplane held about 12 people. Never have I flown on one of these, so I took lots of photos.

Placencia, Belize

One thing you will notice immediately is the warm sun and humidity. Good thing I have naturally curly hair! The resort (called Naia) will be a destination spa resort which is located in the Coco Plum Development. This is a master planned community and they are selling gorgeous beach front lots and lagoon front lots. This is the place to retire, especially if you have a boat! Then they are building Naia within the community, which will feature 30 beach front units, along with a pool, two restaurants, a bar and a first class spa. The spa has a gorgeous yoga studio, 6 individual day treatment rooms, activity center, fitness center and spa cafe. This is where you will want to spend your day! The resort is scheduled to open officially sometime in October/November.

If you are interested in touring the property to purchase a lot, ask for Stewart and be sure to tell him I referred you.

I stayed in one of the “Tree Top Villas” that are on the property of CocoPlum. This was a really cool setup, with one unit downstairs, kitchen/living in the middle and the second unit at the very top.

I was able to get a full property tour with the management team. Trying to dress for this trip was certainly a challenge, as I was touring a construction sight in 85 degree weather with a team I had not met in person yet. But it all worked out just fine!

This is one of the two bedroom beach houses that is part of the Coco Plum Community.

Notice the amazing woodwork in the ceiling and continue to watch for this in my upcoming photos. The wood in Belize is absolutely beautiful!

The Fitness Room & Yoga Studio of Naia Resort

Now we are headed to the fitness room and yoga studio. Imagine doing yoga here with a lush lawn, palm trees swaying over head with a slight breeze. Heavenly is the perfect word!

From the yoga studio, you’ll take a bridge over to the spa center, treatment rooms and cafe’.

This is the view as you are getting your pedicure!

This is the spa cafe’ overlooking the lagoon.

Beach front villas

I got a quick sneak peak at the beach front units for the resort. They are not finished yet, but these photos give you an idea of the tranquility they will offer. Also, every unit has an outdoor shower – super cool!

Naia Resort & Restaurants under construction

From here we checked out the hotel and restaurants. It’s so amazing how their construction is so different than what we see here in the states. Notice the roof on the hotel and how gorgeous it is already!

Now we are upstairs in the restaurant overlooking the Caribbean and the pool. I’m already relaxed, how about you?

One thing I will tell you about Placencia is the food is amazing and probably some of the best food I have ever had. My first night, they took me to RumFish y Vino and I had the Yucatan Chicken. Wow! I’m still trying to recreate the dish! They make everything from scratch.

The second day we went to lunch at Mango’s and we had the best view for lunch! Another must eat at spot in Placencia!

Looking for a place to live

While I was there I looked at a condo for rent at an adjacent property (also called Coco Plum) and took a walk along the beach to get there. Can’t beat this commute everyday!

Of course, I can’t travel half way around the world and not find a cute fur friend!

Ironically, I didn’t take the job, so I didn’t move, BUT my condo ended up being featured on House Hunter’s International. The broker is Boris Mansfield and he was very helpful during my process.

Can you smell the ocean air and feel the breeze?

On my last night, they took us to a fabulous restaurant called Maya Beach Hotel Bistro. The food was amazing and they have a jaw dropping wine cellar! Ellen the owner, took me back to show me their collection and it was far better than some of our high end restaurants here in Seattle. Be sure to check this place out or you’ll be sorry. I had the pecan crusted fish, but many had the pork chop – this is a serious meal. Their desserts are all made by the owner and are to die for.

In the end, I’m grateful I had the opportunity to see such a great project from it’s beginning. It will definitely draw world class attention from travelers throughout the world and I can’t wait to see the finished product!

Maybe our BoatingJourney will take us to Belize some day!

January 28, 2016October 24, 2017

Antigua – Part 4 Fun Beach Photos

Antigua Beach Photos

Part 4 of our vacation blog, includes fun beach photos of Antigua. There’s something about being in the Caribbean that makes you want to take tons and tons of beach photos. Perhaps it’s because we can look at them at home on days that it’s wet and rainy? During our stay, we walked the beach during the day and also during a few sunsets (well we have to get our steps in!).

So along the way, we snapped away. Enjoy!

Do you see a dog in this photo??

Yes, sadly this sail boat washed ashore. It still had plates, etc on the inside 🙁

As Kenny Chesney’s song “It’s That Time of Day” says ……(of course we’re in Antigua not BVI)

It’s that time of day
That we all knew would come
To pay for all the rum
And pull up anchor cause we’re done
It’s that time of day
I see a cotton candy sky
So many colors in my eyes
Proof again God’s aliveThis ain’t a goodbye
It’s a “till I see you again”
What a wonderful time
We’ve all shared my friends
Another day at sea
Has come and gone away
So adios to Jost
Adios to Jost
Adios to Jost
It’s that time of day

Thanks for following our blog! The Seattle Boat Show is this weekend, there will be a new update on that soon, along with a “new reads” blog. Stay tuned!

January 28, 2016October 24, 2017

Antigua Part 3

Antigua Eco Excursion

We love Antigua eco excursions! When we booked our trip to Antigua, we knew we didn’t want to spend everyday sitting by the pool. Since our life long goal is to end up in the Caribbean splashing in the waters, we wanted to have a few water excursions. We had another circumnavigation tour booked on a very very large power cat for the middle of the week, but it got cancelled. In some ways, we were relieved after we saw how many people were crammed on it. We had just done the Xtreme tour around the island on Monday, so we really didn’t need another.

On Friday, we had booked another tour with Adventures Antigua , called the “Eco Tour”. This boat was a bit bigger than the extreme, but much smoother. It held again about 20 people. The boat had two 250 hp engines with a turbo booster.

This tour began at the cruise docks and headed north to Long Island and then to Hell’s Gate.

Long Island is the only island that has residents on it (of the 22 small islands surrounding it). It is very very exclusive and has a high end resort on it called Jumby Bay. We were told that rooms run $8000-$15,000 per night and are used primarily for celebrities. No we didn’t see Mariah or J Lo. In fact, it looked a bit sleepy.

Mangroves of Antigua

From Long Island, we went to see an island, completely made up of mangrove trees. Mangroves are key to the sea life, as many live in and around their root system for protection. China purchased the island below, but locals protested and insisted the island remain untouched or developed. Supposedly, they have agreed.

From here we went to Rabbit Island and ironically, there are no rabbits on the island, only birds – lots of them! The entire hillside was covered with pelicans.

Hells Gate Island

From here we went to one of the main attractions – Hells Gate Island. This small piece of land is located between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It also has a cave that you climb up to and through and come out on the Atlantic side.

Video of Hells Gate Island

Facing the Caribbean side

Down below is where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean. You COULD swim to the other side via an underwater cave…but who would do that?!! Instead, we climbed back up towards the guy in the orange shorts to get on top of the island.

Now on top of the island

The rocks are limestone and extremely jagged. You had to be very careful, finding the perfect “step” and “handle” to climb up into the cave and then go carefully back down. Here’s where you can put one foot on the Atlantic side and the other on the Caribbean side, but the water was gushing so hard, all I wanted to do was get out of there! We then swam back to the boat and off to Bird Island for lunch.

Bird Island Tour

Bird Island has a short hike to the top of the island to give you great vistas. It also is home to the The Antiguan racer (Alsophis antiguae) which is a harmless rear-fanged (opisthoglyphous) grey-brown snake that was until recently found only on Great Bird Island off the coast of Antigua, in the Eastern Caribbean. It is among the rarest snakes in the world. Ironically, one crossed our path on our hike!!

Facing the Atlantic Ocean

Turned around and now this is the Caribbean Sea

We finished the day snorkeling just a few yards away from Bird Island (about where you see that island in the background).

The boat then returned back to the Cruise terminal to drop us all off. It was such a fun day and again, I highly recommend www.adventureantigua.com.

Stay tuned for Part 4, a collection of fun beach photos!

January 28, 2016October 24, 2017

Antigua Part 2 (land based tour)

Antigua Land Tour

Taking an Antigua Land Tour. Our blog is primarily all about boating and boating and more boating. But there was so much to see and do in Antigua, that I wanted to share what we did on land. All boaters have to disembark some time, so here’s what we did on Antigua.

In my previous blog, I shared the photos of Nelson Dockyard, which we saw both by boat and on foot. We did a land tour with a cab driver named “Wall”, which Sandals arranged for us. Our first stop was Jolly Harbor. We knew it had some condos on the canal and beach and wondered what it looked like. So that was our first stop.

We took a few photos on the beach and also with Wall before heading off to our next stop.

From there we drove south towards Falmouth Harbor and onto English Harbor. Follow the yellow line on the map from Jolly Harbor .

Nelson’s Dockyard

We did the full tour of Nelson’s Dockyard with a guide (see photos in previous blog). The buildings are still all original as they were in the 1700’s. From there we went up to Fort Shirley, where there is a museum (and quick history movie) and Admiral Nelson’s former home. From the vantage point, the British could watch out from all directions for intruders.

This view is overlooking the Caribbean and Nelson’s dockyard down below.

This is one of the fort buildings.

This is what is left of Admiral Nelson’s home.

This view is behind his home, facing the Atlantic Ocean.

This is the view from the 2nd floor of his home, again overlooking English Harbor.

Just down the road from Fort Shirley, is Lookout Point. The views here were absolutely stunning. To give you an idea of where we were, here’s a map. Look out point overlooks both the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

A closeup view of the “hook” you will see a house on top. That belongs to Eric Clapton.

looking towards Africa if you turn left and then South America if you straighten out.

Yes, it was straight down, no fence!

This one was of the original fort buildings still standing at Lookout Point.

Shirley Heights Lookout

From here, we drove down the road to Shirley Heights Lookout. This houses the original Guard House. This spot is famous for it’s sunset party they throw every Sunday with a steel drum band. We didn’t make the party (so we didn’t take this photo), but you get the idea.

Instead, we took in the views and enjoyed the scenery. Photos don’t do it justice – so make time to go visit this famous site!

Again, looking down on English Harbor and Falmouth Harbor

It too, was treacherous on the edge with no fence. Beware.

In all, it was one of the best tours we’ve taken! There is so much history on Antigua dating back to the early 1700’s. You won’t regret visiting the sights of this island! Part 3 coming soon!

January 27, 2016October 25, 2017

Antigua Part 1

Antigua Boating Excursion

Scott and I arrived in Saint John’s, Antigua on Friday January 15, 2016, for a 10 day stay. This was our 3rd visit to the island and was one of the best vacations we have ever had. The following day, we found out that the weather earlier in the week was rainy and cloudy, but we had nothing but sunshine our entire stay. We stayed at Sandals Resort and the first few days, we simply relaxed by the pool and went sailing on the Hobie Cat.

Then on Monday, we had our first boating excursion with Antigua Adventures on their “Adventure Xtreme Antigua” boat, which went around the entire island. This took us from the Caribbean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean and back to the Caribbean. It had three 250 hp Yamaha engines on it, so it was fast! We stopped many times for different activities. This was one of our favorite trips we’ve taken and the crew Sean, Trevis and David were fantastic!

We started at the north end of the island at Dickenson’s Bay and stopped at Long Island for a quick history lesson. There are a number of small islands between reefs that line the northern eastern part of the island.

First stop was Hell’s Gate (more on that for our next excursion).

Then we stopped at Sting Ray city, which is southwest from Hells Gate.

We were not in the waist high section, but almost neck deep (for those of us only 5′ 3″). Figures our GoPro HERO5 Camera had a dead battery and we didn’t know it, since it’s new to us. The key was to shuffle your feet in the sand, so they knew you were present. They would then swim past you touching your legs. I admit, it was a bit weird and creepy, yet cool. Friends we met, Tony & Nicole took a bunch of photos with their Go Pro, so once they send us some, we’ll post some photos. Instead, this is what I took from the boat.

Then the folks at Sting Ray City also took photos of each of the guests holding a sting ray.

From here we traveled to a small island and had a wonderful lunch with great views of some catamarans anchored in the bay.

This cat had a cute german shepherd on board, but I couldn’t get it in the photo

After lunch to traveled south to Nelson’s Dockyard, located on the south end of the island in English Harbor. First we passed by Eric Clapton’s home, situated up on the cliff’s of the island. I will tell you that the swells were very large as we turned the south east corner of the island. Luckily our boat was fast, but it certainly went up and down, getting through them.

Nelson’s Dockyard still has all of the original buildings and now houses many large yachts. According to Wikipedia, English Harbour quickly became a focal point for the establishment of a naval base in Antigua. Its position on the south side of the island meant it was well positioned to monitor the neighboring French island of Guadeloupe. Additionally, the harbour is naturally well-suited to protect ships and cargo from hurricanes. The first reference to the defense of English Harbour occurs in 1704 when Fort Berkeley was listed as one of the twenty forts established around the coast of Antigua. By 1707 naval ships used English Harbour as a station, but no facilities had yet been built for ship maintenance or repair. By 1723 English Harbour was in regular use by British naval ships.

(The following land based photos were taken on our land tour with our guide a few days later).

From Nelson’s Dockyard, we snorkeled at the Pillar’s of Hercules just outside of the harbor.

From here, we stopped at Rendezvous Bay, to relax and enjoy some rum punch!

We then made the journey back north towards our resort, but first stopping at Saint John’s where the cruise ships are located, dropping off some passengers. Wouldn’t want to run into one of these in the middle of the night in the ocean!!

In the end, it was a fantastic day! Small group (about 18 of us or so) and a great crew! I would definitely recommend it! Check them out on http://www.adventureantigua.com/.

Part 2 will feature our Eco Adventure with this same company, coming soon!

June 4, 2015September 19, 2017

The Dream and Where Did it Come From?

Sailing the Caribbean

Sailing the Caribbean is our dream. Many might ask, what’s with the dream of exploring the world on water and why? Where did it come from? Honestly, that dream has been with me for many many years (probably longer than Scott). First of all, I grew up on boats. While they were only fishing and water skiing boats, we spent our summers on the water. It doesn’t matter what you are doing, being on the water just brings a sense of peace and adventure.

Back in the 80’s and 90’s my mom and I would vacation in Hawaii and one year we were lucky to sail on the America II Sailboat. The America II was a 1987 America’s Cup Challenger. This prestigious yacht was custom designed and built, at the cost of $10 million, for the sole purpose of competing in world-class racing. After completing her transpacific race she was retired from racing to do sailing tours out of Lahaina Harbor on Maui. Because it was a racing boat, it was bare bones….barely had a head (bathroom).

We sailed it to Molokini and that was the trip that hooked me. The serenity of flying over blue waters with dolphins next to us and then arriving to a location where sea turtles and tropical fish surrounded you is so unreal. I wanted to turn the boat around and go back when we got home!

Later in my adult life, I owned a 27′ “weekender” and spent many weekends up at the San Juan Islands. I remember exploring the islands one day and decided to go north and out of the blue, a pod of Orca whales surrounded our boat. They literally were just feet off of our anchor platform. I took a ton of photos (but this one is not mine). It was one of the coolest experiences I have had.

Scott and I were married in 2003 and we spent our honeymoon in Antigua. We booked two sailing excursions on that trip and soon he was hooked too! We took a catamaran snorkeling trip and then finished it on a sunset sailing cruise. What a honeymoon to remember!

Back to Antigua & Jamaica

We decided after that trip, that we would always include the water on our future trips to the Caribbean. And any chance we had to be on the water, we took advantage of it. It’s the best therapy you can find! We returned to Antigua in 2010 and took those same two trips again.

The following year, during our visit to Sandals Whitehouse Jamaica we had one of the most memorable trips on a Catamaran as we visited Floyd’s Pelican Bar….a bar on a sandbar!

On another visit to Jamaica we took another sailing trip and just our luck, the skies turned dark and stormy. It was still a very cool experience and the S/V was huge! It had 2 Cummins engines and it had a capacity of 100ppl!

Looking for Water

No matter what the situation is, we still love being on the water and forgetting all about the rest of the world. It’s not always a bed of roses, in fact, more often than not it’s work. Scott and I are willing to take that challenge and explore. For now, it might only be a boat show or a day on a family’s boat, but we’re still on the water! We hope to buy a boat in the next few years!

I guess in the end, the water has more meaning to us than we know and everyday it’s a new experience and a new memory. The photo above of my mom, she had so much fun….it was about a year before she died. We also chose to sprinkle Maggie’s ashes (our golden retriever) in Port Susan at Camano Island. It was one of the most spiritual and memorable experience regarding a death…..very peaceful.

When days get me down, I just look back on the journeys we had and remind myself that new ones on the water are just around the corner. Cheers, Ally

September 18, 2013November 7, 2017

Today it’s simply a dream

Boating Dream – Living on a Catamaran in the Caribbean

Our boating dream would be to retire in the Caribbean and live on a catamaran. How did this even come about? I started a personal blog back in 2009 when I was struggling to have children and was in my early 40’s. I wanted our kids to know the journey we had experienced, but we never had kids and after a few years I stopped updating it. It was a private blog, so it was really more of a diary for me.

Scott and I have always loved the sea and during every vacation to the Caribbean, we would plan at least one (usually two) catamaran excursions. I grew up with boats, had one as an adult and really missed boating. After spending time on the Caribbean Sea, we fell in love with the islands and the laid back life. We always pictured ourselves working or retiring in the Caribbean.

Fast forward to the January of 2011 when we attended the Seattle Boat Show, which included the floating show on Lake Union. It was a cold, wet and dreary day, but we were going to have fun anyways!

That is when we looked at our first (liveaboard) Catamaran, the Lagoon 350. The broker was trying to convince us to get into the charter business in the PNW as it was a great way to buy our dream boat. Suddenly, we were hooked and couldn’t stop thinking about that boat. There was another cat at the show and it wasn’t nearly as roomy or comfortable. From that point on, we knew we needed to do our research and read everything we could.

Magazines & Blogs

I started buying Multi-Hulls Magazine and other Sailing magazines to read up on sailing and cruising lifestyles. I also started following blogs of other catamaran sailors and their adventures. One that hooked me like a novel was the blog for Tritons At Sea. This guy was so particular and I couldn’t wait to read the next blog he posted. It was from 2005, but he had great advice, including lists and requirements that are still great today. When our journey finally starts, we’ll be referencing his blog. Then we found other blogs on sailblogs.com. This was a great site and eventually I was emailing some of the boats and congratulating them on their adventures. It was a great way to erase the dulldrums of the rainy days of the PNW, especially on a slow work day.

See, I don’t have a regular job, but instead own a local wine shop, The Wine Alley and I work here every day. During the week, we don’t get a ton of daytime shoppers, so I would pass the time following many of the sailing blogs down in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean. But that can also simply be adding “salt to the wound”. Reading about their tropical adventures at sea and then looking at the 3″ of cold rain falling didn’t always make life better.

A Trip to Antigua

Every January, we close our wine shop for a week and visit the Caribbean. In 2010 we went to Antigua and during our trip we took a day trip on a catamaran, “Wadadli Cats” that sailed us all around the island. We started on the north end and traveled west into the Atlantic Ocean and then back around to the Caribbean side. What a thrill and for me, at that moment, I forgot all about our problems back home. We were in paradise!

What’s Next?

When we returned home, we again attended the 2012 boat show and collected so much information ranging from toilets to electronics. This was actually a bit silly, considering we knew we wouldn’t “launch” for many years, unless we won the lottery! But it was still fun to look, touch and dream.

Books, Books & More Books!

A few months later, I noticed all kinds of “real life” books on sailing and one that caught my eye was A Sail of Two Idiots . This was a great story about another couple, our age, who sold everything, bought a catamaran and sailed the Caribbean and with no sailing experience! Well, if they can do it, so could Scott and I and we both read that book fast! The author, Renee Petrillo has been so gracious answering all of my emails and answering our questions over the past two years. It’s a great book, so this is a must buy!

The funny thing about me, is that I am not a reader. My mom would read a book in a few days, but books have always bored me. But I love all real life books about sailing the Caribbean and other tropical adventures. I soon found myself reading: The Motion of the Ocean (a book about a local PNW couple), Sail Away: How to Escape the Rat Race and Live the Dream and A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean. For birthdays & Christmas, we found ourselves giving each other books about Catamarans, Nautical References and Galley Recipes. Currently, I’m reading An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude, a story about a Toronto couple that heads down the ICW to the Caribbean. So many people have done it and so many are doing it, that we know in our hearts we’ll be there soon too.

In addition to all of the books, blogs, etc. that I started reading, local neighbors of ours, John & Kelly W. started their dream and trip in August 2012 from Seattle. They left everything and headed south on their sailboat. They made it to Mexico by the end of 2012 and have been enjoying the tropical Mexican life ever since. It’s been fun to follow their trip on Facebook and see where they are headed next. Since then, most of my Twitter & Instagram accounts follow mostly cruisers too.

So we began 2013 year, dreaming of our trip and trying to figure out how we will get there. Owning a business and having debt, doesn’t make the challenge easy. But we know with determination, we’ll get there in a few years. In the meantime, I wanted to share the little adventures, research and events with you so we can reflect on everything we went through to get to our dream. If we can do it, everyone else can too. Cheers, Scott & Ally