In the beginning....

I guess to catch you all up, I'll have to start at the very beginning.


(Yes, this is Jeff circa 1999, shortly after we met!)

Jeff and I met in Harbor Springs at the LTYC Regatta way back in 1999, I was at the tender age of 20! We both have slightly different stories of what exactly happened that weekend, but we both distinctly remember sitting outside Irish's by the pay phone. We were chatting (Jeff's attempt at flirting?) and I was trying to act 'cool'. I remember saying that I was going to sail around the world someday (I think I was reading 'Maiden Voyage' by Tania Aebi for the 3rd or 4th time) Jeff said "me too, I just haven't found the interested party yet" I raised my hand and said 'here I am'....

The next full year was filled with road trips, me helping him with his business in Chicago and various other places, and the quest for 'the boat'. We also did quite a bit of practice cruising around the Florida Keys on Jeff's Dad's Compac 19, now thats close quarters!

Finding the right boat for distance cruising is a bit like finding the perfect mate. Its a long journey filled with a lot of duds, but when you find it you know... (funny I should say that, Jeff and I are on our second perfect boat now! but that's another story for another post).

Jeff and I drove to Nova Scotia to look at a boat. We flew to California. We looked at, picked apart, and denied boats all over the US and Canada on the Internet. And finally in September of 2001 we found a 35' Wauquiez Pretorien for sale in Hollywood, FL. Jeff had spent a fair amount of time on a 33' Wauquiez Gladiator in his youth sailing with family friends, so he knew the construction, seaworthiness and sail performance fairly well. Another positive for the Pretorien, Hal Roth who was one of the world's leading authorities on sailing and adventure writing, owned one as his final yacht! You don't get much better than that.


So now its 2001, we own 'the boat'... whats next?

Second Try

Can I do it? Can I maintain two blogs? I don't know, but I'm sure going to try! Now that I have followers (Hi Brittany, Hi Scott!) and people ask about our 'voyage' all the time, I feel like I should at least attempt to catch people up on what Jeff and I have been up to for the past 5 years (OY, has it really been 5 years?)

Memphis

Hi!
So we've been in Memphis, TN since October 11, Jeff's 30th birthday! His parents came in for the weekend and we had a nice time catching up with them. John is getting busier by the day, but it has been nice being able to walk with him in the stroller. Lately it has been like someone turned on a faucet in his mouth, he is soaked from chin to belly button if he doesn't wear a bib! Also its a game to see how many fingers he can fit into his mouth at one time, he certainly is fun to play with!!! The newest addition is his jumper, he hasn't totally figured it out- its really more of a new thing to chew on, but thats ok! His smiles brighten our day :)

GerberBaby

So... I know John is cute- but I'm Mommy so I'm biased. Last night at Wine Fest someone told me that she thinks John is Gerber Baby cute... and she's an actress in Chicago, so maybe she knows the biz? Anyways- I'm pretty sure we're not going to start modeling, but it is nice to hear! Hey- maybe Aunt Kristen can enter some of his photos in a contest!!!

3 Months!!!

John is 3 months old!! Oh how the time flies... it seems like just yesterday he was a tiny little guy, and now he is getting so big! I want to cry when the cute tiny outfits don't fit him anymore... but he is growing up big and strong. For fun he likes to ride in the dingy with Daddy- with his lifejacket of course!

Chicago

We've been in Chicago at Uncle Danny's for a week now- but we're heading back to Last Paradise tomorrow!!! John has been a real trooper, its been a very busy week! First we drove up here last Monday, then he and Mommy flew to NYC for Aunt Karmas wedding with TQ- back here on Wednesday. Winedfest started here Friday night, John helped serve tastings of wine, drawing all the cuties to our table! He even helped Uncle Danny flirt with the ladies- yeah buddy!!!
We're going back to Ol' Kentucky tomorrow and back 'home' to Last Paradise. We'll be heading south down the Mississippi this winter- we'll keep you posted!

HI everyone!

So here is our first post on this blog... We are up in Cross Village, MI wading through all of our belongings before we head back to Last Paradise next week. It has been a busy 2 months since John was born! He is growing so fast and doing great... Last night he slept like a champ, 10-6, I really can't complain!!!