We did it. We cleared out our place and actually filled the two moving containers (almost) completely. Packing it up was like playing a game of Tetris. I wanted to make sure stuff wasn't going to be flying around since I have a few things I actually care about but we'll see if it did any good. Paul and I did a fair amount of bickering but got through it. Actually, Oliver and I did a good amount of bickering too because he kept busting out his toys and trying to tell me he "needed" whatever it was.  

The containers got picked up yesterday and now I have no idea where my stuff is but just have to trust it will end up in Minnesota like it's supposed to. We will have to borrow a vacuum when we need one but other than that we are just living with less which is easier than it would seem (when you have awesome neighbors and don't mind wearing the same clothes over and over). Now we just have to decide what to do for Thanksgiving and then get moved onto the boat before Oliver and I go meet our stuff in Minnesota.

One full

Almost everything in this pic is going to be sold on craigslist or given away

11/16/14

Paul went to meet the so-called 'electrician' yesterday and he had a bad feeling about the guy for some reason but he decided to go because he was recommended by a fellow sailor at our marina. Well Paul said he showed up and for the first 45 minutes he checked the batteries which Paul had already told him were brand new and that he had already checked them with a voltage meter but the guy insisted and why it took that long I have no idea. Then Paul told me he kept sitting down to talk and Paul would say to him, 'so what do we need to do now' to try to get him back to work. After that he switched a wire around that did nothing. So after a little over an hour Paul said this isn't working out thanks anyways for coming. The guy got all mad about Paul hurrying him too much and expecting him to fix it too fast. Then he tries to tell Paul he has a 2 hour minimum anyways and only takes cash. Paul told him that was never talked about before he came out and that he didn't fix anything or even teach Paul anything the whole time he was there. So then Paul had to stay and change the wire back and chalk it up to a complete waste of time. He will call a professional today and hopefully get them out this week. 

While Paul was doing that I was sitting outside our apartment complex, playing with Oliver, waiting for the people parked in front of our building to leave so I could take their parking spot. I had to get 2 of the 5 spots saved because the permit I got for those said they had to be right in front of our building. Although the containers will be delivered between 8am and noon and you would think Monday morning people go to work it should be no problem getting those spots that is not exactly how in works here in the ghetto. It took a few hours for me to get one then after Oliver went down for a nap I kept going out to check between laundry and packing and another one opened up right next to the one I already had parked in. Paul was at the boat dealing with that nonsense so I double parked it and went to the neighbors for help. They are wonderful people and they all know what is happening with our move so after a few knocks and phone calls one of our friends came out and moved their car into that spot for me. I was kind of worried after a few people weren't home because I have gotten into some arguments over parking spots here and didn't want that to happen again with me being double parked for too long.

The moving container comes this morning. I'm glad this week is finally here, the decisions have to be made about what is staying and what is leaving. I have to work tonight then we have to go over to our friends house right away in the morning, before I go to bed, to get a few big pieces of furniture that they so nicely let us keep there for the last couple weeks. Once we get those things in there it's just trying to get everything else in around those. I am really hoping we can fit it all into one container, if we have to use two it's another thousand dollars so it would be nice to save that. It's crazy how all these little things add up so much. I had to go to Target the other day to get: Benadryl pills and cream, insect repellant, tylenol for us and kids, ibuprofen, ace wraps, gauze, steri-strips, anti-diarrhea pills, anti-nausea pills, antibiotic cream, big bandaids, little bandaids, and a million other things we never use here but I would hate to be stuck without it if we do need it while we are out at sea. I also am making a kind of pantry so I have been buying plastic storage containers for dried goods and those things are not as cheap as I thought. I will try to look at the thrift stores but the few times I have gone I haven't seen any. I think about when we stop sailing and how if I spend all this money on stuff I will hate to leave it behind. I guess all I can hope it that we can make it back when we sell it but I think that is very unrealistic. It just seems like a never-ending list of stuff we need and I know we have been saving up for this but I can't believe how much it has already been. I read someones blog about shipping their stuff back after their sail and it was thousands, now maybe they had a huge boat or nice stuff, I am definitely not packing clothes I will miss or care about if they are wrecked because I believe that is inevitable. I am rambling, sorry. Between 8-12 today the box will be delivered…let's hope it's easy.

                                         

Oliver checking out the sea lion a dock over from our boat. Thankfully not next to our boat because they are stubborn and leave when they are good and ready, not when you ask them.

                                          The inside of the boat in its current state of disarray.

11/1/14

So we are really going to give it a go this year. The moving company comes to collect our things in less than 2 weeks. Needless to say we are working on moving our storage unit to our house and going through and packing up everything that will not be going on the boat. It seemed easier when I was just thinking about it. There is so much to do and prepare for. I need to focus on one thing at a time like deciding what goes on the boat and what goes to MN and what goes to the thrift store because we will have to get rid of some stuff.

11/9/14

Things are moving forward quickly but at this point there is no other way. We cleared out the storage locker today so we have everything in our living room and a few big things at our friends house (thank you Nicole and Jason). Paul told his boss he was leaving and I told mine so there is no going back now. I can tell that we both feel better. This is good that we are moving forward, even though it is 'stressful' I don't feel stressed out since it's good stress. Everything is just working out and I feel like it is coming fast but not too fast. It's weird though because I am still having a hard time deciding what should come and what shouldn't'. Lucky for me I have dropped quite a few things that are glass so that always takes care of the question of if I should pack it or not. I am still notifying friends and family that we are leaving so I have been feeling bad the last week when people hear through the grapevine and not from me that we are leaving soon. I mean i just told my mom the other night. They are excited for us, probably not too excited that we are bringing all our stuff back to their house, but glad we will end up there eventually. I am also trying to pack only clothes that are dark for Oliver and I so it hides the dirt better. It's weird to think in a week I will be sleeping on an air mattress with only a few pans to cook with.

Our living room

We forgot our camera on the last trip but we did manage to take a couple photos with our cell phones

Oliver getting very comfortable in the dinghy

Working on our letters and sounds underway

Jumped in with dad

I have said it before and will say it again I am not a great/consistent blogger (yet). I have been journaling, just not posting...here are my journals from the last few months...

9/30/14

We leave on Saturday for Dana Point to make up for the trip we missed last month. We will only be gone for 5 days but I hope it gives us an ok idea about living on it extensively. I know the sailing part is what will be hard not the enjoying places we have never been before. Oliver did so great in the car you would think he would be fine on the boat but it's so different. You want wind so you sail faster but then the boat is usually heeled and I still get seasick after not being on it for awhile so I want to be up and Oliver wants to be down below. I will really focus this trip on sailing the boat by myself because if we are going to leave we have a lot of work to do and me sailing solo is one of the to dos. 

We have both been leaning more and more towards leaving this year even though we don't feel completely prepared. We would have a few months still to work as much as we can, move all our stuff to Mn (probably just Oliver and I would do it), pack up the boat and make sure we have all the safety and comfort stuff we can fit on that sailboat. We just feel like we keep saying we are going to leave and we aren't doing it. Yes, another year would be nice to finish seeing all the california stuff we want to see such as snowboarding at Big Bear, saving some more and maybe having another baby while we have insurance but life is just slipping away and neither one of us wants to be stagnant and we are definitely starting to feel that way here.

10/5/14

So we left a day later than we intended because we were arguing about who had to do what. I get tired of always having to plan, shop and pack everything and Paul feels like he does a lot too so we didn't go because I went on strike. It has to be done sometimes.

We ended up going Sunday after we quick packed the boat up and headed out around 230 pm. We, of course, forgot a few things we had to have so I had to run back to the house and grab them which delayed us about 40 min. Good thing we moved closer to the boat or that would've been a lot worse. We got out of the slip first try which was a first for me with Paul. I was so pumped I thought that had a lot of meaning for the outlook of the rest of the trip. There was a little wind and we got off to a good start but after a few hours we realized we were losing speed fast. We had initially meant to go down to Dana Point but since we were going so slow we set our sights on Newport Beach. Paul got to try out the spinnaker which looks like a Jamaican flag. It helped move us a little faster but barely so after another 40 minutes we threw in the towel and started the engine. We both hate to do that but it said it was weren't going to get to Newport harbor entrance until past 130am and we just didn't want to sit that long. We snacked on crackers and cheese and played a lot. It was a pretty nice sail with Oliver, he was happy and easy to please. It was nice the boat wasn't heeled so we got to read and play without sitting next to the water.

We got there and it was dark but we found the free anchorage no problem and there were only a few boats so we were able to find a spot with little trouble. It's always a little confusing and since it was dark no one was out to ask like there is during the day. It's funny boaters are always out watching the new ones come in and judging them. 

Paul slept in the galley the first night because he was worried about the anchorage as he always is. Oliver and I slept in the vberth pretty easily. Oliver tosses and turns a lot so it woke me up and I was worried he would flip off the entrance and fall and hit his head so I was always trying to keep him back. We have to get a foam mattress cover because my hips always hurt when I wake up after sleeping on that hard, old foam. That is an easy fix and it really helped when we did that with our last boat. I think we will figure out a way to make Oliver this own room/tent on one of the 'couches' so Paul and I can have the vberth to ourselves. 

We had eggs and sausage for breakfast in the cockpit, it is so nice to have a table outside. Then we got the dingy in the water and went for a ride to look for the free dingy docks for later.

After we all woke up from a nap we went to the beach for a few hours and swam and watched the skim boarders. We had chicken on the grill, rice and veggies for supper, it was so good. Then we kind of watched the kids movie Cars while we played and read some books and went to bed. We all slept in the vberth the second night which is ok but since Oliver moves so much he ends up taking up half of the bed and whoever is next to him is usually miserable. Since I know that I had Paul sleep next to him and in the morning he did indeed say he was uncomfortable part of the night. Also when he tried to move him over at 5am Oliver decided he wanted to wake up. We are used to 6am but 5 is really early. Thank goodness that is 'man time' in our house and I get to sleep in.

Tuesday morning we spent washing diapers and messing around talking about what we need to get and fix before we leave. We had a good breakfast of eggs and sausage again and sat outside to eat. Then we just played in the boat until it was nap time, Oliver slept and Paul and I hung out. When he woke up we went to the beach and found a park to play at then got an ice cream cone to share. We went back to the boat to freshen up and texted our friends Jim and DIane to see if they wanted to meet us for taco tuesday at one of the local mexican restaurants. They did so we changed and met them there. We had a few margaritas and tacos and then they had to leave so we watched the sun go down and walked Balboa pier. As we were walking out we saw this group of 5 teenagers with a rescue buoy and it looked like a few of them who were in their swim trunks were going to jump off the pier. It didn't worry me since i figured they were locals and it is probably only 20 feet or so. As I watched one of them had jumped and the rest didn't only yelling at the one in the water to "backstroke". They put the buoy away and started walking off the pier. I didn't think much of it until we hear a 'help' coming from the water and realize the kid that had jumped was yelling and waving his arms. I immediately grabbed my phone and called 911 since it was too late for lifeguards to be on watch. It was getting really dark but we could still see him and they said someone had already called and help was on the way. We watched 2 of the kids friends swim out to him and they kept a little distance but probably just calmed him down enough. We could see a blue light coming from on the water from a ways away and figured they would do a water rescue with the coast guard. The firetrucks and police all came and a guy with a camera who could see a lot closer up then we could said a lifeguard got out there and helped them in a little they had mostly made it in before they go there. It was really scary thinking we might watch this kid drown and there is nothing much we can do. I am sure it was a good lesson learned and they were all fine just going to be in some shit with their parents when they get taken home by the police. 

I drove the dinghy back and somehow I sat weird and although its only a 5-10 minute ride I jacked my left knee up and it still hurts, 2 days later. Thank goodness I have a chiropractor for a husband!

That night we were sitting watching a move and paul sees the new neighbor's mast go by the window and it looks like they are dragging anchor so paul motors over there and talks to the guy. At first the guy told him he had just turned with the shifting wind and that he had done the northwest passage blah blah blah basically trying to tell Paul he knows what he's doing and his anchor is fine then the boat almost hit Paul it dragged so hard and the guy got so close to hitting the neighbors boat he had a foot on his boat and one on the other. Paul asked if he needed his help but he said no and when Paul came back and asked if I had watched I said no I just saw you two start talking so I went back down below. I just figured they were shooting the breeze and the heck with it. I'm glad nothing happened as I would've been slow to help since I thought everything was fine the whole time he was gone.

I slept with Oliver in the vberth just like the first night but he slept closer to the tip of the v and i slept horizontally blocking the way in and out so I slept much better besides my knee hurting…how did that even happen?!

We had to motor/sail all the way home since we were going upwind the whole way. It turned out ok since I didn't get seasick and Oliver slept almost the whole way. We got into the slip one shot no problem, it was great.

We are thinking we will leave this year but as you can tell if you read this we go back and forth a lot so nothing is set. We have a lot of work to do and therefore money to spend so that is depressing but if it all works out and we are still feeling good and ready December will probably be our month.