Michael, “In Search of Reason”, by artist Sergio Bustamante
Before going cruising there are of course many questions ranging from boat parts to the weather to navigation to safety to the inevitable Why are we doing this? Once you answer the majority of the top 100, you set a date and go. Along the way you find answers to some deferred questions or ponder new ones regarding challenges you didn’t even know existed. One thing I gave little a care to was what we would do during the hurricane season. I knew for insurance purposes where we needed to be, which was basically parked somewhere in a safe designated hurricane hole and wait it out May to November. Wait a minute, that’s half the year, not trivial.
Camping, Heron Lake State Park, NM
Some cruisers stay with the boat for the long haul (perhaps simpler & cheaper). Others, with brick & mortar houses, spend their off-season back home on land. But we don’t have that place any more. Last year, we did a lot of road trips and “couch-surfed” at the homes of willing friends & family. Living out of a suitcase is tough for that length of time (5 months). This year we decided to shrink the time away from the boat down to 10 weeks. We stayed in Airbnbs in California and New Mexico and took our first camping trip with our new (1985) Winnebago, we named “Winston”. It was all pleasant enough – still, there were the suitcases. And then there was the expense, which turned out to be way more than anticipated. The Airbnbs were reasonable enough compared to hotels, plus we saved some money by cooking in. There were, however, some unexpected vehicle repairs leading to additional flights and hotels, plus the fact that everything really does cost more in the states, from haircuts to groceries to dining out. Turns out 10-weeks was not quite enough time back home for everything and everyone we wanted to squeeze in, but it was a tad too much time for our credit cards. c’est la vie!
Coffee at Dawn on Footloose
It has been a good summer and continues to be back on Footloose. Feels good to be home on our boat with all our stuff and our suitcases stored away. It is hot and humid with frequent thunderstorms usually after dark. We enjoy walks in the early mornings and swims in the late afternoons. We are puttering about on the boat and getting ready for the season which officially starts Nov 1. We’ve started to plan our itinerary, Mexico to Central America. If all goes according to plan, we should be in Panama by May. No hurricane risk there, but man does it pour in the wet season. Can’t even begin to think about what to do next summer. No rush.
At last, here are some photos from our spring-summer! It’s been awhile since we shared. (Remember to click on photo in gallery to open up slideshow for better viewing, hit esc to exit and resume with post.)
May-June 2018: Before departing for the states, we had some fun in between working at putting the boat to bed for the off-season.
Cowboys & their horses along the beach near La Cruz
La Cruz de Huanacastle: We attended an amazing festival in May. This annual festival celebrates the Patron Saint of La Cruz and features a sight to behold, the run of the horses from Bucerías into La Cruz!
Fun around Puerto Vallarta
New Mexico and California
We flew to New Mexico on June 22 and had a great time seeing our family and friends in the states. Although- we did get an overdose of politics! LOL- Wish more of you could visit us aboard Footloose sometime, hint, hint.
September, Paradise Village Marina, Nuevo Vallarta
This is how it starts… Kids learning to sail Optimist Dinghies in our backyard.
We plan to haul out in mid October for new bottom paint and sail drive seals….(they keep the water out of the boat.) In the meantime, we are waiting for the weather to cool off and doing indoor projects, programming the Single Side Band Radio, fixing some small bits and pieces that while not critical, make life better…We have lists. A biggy is our recent install of a new anchor, a stainless steel Rocna “Vulcan”, which fits perfectly in our bow roller, and will help Michael sleep at night while anchored. We have no idea why it comes with such a high polish since every anchor spends its life getting dragged through sand and rocks.. Must be for the Marina Queens!
Wishing you all peace & some adventures of your own-
Lisa (& Michael)
S/V Footloose
Paradise Village Marina (aka lovely hurricane hole)
Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico