Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Planning



A rainy Labor Day weekend, perfect for dreaming our next move...

Dreaming is the most fun, acting out the dream is more difficult

With the end of Summer officially ticked off the calendar, our thoughts are turning more and more towards the upcoming winter. What are we gonna do? There are several key circumstances that are playing into our decision:

1. Me Voy's winter slip has been paid for already, but the marina abides by a 14 day a month maximum liveaboard policy- meaning we can't live there all winter. This wasn't made clear when we signed the contract, but it turns out to be a blessing anyway since we really hate this very urban, very huge, very uptight marina.

2. We sold Tara much quicker then we thought, and we have a bit of money that we would like to invest. Invest in what? Land. No questions here. The question is where?

3. We are not ready to go cruising on the boat, but we are ready to go away for the winter. After five years of busting our arses a reward is necessary.

Raincoats in the aft galley, our version of a mud room


With all these conditions swirling around us, we are coming up with a plan that makes sense for us. So far this is what we got.

We will leave Me Voy in the already paid for slip until April. Yeah we could take her back to our cozy marina and pay rent there, and work and keep on keeping on, but... all that can wait till spring. Both of our jobs will be happy to have us back if that's what we choose in April, so if not now when?

We will pack up the car with our camping things and head south for five months. This trip will be a combination of pilgrimage to sacred sights, a research trip into intentional, spiritual, and/or self sustaining communities, and a scouting trip into the land available to us here is the US.

The trick will be to do this on only the money we earn the next two months, and money we can make on the road. This will leave our "Tara money" only for the purpose of purchasing our next property.

Here I want to say that we are not in a rush to buy buy buy, but are excited to take our time and absorb all the different possibilities. But, if the right thing comes up, we are not afraid to make that move either. Despite what might appear like a contradiction, I think having land and a boat complement each other.  Either way, having Me Voy and living aboard will make this travel thing possible, even if the travel takes place over land.

rainy day hiding spots

So even though we won't be travelling the big blue this winter, we will be heading south! I guess its time to change the blog header...

6 comments:

judith said...

This is going to be so exciting!!!!

Travis and Maggie said...

You sound like just Chopper!

judith said...

LOL, I'm one of those people who gets almost as much out of planning the trip than the trip itself.

Travis and Maggie said...

I love planning too. Planning and packing. Out of the two I love packing. Fitting everything into a designated space, uh gives me chills. We've got plans for our little car to hold all our gear, which will mean some creative packing. Screw the trip, lets just pack and stay home!

judith said...

Nah, once you get that car loaded you may as well take the road trip. And it's got to be at least half a day's drive away. If I can see my house, then I'm going to go back home come sundown.

Travis and Maggie said...

At least half a day for sure. We're going for eight this next trip. Billy's longest stretch this year. Hope he doesn't pee or it will be a long trip.