A Bit of Our New Life

Morning tea on our first rainy morning aboard

You know how you can imagine something and it never lives up to your expectations?  I've imagined living on Me Voy for years, and now that it has happened, it has actually exceeded any expectations I had. So roomy, so much storage, so comfortable, and we take it all with us when we go places. That's something to wrap my mind around. I keep thinking- oh when we go back to work on Tara this weekend we'll need to bring this and this... and then I remember, its all coming with us, everywhere, all the time. That blows my mind. Compared to the van this is really living it up!

I'm also so stoked at  how smoothly the boys have adapted to this boat, especially Billy, who is usually the problem child. Yesterday he actually laid on the the galley floor while the motor was running (we currently charge our batteries with the motor) below him. I think he wanted to prove a point. Namely - don't lock me in the forward berth while we're underway- ever! That's what I did when we first fired it up with him on board. Here's a snippet of the miserable attempt to introduce Billy to motoring...

Before turning on the motor, I took Billy with me into the v berth. I was cooing little love sounds and he was rubbing himself pleasantly around my hand. Everything was peachy. The motor started and his ears perked up. He sensed something was up. I stayed with him a bit longer, cooing and reassuring, then made my escape to the deck. Now he knew something was up. While I was on the foredeck handling lines, I could see him thru the forward hatch. He was pissed off and screaming about it.  Next, while I was unhooking the bow line, he took to jumping against the hatch. From my perspective it looked like someone was throwing him against the lexan. Smash!  Splat! All I could see was his face momentarily smooshed against the plastic hatch and then he'd disappear again into darkness.  It was cartoonishly funny and terrifying at the same time. I've never seen him this desperate.

Finally as we were pulling away the screaming and banging stopped and Billy appeared on deck, satisfied and redeemed. My best guess is he worked the door handle to open the door because it was swinging merrily and we cruised along. And Billy? He wasn't even freaked out that we were leaving the dock, and had no designs to jump off the boat like I feared. He did tell me what he thought of my idea of locking him in, by leaving me a big stinking poop in the v berth to step into.

That's all behind us now.

At least for a little while. Tomorrow we plan on blowing Billy's mind by sailing to our old marina.  As unexotic a location as that is, our number one priority is getting Tara cleaned up, spruced up and put up. The fun anchorages have to wait a bit longer. But not too much longer.

Billy on his sail bag bed

In a bit of a  curtain sewing frenzy

Chopper has had it with the pictures