One Last Hurrah: Dominican Republic, here we come!

We're heading out before you know it for the Dominican Republic!  By plane.  Luna Sea will be hanging out in her slip, all hunkered down to suffer through the cold while we enjoy 8 beautiful days in the Dominican Republic.

Selling for Sailing

We're doing it.  We started selling off our things a few weeks ago.  Just small things for now - extra chairs, extra cycling gear, an extra SUP.  Noticing the trend?  Yes, I'll take "things we have duplicates of" for $400, Alex.  All for sale.  And selling!  We're growing the cruising kitty one sale at a time.

Bits and Pieces - small projects completed

I realize I haven't written in a while.  Sometimes there's just no news.  Other times I'm just swamped with life and can't get around to it.  Lately it's been the latter.

I started a new job at a brand new local bakery - and I'm having a blast.  It's a much better fit for me than the school I was working at earlier in the semester.

In the meantime - we've finished the back cushions in the salon!

Sun Protection

I've already covered homemade sunblock for people - this time I'm tackling sun block for boats.  I posted a pic or two on Instagram or Facebook and realized that some people had no idea what the picture was of. I figured it was about time to break it down - who knew boat stuff needed it's own sun protection?

This is the picture that started it all - the new cover for the outboard engine (the small motor that we use to drive our dinghy around):

Two Steps Closer...

1 - He's done it.  He's finished his Dive Master Certification!

2 - And I'm *gasp* working as a Garde Manger Chef Full Time!

Saturday morning Mark headed down to Blue Grotto (Florida) for his final dive, and then took the certification test on the drive home.  So he's done it.  That is one big step forward in our plan to sail the seas.

Isn't it ironic?

A little too ironic...

Figured I'd stick with the song lyrics this weekend.  And this one is pretty darn appropriate.

We headed out today for a sail.

You down with OPP?

Yeah, you know me.  (Google it, mom.  I will not be responsible for explaining OPP to my mother.)

In this case, the other P stands for Poop.  Yep.  It's a poop blog post today.

It's been a year!?? How we celebrated Luna Sea's anniversary.

As some of you know, we have an annual vacation the week of July 4th.  Last year we just happened to spend that week off buying and bringing Luna Sea home.  How'd we spend our 1 year anniversary as "sailors"?  (We still use that title loosely.)  Well, let's break it down.

Mark and Molly checking out the empty beach.

What's that smell? Weekend Projects

We're getting back into our routine of long weekends on the boat every week.  That means PROJECTS!  At least it does on a wind-less Sunday afternoon.

The 900sqft condo has become an upholstery shop...

Eating my way through Altea

Yes, this is basically a blog about our choice to sail away one day to explore warm sunny beaches.  In the mean time, I'm in culinary school working on one more way to make money while we sail.  I'm pretty sure that would imply that I love food.  I love to shop for food, cook food, eat food and feed food to other people.

Air travel by doesn't always FEEL faster than sailboat...

Planes, a bus and an automobile... Look out Altea!

Spring Cleaning - or napping, as I like to call it.

I haven't posted much, but that's really because there's not that much boat related going on.  I'm finishing up a semester at Culinary school - 3 classes to go!  But I've also recently dual enrolled - so I'm going for the Baking/Pastry degree as well.  As long as Mark is loving his job, we'll be here, so I may as well rack up as many options for making cash on the road as possible.
We spent a bit of time on Luna Sea last weekend - hung out with friends in the evenings and took out our daughter (finally!) on Sunday for a quiet sail.

Calm day on the water

Brit boarding the dinghy to explore an island

Toes in the sand: St. Croix 2014

What an island!  We loved pretty much every bit of our vacation.  We headed down to Jacksonville, FL Monday evening to stay with some friends prior to our 8am flight on Tuesday.  Then it was down to Miami and off to St. Croix!

The next post should include toes in the sand...

We survived the birthday weekend on Luna Sea.  We paddled.  A lot.  In fact, I found stomach muscles I'd forgotten about - even though I'm still teaching Pilates and TRX at the local YMCA...  I have to say, I'm seriously loving that Tower iSUP.  Seriously.  I just think about where I want to go, and it pretty much goes there.  I have not had that response with my traditional SUPs.  And I have no problem getting it on and off of Luna Sea by myself.  Sure, I had to drop it a couple of feet onto the dock from the deck of the boat - but it won't hurt it!

St. Croix Countdown!

No - we're not taking Luna Sea, this time!  Hope to have my own photos for the next St. Croix blog!

We were just sitting around on New Year's Day this year, visiting with family - you know, with the TV on, but low volume, and a variety of conversations playing out in the living room.  Per my usual routine, I had it on HGTV for a House Hunter's International-a-thon.  I think this one may've even been focused on beaches/islands specifically - so you know I was peeking up at it constantly, like a dude/tte watching football on the sly on Thanksgiving.

I had faintly heard that this episode was in the Caribbean, but not much else, and then looked up to see the price of the single family home they were viewing - $132,000.  What?!  I totally expected another comma in that number.  I mean, these weren't fancy homes, they needed a little love - but they weren't slums either.  I was totally intrigued.  I turned up the volume to figure out what island they were on and grabbed the laptop - family gathering be damned.

We have rentals.  And when I'm not slaving away learning in culinary school/teaching at the gym (ok, "slaving" in the gym is a total exaggeration in my case, but it sounds better) I'm frequently on the lookout for a fixer-upper that we can use for our long-term-early-retirement-"passive"-income plan.  Most girls see a baby or puppy and go gaga over it.  I see a run down house and just want to love it and hug it and bring it back to life.  And maybe make a buck or two and keep my ass out of a swivel chair in some gray cubicle somewhere.  Clearly, an affordable home on a US island peeked my landlord interest.

Here's the other thing - did you notice it's a UNITED STATES territory?  Yes.  It is one of the US Virgin Islands.  Do you know what that means for US residents who want to shove off and bum around the islands?  The ability to work - LEGALLY, while traipsing around.  This got our wheels turning.  We knew we had a mandatory birthday/spring break trip coming up (I love being a student again!) but we still had not narrowed down a destination.  Problem solved!  I got online to verify that there are, in fact, affordable homes/condos in St. Croix and then booked our tickets.

We head out soon - and I've got a realtor lined up, a list of homes/businesses to look at, a rental car booked so we can check out the entire island - and of course SCUBA, snorkeling, eating and playing lined up as well.  We're even taking a tour of the local catamaran manufacturer's production facility.  The count down is on!

Are we going to move there?  Are we going to buy a condo/home to rent from afar?  Or maybe a multi-unit where we use one unit as a base while we rent out the other units?  Who knows?  That's why we're going to explore.  We may hate the island.  (ha.)  Or we may decide to check out others before committing.  But we have to explore. That's what we do.  How can you make a decision on something without investigating?  And if we have to suffer through a vacation on an island with an average yearly temp of 80-85?  Well, so be it.

*side note:  Why are there so many Debbie Downers in the world?  Any time someone hears we're going to St. Croix (or anywhere else for that matter) people like to tell us the bad crap.  "Hey - my cousin Bob's neighbor's kid's teacher's uncle went there this one time and he said it was terrible!"  Or some sort of variation of this.  Really?  You heard this one time from someone you can't remember that there was something - not specific, mind you - but something negative about this place we want to explore?  Well, here's a shocker:  I've been doing my research.  We've read several books, Googled, had online conversations with people/sailors who live there/have lived there, etc.  We don't just do these things on a whim.  We're not sailing away on Luna Sea on a whim.  This plan has been in effect for years - and will likely take years to implement.  It just takes time to cultivate a major life change - in a responsible way.  So, feel free to tell me your cousin Bob's neighbor's kid's teacher's uncle's story - I do love to hear everyone's input!  But just know that I've heard the negative.  And we will make our own educated decisions.

Crazy Busy - Miami International Boat Show 2014

I realize I haven't given an update in AGES!  And I miss it.  I miss the writing and the comments, etc.  It certainly has not been for lack of content/activities/goings on.  We. have. been. BUSY!

So where do I even start?

The Instagram

I've done it.  I've gone and set up a Luna Sea instagram account. 

You'll be able to see such riveting posts as the Before and After shots of the shelf in the fridge.

Dogs on a Boat - the Puppy Pad Chronicles

If you've been following along, you know we've been working/struggling with getting the dogs to go to the bathroom on the boat.  If you haven't been following along - well, I guess you're here specifically to read about doggy potty breaks, so I'll fill you in on what's been happening.

Too Many Miles in a Day

St. Augustine to Fernandina - after dark, in a storm.  Not the best way to travel, I must say.

St. Augustine for the Holidays

We left Daytona via the Ponce Inlet and scooted up the coast via the ocean - to St. Augustine Inlet.  I've mentioned this inlet before, I think, but if not, it is interesting.  The St. Augustine channel is very clearly marked by lots of red and green barrels - and we were told by Seatow (via phone) to hug the red side.  However,  the current was pushing toward the red side, the waves were pretty high/strong in the inlet, and the waves crashing just on the other side of one particular red barrel had us changing our course to a center-of-the-channel kind of approach.

I'm just wagering that you might not want to hug that green barrel either...

Daytona - a day in pictures

We passed these guys on our way south.  I would imagine that you've noticed our very mature senses of humor, but if not, this should clue you in.  We were cackling.  

Boat Food: Buffalo Chicken and Brocolli

There are no pictures for this recipe, and for that I apologize.  But we ate it.  Scarfed it right down and practically licked the bowls clean.  Just make it yourself.  You'll see.