Wales Rendezvous

We were invited to a James Bond night at Steve's work in Wales. Got all dressed up in our eveningwear and definitely looked the part. However once we got all dressed up, we realised we didn't actually want to go to a big party. Change of plans!

Instead we had a romantic dinner for two at the Celtic Manor, the gourmand tasting menu with wines to match. A lovely quiet evening, just the two of us!

Italy Motorbike Tour

Annual motorbike tour across Europe and down into Italy! Belgium, Germany, Austria, the Alps, the Dolomites, Pisa, Assissi, the Adriatic Coast and Venice!

The photos from the trip:

Cornwall - July 2007

Steve and I drove down to Cornwall for a long weekend getaway and a little exploration. We drove down from Newport, Wales, to St. Austell where Jess's boyfriend Matt's parents have a flat which they were kind enough to loan us. Not a bad drive down from Newport (wouldn't want to do it from Blackburn though!).

St. Austell was very pretty, cliffs overlooking the sea and hydrangeas blooming every where. We visited Charleston (by footpath over the cliffs), Lands End (a waste) and Padstoe (lovely and quaint).

Cornwall is beautiful and you could spend a very long time exploring the little back roads. We had a mix of good and less good weather, but were able to get out and walk and spent quite a bit of time driving about with the top down. The beaches were gorgeous, often surrounded by cliffs and the restaurants that we went to were very good.

Sailing Adventures with Beth and Mike

Day 5 – Time to head back (sigh). Since we had to motor anyway, we decided to head up the ICW to Tampa Bay rather than heading out to the Gulf and then up. The ICW is much harder (I think) because the channel is quite narrow. You constantly have to watch your depth or you can suddenly find yourself in 2 feet of water!

After the ‘boat shutdown’, we headed back to the house. Steve did the grocery shopping and the rest of us took naps – exhausted from all that lounging around the boat! Dinner at Catch 23. After dinner, a glimpse into the photos Beth and Mike had taken – they made us a CD of all the pictures! It was great fun having them come to visit!

Here's glimpse into the trip:

Day 4 - …we stayed for another day! Since the wind was now coming from the north, we took a day off (quite unusual for us). Steve ‘pottered about’, Mike made kielbasa scrambles for breakfast, I made more pickles, and we all enjoyed a beautiful sunny day.

We took the kayak over to the restaurant for lunch (Steve, Mike, and I) and brought back lunch for Beth – who wasn’t into kayaking. Steve tested the water a bit and we decided a new ladder is in order – he was also a pro with the paddling. The evening consisted of a paella dinner and dancing on the deck.

Day 3 – Longboat Key. The wind would have been fantastic for heading south today, but it was terrible for heading north tomorrow so we decided to make a short hop up to Longboat Key.

Seafood fajitas were cooked en route, with much lounging around on deck and reading. We came under the bridge at Longboat Key and managed to stay in the channel all the way to the anchorage! After anchoring, we inflated the blow-up kayak and Mike and I prepped it for a test drive. Steve said I couldn’t go on it without a life jacket. Definitely have to be careful stepping onto it, and you get a very wet bottom, but otherwise it’s lots of fun. We went over to the little beachside restaurant, had a drink, and brought back appetizers for Steve and Beth. (Steve did go out for a trial run and agreed to a ‘real kayak’ – yippee!

Mike made dinner – 2 kinds of kielbasa from California and very spicy fried potatoes – they were very good with sour cream.

Longboat Key is a fantastic place to anchor so…

Day 2 - Sailing with Beth and Mike

Day 2 – Manatee River to Venice. Beautiful sunny day with the wind pushing us south. Beth sat on the rear deck all afternoon just enjoying the view out to sea (think big sunburn!). It was a bit wavy coming into Venice, but once past the entry rocks the water calmed right down. We had been to Venice last year so had no problems making our way to ‘our’ spot – head down the channel, into the ICW, into another channel, make sharp right, head up into the wind…and SQOOSH, right into the mud. Oh no, we were aground!

After a great deal of engine reversing and moving people from one side of the boat to the other, Mike (what a hero!) walked the anchor so we could try winching the boat off by pulling against the anchor. We watched march out anchor on his shoulder and with every step sink lower and lower, moving slower and slower, as the anchor (and chain) got heavier and heavier. That shifted the boat around a bit, but we were still stuck – time to call Towboat US.




A tiny little red tugboat arrived (it looked like it should be in someone’s bathtub) and pulled us off the shoal in about 3 minutes! After finding out that the inn was full (there were no slips at the Crow’s Nest Marina), the nice man from Towboat US took us back to ‘our’ spot and helped us anchor in a less muddy location. Don’t know if it’s true or not, but he did make us feel better by saying the anchorage was shallower than he had seen it in years.

A deck dinner with wine and grilled Mahi-Mahi was well deserved and enjoyed by all!

Sailing with Beth and Mike - St. Pete to Venice and Back Again

Beth and Mike drove down from Alabama / Atlanta to join us for a few days of sailing.

Day 1 – Made it out of the slip! We cruised down Tampa Bay, it was a bit blustery after going under the Skyway Bridge. After an easy (that’s a first!) trip up the Manatee River, we anchored in our favourite place – a little cove on the edge of the river right next to a state park. Cocktails on the deck with Steak ala Florentine for dinner down below. Beth and Mike settled into sailing nicely!

Twenty Years from Now...

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain

Wishing Away the Present

This isn't just about waiting to go sailing, it's about really enjoying what we're doing when we're doing it. Over the next year, we'll get ready to go and do a lot of planning and preparation for the sailing trip - but we'll do a lot of other good things too! We need to capture and enjoy the present, as well as looking forward to the future.

Weekend Recap – Thursday night in London with Steve, we went to the Cross Keys for dinner, ate in the restaurant rather than the pub, but had a really nice meal.

Friday Steve was up early to go to Newport and I took the 9:46 to Preston. The train was cancelled at Warrington due to a gas leak, but David was kind enough to come down and get me there rather than at Preston. Made it up to Highcroft in time for my conference call and there were chicken wings there! Steve made it up at around 8:30 and after the restaurant / eat in debate, we had a lovely leftover chicken cacciatore in the dining room.

Saturday we had breakfast at the market and then did the shopping. Went much smaller on the cheese so we wouldn't feel so bad about throwing it away. And finally found something that the market didn’t have, onion powder – although I think if we’d gone off our usual track we would have found some! Wrangled a trip to Clitheroe out of Steve to visit the great wine shop there and pick up a bottle of J. Lohr and a ‘spring case’. Steve headed off for a latte and I had a rummage around Dawsons, a house ‘stuff’ shop. Loads to look at and lots of things that don’t require power (very good for the boat). Found a yogurt maker so will be giving that a try next weekend before we cart it over to the US. Then back to the house for Steve’s nap while I tested out a new bread recipe (note to self, do not put lots of honey in a sweet roll, it boils over and makes a huge mess of the oven!).

While we were in Florence, we had the most amazing meal. Bissteccia ala Florentine is a t-bone steak, extra thick, for two – very tender and very tasty. I found a recipe online and we gave it a try. It was delicious and has definitely made the list!

On Sunday, after a wait for it to warm up a bit, we went for a motorbike ride. Over to Hurst Green, through Waddington and on up to Settle for a bite. Steve had a monstrous Cumberland sausage sandwich and although they weren’t serving breakfast, they were serving bacon and egg sandwiches! Nice leisurely ride back (more new roads), a bath and a nap for Steve. I worked on the Mom and Dad trip reservations, placed the Tesco order for next weekend, ordered a book, and surfed the sailing blogs. Steve made a wonderful red snapper with tomatoes, onions, peppers with mayo (who knew?) and creole seasoning cooked in tin foil for dinner. Enjoyed with a bottle of J. Lohr and lots of sailing talk.

Up at 4:30 Monday for my trip north to Glasgow and Steve’s trip south to London...

Snowbird...

So, little snowbird, take me with you when you go
To that land of gentle breezes where the peaceful waters flow..."

Anne Murray

The Decision is Made

Made the decision not to work for another year and have now set the date for departure - April 21st, 2008! The work option is not as enticing as going sailing - surprise, surprise. Having sorted this out, we can now begin planning all the myriad details and things WHICH MUST BE DONE before leaving. Good thing we've run multimillion pound programmes for a living, planning this is more complex!

We're settled on a set of core preparation categories - property, finance, skills and health, the year before we go (because this isn't all about tomorrow, we still have to enjoy today!), and boat prep. These categories include everything from mail and money logistics, provisioning the boat, what knowledge gaps do we have right down to how many pairs of socks we need to bring. All of the house stuff has to be automated and we have to manage mail / money with the same speed in which we would if we were at home. The boat has to be 'fit' and have an inventory which will enable us to deal with breakage / breakdowns.

Food is a biggy since Steve and I are serious foodies. The idea of eating tinned beans or nasty canned vegetables is NOT appealing. Therefore, we're practicing - learning to cook in the way we like with the foods that we can carry on a boat. Our freezer is small and at this point we don't know how reliable it will be so we won't be putting all our eggs in that particular basket. The big question becomes 'how do you cook gourmet food without access to fresh ingredients?' We've made a lot of progress in this area and have compiled a list of recipes which we are currently testing.

Figuring out what to do on a boat is another area we're thinking about. Since we've both been working full-time for 30 years, having jamb-packed, highly scheduled days is the norm. What happens when there isn't an hourly meeting every hour of every day? What do you do during the day when there is no work? Tough problem, right?! Thus far we've come up with fishing, writing a book, playing instruments, books, movies, music, games, swimming, snorkling and scuba diving. I suspect there will be a bit of socialising too!

Just over a year to go. I think we'll be very busy!

Snowbird

Steve and I have both always wanted to sail so after we met and married, finding a sailboat was 'on the list'. After looking at many boat show boats and doing lots of Internet research, we found Snowbird, a 1983 Morgan Out Island 416. Snowbird has a centre cockpit, forward and aft cabins, and is uncontrollable when in reverse!

We're kitting out our 'new' boat and making necessary repairs - for seaworthiness and comfort. Steve's had a thorough rummage through the electrical, plumbing, and engine systems at this point. The majority of live aboard 'things' (pots and pans, plates, wineglasses, and corkscrews, etc.) have now been purchased, shlepped to the boat, and stowed. We're now on to cosmetics - painting and varnishing the interior, and replacing the soft furnishing fabrics inside and out.

Each trip is an adventure (as we learn new systems (and how to fix those systems!) and we're trying for successively longer cruises - culminating in a sailing year off. Right now we're keeping to the west coast of Florida (Manatee River, Longboat Key, Venice, Clearwater) and as we have more time will explore further.