July 19 - September 22, 2000
Very sad to say good-bye to Grandma and mom, as well everyone else, but we really miss being with Jim.  Our life feels upside down right now and the kids and I have had many a conversation about how our lives are about to change -- for the good and the bad.  They would love to be “normal” kids but yet are very excited about the adventure.  They love the home schooling as they have all sorts of free time during the afternoon, but they really miss their friends.  Me, well I really miss my girlfriends as well as my artistic endeavors with Michele.  Good friends are hard to come by but we have many and I don’t see them abandoning us any time soon.  So off we go.  Hopefully we'll come back with a more enriched attitude we'll be able to share with all.

Jim has been down at the boat working his bottom off for the last 2 months while we have been spending time with family.  A few months with mom and gram and a few intervals with my brother Ed up in Ft. Walton beach.  Time flew by.  We managed to get through 25 school lessons, take our first home school test, two birthday bashes, and live through being homeless for another few months.  Whoa is we, or however you say it.  Off to the boat we go — we are on the plane now!  And we only had 11 bags checked and 7 carry-ons!  Don’t forget Jim’s infamous guitar we had to carry - he owes us for that.

Jim has been working himself to the bone since he arrived in Trinidad while we have been having fun, so I guess I can carry his guitar.  His trip from St. Vincent, where the boat was in charter, to Trinidad was a kick.  Two friends of his joined him for the trip.  Denny, we met in Mexico several years ago.  He traveled through Europe paragliding with us and gave us this idea (thanks Denny).  Mike, from New York, we met during a celestial navigation class off the coast of Maine.  I didn’t hear details but any time Denny and Jim get together it is a recipe for fun so poor Mike is probably still recuperating!  The boys and I spent our spare time going to different aquariums, learning as much as their brains would hold (Mote Marine’s lab where they raise turtles and skates was especially interesting).  We also went off to Orlando to Islands of Adventure to ride the roller coasters and see my cousin and her family.  I never knew 2 days with my boys could be soooooooo much fun!  We rode those coasters over and over and over again till we felt sick to our stomachs and even Nick didn’t want to go again!  29 times in one day!  I didn’t even do that when I was a kid!  We ended the second day with a trip to Jimmy Buffet’s place where we ate “cheeseburgers in paradise” and watched the margarita volcano go off.  Nicholas was in heaven, as Jimmy is his favorite.

Back at the boat, Jim was sanding, drilling and cleaning, with a few trips into the mountains on the mountain bikes we had sent to the boat.  He has met many wonderful people down there so no doubt we will have a great time even though the boat is still on land and we see no water in sight!  Most likely we will sail around the end of October.  Stay tuned - nothing goes fast in the Caribbean!

September 27, 2000
So we have been here for four days.  We've sanded, riveted, and cleaned till our fingers are literally raw.  For a break we went for a “short” hike to a waterfall.  Turns out the hike was 15k long and up, and the waterfall was a trickle.  Hey it beat sanding!  As soon as my blisters are gone we are going to join the hike to see the wild ibis roosting.  Stay tuned!