We would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I know it was yesterday, but we were visiting family, so I didn’t post. We are in Oklahoma City for the week. That’s right—we’re in OKC!

“How did that happen,” you ask? Well, we were in Galveston for about way too long and the kids and I Read the rest of this entry »

Well, we have been living on a boat for 3 full months now, and we haven’t gone anywhere. Warning: this may turn into a gripe session–but it won’t last long, maybe…

I never dreamed we would still be in US waters in December! I definitely never planned on being cold. Even in Galveston it’s cold. Last night was 38, and today’s high was 64. We’re all running out of cold weather clothing. We didn’t pack but a couple of pairs of jeans, and a couple of sweatshirts each. The kids didn’t bring any coats, either. Read the rest of this entry »

Wow…I can’t believe I actually got offshore! We left Palacios Sunday, Nov 4th. There wasn’t much wind at all, but we figured with a boatload of greenies that might be a good thing. By the time we reached the Gulf it was near noon. The ocean was pretty mild with waves of 1 to 3 feet. Not bad at all. We had just the right wind to sail East to Galveston. We decided to go about 20 miles offshore so we could all get a look at real “blue water.” Now I’m a sailor; now I get what all the hub-bub is about; now I know why people love sailing; I have the bug. All my life I had dreamed of leaving shore Read the rest of this entry »

HOWDY! Well, it’s been a while since my last post. Let me tell you why. We are in the middle of nowhere with unreliable internet (good thing it’s free, huh) and poor cell phone coverage. Our phones only work if we go up on deck. The internet is VERY slow and usually totally unavailable. So, I’ll type this up and see if I can get it to go through. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, first off… I’m not John, I’m Shirley but I’m too lazy to sign off on his login and sign in on mine. I’m using his computer to type this because he’s the only one blessed with internet. Also, we had a casualty a few days ago. My computer died!!! I’m still in mourning so bear with me.

Now that’s out of the way: If you are sitting around thinking of taking a pleasure cruise along the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway, ie: giant ditch), I must save you from a fate worse than death! Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. While the ICW is a very useful means of transporting ones boat safely from one area off the Gulf Coast to another, I don’t recommend it for “FUN.” It’s been a most exciting trip, though. Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t said it, you’ve probably thought it. So have we! What was supposed to have been a 4-5 day trip has turned into almost 2 weeks! There have been some delays on selling the house. We were supposed to have closed on the 10th. That will probably end up being more like the 15th. Please pray that everything that needs to happen, happens quickly. The boat payment is coming up…and another house payment…and we’re unemployed…I think that about says it. So, unless there are further delays, we plan to leave OKC on the 11th.

The house is empty, which was the 2nd goal of our trip back, although we still have to find a home for a table saw, a sewing cabinet, and an antique piano. We had an impromptu garage sale and made quite a chunk from “donations.” We didn’t have time to price things and almost blew off the garage sale. We sent email to staff only, but we ended up having people stop by from another garage sale in the area. So we stuck a donations jar out and told people what we were doing and asked them to just pay us what they felt like it was worth to them. (A God idea—He’s so smart!). We gave the rest to Salvation Army and Goodwill.

It’s ironic, we pay money for stuff…then practically have to pay to get rid of it!  I never dreamed it would be so much work to simplify my life! We own a house and a boat, yet we’re not sleeping in either.

Our cars both have new homes and owners. We have all of our worldly possesions either on the boat or in an attic.  I’m learning how little you really need to be happy.  I may eat those words in a few months, but at least for now it’s very freeing to be unencumbered with stuff.

What’s next? As soon as we can get our house sold for real, we will get back “home” afloat and head to Texas. We plan to go to Houston, or near it, so John can renew his Coast Guard license. We also have to kill time until Hurricane season is over (Nov 1st). We are very limited to where we can travel until then. After that, it’s south for the winter: The Keys, Bahamas, Caribbean Islands, Cuba, South America, Central America, Mexico, Cayman Islands, The Mediterranean… hopefully we can see most of these in a year!