~ Mark Twain
I don't know where you are from or what kind of stuff fills up your daily routine, but I certainly know where I am and what my day consists of. Why don't you google Kingman Arizona and see what you get! There are a few famous people from my town that you might have heard of... There is Andy Devine, have you heard of him? How about Timothy McVeigh? Yeah... Now I am not going to complain about my home town, Kingman is a great place to live. That is, if you like the desert and summer temperatures that reach well into the 100's. After 25 years of living in the desert, I have come to the conclusion that it is just not where I want to be anymore. I would like a place a little less hot and a little less dry.
Ever since I was a little kid I have had a fascination with the sea and everything in it. Especially sharks! I had countless hours of well worn VHS tapes filled with nothing but Shark Week. Shark toys, coloring books... If there was a shark in or on it, you name it and I had it. So where do I plan on going? Well I certainly am not going to stay in the middle of the Arizona desert. I was thinking more of a life at sea. What kid hasn't dreamed of being a pirate? Seriously? Not the kind that downloads mass amounts of movies and music from the internet, though I have right clicked a few sought after songs in the past... I am talking about living on a sailboat in the ocean. It may seem a bit far fetched or unreasonable, maybe even a little bit dangerous. Believe me I have put quite a bit of consideration into the dangers of a life on the ocean. From storms, running aground, sharks, financial stability and an overall lack of boating experience. There are plenty of other dangerous things I could be doing instead right? It's the idea of living in a place so unstable as the sea that seems to freak people out the most. I can tell you something that is a lot scarier than the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean. One of the very things that has encouraged me to step out into fulfilling one of my life long dreams: our failing economy. I am not going to start in on the state of our economic situation... I am going to start an adventure, and that my friends, is a good thing!
When my mind is set on something, nothing short of death will stop me. Anybody that really knows me knows that about me. However, since I am a married man, it's not just about me. Here in lies the question I seem to get asked quite a bit... What does my wife think? I can tell you what I thought she would think when I sprung the idea on her. I was sure she would think I had lost my mind. Wow, was I ever wrong. I remember exactly what she said when I told her my little plan. "I like it, that sounds awesome." Woah! Total unexpected agreement. The stars have aligned! I should have gone out and bought a lottery ticket immediately upon hearing her say that. She didn't even say anything when I started in on the possible dangers and financial challenges we would inevitably face with the decision we made except for "lets start saving".
What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules. Yeah, I stole that from the movie Inception. But it is so very true. So now you have heard our idea. Our dream. Now it is up to us to make it happen. The idea of the live aboard life is our starting point to an amazing adventure filled with who knows what, but we don't even have a boat, or any knowledge on what to do besides what we ourselves have read. All I know is it is going to involve a lot of patience, dedication and controlled spending. Any advice or encouragement is more than welcome... More than anything though we appreciate your interest, and the time you put in to read my ramblings!
Check out some of these sites to get a feel for what we are after:
You're a pretty decent blogger!! I'm posting this as an I.O.U. for a whopping 20 bucks. I'll put it thru paypal as soon as I can get the password info from dad. LOL
ReplyDeleteMay it multiply and bless you.
Fair winds!
PS - If you get a few minutes and are so inclined, here's my blog's defining post:
http://therepresentatives.blogspot.com/2010/06/at-snails-pace-were-off-and-running_12.html
I'd like for you to read it. :)
Great Blog!! may all your dreams come true!!!!
ReplyDeleteI also have made the choice to become a cruiser. For me it was mde after reading the book "a cruising life" while sitting on my lunch break a top of yet another skyscraper going up that I was working on in chicago. My fellow workers and I all worried about the layoffs comming as news on the radio of the economy in free fall and watching my friends and co-workers getting pink slips by the dozens every week. Here I was on my lunch break and coffee breaks reading this book just gobling it up. This man in the book had it right all the things he described about his life before he made the choice to cruise were the same as my life and I thought to myself things don't change unless you change them. So that was it for me. The week I finished the book I also recieved a pink slip with my last paycheck. For me that was a sign and I have been down sizing and saving ever since. Next yr I go to purchase my boat after two yrs of saving and selling and just getting rid of those things that I thought were so important, like the big t.v. only to find out they owned me not the other way around.
ReplyDeleteI hope to see you out there somewhere on the ocean amongst my new friends. Its very nice to know there are so many that make this choice. Thank you so much for your blog and know that I will be eagerly reading as I move toward the same goal.
Hi guys
ReplyDeleteI came across your page from the link on our blog's stats page. Good luck with your plan!
If you have read our blog you know that just over 1.5 years ago we started in a very similar way, with no boat, no sailing experience and an idea. We are now merely days away from setting sail to head south on our catamaran. Hopefully you won't be that far behind us.
Mike and Rebecca