We're off!!

Leaving in a few minutes for Mazatlan.  More news and pictures when we return, or, if we have time, from Mazatlan.

Feels like home

My welcome home flowers!

 After a full day of travel yesterday I arrived in San Jose Cabo around 3:30 p.m. I'd set my alarm 3:30 a.m. and arrived at Raleigh-Durham  two hours before my 7 o'clock flight. When Larry flew back to Mexico in December we managed to get him to the airport about an hour and a half  before an early morning departure to find long lines at both check in and security. He made the flight with barely room to spare and I was determined to not repeat that. However there was only one person in front of me at check-in and I breezed through security in less than five minutes which gave me time for coffee and a bite to eat and an hour or so with my favorite author.
My flights and connections were pleasant. I met two nice,  fun-loving ladies in Charlotte who were on their way to Cabo San Lucas.  By the time we arrived in Los Cabos (and after several glasses of wine) they were questioning me on the availability of eligible men in La Paz, just in case they didn't have any luck trolling in Cabo.  I wished them luck and told them I knew a couple of guys in La Paz if they did indeed strike out! We landed and I waited anxiously to retrieve my checked baggage after going through immigration. But as the last piece was picked up it was obvious that mine had not arrived. Sure enough, my suitcase went for a side trip to Santiago, Chile! Hopefully it will arrive here in the Marina tomorrow as we are planning, if the Norther passes, to be on our way to the mainland by Friday or Saturday.
Larry was waiting outside of customs; wow, it was so good to see him again.  We drove to La Paz (about a three hour trip) and arrived just after dark. Little had changed in the city since I was here eight months ago and I felt like I was coming home.
Larry has worked so hard on projects and made a number of improvements to Milagro in my absence. And quite honestly I was super-impressed with the neatness of the interior, particularly as I know he has been working hard on other tasks! We had talked about eating at one of our favorite restaurants but just decide to stay in. So it was Modelo Especial and snacks, followed by a long awaited shower for me and a good night's sleep.
I woke up this morning to sunshine and a cool (but not cold!) temperature. Then it was off for the short walk to the dock restaurant and lots of hot coffee and a huge breakfast. Back on Milagro we finished some odd jobs then drove to a new mega store to purchase supplies for our trip and look for several items our friend John wants us to bring to him in Mazatlan. Back at the marina I began sorting and putting away supplies and Larry went on deck to complete a job there.
I am very content being back here in La Paz and on board Milagro and most especially happy to be with my husband again.

Food for thought...

I intend to keep this in mind (focusing on the safe landing part!) as we cross the Sea of Cortez on my first passage.  -_-

(Thanks, Maureen)

On your mark, get set......

La Paz, seen from the mountain above Marina Palmira

In two days I will be on my way to La Paz, Mexico via Charlotte, Phoenix and San Jose Cabo. I'm just about ready: all the plans are in motion and most of the items on my list have check marks next to them. A good friend who had spent much of her life traveling overseas once told me, "The only things you absolutely must have with you to begin a journey are your plane ticket, your passport and a credit card. As long as you have those three things you can purchase any other necessities upon your arrival." Check... check... and check.

Erin and I at Bay Fest

Yum! Taco fixin's

Of course I am excited about seeing Larry again as well as revisiting Milagro, good friends, and the city of LaPaz. And, sigh, I confess my mouth is watering for tortilla soup, chilaquiles, tacos and double stuffed white chocolate covered Oreos (an American-made confection which I am unable to locate in Publix, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, or WalMart, but is readily available in Chedraui in downtown La Paz!)
And although I am already eager to make this trip, there is a new incentive: the past few days have been cold and rainy, so dreary even Mary Poppins would have had a hard time being cheerful.  I long for sunshine and comfortable temperatures and being able to step outside without coat, hat, scarf, gloves and boots. So I'll be off in a couple of days, bound for balmy weather, a reunion with my Captain and the beginning of a new adventure.  La Paz, here I come!

Inspiration

Milagro with spinnaker unfurled...

  “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe  harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Pardigm Shift

 
Some have asked, "Why the change of heart?"...a valid question, a question having more than one answer.
Of most importance? Quite simply from my point of view, well, I missed Larry...terribly.  Spending even a small amount of time without the company of the man who has made me feel cherished, who has made me laugh and who has been with me in spirit through all the good and bad times for 30+ years, is no longer an option for me.
But, friends wonder, what about your fear of sailing blue water?  I confess that I still maintain one regret. I wish I knew "then" what I know now: I know absolutely and without any reservations that life does not end with death but is the doorway to a new beginning: what can be left to fear? I could have saved myself - and Larry - a lot of grief had I known in my heart then what I know now.
And last, but no less important, I know that while my children and grandchildren enjoy my company and I may even be helpful to them on occasion, they are complete unto themselves. They managed before I returned to North Carolina and they will manage when I am no longer here; and that is how it should be.
So it is with a bounce in my step and a light heart that I check things off my list-of-things-to-do-before-leave-for-Mexico. I've done this part before and I can do it again.
This time no doubts, no looking back...only anticipation for the greatest adventure of all.
    

Apropos...

Ballandra, B.C.S. Mexico

"...Sail on Silver Girl,
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

Paul Simon  "Bridge Over Troubled Water"

Weather for La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico 68°F | °C Thu Fri Sat Sun Mostly Cloudy Wind: NE at 6 mph Humidity: 40% 79° 52° 75° 57° 79° 57° 81° 54°

I'm very excited; I got an airline ticket today for travel to La Paz, Mexico.  Larry reminds me that while it is not North Carolina damp and cold it still is winter in the Southern Baja; days may be a comfortable 70-75 degrees but nights are chilly, in the mid 40's to mid 50's.  He had installed a reverse cycle system before I left and he tells me the heat portion makes things quite toasty. But that's only while we are below deck. While we are sailing one or both of us will be on deck in the elements.  So glad he reminded me as I was preparing to pull out shorts and tank tops to pack, but will change my list to include more long pants and shirts and sweaters!
After arriving and settling in I will work at provisioning the boat while he makes sure all systems are go.  We are planning to cross the Sea of Cortez (known in Mexico as the Gulf of California) and sailing into Mazatlan.  Several of our friends are there already and I can hardly wait to renew acquaintances.
From there...who knows. We may check out other ports or just stay and enjoy the warmer temps of the mainland while we  spend time with old friends, make new ones and explore a new city.    
There used to be a column in, I believe, the  Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, entitled "The  Third Third." That's where I am now and I am so eager to be spending this time of my life having new adventures with my favorite person.                                                                 

The adventure continues

The new boat card - a late birthday present

I didn't contemplate, when I left Milagro and Captain Larry in June of 2010, that there might be a continuation of this blog. I thought it would be great if Larry took over where I left off, but although he is an excellent writer who expresses himself well, I knew it was not his "thing." I toyed with the idea of continuing a blog while settling among family in North Carolina, but while it was nice to fall into the loving and welcoming arms of family and to feel, occasionally, helpful to them, I didn't feel I had much to write about that would be interesting to others.  So I kept a journal with infrequent entries and tried to move on with my life.  My dream of volunteering in other parts of the world faded and I began to focus my energies on becoming reacquainted with adult children and grandchildren and endeavoring to be of some support in their lives.
  And I missed Larry...terribly.  I wrote the absolute truth to him once when I told him that, yes, I am capable of living, existing without his presence, but the world was dull without him.  Sharing a life with him made all things, from the simplest to the most profound, brighter, more fun and infinitely better.
I had begun to think, even before his return visit to the states, that overcoming my fears of blue water sailing was not an impossible task. It's not just that I want to share his life, I want to share his dreams.  He has asked me on occasion if I made a mistake returning to the states and moving to NC.  The answer is two fold. Yes. the trip back and my move were both costly and time consuming and robbed me of time I could have spent in La Paz with him and him of time he could have been working on Milagro.  And no. I believe I have served a real purpose in being here and as one daughter put it, maybe I was meant to make this stop on my journey.
Whatever the answer to that question, I am ready for a new adventure.  I am excited, not just about resuming my life with my husband, but about the adventures we will share.  Family members always roll their eyes when Larry tells about some hair raising escapade and reminds them it was "all part of the adventure!"  I look forward to sharing all of life's possible adventures with him.
It's time to put the past behind us, no doubts, no recriminations and move together into the future.
So I say, let the journey begin...again.