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Thursday, April 10, 2008

Back in Washington



We’re back in Washington! After a 5,000 mile round trip, we are happy to be stationary, at least for a couple of months! We are currently in Birch Bay, in a lovely rental house just off from the water. It is very quiet and peaceful here (and cold!) – a great place to relax and listen to the waves. We brought our kayak back from Om Shanti and I have been enjoying beautiful morning paddles on the bay. This time of year the bald eagles are out in full force, giving us endless amounts of entertainment.

We are getting ready to hit the road again, although this time we will let the airlines handle the traveling. We will be in Oakland, California, April 16th to the 20th for the Strictly Sail boat show, where we will be at the author’s booth and Waypoint bookstore’s booth. We are really looking forward to the show, as it is always fun talking with boaters and sharing stories and dreams of cruising.

We will be in the Bellingham area through May while Shawn is helping with graphics work at a local marine electronics company named Blue Seas Systems. After Shawn finishes, we will most likely head east of the mountains to Goose Prairie, near Mt Rainier, to spend some time with family at my grandfather’s cabin. From there, we hope to visit Shawn’s brother and sister-in-law (Christian and Poki) in London, England where they are currently staying. We hope everyone is enjoying beautiful springtime weather, and please drop us a line to let us know what you are up to!

Thursday, April 03, 2008

La Paz, Mexico








At the end of February, we took a small break from the cold, wet Washington weather and chased the warm sunshine south to La Paz. This was the first time we had driven down the Baja peninsula, and while there were a few white-knuckle moments along the very narrow highway passing semi trucks, it was a beautiful drive through lush green fields and blooming cactus.

It had been nearly 10 months since we had last seen Om Shanti at Bercovich Boat Yard in La Paz, and she was a sight for sore eyes. We spent 2 weeks living on the hard, tending to a couple of projects and making a few updates to the cruising guide. We were able to introduce the book to a number of boaters through the Club Cruceros morning coffee hour and a new english book store named Allende Books in La Paz, as well as El Caballo Blanco, a bookstore in Loreto.

Being back in the boating scene rejuvenated our souls after being away for such a long time. Waking up to the cries of seagulls each morning and long sunset walks along the malecon brought back the sense of home to us, even the faint smell of diesel permeating our clothing and towels brought a little tear to my eye.

While we tried to soak up as much sunshine, fish tacos and cruiser camaraderie as possible, by mid March we had to say good bye once again to Om Shanti and a number of our friends in La Paz, and to make the long trek back north to chilly Washington.