sea legs--okay, maybe lake legs

This summer is shaping up to be one of extremely busy proportions! In addition to all the traditional stuff, (weddings, festivals, reunions, etc.) Josh has found an amazing opportunity for himself and (possibly me too). Chicago Sailing which is a sailing school here on Lake Michigan is looking for crew and instructors to teach wannabes how to get their sea (lake) legs. Josh called the man who is in charge of filling the positions and the man practically jumped through the phone and gave him a job right then! So, in addition to all the aforementioned hubbub and his already bursting schedule, Josh is going to take on a position with the company. He will be paid as well as compensated with the opportunity to take some boats out off the clock (read: us getting boned up on some of the finer points, such as man overboard drills, etc.). Hopefully I will be able to get on as crew for one of the larger vessels to practice the taking of orders :) Hooray for such an opportunity falling into our laps!

photo: taken by myself. mount desert island maine, march 2008

new adventures

I'm jumping the gun a little here (as in 377 days too soon) but I think it's time I start to chronicle the journey that will be soon upon us. Josh (my husband of 5 wonderful years) and I have decided to make a major life change. We find ourselves wrapped up in the frenetic goings-on of the rather vapid world of working for "the man" and being held to the expectations of our peers and society at large (i.e. the fact that we've been married 5 years and don't have children automatically qualifies us for some serious "tsk"ing from our elders...as if, how dare we not procreate?). Neither of us wants to be just a cog in the machine that is marching us to old age and retirement (why should life only become joyful once you hit 70?) and as a result have decided to set off on a path of our own making. The journey may be long, as we have decided to go where the wind blows us (literally and figuratively, of course), but we feel confident that the path will be full of adventure and excitement. Okay, enough buildup. Drumroll, please...We have made the decision to sell our belongings and buy a sailboat to explore the world. 

Since Josh's unparalleled training as a skipper (he has his offshore skipper qual. and raced J-24s, as well as being a crew on American Promise on a voyage to Bermuda) at the Naval Academy, and our subsequent ownership of a Catalina 22 in San Diego, we feel we are well-equipped to live aboard and sail. 

Yay!  This is a huge step for us and currently the things that are stopping us from going this moment is that Josh is a semester away from finishing up at the university and we don't have a boat! Part of this blog will be to chronicle the steps we'll take to get us where we want to be and the other part will come once we are underway. I plan on posting pictures and insights for family and friends who will be anxious to see where the wind might take us. So stay tuned for adventures on the high sea...it's going to be a windy ride. 377 days to go!