in for winter.

It's only about 60 days until I'll have some sea-bound adventures for you since winter is now smothering us with inches upon inches of snow. There have also been a few other big changes going on with us, but that's another day and another post.

Our beloved Interlude has been sitting cozily amongst friends in a boatyard just across the river from Reef Point Marina. We dropped and stowed sails, tidied the cabin, and emptied the water tank before motoring over to Pugh's boatyard at the end of October. We had to wait a bit, as the weather was less than jolly (hello, autumn!) but eventually we got to see the big old crane (technical name, as you can guess) slide these wide straps under her keel and hoist her out of the water. It was actually pretty cool. Josh was geeking out too. They pressure washed her hull and set her on a cradle where she'll stay until April. A few weeks later we tarped her so we could still climb aboard and get on and below deck.

After the first of the year we went back up to check on our tarp job which I'm sad to say was less than stellar. If we were planning on sticking around here much longer I think we might seriously consider a custom canvas cover. We needed to get batteries so we can trickle charge them until we get ready to launch. Josh bought a charger and we bundled up and went to get the oh-so-heavy batteries and I lowered them over the lifelines so Josh could carry them down the ladder. It was slightly treacherous as the snow had been melting and freezing for quite some time and both of us wiped out as we were carrying things back and forth to the car. All in all, it only took about 4 hours before we were thawing in the car on our way home. Successful outing, indeed. Next up is getting Larsen to fix the chain plates before launch and we are set!

perhaps?

After my recent bout with tossing my cookies I figured I should get serious about making a move to get my seasickness under control. First up in testing is sea bands. You know, those ridiculous elastic wrist things that you wear on the pressure points on the inside forearm. They run around $13 and since my mom has owned a pair since they came on the market I knew what to expect--I just had yet tried them for water excursions. 

We saw the wind was very light a few Sundays ago but also that the swells were nonexistent. Perfect. I slid those oh-so-chic looking wrist bands on as we motored out and we were off. My only only real complaint is that the little nobby bit that pushes on your pressure point starts to hurt a little upon extended wear. I felt just peachy the 4 hours we were being carried along by the breeze. I wouldn't say this is a definitive review, as the sea was a calm one, but for now, I'll be using them again. I'm also looking for a product recommended to me by my sister-in-law called Motion Eaze, which I have yet to find. Will keep you posted!

out and about.

This week we are out of the Midwest! Tuesday we flew into Las Vegas for a weeklong birthday celebration/vacation with some people we love and adore. We rented a Mustang convertible and drove down LA Wednesday morning for a quick 24 hours as part of our adventure. We met up with my cousins and their adorable son and had lunch at a food truck meet up, ate donuts from Sidecar Donuts, and then drove up the PCH. We stopped at Huntington Beach for a quick dip of the toes in the ocean then headed further north to meet up with a long lost (ok, so not really lost, just out of touch as of late) friend of Josh's from his congressional page days for dinner. We ate at this very hip little place called Picca (you may have heard it referenced on the most recent episode of New Girl!) and then got donuts from Randy's Donuts (you know, the one from all the tv shows with the giant donut on top). We stayed in Culver City then drove back down to Irvine for brunch, meandering and beach time with Erin, Brian, and Nolen. That kid is the cutest, most inquisitive 3 1/2 year old I know. He's full of "whys?" and somehow I ended up trying to explain chemical bonds to him. So interested in the world around him, for sure!

We made it back to Vegas around 8 last night. Long 24 hours! We ate ramen out with Hannah and Chris, put gracious hosts then hit the hay! More later about the rest of our adventures to come. 

out of commission.

As you may have noticed, it's been radio silence around here for far too long. Oopsie. So much for my Sunday share project. BUT I promise to be better. I guess I just feel a bit like I'm by no means an expert on much of anything (boat related or otherwise) and sometimes it's just easier to ignore the blinking cursor at the top of the empty computer screen than try to come up with some clever "thing" we are doing on Interlude. So instead of feeling stuck, I'll just try to write about our life instead of just boat-y things. Sound good? Okay!

crafty mcgee and how I fill my time.

We've been up at the marina for a bit over two weeks and while I haven't had any freelance jobs to work on, somehow I still feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. I mean, I guess I could get up at 6 am but that kind of defeats the laid back, easy-does-it thing we've got going here. 

What fills my days, you ask? Craftiness and reading!

I'm reading the third book in the Game of Thrones series. Gah! Addictive! I'm also taking my sailing 101 requirements very seriously by brushing up with Basics of Keelboating and, of course being quizzed on a regular basis by Josh, AND I'm still reading The Care and Feeding of the Sailing Crew. That one is best digested in small chunks. 

The other part of my time is spent being crafty. I have been crocheting and teaching myself new stitches/patterns and have completed one blanket with two more in various states of completion (the other two have a ways to go, one is pictured above). I'm also gearing up to do a little art project on the very end of them bow spirit. There is a beam that has a flat 4 inch face and I'm going to do a drawing on the end of it with a good luck symbol. I'm doing some research and am planning on starting it this afternoon. Yay! 

There might also be a bit of gym time, pool time, and cooking that have also been taking up parts of each day too :-)

neighbors.

So THIS boat is our neighbor at the end of our t-docks. Um, hello. 70 feet of pure gorgeous speed. The owner, Rick is a great guy and sailing enthusiast who loves racing and from our understanding, has been at it for years. One of these days we've got to get out there on her. The boat manager, Jack (a junior at a local college), is always ready with a story of adventure, or quick with some product recommendation (we are currently battling spiders). Just a really cool boat and more great people we see in our day to day lives here at the dock.

on tossing your cookies

Monday was a first. We took Interlude out for a sail knowing it might be windy and did our best to account for that by reefing in the main so we wouldn't be over powered (read: tipped way, way over with the sails practically straining from the force of the wind). What we didn't account for was the 4-6 foot waves. At first it was fine. We motored out, me as the lookout on the bow, the bowspirit bobbing up and then landing with a white capped splash back down. Totally cool. I held on to the railing, flexed my knees to absorb the impact and was a-okay. Then we put the sails up and I was at the helm, which I find greatly improves any feelings of nausea as I am constantly scanning the horizon and generally occupied making sure we are on the right course, taking full advantage of the wind for optimum speed, etc. And I was fine until I wasn't. It crept up on me real slow like. And I chewed some ginger candy and maybe I was feeling okay? It was hard to tell. But then those 4-6 foot waves I mentioned, well they were coming at us crosswise, rolling us from port to starboard instead of bow to stern. So I changed our course and we headed back bow into them. Up and down, rolling from the top to the valley like on the roller coasters that make your stomach feel like its dropping out of the bottom of you abdomen. Over and over, so high I'd lose sight of the horizon and then so low all I could see was the azure water surrounding us and the sound of the hull cutting through them sounds more like slapping than the usual melodious fizzy bubbling. I let Josh steer and laid flat on my back with my eyes closed in the cockpit, breathing through the discomfort. It seemed like it was working one second and then the next I've got my head over the downwind rail tossing my cookies. Did I mention this is the very first time this has ever happened to me (unless my mom can recount some horrible car trip I've blocked from my mind?). I did feel better but as for my future as a sailor, I'd say I've got some serious sleuthing to do on how to nip this in the bud.