We are lucky to have YOU

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Diamond

Our stay in MD is coming to an end and we can’t thank everyone enough for welcoming us back after being in Florida. We always felt like we had great friendships and family but knowing that we are leaving for 8 months makes you stop and smell the roses along the way, and they smelled better than ever. After not seeing some people for a long time we were uncertain how the next encounter would be, exciting? awkward? Well glad to report we are so happy to see everyone. Great friends and rock solid families can always pick up where you last left off, it could be two days or two hundred years, time doesn’t really matter when there is a mutual interest in taking life’s journey together. Now that’s some level three for you:). Its been a roller coaster ride like many other pivotal times in your life; graduations, marriages, moving, babies being born. In these times You are writting your own history while building your future. You are happy but sad, excited but anxious, adventurous but scared; I guess this is what makes life interesting.

Last night we were sitting with the family talking about quotes that meant something to each of us, an interesting conversation boiled over about a research study. The question was asked, what we felt we were taught to be growing up. There are three options a person can choose; be happy, be a good person or be successful. The question in the research study was which of these three leads to achieving a fulfilling life, so what is your choice? I let you google it to get the answer if you really want to find out.

We love you and Look forward to staying in touch and seeing your comments in the blog!

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky.

Posted in The plan | 7 Comments

June 12 – Sick boat, so back to South Beach

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Diamond

Well…we are back in SoBe for a week while dealing with the ceased up engine and missing prop.   Big thanks to the Captain and First Mate (real ones…not me and Greg!) that brought our boat back from Nassau to Miami Beach on one engine…a slow 18 hour trip!

Greg and I packed up the zoo and flew to SoBe.  Getting through customs with a cat and dog is no easy task!  Imagine my surprise when I went to the customs counter in the waiting room to let them know our flight was boarding in 5 minutes, to which he responded, “I hope you gave yourself 3 hours to get through this process.”  Gulp!  The next flight out was 6 hours later, so missing our flight with Taz in a carrier and Wiley in tow was not an option.  We made the flight with 5 minutes to spare.  Phew!!!  They also confiscated Taz’s prescription food because it wasn’t in its original packaging.  Ugh on that too!

Boy, did we miss SoBe! We’ve been biking around saying goodbye to our friends, favorite spots, etc. all over again.  However, we are heading back to Maryland soon and are psyched to see our family and MD/DC/VA peeps.  We will make the call on what to do with the boat, i.e. leave in FL or come back to bring it up to MD, when we know more about the issues and timing of getting it all fixed.

So, Maryland…coming home!

Posted in Bahamas, South Beach | 2 Comments

June 15- boat trip closure a very sad day

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Diamond

A day of mourning for Linda and Greg. We had such a great time on the boat and one word can sum it up, FREEDOM! From anything and everything. Kinda of neat to think you are basically self sustained with everything you need to live on a floating structure that can take you almost anywhere in the world you want to be. Throw in the island mentality and meeting great salt of the earth people and you get close to ultimate freedom.

But then I ask myself freedom from what? Time constraints of when one is expected to do something, expectations of what one should do or be, the “normal” life people we mostly know live, from where we will be since we didn’t really know or care and lastly from our own internal expectations we set for ourselves. It took some time thinking and discussing the subject of self expectation to come to the conclusion that being a vagabond is OK. If we are happy then well……enough said.

Here comes that reality thing again, we also realized we couldn’t do this forever. We miss family and old friends and definitely lost touch with reality. I mean we didn’t watch TV for three weeks and about half the trip we had no internet and cell coverage. Parts of me say being untethered is healthy and in reality what really changed over this three weeks?

In conclusion we learned the following:
-you can use the same shower towel for at least three weeks, don’t forget that when you get out of the shower you are clean
-pigs can swim and they eat spaghetti, enough said
-people living what most would think is an alternative life are salt of the earth, they have nothing to prove and are simply doing what they love without money being the motivating factor
-Linda and I can be glued together at the hip for every waking and sleeping moment and have a great time
-writing can really get your thoughts and feelings out and when you write in the moment it tells the true story and your personal journey

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Posted in Bahamas, South Beach | 1 Comment

June something- boating 101

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Diamond

Why do boaters leave early in the morning for trips?
How many miles does a boat radio get coverage?
What do you do when you lose an engine out at sea?
What do you do when you are living on a boat that needs to get pulled out of the water to repair an engine?

Unfortunately I know all the answers now. What a great few days in Staniel Cay hanging with our new BFF AJ and Tony on their boat called priority, deep-sea fishing to catch dinner was the highlight. Yellow eyed cold water snapper goes great with lamb chops, yes we caught the fish but not the lamb. It was time to make the trek back up to Nassau, we stopped on the way at Stroud Cay to anchor, grill out and take our last dip in the Exumas water. Everything was going great until 40miles outside of Nassau with no land to be seen our port (left) engine dies. Being the newly self-appointed professional captain I took to the engine room, no oil leaks or gas smells and all the hoses were still attached. Phase II of troubleshooting meant jumping in the water, snorkel mask and flippers are needed to get under the boat to see if there is any damage. To my surprise we had no prop on the left engine. A prop is the metal spinning piece that propels (get it) the boat. Its kinda like loosing your front tire on a motorcycle, not going anywhere real fast when this happens. I come to find out after hailing for help on the emergency channel that the range is only 6-8 miles. So what would John Wayne do? Improvise, adapt and overcome, once we limped at 10mph closer to shore after 2 stressful hours we came into cell phone range. Our good friend captain Oliver and captain AJ talked me through the problems and the strategy to get home. While I trouble shoot with the captains Linda is preparing for the worst, packaging a ditch bag, like it reads, a small waterproof bag with your most important items. Once we got the second engine running and realized we could get back to shore without totally freaking out, I took my thumb off the emergency distress satellite system and finger off the flair trigger and we started to eat cookies and cream ice cream as a celebration. 7:30pm as the sun is setting we pull into the marina, luckily didn’t hit any boats trying to dock with one engine but did crack a little fiberglass. Exhausted and frustrated we took it out on the casino, let’s just say they wished we never showed up at the black jack table. These pictures were obviously before the breakdown!

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June 6-dinner bells ringing

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Diamond

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Posted in Bahamas | 1 Comment

June4-staniel cay James Bond style

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Diamond

by Greg
We have been hanging out with a few guys from two different boats in the marina. For whatever reason boaters typically look out for each-other and these guys are no exception. Tony, AJ and Ryan are hooking us up with everything from fresh fish caught 2 hours ago (the yellow eyed red snapper grilled with a little blackened spice and lemon was marvelous) boating tips on where to explore and best of all a guided tour of some local snorkeling spots. As I am negotiating on the docks to rent a 17′ dingy for $500 so we can get to some shallow areas Ryan comes to the rescue. He overheard the conversation and dropped in to tell me not to rent a boat because he has his own 20′ dingy that goes along with the 82′ sport fish boat he is on.
We pack up the snorkel gear, a cooler and head out to Thunderball Grotto. Famous for the spot in the James Bond movie Thunderball where Sean Connery had an underwater fight scene. Ryan tells us to wait until high tide which means the entrance is underwater so you dive down underneath the rocks and swim for about 40 feet (lungs don’t fail me now) to pop up in a cave with air pockets so we can breathe good old fashion island air. A tad bit scary because from the outside all you see is an island so if you swim too far left or right you can’t pop up into the Grotto. Without question the best snorkeling experience we have ever had, great fish, coral and then exploring in and out of small cave formations where sometimes you dive under to get to a new section while other times you float and maneuver around jagged rocks and corals in S formations to find one area of the Grotto more beautiful than the next. We closed the day on the water with another visit to see the swimming pigs. Linda tells me this needs to be a daily visit and she wants to bring a veterinarian back with us.
Of course, Ryan’s drinks are on the Diamond’s tab tonight. We ate dinner at the local watering hole old school style ~ 7:30PM sharp the dinner bell rings and everyone sits down together and devours a four course meal of conch soup, fresh salad, your choice of ribs or daily catch followed by home-made pecan pie. Mmmmm, mmmmm good. Off to watch the Miami heat game and listen to the locals finish their argument from last night about who is the best NBA player ever; Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James.

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June 2-Reality Check

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Diamond
by Greg
What is reality? Is it what you see and deal with daily or back to the norm? Why do people always say back to reality after vacation? Today we pulled into Staniel Cay, another small island with no gas stations because there are no cars. However, no shortage of drinking since there are three bars and one mini grocery store ~ not bad ratios if you know what you are getting yourself into. Before we could leave the docks we met Coral, an expat from Florida who lives on the island, manages a golf cart rental business and home schools her kids. What a great ten minute conversation of which I realized a new definition of reality, Coral didn’t preach or stand on a soapbox but I still got the point. She lives on a great island with great weather and great friends……hmmmmm what is the purposes of life again?

 

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Posted in Bahamas | 3 Comments

June 1st – Exumas, excuse me

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Diamond

DSC00398It’s 2:30pm and boats are leaving the Atlantis Marina like a Mardi Gras parade charging down Bourbon Street.  After being held captive (I can’t believe I am writing this) by the 30 mph winds for a week we set off on an easterly course to Highbourne Cay about 1.5 hours away.    With the wave splash coming over the bow and thunderstorms circling us like war painted Comanche it was time to get the one safety device above all that will save your life.  For 500 dollars a handheld GPS that’s send out a may day for 48 hours once activated can become your best friend real quick (sorry Wiley).  DSC00393Fortunately we pushed ahead maneuvering around some of the worst weather to see land and what a pleasant surprise highborn became.  Imagine 2 miles of a private island, mostly occupied with lush mangroves and mini palm trees scarcely inhabited by 8 residences, all of which work at the marina/only restaurant on the island.  Throw in a few bikes and a golf cart and you can get the picture of the last two days. Making friends on the docks, riding bikes to small coves to snorkel and of course it wouldn’t be complete with a boot camp on a deserted stretch of beach.DSC00406

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June 1st – PIGGIES from Pig Beach (Big Majors Cay in the Exumas)

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Diamond
DSC00478by Linda
DUDE!!!  My piggies were so awesome that I can’t take it!  Ok…mix a wild boar with Wiley and a swimming elephant and you have the pigs from pig beach, oh, and a freaking rooster was there too!  You would have thought I was preparing my castle for a visit from King Henry VIII.  We had saved our leftovers from Carmine’s Italian restaurant, all veggies that looked a tad old, a marinated a flank steak that I bought in Nassau for them and finally a package of hot dogs (chicken of course, not pork for my piggies). NOT DONE YET… we grilled the flank steak to perfection shortly before we served it to them.   We were ready to give them the feast of their wild pig lifetime.  DSC00438
Our boat was the only one there when we pulled up, so up came swimming two big huge black spotted piggies and trailing behind was a smaller pink one that looked as pink as Wilbur from Charlotte’s web.  Then later we recounted and it was a total of three larger black spotted pigs and two littler pink ones.  So, what would you say in that situation?  Here’s our narrative…
LINDA (out loud – high pitched): OMG, OMG, PIGGIES!!! Babe, Babe – do you have the camera?
GREG (out loud): Yup. All ready.
GREG (in his head): YESSSSSS, you made sure I had it by handing it to me and already confirming twice that it was on.
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LINDA: Babe, Babe, do you see them? Where’s the camera? Babe!  OMG! Look at them!!!
GREG (out loud): Yup. Got it.
GREG (in his head): Duh…each pig weighs about a ton and they are all flapping around the stern of our boat while you squeal at them while hand feeding each one…how could I miss them! Btw, I’m focused on not running aground since I tried to get you so close to the shore to see them.
LINDA: They are freaking huge! Babe, where’s the food? Babe, do you have the camera? OMG! Look! Give me more food!  BABE!
GREG (out loud): Food is here and I’ve got great pics.
GREG (in his head): The food is a better spread than we just had for lunch and its all over the stern of the boat…and I haven’t put the camera down. If she asks if we can take one of the little pink ones home, the answer is no!  And I’m not feeding them Wiley if she runs out of food.
A successful day…out loud AND in our heads! 😉
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May 31-Leaving the Atlantis and adjusting to living on the boat

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Diamond

Rain, rain go away!!  Jeeze…it rained for 5 solid days, which left us with NO other option than to hang at the Atlantis in Nassau. That’s not a complaint b/c the Atlantis is fabulous, but girls – you can feel me, rain all day at 400% humidity – my hair was a total ball of frizz and it curled up like frayed, rusted sofa cushion springs. My bangs were rocking a Woody Woodpecker curl that appeared so short, it was as if I’d let my little nieces (Chloe and Camilla) cut them with their arts and craft scissors.  Really? Putting the hair ugly stick beating aside, the casino crushed us for two days, and then I recalled a prior trip we had to Vegas where I kept shoving Greg’s chips in my bra when he wasn’t looking – and we won!  So, with my prior Vegas success in mind, we left the casino with my bra size appearing to be double what it was when we had arrived.  Needless to say, two nights later we won all our money back and some.  So, the additional 5 days we spent at the Atlantis (8 in total) were well worth it.

Now, let’s talk about boat living.  This is the first time we’ve entered the ocean and left the US on our boat.  Wahoo!  Also, the first time we’ve spent more than two nights on the boat, and the first time we’ve had Taz and Wiley with us overnight on this boat.  So far, Noah’s Art and all, we are adjusting well.

DSC00343We’ve turned the second bedroom in to what I fondly refer to as: the office, Taz’s room, storage, the pantry, and the laundry room. Not bad for one little room to handle all those jobs.  Having the animals on the boat has been a fun adjustment.  I must admit that it never gets old each day when I see Greg walking around with a blob of cat hair hanging from his 5 o’clock shadow.  However, the biggest adjustment has been the bed. We’ve ben accustomed to a fabulous, plush, fat daddy KING.  Our boat bed is supposedly a queen, but I call utter bologna on that.  It’s a bizarre shape, so it tapers at the end, leaving an already short bed a bit shorter.  DSC00308Of course, normally I’d say, “no problem, Greg and I will just cuddle a bit more” but that’s a pipe dream with Wiley snorting between us and Tazzy curdled up somewhere on, between or behind my legs preventing me from moving. We’ve tried locking Wiley in the second bedroom a while ago, and he preceded to scratch the crap out of the wall and carpet.  We’ve also tried putting Wiley in a crate but he went totally bat crazy and tried to dig his way out of the metal crate during the majority of the night until we finally gave in. We also have to turn the air conditioning down to some subzero, Arctic temperature at nighttime or Wiley overheats and loudly pants in between his snoring.  Lucky for him that he so damn cute or I might have sold him off to some pirates by now!   So we all know where all of this leaves this happy floating family…with Greg and Wiley comfortably spooning, Taz purring while curled behind my legs and me being totally squished while hiding under several blankets so I don’t catch pneumonia.  Oh well, I’ll just have a little extra wine before heading to bed.

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