Boat buying is not as fun as we thought

It took eight months of serious searching to buy s/v Perry (and this doesn't count the three years of keeping abreast of the market, ready to buy if  the perfect deal had come along). We seriously considered boats as far away as Hong Kong, Turkey, Greece, and Croatia. We visited boats in Rhode Island, Florida, and the Bahamas. We would check yachtworld.com daily to see what was new on the market.  We would eagerly await for more photos for that seemingly perfect boat at a reasonable price only to discover that the original pictures were the product of some very creative cropping.

A Very Sandy Christmas

I don't think I will ever get used to Christmas in warm weather. Of course, maybe I should give it more than one Christmas. This was definitely not your typical Chicago Christmas.

Homeless and happy about it

In March 2012, after almost a year on the market, we sold our home of 10 years. It was hard to swallow the reality of the sad, sad state of the real estate market (much of the year was spent coming to grips with how much our home value had declined and figuring out how little we could sell for and still go).

Bahamas Recap – Part 1

After a month of being closed up, the boat smelled just like a celebrity perfume... Not. 

The plan was elegant in its simplicity. I (Matt) would go to Freeport, Bahamas to clean up the boat, bring it back to Ft. Lauderdale, get some work done, and then move the boat to a dock.  Jen and the boys would meet me in Ft. Lauderdale, arriving to a clean and fully functional new home.  Yeah, right.

Perry Who?

This is not a pipe.

This is not a peregrine falcon (it really isn't--we don't have  a picture of one yet).

This is the conversation that Matt had with our friend Scott when he told him the boat name.

Scott: So what's the name of the boat?

Matt: Perry.

Scott: What? That's soooo [dumb]! You're going to change that, right?

Matt: Ummm... Nope, that's the name we picked.

Scott: Oh. Sorry, man.

Thanks, Scott.

This is what it feels like when you quit your job

Leap of Faith. Nevis Canyon, Queenstown, New Zealand
I really wish my legs had been straight. Matt had perfect form.

It feels...scary. And m*th@rf-ing awesome! (Matt's words, not mine, because he swears like a, well, you know. So he has that part of sailing down.)

Our whole suburban upbringing and schooling and most of our lives have been focused on...not this. We managed to stay employed and sell our house in that/this economy and market. We have had it pretty good. So why don't we listen to our wise parents and refrain from exposing ourselves and our children to the risk of drowning-pirates-sharks-storms-thieves? Good question.