El Niño oddities

   The last few weeks have been interesting here in the OC. 

   

   The pelagic crabs, normally native to Mexico, have come to visit our beaches and waters, confused by the El Niño weather condition. The last time they were here was in the 1983 El Niño year, as well. They look like tiny lobsters, or craw dads, bright red in color. Millions have washed up on the beaches this last weekend with the tide going back out before they could get off the beaches. The gulls are happy! 

   The things we get to see here, never cease to amaze my daughter and I. We both feel so blessed to be here. She asked me just today, to promise her we'd never leave... I had to explain to her that life was the most unpredictable of things, and I couldn't promise that. Life is fleeting and changing at all times. 

   

    My daughters school offers some pretty interesting after school enrichment classes. Hula, skateboarding, surfing, just to name a few. She's chosen the surfing classes, and had her first one a few weeks ago. It's 8 lessons, on Wednesdays, they provide the board & wetsuit, and 5 instructors for the 17 kids. She got up on her first wave, and several, thereafter. Until she took another board to the head and got spooked, she started just doing the knee thing. It was a 2 hour lesson, and by the end she was completely wiped out, but she had a blast and made a lot of forward progress. Tomorrow is lesson 2, so we'll see how it goes. 

   

    Another interesting thing is the week off of school in February- not spring break, but they call it "ski week." Apparently, everyone in the OC leaves to go skiing the third week of February so they just give the kids the week off. I'd never heard of that before....although one of my other girls, upon hearing that, wondered out loud why we hadn't moved here when she was of school age. Unfortunately, my youngest and I spent the week off, sick with terrible colds.

  

    As far as the boat goes, we are still shuffling things around, trying to find the best way to store things, getting rid of unused items, learning how to flow, and things are getting easier for the 2 of us to handle. We've solved some fairly important power/battery charging issues, which is huge. One of my girls asked me where my prized recipes were at, and I was unable to accurately verify that information. I seem to have misplaced more things than I was really aware of, in the move. Hot water for longer than 2 minutes and wifi are still my biggest issues, and while I am handling those things, I certainly hope for a resolution, some day.  We closed escrow on our home, finally, after 6 months - pretty big relief there. 

Things are looking up 😃

We get by with a little help from our friends

   It's been an eventful few weeks since the New Year. 

   My husband and I handled the boat ourselves, for the first time, about 3 weeks ago. He's done that before, with other guys helping and doing first mate things. This was my first time with just the two of us - hubby driving, and me running the lines. It's no small feat, for sure, and was fairly stressful. However, we did ok - no one was hurt and no crashes, so we were proud of ourselves. It was in pouring rain, which added to things, but all in all, it was good. Hubby would like to be doing Catalina trips by summer, but I think that may be a bit ambitious....we'll see how things progress as the season goes on. I'll really have to rearrange things, and strap things down before we take her out into open ocean. 

    Around 2 weeks ago, some dolphins came into the harbor and were hanging out a few feet off our stern. They came by, every morning for 5-6 days, which was pretty exciting. I was able to finally get them on video on one of the last days they cruised past. 

    We are getting to know our boat neighbors better, have had a few of them over for dinner, and we got to take an evening cruise on a sailboat. No one is an island out here, we all need each other's help on the water, and I appreciate all the help that has been given to us. Rides, tows, parts, engines, mechanical knowledge shared, help carrying things to and from, etc. It's a completely different way of life here, and we are thoroughly enjoying it. 

    The young family I mentioned in another post, has moved to our mooring field. My daughter is getting to know the younger kids, and walked to school with them, today. As summer gets closer, I hope they can start doing things together. 

   We've had a few days of rain, but besides that, the weather here is absolutely gorgeous. I visited our old town this last weekend, where it was 35F, at 10am, and came home to 80 degrees on the water, in January. 

    There's a local band we've come to love, because they just get it - the California living, the beach vibe, and I wanted to share one of their song's lyrics with you. There's so many of their lyrics that apply to our every day lives, and whenever my daughter asks me what the weather is going to be like that day, I always say "And tomorrow's gonna be the same!"

    Beautiful, every day....

Sand in my sheets

Open my eyes to an early sunrise,

Clear blue skies, so it's time to check the tide 

Grab my board, then I'm headed out the door,

If you need to find me, I'll be chilling at the shore.

Sand in my sheets, but I still fell asleep,

Dreaming about tonight, and a sunset on the beach,

I close my eyes, she's everything I see, 

On the shoreline, just my girl and me.

Cruising along, listening to the stereo,

This has got to be the greatest feeling that I know, 

Falling in love, falling for that special girl,

This has got to be the best feeling in the world

Sand in my sheets, but I still fell asleep

Dreaming about tonight, and a sunset on the beach,

I close my eyes, she's everything I see 

On the shoreline, just my girl and me. 

Well it makes no sense at all, how the living is so easy,

But parking is so hard in my own backyard,

And all bets are off if you're coming up from out of town, 

Get your greeting with a beat down, beat down,

Lucky for me, when I wake in the dawn

Grab my ukulele and I step on the lawn,

Hurry it up till I'm down on the beach

Skip to my step with a reggae stylie and a

Pacific Ocean air, Catalina's coming in so clear, 

And tomorrow's gonna be the same, yeah, 

Tomorrow's gonna be the same.

Oh, tomorrow, tomorrow is another day

Well, today if you're waiting for something to change,

Tomorrow's gonna be the same, yeah

Tomorrow's gonna be the same

Sand in my sheets, but I still fell asleep,

Dreaming about tonight and the sunset on the beach

I close my eyes, she's everything I see, 

On the shoreline, just my girl and me 

The Wheeland Brothers 

Water and wifi

   I have to admit, the biggest issues of boat living that are getting to me, are not having instant access to Internet and the fact that it's a miracle to get a hot shower that lasts more than 3 minutes. I know in the big scope of things, that those are minor issues, but as a entitled, spoiled American, I've become accustomed to certain luxuries. Unlimited wifi and hot running water, are currently at the top of my most wanted list. 

    Apparently, water pumps and flash water heaters are very finicky and work only when the stars align just perfectly! So, if you see me with unshaved legs, don't judge me! Lol

   All of these issues will be addressed, if we can ever close escrow on our house, but for now they remain luxury items we can do without. You'd be surprised what you can live without. 

   I'm not complaining, really. There are benefits to not having constant wifi flowing to all of our electronic devices. My daughter and I go to the library, where she is learning to love to read, instead of it being a punishment or assignment. We talk, play games, and interact a whole lot more than we did before. We are exploring our new neighborhood and just being on the ocean, we see so many new things. 

    We are also interacting with new people, who come into the harbor, from all over the world, and also with the small community of live aboard folks, in our immediate area. There are about 10-15 boats with full timers on them, each with their own stories to tell and learn from. Just this weekend, we entertained an 85 year old gentleman who lives in a small sailboat a row over from us. He is a Korean War Navy veteran, who has traveled the world. He had many stories to tell, which we enjoyed immensely. We also met a young man, who is a bush pilot down from Alaska, that sails the world in his off time. There is also an older couple, that we chat with over on the dock, that I would ready like to connect with. It's a small community, and very few of them are women, so it would be nice to have a female friend to chat with. There's a new family coming to the mooring field close to us soon, with 4 children near my daughters age, so I'm looking forward to that. 

   Christmas was kind of quiet this year. One of our girls came for Christmas Eve with her hubby, which was nice. The other 2 girls came the day after Christmas with all of the grandkids. They had a blast, I think, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking all the kids on a harbor cruise, showed them a seal sunning up close, and sharing my new world with them. I can't wait to have them back for a longer visit. 

    We are still struggling with space issues and really need to get down to the nitty gritty on what we actually need on this boat. I have a cabin filled with things that I'm rapidly suspecting we will never use here.

     Time to sort, again, I believe. 

   

Grand Adventure

   I was thinking this morning, what a grand adventure this is! Even with all the troubles, uncertainties, and plumbing issues, just being here is worth every second of it. 

   Even today, in the middle of a rain storm, as I came to the realization that I was woefully unprepared to get my 10yr old to shore and school, in a semi-dry fashion. She made it, on time, too. With a dry set of clothes in her backpack, just in case. I'm currently waiting for a break in the rain, to attempt to get my laundry to shore.... Getting it all back onto the boat, dry, may be a whole different story! 

   Even as the only working toilet stopped working the day before Thanksgiving, and we spent the holiday weekend getting baptized by unmentionable fluids. We now have 2 working toilets - forward progress, I tell you!  

   Boat life is certainly not for the weak hearted, and it is very hard work. There are many things we've had to give up. Simple things, like microwaves, hair dryers, and wifi. I don't cook big elaborate meals, anymore, and we make do with a whole lot less than we used to - and that's ok for me, right now. Less really is more 😊.

    One day, when I'm a really old lady, if I make it that far, I'll look back and say to someone, "Did you I know I lived on a boat once? It was one of the best times of my life!" As I was taking my husband to shore at 4am yesterday, when all is quiet in the harbor except for the pounding waves, the moon is up, and the small fish jump out of the way of our boat, he said to me, "I wish we'd thought of moving to a boat sooner." Someday, we may feel differently, and then it'll be time for the next chapter of our lives, although I can't imagine that. 

   For now, I'm having the time of my life.

New dawn, new days

   It's a new day, and every day on a boat brings its challenges. 

   The amount of work that is required to live on a boat, while very much worth it, takes a bit to get used to. There are propane tanks to be hauled to upper and lower decks, until they run out and then have to be hauled to the shore to be refilled. Propane is our source of heat, cooking, hot water, and runs our refrigerator. 

   Our water has to be hauled from shore to the big boat on a dingy with a 55 gallon barrel, then pumped into big boat's water tanks. 

    Power happens by generator, which requires gasoline to be hauled, as well. 

    Laundry has to be put into bags, taken in the dingy to shore, and done at the laundry mat.

    Groceries, brings a whole different kind of stress. Parking and unloading when there is just 2 of us, one of which doesn't want to stay with the groceries on the dock by herself while I attempt to find parking in a tourist attraction town, a block from the beach. 

    All of this has to be done (mostly) on a daily basis. 

    Also, given the fact that my husband's work hours have changed for the first time in 22 years and totally messed up the commute times, he has decided to stay near his work a few nights a week. That leaves my 10 year old and I to accomplish many of these tasks on our own. 

    We are doing ok, I think....it's not easy by any means, but we are handling it. And like I said, the pay off is worth it. With a huge smile, my daughter said to me just this morning, "Can you believe we get to live here, Momma?" I agree with her, 100%. 

     I'm getting much better at handling the dingy. We are reading most nights, as we don't watch tv much anymore. The antenna gets a couple channels, but the power required just isn't worth it, sometimes. My daughter got invited to a birthday party yesterday, so she's excited about that. 

   

   The last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful. Our house fell out of escrow - and while I'm incredibly thankful the buyers are currently renting my house while they get their loan together, it was a huge let down, to have the deal fall apart after so long. 

    I missed the memo for school letting out early, twice. When you are late to pick up your child, twice in 3 weeks, it's just bad form. I received the bad mom of the year award. 

    I miss my husband, and not only for handling the daily complications that pop up( hot water heater stopped working the day he went back to work, so it's cold showers until he gets back). 

    Everything is an adjustment...I know we'll get through this hectic time in our lives, eventually. 

We'll get there. 

School

    Living in a place where the homes are the priciest in the state, brings along with that, some of the best schools, as well. It was, also, one of the bigger reasons we moved onto a boat, in this harbor. 

   The schools where we lived prior to this, were pretty bad. When 2nd graders are threatening to get their dad's gun, come to your house, kill your whole family, complete with graphically drawn pictures, and 3rd graders bring knives to school, it's time to reevaluate your child's educational options. I pulled my daughter out just a few months into 3rd grade (after the knife incident) and homeschooled her for the remainder of 3rd and all of 4th grade. It was kind of crazy timing, with my husbands first injury happening pretty soon after, and then morphed into a 16 month debacle. 

    I had called the new school months ago, to see what they would require to show proof of residency. Living on a boat, you don't have an physical address. We have a PO box, but, like the dmv, banks, insurance companies, (and many others I'm learning!), including the school, will not accept addresses with PO Boxes. The woman I spoke with assured me that if I had proof of owning the boat, the mooring, a utility bill with current PO box address(another complexity, as boats don't have utilities hooked up to them), and a drivers license with new address on it (that the dmv won't allow)! 

    Long story short, it took 2 weeks for me to get all of those things together, to present to the school district Address Verification office. When I entered the office last week, there were posters all over the walls that said things like, "if you living situation isn't stable, your children still have the right to attend school" and similar things like that. With all the hoops they made me jump through to show proof of residency, it was quite funny. It made me wonder how folks who are living in their cars or are living in temporary situations, enroll their kids into school. 

    The school my daughter would be attending is on the beach - the playground is directly on the sand of the beach with no fences. I was told they have do their science experiments down near the shore, as well as have surfing lessons as part of the after school enrichment classes. On the very first day of school, we went into the office, where we awaited someone to take us on a school tour. It's not every school you can store your surfboard in the school office, and all the little surfer boys have long hair. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto! 

    It was one of those same little, long-haired surfer boys who asked my short-haired daughter if she was sure she wasn't a boy! Hilarious! She told me she thought about asking him if he was sure he wasn't a girl, but kept her cool. She found out where all the kids go to Trick or Treat, and made a friend. I'm praying this will be an entirely different school experience for her. 

   I think it will.

Challenges

   We spent a significant amount of time on the boat in the last year and a half as kind of a trial run. There are some things about living on a boat that you have to find out by trial and error. It may sound glamorous but it's a lot like camping! 

    Baptism by fire, I say!

    Things like, learning the former owner changed a fuel tank to a water tank but didn't change the little cap that says DIESEL on it. Ask one of my girls - diesel showers aren't much fun!  

    Or that the fuel gage on the dink is empty when it says 1/4 tank left! Thank God for Vessel Assist - which is like AAA for the water! 

    Or how about that someone in the past had linked all the fuel tanks together, and when a fuel line breaks, how to handle 800 gallons of diesel in the hull of the boat! Good times! Lol

     And when you are out of water, even in the middle of a shower, make sure to have extra drinking water aboard at all times! Oh, or running out of propane for hot water, while showering is fun, too! Extra tanks at all times, thank you very much! 

    I've learned a lot in the last 2 weeks of being here, as well. Everything takes much more effort to accomplish - even the simplest of tasks. Boat neighbors help each other out whenever they see a need (I'm currently watching several men try to save a sailboat a couple of rows up, that the seals are determined to sink - and it's not even their boat!). We've needed help carrying many things, getting towed to shore, finding local places, fixing things, and lots of MacGyver kind of stuff for boats! I've learned how to operate an outboard motor and drive the dingy by myself without crashing it into the dock or boat anymore- huge progress there. 

     I've also learned that you triple check to make sure you have things such as keys, phones, trash, and whatever you need on shore, before you leave the boat. Never go empty handed - there's always something that needs to be taken off the boat! 

    Not having the luxury of laundry machines anymore, for the first time in over 20 years, is also a learning curve. What I once thought of as dirty, being worn only once, is rapidly changing. Having a 10yr old that likes to change her clothes at least 3 times a day, is going to take some serious reprogramming! Doing all of the laundry at once is a bit overwhelming, as well. But we are figuring it all out - just may take a little time. And when I go to visit family, I hope they don't mind if I ask to do a couple of loads! 

    I walk more here, than I have in years, and it feels good. I can't wait to get the bikes up and running, so I don't have to move the car from its precious parking spot. Everything is local here and I want to use the bikes to go grocery shopping, and to the farmers market.  Winter isn't too bad for parking but summers, living in a tourist attraction, parking is non-existent! Also using muscles I haven't in years will take a bit of time to build up, and the bruises will be worth it, I think. 

    Not having a tv or cable, hasn't been that tough for us. I'm grieving not being able to watch my Steelers play, but think I'm handling it fairly well. The lack of Internet is going to need to be addressed fairly soon, I think. For now, hitting the library or the little cafe by the beach across the street with free wifi, will suffice. 

    There's a lot of changes we've had to make, let go of many things, but living at the beach is worth every bit of it. The sunrises & sunsets, the random things we see every day, seals, glowing worms and jellyfish at night, the baby seagulls on the next boat over, neighbors bringing lobsters by, seeing the fish people catch on the dock, the weather, hearing the surf pound at night, time spent with each other, better schools for our daughter, sailing and surfing lessons for her, paddle boarding, the world famous Wedge, the hope of one day being able to take the big boat wherever we want to, Catalina coming in so clear, there's just too much to possibly name. 

      I can't think of anywhere I'd rather live, than right here. I feel blessed to be here.