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. 

    

Moving issues

As we got closer and closer to the "expected closing of escrow" (which was seriously premature and a story that is still currently unfolding, unfortunately!), we needed to get rid of massive amounts of things. 

   At first it was really hard to make a decision about every single item I owned - am I going to use this and take up space on a boat where every spare inch of space is limited? Is it precious to me and should I store this? Or is it trash? Thankfully, we have some awesome friends and family that are letting us store some of our belongings, trailers, and laundry machines. I'm very grateful! 

   I found it very cathartic to purge stuff and I found myself changing my mind about the things I'd packed to take with me a few weeks before. My 10yr got down to the nitty gritty about the things she actually plays with and what was important to her. My husband, however, was not able to make those kinds of decisions under the stress we were under, decided to take everything, and sort later. When he started packing old used up sponges, I had to let go of the inner judgement I had going on, and let it roll. I know he'll quickly tire of the Sanford and Son thing we currently have going on, and be able to decipher what he really needs here - I have faith! Lol

   Moving is such a Herculean task, but to a much smaller space, onto water, when you have so much stuff, it just gets overwhelming very quickly - not to mention the stress of  selling a home, on top of that. And let me tell you, when non-stop stress is happening every second of the day, sometimes it gets the best of us and the worst comes out! When you start fighting about dog hair, or where something is parked, it's not really about that, you know? But I'm proud to say both of us realize it's the stress we are under and brush it off - this wasn't always the case. Growth, I tell you!!! 

    We moved, officially, 2 weeks ago. It wasn't hard to say goodbye to the house. Saying goodbye to my oldest daughter, her hubby, and all the grand babies was tough, but it's only 2 1/2 hrs away, and we will make lots of visits! I don't intend to miss any birthday parties, if I can help it at all! 

      I still have things in boxes and trash bags, but we've accomplished a lot. The kitchen is done, and I've cooked a few times. I'm exhausted most days and in bed by 8:30. I'd say we are adapting very well, and trying to roll with the punches. Some days are tougher than others, you win some and lose some, but we're making the best of it. 

   It's worth it. 

New adventures

 I find myself wanting to share my new adventure and journey with friends and loved ones. That and I don't think many understand when others choose to live an alternative lifestyle from the norm, so maybe this will enlighten a few people, including myself. 

  In October 2012, my husband, Ron and I started talking about a way to change our lives and move somewhere we both have always loved - the beach. In California, that means unless you are a multimillionaire or hit the lottery, you are out of luck on that score. We were tired of using more than half of our income for a mortgage payment, for a huge 3000sq ft house in the desert with a lot of upkeep on 1/2 acre, and only one 10yr old child left in the nest.     We talked long and hard about motor homes and boat living. Buying a boat and a mooring (two anchored floating balls in the harbor that you tie your boat up to, that you theoretically own that small spot of ocean), lots of people do it, and because we still needed to be in Southern California for my husband's work, made the most sense. We decided to start praying to God about opening doors for it all to happen, and most importantly, agreed that if doors were closing repeatedly, we would know it wasn't meant to be. Within a few weeks of that conversation, my husband found a mooring for sale in the Newport Harbor, where we had visited many times, and absolutely loved the area, very close to great schools and awesome weather. The gentleman that owned that mooring was  willing to take a trade of a vehicle and some cash in payments, which was awesome. So, we put our Bobcat tractor up for sale, for probably the 6-8th time, praying this time, it would sell. Very quickly, maybe within a week, someone came and dropped a huge chunk of cash for it, and just like that, we had an open door! So we purchased the mooring in Jan of 2013, started looking for a boat the 3 of us could live on, had enough room for us to function and kind of feel normal. The man who sold us the mooring had his boat up for sale as well, but when we looked at it, while it was an awesome boat, decided it was too much of a project for the price he was asking. As we shopped  for boats, we realized that this wasn't going to be an easy task. Most,( in fact ALL lol) were far away from the desert where we lived, the ones we liked were out of our price range, and time to physically look at every boat we could afford quickly became difficult. I think it was maybe about 6-8 weeks of looking, before my husband came across that same boat owned by previous mooring owner, still up for sale at a huge price reduction. After seeing what was out there on the market, and the big price difference, we decided to take another look at that boat. It was a 49ft trawler style boat, with 3 cabins( bedrooms, the master cabin has a king sized bed, the other two with bunks) , a decent size galley (kitchen), many levels, an awesome wheelhouse (where you steer the boat from, and had a sleeping berth as well as a big table to sit around). Yes, it needed work - neither of the 2 showers worked, only one of the toilets worked, no hot water, no refrigerator, had charging problems, among other issues, but the engines ran, had space for all of us plus guests, and we still had time to get our house ready for sale before we planned on moving, anyhow. By then, the owner just wanted to sell it so he could move out of state, and again, was willing to trade and take payments. We became owners of the boat "Seabird" in April of 2013, about 6 months after we started praying about moving. 

  Next was the house! Getting the house ready for sale, was no small feat, but we were motivated! Our plans are not always God's plans, though, and after opening so many doors for us to get the mooring and the boat, I was quite confused when just a few weeks (May 2014) after purchasing the boat , my husband fell 20+ feet out of a tree (he's an Arborist) and suffered a severe lower tib-fib break of the left leg. The ortho surgeon told me that this type of break was the kind they normally amputate, but that he'd made his best attempt at repairing it, and might need further surgeries down the road. Oh, and 6 months before he'd be able to even put weight on it and ditch the wheelchair and crutches. 

   Since the boat needed so much work, as well as the house, it was tough to split time and money, between the two. That and having a handicapped husband, kind of slowed things down. My husband is one of those guys that needs to be asleep, or doing something, at all times - and staying off his foot was a huge challenge for the both of us. He works harder than anyone else I've ever met in my life, and doesn't understand the word quit, but staying down just wasn't in his DNA. He found ways around that leg of his, even if it meant scooting on his butt to get down into the dingy (small boat we use to get to shore and back from mooring). With the help of some people, we started working on the boat while he was off work with this injury. We got a lot accomplished, but no where near ready to move onto, but by late Oct, he was back at work, and and put the house up for sale in November of 2013. 

   In December 2013, the 18th to be exact, the orthopedic surgeon told us that my husband's leg wasn't healing, they suspected an infection in my husbands bone and that the metal holding it together needed to be removed and start over. The other option was to amputate. We were reeling, with the news, and all of our plans came to a grinding halt. My husband asked the surgeon if we could wait a month before having the surgery, so figure out what we were doing, and he said yes. Over the holidays, as we tried to figure out how my husband could take even more time off work, we were just stumped and stunned. How could we possibly start all over with recovery? 

   We made it through the holidays, and folks, I couldn't make this up if I tried. Seriously.... What happened next is almost unbelievable, even now, after living through it for the last 10 months. On January 2nd, 2014, less than 2 weeks after a surgeon tells us he needs another surgery, my husband was getting into the drivers side door of his truck at a repair shop when a passing driver lost control of his vehicle, came across 2 lanes of traffic, hit my husband and then totaled 4 cars & a motor home.  A friend with him, called me to come down - since it was less than a mile from our house, my 2 daughters (one of whom is an EMT and the other my 9yr old) and I hopped into the car and followed the fire trucks to the accident scene. The wreckage of so many vehicles was horrific, and as I raced through the debri trying to locate my husband, I remember the frantic feeling of disbelief and shock. As I reached the paramedics working on my husband on the asphalt, he was laying almost underneath a car and they were cutting his pants off his legs, both of which were very obviously broken. He was  shaking from shock, and bleeding from his hand, but he was talking and coherent, and told me it was going to be ok. Our 9yr old was right with me, and witnessed her daddy laying in the road. In hindsight, I probably should have made her stay in the car, but I just wasn't thinking straight. She still has nightmares about it to this day, 10 months later. 

    Our older daughter rode with him to the hospital since the police told me I couldn't leave until I had a tow truck coming for our truck, which was totaled as well. After that was dealt with, my little one and I headed to the hospital. 

   He was stable, no head injuries, but my Lord, those legs.... Both needed surgery. The right leg - the good leg, would need some metal and screws. The already broken left leg, that wasn't healing and was infected? That leg was freshly broken up above the old infected break. So, with a new break, an old break that didn't heal, and a bone infection, the very first surgeon that came in said amputate. We asked for a second opinion, and they sent this rock star orthopedic surgeon in to chat with us. He asked if my husband was willing to fight to keep that leg, willing to have several staged surgeries, 9-12months in a wheelchair, and still maybe never walk the same? My husband replied, "you don't know me, but I'm a fighter and I'm tough, just save my leg, Doc!"

   I'm going to condense this, because I feel like I've told this story too many times, but he had 4 surgeries & 2 big straps of metal & 50+ screws , 6 months of 24/7 IV antibiotics, a ridiculous amount of drs appts, nurse visits, home health care, rehab, meds, hospital beds & my bed in the living room, and wheelchairs. His leg is healing, we had the time to finish the house and the boat, we opened escrow in August on the house, he went back to work in late September, WITHOUT crutches or a wheelchair on his own legs, and we are about 11 days into our new adventure! 

   Since a lot of this wasn't about living on a boat, some of this feels like word vomit to me, I'll probably edit a lot of it out. But I felt like maybe some of you needed to hear the story of how we got here. 

   Next, I'll write about the struggles and challenges I've faced moving from a 3000sq ft house into a 49ft boat!