Susan, Sequoia, and Todd go sailing

Nautical miles: 96.
Time under way: 19 hours and 28 minutes.
Cans of Tecate: 15.
Cans of Pacifico: 11.
Odds of seeing rare painted chuckwallas: Who knows?!

One of the great things about having a kid aboard is that it motivates you to do things that otherwise you’d dismiss with “Nah, too much hassle!” When leaving San Carlos in early March, the temptation is to shoot Southwest across the Sea of Cortez to Santa Rosalia, because the wind generally comes from the Northwest. We were interested in seeing the Midriff Islands, but the largest of them, Isla Tiburon, lies about 85 miles Northwest of San Carlos. This means that to get there, we’d (presumably) have to go right into the wind. And you know Capn Smooth Ride doesn’t like that one bit!

But then we read about the rare painted chuckwallas on Isla San Esteban. These large lizards (think of a yellow and black iguana) live on only three small islands in the whole world! We didn’t know if we’d get to see them, but then we imagined Koiya leading the chuckwalla scouting party. Prevailing winds be damned, we had some homeschooling to do! (And as Todd pointed out, we’re going to have to go waaay farther upwind to get the boat home….) (more…)

“Train travel!” cried Todd. “It’s the way to go! Sit back, watch the scenery, and they bring you espresso!” I had to agree it was pretty relaxing, and I couldn’t say which was hotter: the coffee, or the guy who served it! Leave it to Italian men to make pushing a little silver cart look sexy.

Our train trip from Konstanz to Ferrara, Italy took us through Switzerland; and since I’m speaking of contradictions, I couldn’t help but notice one about the Swiss. Known (well, at least in Germany!) for their conservatism and distrust of outsiders, the Swiss have declined to join the European Union. And yet, Switzerland has four national languages (German, Italian, French and Romansh) in what you would guess would be the most diverse country of Europe. What’s up with that?

Anyway, we were thrilled to be headed to Frank and Arianna’s wedding in Arianna’s hometown of Ferrara. “I can’t wait to drive one of those cars! Vrraaa-eee, vrraaa-ahhh!” squealed Todd, mimicking the movements of a race car driver shifting gears. “It’s Ferrara, not Ferrari!” I corrected him. At first he was pretty disappointed, but once he learned that we’d be in a region famous for pork products, fine cheeses, and rich foods, he was psyched up to start eating! (more…)

If the speed of car travel left his (large) head spinning, you can imagine how befuddled Todd was by the concept of plane travel. “Let me get this straight,” he mused. “We can leave one day, and be in Europe the next day?” I assured him it was so. “No canals?” he asked, still suspicious.

“It’s easy,” I reassured him. “We just show up with our stuff, and they give us a blanket and a pillow, and free drinks. Sometimes they’ll even give us food. And we just watch a movie and then we’re there!”

“You had me at ‘free drinks’!” cried Toro enthusiastically. We were all set for a three week trip to Europe: a week visiting our friends Frank and Arianna in Vienna, followed by a week with the Schumanns in Germany, and wrapping up with Frank and Ari’s wedding in her hometown of Ferrara, Italy. (more…)

After visiting the Grand Canyon, we drove to Zion National Park, where Todd’s Uncle Jim Chris lives and works. Unfortunately, Jim Chris was out of town, but his girlfriend Susan arranged for us to stay in a suite at the hotel where she works. We felt like royalty! And it was great to meet Susan.

On our first full day, we did the short Weeping Rocks hike and the Emerald Pools hike. Koiya did a great job hiking, despite the heat. She enjoyed all the squirrels, lizards, tadpoles, and flowers along the trail. And when she got overheated, we poured some of the icy cold stream water over her. (more…)

We were sad to leave the boat, but we focused on the excitement of our road trip, and the anticipation of seeing friends and family back home. With a big push, we were ready to go on Memorial Day! We set our sights on Tucson and were off.

Mistake Number 1: We didn’t take into account that half of Arizona was in Mexico for the weekend, and all those people were also crossing back into the US that day. We had a lot of time to figure this out, waiting over 2 hours in line at the border.

Mistake Number 2: We didn´t fill the tank, jerry cans, our water bottles, or a kiddy pool strapped to the roof with $2.50/gallon gasoline. When Capn Bright Idea wondered aloud if we should get gas before crossing the border, First Mate Clueless dismissed the notion. “Gas can’t be that expensive in the US,” I said self-assuredly. “I mean, what did we invade Iraq for?” “I thought we were spreading democracy,” chimed Koiya from the back seat. Todd and I had a good laugh over that! Kids say the darndest things! (more…)

After a couple of days at anchor in San Carlos, our boat was hauled out on May 22. It was exciting to be doing something so different; it was a bit nerve-wracking to see our boat bouncing along a Mexican roadway; and it was sad to think of leaving her!

There was a lot of work to do to get the boat ready to survive the sun, heat and rain of summer. We had to take all of the sails and lines off, as well as the solar panels; change the engine oil and filters; flush everything we could with fresh water; put aluminum foil over every port and hatch (sun protection) and plug all through-hulls (bug protection); pack up our clothes and everything heat-sensitive to take home; clean out the fridge and all the food stores; and more!

We had planned to work first thing in the morning and later in the evening, to avoid the hottest part of the day. Lucky for us, San Carlos was having unseasonably cool weather, so we could work all day if we wanted to. We still took off most afternoons to go to the beach with the crew of Theophilus, who were hauled out about 15 miles away in Guaymas. (more…)