The Journey

In the clouds…literally!

I recently returned from the better part of a month’s stay in FL with my mom…discussing my new path in life & how lame paths are b/c people are constantly trying to find theirs, but always seem to crash into everyone else’s path.

Coming home, I flew into a new-to-m airport, Memphis!, & thoroughly enjoyed the stroll through musical history as I dashed to catch my connecting flight that was boarding before I even got off the first flight.

My final flight of this adventure from Memphis to LAX was the most TURBULENT flight of my life…& I fly a lot!!

Most of you know my parents divorced when I was young, so visiting the two families created lots of opportunities to fly…more so than the average family vacation flights.

Consequently, I LOVE to fly!  Packing I could do without.  But flying is fun!

Of course everyone is excited about where they are going (except funeral attendees, can’t imagine they are too excited), but me, I look forward to the plane ride.

It’s true proof of packing skills if I manage to cram my entire life into a suitcase or two & they pass the weight limit test at check in…it is so embarrassing to have to crack open your suitcases at the check-in counter & transfer items to another bag.  If you manage to guess-timate the correct amount of weight & move it to another bag, you have to pick up all the items that have fallen out & shove it all back in…attempting to sit on two suitcases to zip them closed, all while the attendant waits & the 400-person long line stares at you with impatience in their eyes is very tough.

So, this time I passed. Barely.  Now it’s off to the security line, where the art of TURBO STRIPPING is practiced.  This very difficult form of artistry entails ripping out your laptop and any other electrical device that some genius decided could be used as a bomb, taking off all extra layers of clothing, including you shoes (even if they are one-layer flip-flops), putting everyone into plastic bins that never seem to want to come apart, holding your boarding pass & license to be rechecked b/c the scrutiny of twelve security agents isn’t enough  to ensure you are the same person on the same flight as you were 6 steps ago, pushing your 2 carry-ons & at least 2 bins with your 2 arms  through a conveyor belt all while the people behind you act like they are trying to escape a fire coming at them from the security line.  Whoo…made it.  You may now put your shoes back on , but oh, not here…you’ll hold up the line.

Finally I made it to the plane & my seasonal weight test confirms although I struggle with my weight, I can still fit comfortably into my airplane seat.  A feeling of “ah” comes over me as I am glad to be going on another trip!

This feeling is quickly interrupted by a blast of icy air coming from my feet, to which I promptly wrap myself up like a mummy with whatever blanket & sweaters I’ve remembered to bring.

Did I mention I love flying??

I like the reclining seats, the arm rest that I always hog if possible, the cute little tables folding out from the back of the guy in front of me’s chair, a.k.a. his flotation device, the flight attendants who bring drinks and snacks & never have an answer for why there are no more peanuts on flights anymore, the captain who always says ‘hello’ & tells me all about his flight plans and the weather as though I might change my traveling based on this info, & the view of watching things getting smaller and smaller before disappearing under the clouds, then new sites appear from under the clouds and get larger and larger before a jolt on the landing tarmac reminds me this part of the trip is nearing the end.

So, back to my ULTRA TURBULENT flight from Memphis to LAX.  As I’m sitting there watching the wings on the plane jostle around while grasping my drinks and snacks so not to loose them in the abyss under my seat, I started to wonder how the good ole’ cap-i-tan feels when he starts to feel the plane jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean.

Does he think to himself:  ”Crap, gotta hold on, keep steady, stay cool” or “oooh, hope those folks don’t remember my name from earlier, I don’t need any more complaints” or, maybe “Gosh, I hope this doesn’t bring the plane down…that would be the icing on an already crappy day.”

Me, personally, I don’t mind the turbulence much, unless my drink spills or I have to hold my bladder for an hour before the captain turns the fasten-seat-belt sign off.  That I’d mind.

Ah. Anyway.  I’m now home again, back from a lovely trip with some new goals, slight changes & a new pet, but I’ll be blogging about all that later on…

On our way back from Panama, we flew into Florida for a few weeks of family time.  Sean’s parents were unfortunately going out of town around the same time we came into town, so we didn’t get to see much of them.  However, they graciously did the airport run (twice) and let us borrow one of their cars (the nice Mustang) to travel to Panama City to see my parents.  Here are some highlights:

the girls sharing Madeline’s chair in the car; Miss Madeline playing in the ocean

We really missed our pups while we were gone, but Mackenzie really had a wonderful time at Camp Kritter.  She hung out with her mom, Madeline, all day chasing cats, lizards, squirrels, etc… while my mom cleaned and fed all the rehabbing wildlife.  What. A. Helper!!

a baby possum (one of many); mom and I rushing off to Kritter eating breakfast in the car; a very baby squirrel napping after a large meal

Mom had a bunch of possums at home…cutest things ever!  We went to Kritter pretty much every morning for cage cleaning, morning feedings, and general everyday duties.  Kritter is a lot of work, but it was mostly all fun.

Miss Marsha, an osprey being raised at Kritter; a woodpecker whose appetite could drive even a chef up a wall; a hungry pelican with a hurt foot

Mom has been raising this osprey since she was a baby and while very nervous around others, Marsha was doing great.  The woodpeckers were my little project…or nightmare, whatever.  They were always hungry…ALWAYS.  And when woodpeckers are hungry they just squawkandsquawkandsquawkandsquawk.  Sheeesh!  The pelican came in and lived with Miss Marsha for a bit; he had a broken foot and a hole in his side, but recovered nicely.

a pirate ship, clearly; my parent’s boat, The Pretty Lady (i.e., my mom); Sean being captain for the day

We finally got to go fishing after about a week and had a blast!  All the tourists boats were out and about, but we made it through the pass just fine.  My parents have a nice boat, perfect for fishing!  Sean didn’t catch anything on this trip because he spent most of the day driving the boat, but he had just as much fun.

Mickey plays tug with a dolphin; I pose with my red grouper; a beautiful gulf coast sunset

At our first waypoint, Mickey caught a grouper…but the dolphin wanted it too.  He spent so much time reeling and resting, reeling some more and finally the dolphin surfaced.  We were so worried that the dolphin had eaten the fish and would be hurt by the hook in his stomach.  We hesitantly cut the line and hoped all would be well…then mom and I spotted something floating on the other side of the boat.  Guess what!  It was the grouper!  The dolphin just wanted to play, so as soon as we cut the line, he dropped the fish which floated to the top.  We retrieved it and celebrated!!

shark, shark, shark!!!

A little while later, I got a big bite!!  I tugged, reeled, pulled, rested…then started the process all over.  Nothin’ givin’.  We thought it was a big huge grouper who’d gone under a rock or something.  After about a half hour of fighting, we were finally making some progress.  From the depths of the sea, I saw a very large fish coming up.  As he got closer, I realized…it. was. a. SHARK!!!  Yikes…I’d only seen sharks this close in aquariums, with very thick glass viewing walls (which I stand far away from).  Now here I’d caught one!  We pulled it up to the boat to snap some photos, then cut him loose.  I have no idea what kind of shark it was (I should probably look him up), but he was mean looking. and cool. AWESOME!

Mackenzie meets a grouper, she likey; our catch for the day, 4 grouper and a scamp; Mackenzie is fascinated by the jumping bait fish

Mackenzie was excited to see all the fish we caught…she likes fish.  Sean and Mickey filleted all the fish and brought it up to the condo for me to cook.  My parents were skeptical about my fish tacos, but when they tasted them their skepticism turned to serenity.

Sean poses underwater; a sand dollar scurries back under the sand; a shot of me swimming with my snorkel

After fishing all day, we stopped at Shell Island for a quick dip.  Sean and I had bought some new snorkeling gear and got to use our new underwater camera to capture some memories!

the owl is getting situated being so close to me; a barred owl ready for release; one push and he’s off into the real world

Around the end of our trip, mom had a barred owl who was ready to be released.  After a long drive out towards the area where our old cabin is located (which brought up fond memories of my adolescence) we found the perfect place to release him.  All went well and the owl went off into the big world to find his own path…it was sweet.

We drove back to Jacksonville on a Friday morning to hang out with Sean’s dad for the evening.  I cooked short ribs with cous cous and steamed broccoli for dinner with Adam and Bethany…all enjoyed the food treat.  We left on Saturday morning for Phoenix…more on that part of the trip later!

Oh my poor blog…how I neglect you.  I am sorry, I have been too busy to post lately.  Alas, there is no excuse and though I’ve promised this before, I will try my best to visit you more often and keep you posted!!

So, if you read previous blogs, you see Sean and I went on a little adventure that got side tracked.  But it was for the best as we ended up having an amazing summer!

We spent time in Panama, a country we thoroughly enjoyed and believed we’d probably never have visited if not for this opportunity.  Below are some highlights:

a cat who joined us on the patio for lunch, he ate french fries; entrance to the rainforest; Sean and I found a Baskin Robbins: we knew we’d survive!

the Philkade going through the MiraFlores Locks (what a coincidence); the MiraFlores Locks control center; one set of locks closing after the boats went through

a pond turtle posing for food; the sunrise at 4:30am from our hotel balcony; a beautiful white flower we saw just off the walking path

fireworks on the 4th of July at the Balboa Yacht Club; Sean found the french fry cat; me enjoying a hotdog by the Panama Canal

an abandoned building now filled with plants; a quirky house down by the market; cool old buildings line the streets in Casco Viejo (old downtown)

eagle’s view of Casco Viejo and the surrounding neighborhoods; balconies fully enclosed look like birdcages; there were many balconies filled with plants in the area

view of the Chagras River before our hike to the Indian Reserve; a beautiful waterfall tucked back in the rainforest; a creek leaving the waterfall headed toward the Chagras River

Sean and I take a long boat to the Indian Reserve; the band played us a welcoming tune; the women served lunch with banana leaf platters; fried fish and plantains in banana leaf cups…yummy!

the old bell tower lit up at night; part of the old fort wall lit up along the old highway to the airport

We really had an amazing time in Panama…what an adventure.  Though we didn’t plan to spend much time there on this trip, it was a nice surprise to see this beautiful country!

We left Panama and flew to Florida to visit family for a while.  Aside from some knife incidents in the airports, the trip went smoothly!  Check out the next post for more details about our trip back home!

Panama

Finally we arrived back on land!!  What a long week sailing through the Caribbean!  We were so glad to get back on land in a beautiful country.

The trip started out wonderfully, with everyone very excited to go on the adventure…looking forward to all the amazing sites we’d be seeing in the future!  Unfortunately, the fairytale ended on the second day out.  The owner of the boat decided to stop smoking during the trip and took his frustrations out on us.  He had a big blow up mid day and demanded we remain below decks in the crew quarters for the remainder of the trip.  The crew quarters had no windows/portholes, just a few skylights, and no access to the deck of the boat.  We naturally rebelled at this demand and a big fight ensued.  We all kept to ourselves for the remainder of the trip…it became more of a charter for Sean and I toward the end, as the owner demanded we not work anymore.  It was a long week, filled with awkward moments and some sea sickness, but we got through it!

Once in Panama, we waited 2 days for our visas to exit the ship, but on Friday we finally got to leave the boat one last time and we headed for Panama City, Panama.  We are taking some vacation time exploring Panama for now, but more about that trip later!

As of yet, we do not have plans for the rest of our summer…we are regrouping in Panama trying to figure out our next step…stay tuned!

At roughly 7pm tonight, we motored our way out of the boatyard in West Palm for the last time!!  We are headed to Panama!  It’s about 10pm now and all systems are working properly, everything is going well!  We are in calm seas with beautiful weather…smooth ride!  As we came out of the Intercoastal Waterway, breaking out into the ocean, a small pod of dolphins started playing in our bow wake!!  What a surprise…we were all hanging off the bow taking pics and video to share!!  See below…it truly is an amazing sight!  A good omen to start the adventure (along with a beautiful red sunset for good luck)..whoo hoo we are finally on our way!

Dolphins playing in bow wake

Love you all…full video in Panama!

Looking foward through hallway to V-berth

Shower turned Pantry..all stocked up!

Our cabin before it got a 'women's touch'

Our head (bathroom)

Crew Lounge...just off the galley (door in photo hides the washer/dryer)

Stairway to hell...er, the engine room

Galley...dishwasher, trash compactor, microwave, toaster oven, and sink

Looking down into galley...electric stove top, griddle, refrigerator/freezer combo (times 2) in back

Looking into the salon...couch goes in on the left, table to the right...walk straight towards the guest cabins/owner stateroom

Dining room table in salon...still being cleaned off

Looking forward up on deck...sails going up

Sliding glass doors into the helm and outside couch

Our cabin all done up

Our bathroom/head

Head storage and sink

Desk in our cabin

Yay, pictures!