Life in the Emerald City

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!

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!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  ~Mark Twain

Sean and I have decided to take on a new adventure and learn to sail!  Not promising a trip around the world just yet, but there should be some future vacations worth blogging about!  Anyway, we took our first sailing lesson this past Saturday at Marina Sailing.  We had a blast!  Got to go out on the water and everything.  Way too many lines, sheets, and wind directions to remember in one lesson…good thing they give us ten!

On Sunday, we went to look at a boat we are seriously considering.  Check out our photos of a Pearson 36′.

Roller Furling Jib

Cockpit…nice and clean!

Looking Aft: Dinette on left, settee on right, nav table on right, galley on left, head (bathroom) on right, stairs to cockpit, aft cabin (guest bedroom) on left.

Looking forward: Settee (couch) on left, dinette on right, beautiful teak floors, shelving on left and the v-berth all the way forward.

It’s a really beautiful boat with a nice price tag.  As for now it is our biggest contender.  We’re still doing our research before making the HUGE decision to move onto a boat for the next year.  Let me know if you have any opinions!   Our next lesson is this Saturday…I can’t wait!

Ciao!

The wedding website is finally complete!  Whew!  We’ve spent so much time reworking it and not liking it, then reworking it and not getting it finished before the save-the-dates went out, then reworking it again…geez this has been a LONG process.

Nevertheless, it’s finally done! So, GO CHECK IT OUT!!!  http://wedding.ensbell.net I know you’ll love the title!!

Yesterday Sean and I spent the whole day working on getting all the material up there and then sorting out in a manner we both liked.  We think it looks really great and hopefully it will be useful to our friends and family members!  Let me know what you think and please join the mailing list so we can keep you up to date as the wedding gets closer!!

Back to work today and tomorrow, then the gym, grocery shopping and laundry…my life is so full!  We are doing well though, very happy in California, dreaming about our next adventure!  Speaking of…

We are considering slimming down our posessions, purchasing a sailboat, and living while cruising on the seas for a while.  We will be taking some sailing lessons and looking for suitable sailboats over the next few months.  We hope to be on our new boat by the end of the year!  More to come on that later!

In the mean time, we will be working on starting a new business together and getting my dog business off the ground.  Things are definitely NOT boring in our lives.  Wish us luck and we’ll keep you posted on how things progress!

Ciao!