IT'S OFFICIAL!!

After many months (if not years) of planning, we finally have a departure date.  Nerve wracking is an understatement.  We have spent all summer cruising from place to place in southern California trying not to pay slip fees knowing that we wanted to be on our way to the Gulf Coast by the early part of November.  We had been in contact with a trucking company as early as January, but they kept telling us to call next month, call next month, it's too early, it's too early.  Well, finally, we have a price, we have a trucking company, we have a load (departure) point, and we have a date.  It's also nice to have a slip up until the departure date, too - thank you CIYC.

On October 14, the boat will load onto a big-ass truck.  Then, on October 18, she is going to leave California en route to Rockport, Texas, a small town with a really nice marina and lift facility just outside Corpus Christi.  The boat should arrive around 10/22 and be in the water later that day.  I cannot say enough good things (at least at the moment) about the trucking company, the loaders in Marina Del Rey and the launchers at Rockport.  Everyone is so nice and accommodating.  I guess we'll see. 

Nevertheless, for the first time in months, I am happily excited.  Just yesterday, I was wallowing in depression not knowing if and/or when we were actually going to go.  It has been tough wondering what is going to happen.  I mean, I closed my law practice, leased my house, gave up my slip - all in anticipation of this moment.  It has been very difficult not knowing from week to week what is happening or where we will be.  Not to mention the fact that sitting around spending money is not all that practical.  It's one thing to do that when we are gone cruising.  It is entirely another thing to do that while hanging in limbo.  At least now we are going to be on our way to financial ruin instead of sitting around watching it happen.  I guess now, I will be able to do this and not wish I could or wish I had.  Whatever happens, happens.  I have always been one to encourage others to do what we are doing.  I had no idea that it is a lot easier said than done.  The emotional part of it is really heavy.  There are so many things to consider.  I do not even know where to begin.

Where does one begin?  Each step, one in front of the other.  The problem is that we also have eyes that we can see with.  And, if we are reasonably acute, this means we see out in front of where we step.  This comes in handy when trying to avoid land mines or piles of dog shit.  But, that kind of vision, of which I actually pride myself, has its drawbacks.  Whereas it would be nice, from time to time, to walk through life not worrying about where we step, and just enjoying whatever it is we step in, I, for one, have not been tuned that way.  I like to have a plan - and a back up plan, and have the vision to see which contingency I could possibly encounter next.  This is a tough way to go about it.  I can assure you that when you are in limbo like we have been for the last few months, this kind of vision inspires nightmares and lots of sleepless nights.  So, to actually have a plan helps.

What it helps is clarifying the vision.  You see, when you have a goal or a long term plan, it is nice to see the steps toward it.  For folks like me, it is nice to see as many steps in front as possible.  Not having any vision is like being lost in the fog.  Even if you have a radar, and, more importantly, know how to use it, you cannot help but imagine the consequences of that ugly blip that you cannot seem to shake.  That blip gets closer and closer, but you cannot make it out and you cannot see it.  We have crossed the shipping lanes plenty of times in the fog, when the radar shows a ship in front and one behind at rather close distances.  You can see them on the radar.  You know they are there.  But you cannot see them, you cannot hear them, you just wait for their wake to finally realize that they were actually there.

So, now the fog is lifting and the radar is clear.  I cannot relax, though.  I wish it were possible.  Then again, I decided this afternoon to go celebrate.  We have a plan and I am going to the bar for a drink. or two, or three.  My friends Harry and Mel joined me.  I cannot tell you how nice it was to share my elation with two of my best friends.  Being happy and excited is good, but sharing it with close friends is the best thing in the world.

So now things are getting real real.  I am down to the short list of things to do before our departure.  My truck is getting fixed, I'll be getting the hole in the dink repaired next week (I need the truck for that).  Then, it will be time to start packing up the boat and getting her ready to travel 1600 miles by truck to new cruising grounds.  I have to start studying the weather patterns in the gulf, not to mention the nautical charts and great loop web sites.  I have an awful lot to do. (Actually, I have been doing this for the last several months).  Now, however, I can do it knowing that there is a start line.  I am not going to worry about the finish line at this point.  It is true that, in life, more often than not, the start line is where things all begin.  You cannot win if you do not make it to the start line.  You cannot lose either.  But losing never happens unless you play.  I have never been one to accept losing as an acceptable alternative to winning.  Hell, winning IS everything (never mind the commy pinko liberal whackos who say it's all about how you play the game - that's a lot of BS).  Losing is not a bad thing if you get to the start line and go for the win.  But, you play to win - ALWAYS.

So, here we go.  In the coming episodes of the life and times of M/V Abreojos, I'll fill you in on the things we are doing to get prepared - in the final laps, so to speak.  Much of the work to be done is already done and has been done for months.  Now the list is growing shorter, but more critical in some respects.  It could be worse.  At least now, I have a real purpose.  I'm going to make sure Brenda has the best time of her life - that neither of us will have any regrets, that we will continue to grow from our experiences and continue to love each other even more than the day before.  This is what it's all about.

We just celebrated out 20th anniversary.  What a way to kick off the next 20.  I wish all of my friends the love I feel and the sun on my shoulders at this moment.  Today was a good day.