This collage pretty well sums up what we have been up to. I got back on the mountain bike for the first time in a very long while last week when I met my sister, Anna, to ride Friday morning. Unfortunately I ran into some bike issues which prevented me from shifting to the three lowest (read most essential) gears. After a valiant, yet unsuccessful attempt to fix the shifting problem ourselves, we ended up trading bikes on the uphill as she was able to push the big gear and make it. She was quite impressive!
I don’t know if it’s the relaxing strumming of the guitar or the peaceful feeling of being out on the water with the wind pushing you forward, but I am really excited for him to do it. And I hope I get to take it out for a spin as well!
Belén and I cheered him on from my dad’s boat as Andy made his way around the west end of the reservoir. We are very proud of the boat he has rebuilt and I believe this takes us one step closer to a grand sailing adventure in the future. Details TBD.
In case you are wondering (I was), “her rigging is down” means that the mast (the big pole that holds up the sail) is no longer upright. Must have been a big storm. I cannot wait to read her account it!
Mamamones can subside for now. We are so thankful she is okay!
You have probably heard this on the news but Abby Sunderland, who I reported about awhile back, a 16-year old attempting a solo circumnavigation of the globe is in big trouble in the Indian Ocean (it was originally a non-stop attempt but she had to stop in South Africa last month).
Andy turned me on to this blog about a family sailing up and down the coast of México. Of course we will religiously start following it because this is a dream of ours to do this some day. Note to México, please clean up your drug wars so it will still be appealing in the future. If you don’t we will just have to do the Caribbean instead.
Both women (actually girls), at 16-years of age, are attempting to be the youngest person to sail, solo, non-stop, unassisted around the world. Jessica is mid-route and just rounded Cape Horn today. Abby is due to set out this weekend.
What I think the parts of the sailboat should be called.
Yesterday was fun! We crewed on our friend Brett’s boat for a regatta on Cascade Lake. It was the first time Andy and I have done something together that didn’t revolve around the baby (besides one date night) since Belén was born. Plus, it gave us a sailing fix which we have both been jonesing for. It had been over a year since I sailed and Andy hadn’t been out since last fall.
Another interesting twist to Aruba is that gambling is legal. On our second or third night there, we checked out the Marriott casino and it was hopping with people, but missing a poker room. We were bummed. I think we burned about $20 playing video poker but then quickly called it a night. A couple of nights later, we walked through some of the other hotels and found poker rooms in two nearby hotels including the Holiday Inn next door. Andy surprised me by his desire to play (he is not a “game player”).
