Fixing the O-Rings and More on Adjusting Back to Life in San Diego

Saturday, August 15 Two months has passed since our last post on adjusting to “regular” life. Emotionally speaking, Eric is now fully adjusted again, though it is a bit different than last time. In our old life, we had ridiculously busy schedules. Not only did we work a lot, we filled almost all of our non-work time with assorted activities. Most of our friends Continue reading

Cruising Costs

Since this Q& A is so long, it gets its own post!

Q: What is the exact cost of cruising, and why will no one will tell me?

A: We briefly addressed this in FAQ #26 and on this post, but since the question keeps coming up, we’ll try to be more explicit. When we were trying to budget, we were also frustrated at the lack of hard numbers for costs. But, now we understand why. There are many factors that can affect/change the costs.

First, nothing will dominate more than Continue reading

Adjusting to the Routine

Sunday, June 14 As hard as it is on Eric to work the long days, he is actually enjoying work. He is enjoying being intellectually challenged and stimulated. He is enjoying being needed and recognized. Even though he misses cruising life and free time, he is getting a lot of fulfillment out of working.

The opposite is true for Christi. She finds Continue reading

Following the Red Line to San Diego

May 31, 2009 We were up early and ready to pull out of port by 0645. Even though we were going through the usual motions, it felt different. For the first time in over two years, we were going back. We always moved forward. The fact that we were going back hit us hard. It’s over. It is really over.

We were joined by a journalist from Circumnavigator for the trip down. We pulled out as soon as she arrived. We actually had to fight the instinct to go north or west, and instead turned south. We used the never used in 2 years “reverse route” feature of the plotter to set a reciprocal course back to San Diego. Going back on our previous course seems wrong. Our plotter draws a red line where we have been. By definition of our circumnavigation the red line has always been behind us. Now we were following the red line.

Right away, we realized Continue reading