We have just completed week three back in California. We are leaving in two days. Just like last time, we are eager to go back to our slow paced boating life style. Last time, adjusting back to high speed life was somewhat traumatic. This time we adjusted OK, but just because we adjusted didn’t mean we liked the faster pace.

We again spent the weekend with Eric’s family and spent time with Christi’s family. We have also squeezed in a few more visits with friends. We had a great time with all the people we did get to see, and are sad that we didn’t get a chance to see more of our friends. To everyone we didn’t get a chance to call, know that we love you all the same. We were crazy busy with Eric’s work and Christi’s project and there just wasn’t enough time for friends. While we don’t miss life in America much, we definitely miss all our friends and family a lot.

We have lots of good news to report! Eric’s project looks like it will be completed before we go, most of the loose ends we left behind last time were taken care of, and it looks as if we are going to be able to wrap up our surprise project before we leave. It won’t be the nicest wrapping up job, but it will be sufficient. Last time we were kind of stressed about all the loose ends being left behind, but this time we feel good about how neatly most things have been wrapped up. To reiterate, if you want to travel, there will never, ever be a time in your life when everything is perfectly wrapped up, so you just have to decide go when it is “good enough”.

Here is another observation about life at home versus life for us in other countries: we can talk fast and use any word we want. With most people in other countries, sometimes even native English speakers, we have to speak slowly, enunciate, and be careful about not using slang. With people who struggle with English, we also have to use basic vocabulary words and know the British phrase for things. For example, when we arrived in Nuka Hiva, we asked where the trash was. The guy had no clue what we were asking for. After some pantomiming, he finally said “ah, rubbish”. We have met many people since then who learned “rubbish” in school and have never heard the word trash before.

And here are answers to some blog questions:

Q: I saw a story on the BBC about a boat being captured near Somalia and the 4 passengers, a German family, were taken hostage. Doesn’t give any details on what the family did differently than Eric and Christi. Scary!

A: The first few reports in the news had scattered and inconsistent information. Some more details of the story is out. The people who were captured were on a sailboat that ran out of fuel near Somalia. They couldn’t run away from the pirates. One of the many reasons we are on a Nordhavn is because it holds lots and lots of fuel. We powered through the Gulf of Aden at top speed, burning almost twice the normal amount of fuel in the process, and still made it all the way to Egypt with plenty of fuel left. In a final update, the hostages have been freed.

Q: So now that you’ve seen a glimpse of your former lives, do you have any thoughts about what you’ll do at the end of the two year journey?

A: We aren’t retired, just taking a break from “the grind”. We have to go back to full time work when we get back. That is why our journey is a speedy two years instead of the customary 4 to 5 years.

Q: Are you planning to go to the Scandinavian Archipelago?
A: We wish we could, but no, we are staying in the Mediterranean until it is time to cross the Atlantic.