We Haven’t Vanished

Sorry we have not been updating the blog lately. This post will fill you in on what we have been up to.

Sadly, we misplaced the SD card with the last of our road trip pictures, which is why we never finished the road trip posts. Yellowstone was AMAZING. From Yellowstone, we went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which is lovely, then to Las Vegas. One day we intend to put up a special post about Las Vegas casinos.

Eric and Christi are split about which “World’s Largest Gift Store” is biggest: Vegas or Missouri. The Missouri store is much larger in terms of square footage. It is filled with unique items, many of which are quite large (like full size stuffed bears and a car). The Vegas store is filled with cheap, tacky souvenirs imported from China. Most of the items are quite small, like key chains and playing cards. Eric says the Vegas store is bigger since they probably have more actual items for sale. Christi thinks the Missouri store is bigger because of the square footage and larger variety of merchandise.

Upon returning from the road trip, Eric was offered a new job. We took a week long trip to Alaska (on a cruise ship–gasp!) with our parents before he began his job. That is another series of posts we hope to put up someday, as well.

Eric’s new job has him working a lot of hours and he has little free time. Christi spent the summer working on a few “life projects” that had been neglected over the last three years. She also cleaned the boat from head to toe, including every secret compartment and under the floors. Now that those projects are done, she has gotten serious about book 2. She had hoped to have it done by the end of this month, but February is looking more realistic now.

Book 1 has been selling incredibly well–for a self-published book, at least. We continue to get great feedback on it. For those of you who have read it, we would appreciate it if you would rate it on Amazon or Lulu for us. Also, if anyone in the Southern California area wants Christi to do a presentation on our trip to a group, please let us know.

Extensive Book Review

Jeff Merrill did the most extensive review to date of The Unexpected Circumnavigation. Full disclosure: Jeff is our friend and our Nordhavn salesperson. But above all, Jeff has incredible integrity, and we believe his review is objective and complete. All of the feedback we have gotten on the book so far has been positive. We are still the number 1 selling travel book on Lulu!

Number 1 in Travel on Lulu!

The Unexpected Circumnavigation was the #1 selling book in the “Travel” category this week on Lulu. 🙂

In March, we were the 3rd top selling book in all categories combined.

Check what other people are saying about the book:

Review on Lulu.

I would recommend this book to people interested in circumnavigating under power, and also those who wonder “what it would be like” to kick off from dry land without decades of ocean-going experience to draw upon.

Our Facebook book page.

The book is illuminating and so descriptive you feel like you can taste the food, smell the ocean and meet the people.

Article in April 16th Edition of “The Log”.

Starting from the beginning, the author describes how a dream to travel around the world by plane progressed to cruising around the world by boat…

Have you got your copy of The Unexpected Circumnavigation yet?

Book Ready to Buy

cover-with-isbn-the-unexpected-circumnavigation-part-1-small.pngSupport independent publishing: Buy this book on Lulu.

We did it, we published the book! The Unexpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People — Part 1 San Diego to Australia is done and available to purchase. The book is available through the publisher, Lulu. You can get a printed paperback book shipped to you, a digital copy, or both. The Lulu site has the full description, preview pages (the preview is low resolution, but we assure you it comes out sharp when printed or downloaded), and a shopping cart to buy the book.

You can buy the book now from Lulu!. If you enter the code IDES in the coupon section at the checkout screen, you will get 10% off the purchase price (through March 31, 2010).

It was a 10 month process to create the book. The book is different from the blog. It is written in first person from Christi’s perspective. It has new information, including things we did not want to mention on the blog. Learn about the challenges, rewards, and the surprises that come with both traveling and boating. It is a fun an easy read that both boaters and non-boaters will enjoy.

We want to thank everyone for their support in creating the book.

Book Update: Editor Finished

Today, at 1715, the editor sent over the completed book. She has requested we make some changes in a few places to help clarify some things. We are hoping to get all the changes made this weekend and send it off to the printer on Monday. We’ll keep you posted.