So true indeed and one that I am continuing to work on.  As we continue with our journey, we are finding that we are waiting a lot these days……..

Waiting for the weather

Currently, we are in Biscayne Bay south of Miami and just north of the Keys while we wait for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream over to the Bahamas.  The Gulf Stream is something that boaters don’t want to mess with and going at the wrong time could be very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous.  It is essentially a 40 mile wide rapid, flowing north at about 3 knots.  With winds coming from the north hitting the stream, it can cause large waves.  The ideal crossing is a south to west wind between 10-15 knots with no chance of rain.  With this type of weather, it is like a simple sail on a lake.  Check out this link for a better and more in depth explanation.  10-15 knots is what we are waiting for (lately it has been around 20 knots) and have been waiting for over the last week or so.  The crazy winter and snow up north is affecting South Florida as well.  We keep coming back to the focus on safety and the important fact that we don’t have a schedule but only destinations.  So, we have been exploring and cruising Biscayne Bay.  For the history buffs, it was Benjamin Franklin who published the first chart of the Gulf Stream.  That guy was amazing with all the things he invented and discovered.  Below is his first chart of the Gulf Stream.

Waiting for the Bus

This morning we left the boat via the dinghy at 8:30 with the intention to get to Mass at 10.  (Note, this was the only picture I had of the dinghy and I will take a better picture next week with all us in our Church clothes in route to Church).

St. Agnes Church was only a few miles away and would only take about 10 mins with a car.  For us, we hiked a mile to get out of the state park and then waited for more than 30 mins for the bus and then walked another half mile to get to Church.  With all that, we did make it to Mass but we were 15 mins late.  Hopefully, we can get a pardon for that.  The cool thing is during all this waiting, we laugh a lot as a family and enjoy our moments of carefree timelessness.

At the bus stop, Cam found a lizard to play with (do you see it in the picture?)

And then Maria decided it would be a good time to do a number #2.  Here’s Jen changing her at the bus stop.

Also, without time pressure, the Spirit can lead you and introduce you to cool people.  One example is Luis below who at Mass invited folks to an Emaus Retreat next weekend at the parish.  After Mass, we got to talking with him and he ended up driving us to the grocery.

Waiting for other boats with animals.

The kids absolutely love animals and the hermit crabs only satisfy them to a degree so they are always on the lookout for boats with animals.  I really think they would prefer an animal boat over another kid boat.

Today a neighbor sailor asked us if we could watch his dog Rose for a few hours while he went to get some spare parts for his boat.  We of course said “YES!” and we took Rose with us fishing.

Waiting for the fish to bite

Waiting for the sun to set

Waiting for Cam’s tooth to come out

Cam was playing hard at the beach and ran into Joellen’s knee which advanced the looseness of his front tooth.  We have been hoping this tooth would come out soon and it seems a sister’s knee has helped move this along.  We are betting the tooth comes out in the next week.  Camden is going to write to The Tooth Fairy to inform her of our current location.

Waiting for Maria to start driving the dinghy

Waiting for the clock to strike 12 noon on Sunday so that we can buy wine

Waitng for Cam to run out of energy

I am not sure that this is possible.

As we wait, we as a family are really enjoying this journey.  Granted, it is a hard lifestyle and it’s not all sunsets and rainbows like some may think.  Some days are really great and some days are flat out exhausting and frustrating.  The more time that we live on a boat, the more we understand the truth behind the saying that many cruising families state which is ‘the highs are higher and the lows are lower’.  So as we wait, we learn, laugh, create memories and enjoy the time we have as a family together (most times).  We will continue to update everybody on our plans and when we cross.

Current location – Jen and I added another link to our website which will provide a daily update on our current location.  Click on this link or click on the “Current Location” tab at the top of the homepage.