Tony and I wanted our kids to have a relationship with the sea, and with this we have all benefitted greatly. What we are learning about life, each-other, and ourselves transcends anything we would have set out to discover – and if we had a manual to follow, we would have missed so much. One of Tony’s classic sayings is “…sometimes you just have to leave the dock.” He is so right. It is always easier to stay home or tied up at a marina and find quiet contentment in our routines. School, work and errands demand our laser-focus and soon the day is done. When we cast off and leave the dock – whether a few hours or a few days – we know within seconds we have made the right decision. Our whole year has been a sort of “casting-off” and we are so glad we “left the dock”, so to speak; a life lesson for all of us.
(photos) Uncle Paul stopped through Miami on business. It was nice to be able to catch up, hear stories about his work, Carrie and the kids and most of all to see him so relaxed! We ate Cuban and cruised Biscayne Bay.
School has been interesting this month. We loved our art and art history focus in Newport and as we returned to life on the boat we moved forward with science, our mini-biographies, state presentations and math, math, math. During this month, we went to the Miami Museum of Science, Alligator Alley, the Ford and Edison Museums in Ft. Myers and even took in some Boston Red Sox Spring Training.
This past month the kids and I read Madeleine L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time. Which we LOVED! There has been a familiar thread in much of our reading, which has included inside vs. outloud communication and how characters and people relate to one another. In the Wrinkle in Time, the “aliens” often communicated with feelings, mood and actions and not just voices. This opened many discussions to the ability to see with our hearts, mind and soul as opposed to just with our eyes. We deeply loved this story of adventure and outer-space tesser-travel, and found interesting ways to apply it to our own journeys.
Presentations on the Scientific Method.
We learned about botany and circuitry at the Miami Museum of Science.
Checking out gators at a stop on “Alligator Alley”.
Posing with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison at the Ford and Edison Museums.
Fascinating was the laboratory on Edison’s estate. See Edison & Ford Winter Estates
Opening day of Red Sox Spring Training at Jet Blue Park, Ft. Myers. We saw all our favorite players, including some fist bumps and head-nods from Brock Holt, Shane Victorino and Pablo Sandoval.
We will continue to cruise in the keys between Miami and Key Largo mostly, anchoring and exploring as many islands as we can.
CORTADO has been the perfect companion for our happy-go-lucky, yet oh-so-conservative family adventuring.
Cruising near the Stilt-Houses in Key Biscayne. Walking the beach and surveying the island of Boca Chita.
Always time for knitting during a cruise…
Our next adventure will be on a JetBlue flight to Newport with the kids, while Tony races in the Caribbean. We are still deciding how we will finish out the school year (should we keep going?) and in the process, have decided to commit to one more cruise on Cortado before she is stored away for the summer.
Meanwhile, the Etchell’s racing has already begun at CRYC for the 2015 Jaguar Cup Mid Winter’s Series….Go Team Efyra III !
Next stops: Newport, RI and St. Thomas, BVI
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