GLAD TO BE SAD

Tie A Knot was hauled and shored today.....BUT.... we are 'glad' to be sad.  We have had 10 months of the privilege of 'living the dream' so although it doesn't make us happy to see her on shore again we are very thankful for the experiences she carried us through.

The first half of the trip was the hardest for us. There was illness and Portugese Man O'War attacks . Systems had to be tweaked, parts replaced ( I promised I wouldn't bring up the you know what...refrigerator) and we had to learn to bend ourselves to her whims (and we thought we were the alpha dog!!)...  Not so much. We expected margaritas and Jimmy Buffett all the time, relaxation and a life of ease.  It wasn't exactly the life of ease we had planned, but looking back it was a pretty good ride, We laughed a lot along with the screams of "mercy".

So we smothered her with love and $$$$$ and changed her name from Sea Angel (NOT) to Tie A Knot...then we both settled into our routines. Her engines may have belched smoke at times but she never let us down!  3,500 miles on a 25 year old boat that probably was not babied very much through her many owners is quite a feat in any one's book. I found there is a rhythm to life on a boat that you don't have on land.  Now that I have been home for a few weeks I find that I liked that pace, it is much too easy to fall back into the frenetic life ashore.  The water is truly God's "chill pill".

It was an awesome journey that allowed us to travel to places we had never been and meet many new friends.  That was the very best part...even more than the scenery...the wonderful people we met. It is like moving from town to town and always being in a community of people on your wave length.  How often does that happen in life.

So now we will enjoy our family, and continue working on the Old Girl. We would love to take her to the Bahamas in the late spring of 2012 but for now we are still CLODS! (Cruisers living on dirt)!!!

Waiting

The big moment

And we thought we made it without hitting any crab pots.  Well looks like we got one!

Gary was ecstatic with his Interlux Micron Extra bottom paint.This is after 11 months in the water with NO bottom cleaning.

This is the crab pot line that was wrapped around the prop

Still looking good.....(from a distance :)

Settling in for a nap...I wonder if the boats talk to each other at night.?..you know...."Boat Story"