For me, the Keys mark the northern border of the Caribbean with their turquoise waters, coral reefs, white sand beaches, breezy palm trees, birds, fish, sea creatures, tiny deer, and Cuba (90 miles south).
IRENE has been tied up to a dock in Marathon, Florida, since November 1st. Eight weeks tied to a dock is a long time to float in one place. For me living aboard her, it’s a long time to be in one place too. I’m not sure who is more fortunate, the boat or me? The boat sits quietly, bobs on the waves, feels the wind blow across her, provides shelter and beauty for people. Me, on land, drives car in multilane, fast traffic, rides an electric scooter on uneven pavement, flies on airplanes among coughing and sputtering folks while enduring delays at overcrowded airports, hits up the laundry-mat, grocery stores, coffee shops and waiting rooms; considers the correspondence between everything and energy, words and frequency, and between falling apart and rising up. One thing is certain, life on land moves a helluva lot faster than on water.
Meanwhile, during the same eight weeks, we have been brushed by a November hurricane, observed a lunar eclipse, experienced solar flares, witnessed falling stars, read about changes in the earth’s magnetic field, worked on boat repairs, walked on solid ground, encountered lots of people, traveled near and far, spent time outside and inside- clearing, cleaning and organizing space, revisiting short term goals and more.
In November, David and I were treated to a luxurious visit to St. Kitts with David’s sister Kathie. We swam in the beautiful Caribbean Sea, traveled to Nevis, made some magic chemistry in the kitchen, saw the Atlantic from new shores, met beautiful and kind people, and felt that feeling that comes up when we mediate on life at its imagined best where we are the cause and the effect too. We offer infinite gratitude for those experiences to Kathie, to the planet, to the universe and to ourselves for saying “yes”.
We flew back St. Kitts on Thanksgiving Eve. Since we were in Miami, halfway between the boat and Port Charlotte, we drove north to my sister Patty’s house for the holiday. We spent three nights there and had a delicious blast, including spending a day in Venice visiting our long time Vermont friends and neighbors, Mike and Marie. They treated us to a tasty lunch on Venice Beach. All this time among family and friends it became apparent that when people love you, they attempt to fatten you up. I presume the evolutionary function of this to make more of you; more to love, more to wrap their arms around and to ensure ya’ll might live longer. Of course, these are offsetting goals when you factor in butter, wine, french fries and cheesecake, but we welcomed the love and gobbled it up with gratitude.
We returned to the boat to greet December by immersing ourselves in the spirit of the holidays. We went shopping in Key West, wrapped gifts, listened to our favorite winter songs and some Christmas music, watched a couple of old movies, wrote cards, cooked some more, visited the Post Office and UPS to ship a few boxes, and enjoyed the colorful lights on all the boats in the basin. Then, on December 13th I jumped off the mainland again and headed to St. Thomas, USVI, to spend two weeks at Christmas with our daughter Anna, her partner Don, and our two magnificent granddaughters, Isla and Olive. I cannot thank David and the universe enough for gracing me with this trip and time. I missed rare December cold spell in the Keys and I missed David however; I don’t like the cold spells and two, David was under the weather 90% of the time so better that he had uninterrupted quiet and full control over the thermostat.
Meanwhile, I am still experiencing the challenges of limited technology and for no apparent reason, this blog site isn’t able to upload images from my Apple Photo Cloud. I’m left with only a handful of images to share with no rhyme or reason why some stick when others will not. That is it folks. A few words to convey profound experiences and even fewer grainy images that tell part of a story, just like the old days. Wishing you all a 2023 filled with purpose, passion, prosperity, peace, a pioneering spirit, and people and places you love. All the “P’s” to propel you up, up, and way UP. I hope to see you there.
Be the Ship 