One of the amazing gifts of this coming year will be the opportunity to meet new people in each port we visit.  I love connecting with new people, feeling the pulse of our hearts beating together for a few minutes or a few hours, until we go on our separate ways.  Hearing their stories, sharing a laugh or a meal, or just a passing glance…

I look forward to sharing these moments with you throughout the year, but the first leg of our trip has been spent with old friends, not new ones.  Our departure was sprinkled with the fairy dust of 34 of our dearest friends and family.  Rosemary, Frank, Kathy, Mike, Steffanie, Rob, Madison, Drew, Jennifer, Drew, Matthew, Nicholas, Emma, Pam, Matt, Ethan, Emily, Larry, Cheryl, Bruce, Kathy, Art, John, Molly, Stephanie, Tracy, Olivia, Sam, Stacie, Jules, Pat, Austin, James, and Christina all brought their smiles, their tears, and their deepest wishes for a safe and special voyage.  We will never forget how it felt to be sent off with such a wave of love.

what a send-off…

Chris and Eric

In Port Washington, we had a wonderful time with our friends the Weintraubs.  Chris and Eric were friends at Cornell and our two families enjoyed an evening together talking about the exciting start of our trip.  Our children played and laughed together as if they had always been friends.  It hit me that night, after hours of dinner, ice cream, and lots of talking, that our trip would be full of hellos and goodbyes.  That goodbye came much too quickly.  We would have enjoyed a whole week with Eric, Eileen, and their beautiful boys.

We also saw Kathy, my dad, my ‘aunt’ Reenie, and her daughter while in Port Washington.  It was a quick visit, but it was comforting to see my dad and Kathy one last time before heading off for a year.  They spent a lot of time with us the last few months, helping us to prepare for our trip, so it was great that they really got to see us underway.  Our goodbyes with them were quick but full of emotion.  I tried to remind myself that we would see them several times during our trip as they are planning on visiting us in several ports along the way.

today

Our next stop brought more tears of joy and bittersweet goodbyes.  A few hours in Port Jefferson included emotional reunions with my Cornell roommate, Sue Nissle and my neighbors from my hometown, Mindy Morales and Mike Matz.  Dinner, ice cream, and a visit to the boat were just a backdrop for the mile-a-minute chatter.  We tried to cram years worth of catching up into just a few hours and it wasn’t nearly enough.  These friends played such an important part in my life and are still dear to my heart.  While sad to say goodbye, I was so happy to see that they are all moving

1987

joyfully down their paths in life.  They have grown and changed and experienced a million moments since we were a daily part of each other’s lives, but the parts of us that connected so strongly years ago are still there.  Those deep parts of my heart felt like they were home in their presence and I look forward to seeing them again when we return.

always dancing…

hanging out the clock tower at Cornell

in Port Jefferson, c.1995

Sue, Erica, Phil at Cornell

Sue (3rd) and Lana (5th) in our wedding along with Carolyn, Stephanie, and Christina

And then there was Newport.  Lana and Dave Armitage are our dear, dear friends.  Chris and I raced (sailboats) with Dave a thousand years ago, in another life.  We spent days and weeks together on High Noon, Chris’ dad’s boat.  Dave is a special soul, and I owe him a debt of gratitude for meeting, falling in love with, and marrying Lana so many years ago.  Lana and I were instant friends and soulmates.  We connect in deep ways that can’t be explained.  We are as different as we are alike and I have never spent a moment with her where I wasn’t living completely in the present.  We laugh, we cry, and we share our most vulnerable dreams.  We journeyed together as strong, single women; as newly married brides; as parents; and as friends.  Part of my courage stems from the knowledge that Lana will be there for me as I continue to forge my own unique Path through life.

We make each other’s Lights shine brighter…

Dave, Lana, Chris, and I have spent five precious days together.  Our children have had an amazing time playing non-stop. Today, on the verge of having to say goodbye to each other, Lana gave me a poem she wrote for me. Her words show how much she loves me. I hope she feels just as special with me as I do with her.  Here’s to new friends, old friends, and goodbyes that only last a little while…

Always, by Lana Rae Armitage

Friends across the miles, even though states apart

Friends across the water, for we are close at heart

Hands reaching out through space and time

No better friendship could we find

Open and caring the thoughts we’re sharing

As we endeavor to keep our hearts from despairing

I will cherish your journey as if mine own

As you sail the waters in your new home

Supporting and cheering this dream you hold dear

As you face the wind and waves of Life without fear.

Our Harry Potter-named boat was playing magic tricks on us tonight!  You could say we’ve had our first mishap of the voyage, but all’s well that ends well.

hardcore. well, at least we look it…

We had a busy day today.  Our friends Lana and Dave live in nearby Portsmouth, so we’ve spent a lot of time with them this week.  We had dinner at their house last night and the kids slept over in order to have more time with their sons, Liam and Calan.  Chris and I came back to the boat last night and worked until almost 0100 (military time here at sea.  makes log keeping much easier.  hope you can deal with it.).  Lana came to the yacht club this morning at 0915 to bring them back.  Lana has set a goal to complete a triathlon this summer, so she and I “trained” together by doing some open water swimming off the boat.  The wetsuits are stylin’.Then we took the boat in to the yacht club dock to “pump out” (you seriously don’t want to know what this means), fill our water tanks, and swab the decks (yes, seriously).  This procedure took us over 4 hours.  We spent some extra time cleaning the boat while we have full access to a dock with unlimited hose usage.  Amazing what is already grounds for getting us all excited.  A hose?  And we can use it for three hours?  Golly!  What a day!

Reese speaks to the teen campers at Ida Lewis Yacht Club

In the middle of all that, Lana and I took the kids over to the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, where Lana’s sons are taking sailing camp.  The kids and I did a short presentation to the teen campers about our year-long sailing trip.  It was a great experience for the kids and the campers were really enthusiastic about hearing our story.  They had lots of great questions for us.  Bryson, Reese, and Porter were a little shy about talking to the group, but afterwards, they said they enjoyed it and would like to do something like that again.  I think we might try it again the next time we are in an area with a sailing club.

Pizza dinner on the playset. Hey. It’s summer.

After the presentation and cleaning the boat, we got back to our mooring and had a visit from Kathleen (Chris’ sister) and Maureen (our step-cousin).  They are in town for a party and stopped by to check out the boat and say hello.  After that, we took the dinghy in to the yacht club and met Dave, who was just finishing up racing for the day (Dave is a professional sailor and a sail designer with Quantum Sails).  We drove back to Lana and Dave’s house to spend another evening together.  The kids had a great time playing, as always, and we relaxed in the cool breeze in their great backyard.Dave drove us back to the yacht club at around 2130 and we got into the dinghy to head back to our mooring.  We had bags of groceries from the store as well as all our shoes and our big Patronus bag of clothes and toiletries that we brought to shower at Lana/Dave’s house.  In addition, the dinghy was wet from the damp air, so I was holding the eggs and trying not to completely sit down on the wet boat in my dress.  We were going for awhile, when all of a sudden Chris said, “Where’s our boat?”

Our go-everywhere Patronus bag

It was so dark that I could barely see anything.  I looked around and could make out the boat that was next to us in the mooring field as well as the one that was on the other side of us.  But there weren’t any boats in between them!  We motored around and couldn’t find Patronus anywhere.  I was convinced it was stolen.  Porter was crying.  Bryson was saying, “If someone wanted to steal a boat, they would have chosen a much nicer boat than ours.  Look around!  I would choose one of these really nice boats!”  So funny.  I think our boat is pretty amazing, but it IS Newport and there are some truly gorgeous yachts here.

At this point, I was starting to panic even while keeping in mind that you can’t get far in a boat that averages about 7 miles per hour and has the word “Patronus” on it in giant letters on both sides.  So we motored all the way back to the yacht club and I found the launch operator.  I yelled to him, “We can’t find our boat!”  He looked at me like I was crazy.  I’m guessing a lot of people go out at night, get drunk and can’t find their boats.  Then he said, “Oh, are you from Patronus? We moved you to a new mooring.  You’re on #423 now.”  It turns out that a bigger boat is coming in tonight and needs the mooring we were on because that mooring can handle a heavier load.  So they had to move us to a lighter one.

I didn’t realize that that was a normal thing that could happen.  In New Jersey, you could get in a fist fight for moving someone’s shopping cart three feet to get past it in the aisle.  It was a little bizarre to think that someone just got on our boat and moved it.  Chris says they probably towed it with the launch, but still.  The launch operator had to lead us to our boat because we never would have found it in the dark.  So here we are, safe and sound, with one little mini-adventure under our belts.  Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings (besides the Wickford Art Fair, a possible bicycle ride, a nice dinner in town, and an overnight on the boat with the Armitage’s!)

a serious game of cards

ok, not so serious…

Calan and Liam having fun on Patronus

Newport Fireworks with the bridge in the background

in the Armitage pool

in front of a pond i fell in love with. all it needs is a little island in the middle…

standing still for one second

Bryson at the Hanging Rock

Chris and Lana on the way to the Hanging Rock

Porter chats it up with a local fisherman

Moments before we decide this is too dangerous

Cliff Walk, Newport. At the bottom of the 40 steps

Running away from the crashing waves

Reese and Porter found this bunny and took the picture

Reese and one of the mansions on the Cliff Walk

We hope everyone enjoyed a festive Independence Day! We explored the bird sanctuary with our friend Lana and her children, Liam and Calan. The kids enjoyed climbing to the top of Hanging Rock and taking in the sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean.
Later, the kids played at Lana and Dave’s while Chris and I worked on settling in on the boat. We still had a laundry list of tasks, such as installing the EPIRB, locating the source of an antifreeze leak, stowing last minute items brought from home (more books, first aid supplies, an umbrella, stamps and stationary, and way too many shoes).
In the evening, we enjoyed a picnic dinner at a park, where Porter got in his first playground fight, complete with a (minor) bloody nose. Let’s hope he has learned his lesson about going up the slide when someone is coming down…
To top off the holiday, we took in the amazing fireworks in Newport harbor from Patronus’ deck. Best seats in the house, especially when surrounded by our dear friends.