It's Always Something

Chip and I have been working together all day to get our lady, Ithaka, ready for launch.

Yesterday we took her for a "wet run"...a shake down cruise across Oneida Lake and back. All systems were "go"! Captain Chip then checked under Ithaka, went below with his mask on and found a few items not to his liking. The crew here at Winter Harbor only want us to be happy, so they lifted her back out of the water AGAIN and took care of the items overlooked. I am currently doing a load of laundry to make sure the washer-dryer is functioning...We found a Super Walmart close-by and did most of our provisioning...I will be cooking on board tonight! Yeah! (For those of you reading this behind us on the loop~We did find a great little restaurant called The Clam Bar about 10 minutes away last night) While shopping today Chip couldn't believe I didn't want ice cream--I told him, "I am NOT gaining 10 lbs (or more) again this summer!" Chip's got the boat absolutely spotless--and I've pretty much got all our clothes and such put away...a place for everything and everything in its place. My onboard office is set up and we even got all our real estate "month end" reports out today. Hopefully in the next couple of days we will be able to hook up with either Meagan or Rocky to make sure the webcam is working (they both have web cams,too)...GREAT for communicating with those wonderful grand babies! "Helllooo"! Chip took the entire top canvas off to get re-sewn and thought we would have it back today...just got the call about 2 hours ago that it will probably not be ready until tomorrow, so we are here in Brewerton at least until then. I checked weather.com and Wednesday looks like a good day to begin the 2nd leg of this journey. We ran into a fellow at Walmart who recognized Chip from the marina and he mentioned Picton as a good place to enter Canada, so we are checking on that as an alternative to Kingston....that would be perfect because we were hoping to see Chip's brother-in-law Bill who lives in Picton! Gil called today and wished he was here...Chip suggested he and Pam meet us somewhere up near Collingwood the 3rd week of July. I sure hope they can make it! Meagan and Jay will be in Canada, not too far from where we expect to be, in the next couple of weeks, too! How wonderful it would be to meet up with them and see our sweet little Paige along the way! Amazing! We got to talk to Paige today while she and her Mommy were having a latte at Starbucks! Then Meagan sent us a photo! We talked to or emailed the office a few times and Sam and Krista are handling everything wonderfully! It won't be long and we might be out of touch for days on end, so it is good for now to hear from one and all...Thank you Mom, Bobby & Amelia, and Rocky and David for calling, too! Yikes! I think they miss us!

Well, it is good to be back on Ithaka. It really didn't feel like we had been away for nearly 10 1/2 months. Wow! Everything just seemed to fit together like we had only just left her...It is comfortable here on Ithaka. We are happy and even when "its always something", like getting her hauled out again, or the canvas not being ready, it doesn't faze us...This is where we are meant to be...and for those of you travelling along...we wish you were here, too, but you are always with us in our thoughts and prayers.

The Brooklyn Bridge

I arrived in New York on Wednesday night. Chip went on to Syracuse via JetBlue as I taxied off to Joe and Wendy's. Yesterday Wendy, Sofia and I scouted around Brooklyn for items Sofie needs for camp. Dinner out last night at a nice little Italian restaurant in their old neighborhood, then Joe drove us to the Brooklyn Bridge where we ate ice cream cones and watched the sunset over the New York skyline. Today I am trying to learn a new photo hosting system in order to keep better track of all the pictures I'll be taking this summer. It's a bit frustrating because I am on my laptop and without printing capabilities I keep having to go back into the instructions to figure things out rather than just print and refer to directions...add vistas to the mix and you can imagine how glad I am to have a few quiet hours to try to figure this out! Yes, Wendy is at her studio, Joe is working, Sandro is at the beach with friends, Sofia is out with a girlfriend and I am hanging with Luche (their bird, who is literally hanging) on Leonard Street in Brooklyn. I expect to be going to join Chip tomorrow as my dear friend Denise's father passed away yesterday (my prayers are with you 'Neecie) thereby changing our plans of spending a few days together up in Hudson en route to Chip. Originally I was going to take the train up to Hudson, but now I imagine I will just fly to Syracuse to be there sooner to help Chip with the daunting task of getting the boat readied for our journey.


Anyway, here goes...I am now going to attempt to move a photo over to the blog.

Ithaka~ the poem

Discovering Ithaka~ a journey "home"

In 1911, Greek poet, C.P. Cavafy wrote the intensely beautiful poem, Ithaka. It describes Odysseus' journey back to his island home of Ithaka after the end of the Trojan War. I came upon this poem quite by accident about 20 years ago and immediately it became one of my most favorites. I always kept a copy of it folded in my wallet, which I took out to read from time to time when I needed to remind myself that "life is about the journey, not the destination"...

When Chip and I bought our boat we went through the process of naming her much the same way as you do when you give birth. Knowing that once she's named, it is for always. (It's supposedly bad luck to change the name of a boat)...Being that she is an amazing shade of red, we thought we would give her a name which also described her appearance. Some of the finalists were "Red Shoes"...or "Ruby Slippers"...I am a big Wizard of Oz fan and I thought about Dorothy clicking her heals together, her red shoes getting her home. Then we liked "Pepe Caliente", Hot Pepper, but decided that was a bit too spicey for a trawler going 8 knots. We also considered Red Dawn and even thought a great big "SOLD" painted across the back of her would be clever. Then, one day it hit me...Ithaka. Perfect. The journey, yes! I read the poem to Chip and that was it, right then and there...our boat was Ithaka.

So, for all of you who have asked or wondered, here is the inspiration for naming our boat...

When you start your journey to Ithaka, pray the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
Do not fear the Cyclopes or the angry Poseiden.
You will never meet such as these on your path
if your thoughts remain lofty,
if a fine emotion touches your body and your spirit.
You will never meet these monsters if you do not carry them in your soul,
if your soul does not raise them up before you.

Then pray that the road is long.
Pray that the summer mornings are many,
that you enter ports seen for the first time with such pleasure,
with such joy!
Stop at Phoenician markets and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,
as many as you can;
visit hosts of cities
to learn and learn from those who have knowledge.

Always keep Ithaka fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry your voyage at all.
It is better that it take many years;
even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
rich with all you have gained along the way,
not expecting that Ithaka will offer you riches.

It is Ithaka that has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have taken the path.
But she has nothing more to give you.
And if when you return you find her poor,
Ithaka has not defrauded you.
With great wisdom you have gained,
with so much experience,
you must surely have understood by then what Ithakas mean.

Amen

Started packing!

Everywhere in our house there are "looper" piles...in every corner...on the dining room table, in the den on my desk, the bar in the kitchen, in the bedroom on the floor...piles of charts, piles of "what to wear", piles of movies and books, camera, chargers, video camera, tapes, etc ... Lists of what to bring....Lists of things to do...Our plane reservations have now been made and it won't be long before will begin Leg II of "Discovering Ithaka"!

I just got back from Verizon and bought a new phone. They tell me my aircard won't work in Canada~I will be limited to blogging while in Canada only at such marinas and nearby towns where Wifi is available. I was very disappointed at learning this because last year our internet service was pretty good just about everywhere we went. Never did we have to worry about finding a marina with Wifi...it wasn't one of the amenities we looked for simply because the aircard worked fine. Some places had better service and reception than others...and there were times when "talking" to my grandbabies on the webcam looked and sounded like we were in some slow motion movie...This also means our emailing won't be as regular as usual either. Of course, we have Sam, Meagan and Krista handling the business at the office...and with luck, we will be accessible on the cell phone most days. We know they will be able to handle it and I am beginning to think this is the good Lord's way of really giving me a break (as I had some trouble detaching last summer)...I'm sure you all find that difficult to believe!

Looking forward to the fun again this summer on this amazing adventure. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Captain Chip & I are counting our blessings...oh yes, and packing!