And so it begins...

This blog is meant for all of our friends, family and colleagues who have all been so supportive these past many months. Thank you for always thinking are dream was crazy, but always biting your tongues. So, since no one talked us out of this (honestly, no one tried - hmmm...) we are on our way to Mexico in 3 short days.

Bahia Concepcion, Baja Mexico
December 2013

All this began with a dream to take a career sabbatical and spend 12 months as a family. On a boat. In the Sea of Cortez. Can anyone say mid-life crisis? Actually, I think that we should rephrase that to be mid-life consideration. We have witnessed these epiphanies in others and some have indeed brought on a crisis, but for Mike and I,  there has been quite a bit of consideration in this decision. Consideration of us. Consideration of our children. Consideration of our extended family. Consideration of our friends. Consideration of whether I will ever be gainfully employed again after this! And, after all of that careful consideration, we are ready to dive into this adventure - we hope you come along. (Note: Honestly, this was entirely my idea and Mike and the kids have been super troopers to support this and be game for whatever this adventure might bring. So if it all goes horribly wrong... we all know who will have to answer for it.)

I am at the half-way point of my working career and so, rather than wait for retirement when I may not be able to lift a rope, let alone winch one, we are taking the break right now. Our kids, ages 7, 7 and 8, still see us as the center of their universe. The time is now.

Outside Mulege, Baja Mexico December 2013

Mangas is our ticket to our adventure.  She will be our mobile home on the Sea of Cortez and we can only hope that we will take as good of care of her as we know she will take of us. She is a 1991 Wauquiez Centurion 49 Sloop and I can honestly say that for Mike and me, it was love at first site. There will likely be a few of you will say, "Huh! I didn't know Mike and Cheryl could sail!". Hold on to that thought and we will address that in a future post.  

We will load pictures once we get her new name placed on her starboard and port sides. There was a bit of debate around the name Mangas. We wanted a name that was easy to pronounce, regardless of the port she may find herself in. We wanted something simple for radio identification and we wanted something meaningful, of course. Mangas Coloradas was a member of the Chiricahua nation and an Apache tribal chief.  The Southwest is our home, no matter where we might be, and we are  continually progressing towards a most sustainable low-impact life style. A nod to the peoples who have called the Southwest home for centuries in harmony with their environment, seemed appropriate. The only real issue is that Mangas is masculine and boats are typically feminine. Right? Mangas did have a wife named Firefly and, given what a complete Joss Whedon geek fan I am, I was ready to jump on that. Mike was like uh-uh. No. Given all that, however, the Spanish word for boat is masculine, barco, so I suppose it is much ado about nothing.

We have only been planning this since last June and only closed on Mangas in mid-December, but it feels like it has been forever. And, coupled with the fact that when we speak to family and friends over the past week, their first comment is "are you still here?" - It is time to go!

We will post as often as we can. Please comment and ask questions if you have any, we will answer whenever connectivity allows.

Saludos!