Hello!

Welcome to our mid-life crisis! These are the chronicles of Laura and Patrick, their young son Jack, and their goofball Labrador Retriever named Evinrude (Rudy), as they travelled the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific coast of mainland Mexico in their catamaran. We went cruising in search of a change of pace, a closer knit family, and peace of mind. We found all three and more. The fun all started in October, 2008 and nearly four years later the Mexican adventure came to an end August 3rd, 2012. With our mid-life crisis cured in Mexico, we are excited to start a new adventure - life back in America.

Candeleros Chico

Candeleros Chico
Just another beautiful day at anchor on the Baja. 2010

Dolphins at play in the bow wake 2011

Dolphins at play in the bow wake  2011

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Our Plans for the Future

* Move to an oil boomtown in North Dakota and jump in on the excitement.
* Open a restaurant.
* Call up the old contacts and try to jump back into the corporate world we left in the Pacific NW.
* Run a sailing charter business in Alaska.
* Contact a corporate head hunter and put the search out for Anything in Anywhere, USA.
* Put the boat for sale, buy a cheap camper van and tour America while we wait for a buyer
* Sell JaM, buy a much cheaper boat suitable for the Inland Passage, move to Alaska, live on the new boat and get some funky low-wage jobs that allow lots of time for cruising the Inland Passage.
* Take JaM to Panama and keep cruising until the world ends or the economy improves, whichever comes first.

We've discussed all these possibilities and more on JaM in the last six months. None of them is quite the right fit. We've already stayed on our boat one year longer than originally planned. Though our lifestyle is getting cheaper and cheaper in Mexico as we learn more and more tricks, we are still spending money. We are not retired and we know we will have to return to work someday, but when? One thing for sure is that life in Mexico is much, much cheaper than life in America. Our dwindling dinero can either last us for months in America, or years in Central America.

We just have these circular conversations, trying to divine what the best move is for our family. The truth of the matter is - it was a lot easier to make the decision to come out here. Even though it was so scary to pull the plug on everything we knew and move onto a boat, the reverse decision of how to jump back into American life is even scarier. It’s like jumping off and on a fast-moving merry-go-round. Every kid on the playground can tell you that jumping off is easier than getting back on. If you don’t time the re-entry just right you are going to get trampled. The decision to move back is almost impossible to know what to do, especially since the economy still sucks. There are two big unknowns we face because of the economy - “Can we find a buyer for our boat?” and “Can we find viable employment?” Anyone with a crystal ball is very welcome to jump in with the answers for us. In the meantime, we’re just enjoying life, and having lots of conversations.

5 comments:

  1. Hey guys, how you been?! :)

    Found you from Steve Lindjorg at Rinker (Cemex). Hope all is well! Merry Christmas!

    Love, Missy, Larry and Anthony.

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  2. Hi Missy!
    We are reall good. What a fun surprise to hear from you. Hope you all are great.
    Laura, Patrick and Jack
    SV Just a Minute

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  3. We are doing well. Anthony just turned 7 on Thursday. I can't believe Jack is 14?!

    It seems like you guys have been on the coolest adventure. I haven't read all of your posts (it's going to take a while...), but I love your pictures.

    Everett is pretty much the same as it's always been. But this December has been cold and sunny. I'm hoping the rain stays away a little longer.

    Safe travels!

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  4. Love conversations like that. Ours have included
    * start a cruiser commune in (name your favorite island)
    * run a small herd of goats in the Gulf Islands (soap! milk!)
    * set up an eco lodge in (fill in the blank: from a few places we've loved in Mexico & the Pacific. Fiji ranks high!)

    Our "stop & work a spell" seems to be OK so far, but we're a little itchy for cruising...the upcoming move from Sydney to Brisbane should help.

    Oh, love the pics, as usual. Kids called that rock in Los Gatos- The Frosting Rock!

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  5. I came across your blog a few months ago when we began toiling with the idea of pulling the kids (aged 11 & 13) out of school and heading south and I enjoy reading of your adventures. This post particularily struck me as it is the thought of 'how do we return' that I find harder than the "do we do it' bit of the equation. So needless to say I'm very curious what your decision will be. What ever it is I'm sure it will be the right one for your family. Enjoy your adventure and if you are still in Mexico next year, who knows we may be too!
    Laurie Borg
    S/V Solace
    San Francisco

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