Moog power paddleboarding

First time grilling fish on our new grill- YUM!

Notice that the lawn chair which graced Marshmallow's rear end all those months is still being dragged along with us, it's kind of a lucky charm at this point.

The salon- this is where we eat, play games, boatschool, and display art. Notice Viv's family sailing mural, complete with anchor chain.

This is what $15 buys you on Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. (Everything is shipped in here and it's soooo expensive.)

Hud on his 10th birthday.  We had a bonfire and fireworks on a deserted island.

Beach girls

Writing with fire

Happy Birthday, Hud!

Green Turtle Cay

Our head (bathroom).  Shower is to the left behind curtain (it's very small, truth be told we don't shower that much).

The cockpit.

Pinata on the beach on Hud's birthday

Great Guana Cay

Changing the oil in the dinghy motor after it fell in the ocean one day and we almost lost it. (That's a story)

Hud and Viv are both learning to play the ukelele.

Our berth

The galley.  Fridge and freezer are on the right, they open from the top.  There's actually a lot of storage on this boat, there's a HUGE hidden compartment under the drying rack.  Rope on the stove is to tie yourself in so you can cook when it's rough and not fall over. The stove is on gimbals (sp?) so it moves when the boat heels and your pans don't spill over.

Viv's berth

Hud reading at the bow

Hud's berth

Hello friends!  I write to you on a sunny morning at a marina on Great Guana Cay, Bahamas.  Trav just brought me some coffee and I'm kind of in heaven.  We usually anchor Moxie instead of staying at a marina (dropping your hook at an island is free, but staying at a marina can be expensive) but we had to tie up here because of the CRAZY WINDS that came through for 2 nights this week.  At the worst of it, we were hit with 60 mph winds, and even though we were securely tied to the dock (Trav used ELEVEN lines) we still rocked and bobbed and heeled over as if we were in the open ocean.  It was nuts.  I have just a few minutes until we have to prepare for our sail to Marsh Harbor today but I wanted to post these photos (some of you have been asking about what our boat looks like.) And since I love lists, I'll give you a quick Moxie update like this:

1. Hud turned 10!  We can scarcely believe we've been parents for a decade.

2. While sailing to Great Sale Cay, we were towing our dinghy and the motor fell off.  It was miraculously held on by the battery cord  and when Trav suddenly, luckily noticed it hanging by a thread, it was an all hands on deck situation to retrieve it-- we were under sail, it was chaos.  He got the motor and spent 2 days repairing the damage done by it's saltwater bath.

3.  We met an amazing family with 4 wonderful kids-- we are insta-friends and spent two days with them-- such a treat!

4. I am trying my best to retrain my Type A, forward moving, hyper-productive and very linear brain to know that it is ok to have no real plan, an ever-changing schedule, and a foggy daily agenda. As I just wrote in an email to my sister,  "I have to keep reminding myself that whatever we are doing or not doing, it's all part of the adventure, and it's all ok." This may sound crazy to you, that I'm having a hard time making this adjustment, because it sounds crazy to my own ears.  I mean, COME ON. But it was somewhat of a relief to meet other sailors who are also beginning their journeys and who feel similarly, that it's hard to live a slower-paced life, that it's an adjustment they didn't anticipate being to hard. Sometimes I feel anxious and guilty for having so much TIME. So I take a breath, I listen to my children chatter, I look around me and remember that it's ok not to be frantic and scattered.  It's ok not to have a mile-long list of daily tasks.  It's more than ok just to be present in the here and now.

We continue our journey south-- a few more days in the Abacos, then Nassua, then the Exumas!
Lots of love to you all, and thanks for reading.