Day 61 - Back to Ciara
We returned to Ciara early afternoon today. The last three days have been a complete marathon of chores and happiness. We were able to visit my mom and also take dinner to make with my dad on Friday. He was so grateful to have company and the fresh corn on the cob was delicious. Mom remains in the hospital with things looking better and hope she can come home very soon. We made meatloaf and celebrated Captain’s eldest 25th birthday on Saturday. In between all that we did laundry, enjoyed really hot showers and air conditioning. I slept like a baby on our bed. Captain took care of a huge ground wasp nest and some other chores. I found myself full of life even though I was moving at warp speed. Something about spending time on Ciara has me inspired to learn a lot of new things. Of course we will see what, if any, of those ambitious come to fruition in the off season. But mostly the life aboard has left us relaxed and at peace, something that is in direct contrast to life back in the city. Captain noted that our bedroom had more floor space then all of Ciara, up and below deck. He isn’t wrong. The only sad item was poor Cory. They had spent their own time and money to look for some gifts for their friends. When they got home from dinner on Friday, they eagerly packed their bags to go spend the night and catch up only to find that the two mugs they had purchased had been smashed to pieces in the packing. It was very sad. Captain and I are trying to see if we can get one shipped from Little Current and maybe stopping back in Beaver Island for the other one. They sure learned a lesson in packing though.
Returning to Ciara didn’t feel so small as we have off loaded 3/5th of our overall crew and it is back to just Captain and I for another three weeks! It took about 2 hours from the time we arrived in Cedar River until we were all re-settled in and stretching out our legs and thinking about making dinner. We had fresh chicken (!) so we made some spicy Vindaloo. While we are so happy to have more space to stretch out, I miss the kids already and having do to all the chores ourselves now. Ha!
After dinner Ed and Elizabeth stopped by to chat. We met them just a few days ago in Fayette and they had come to Cedar River at our suggestion. What a neat couple. They live aboard all summer up here and now have a boat in Mexico on the Pacific Coast that they spend their winters on. They own no soil, and that is a goal of ours so it was really fun to pick their brain. Their originally home waters are more south Lake Michigan so they gave us a lot of tips on anchorages and towns should we head further south one day. We returned the favor and gave them the low down on Door County and the parts we knew.
Tomorrow we head off to Washington Island and hope to cross to the west coast of Michigan soon to enjoy as much time over there as we can. We both remarked how different we feel from 9 weeks ago. I’m for sure stronger, leaner and, more importantly, flexible. We spent the first 4 weeks just getting into the swing of things and the next 5 being a full boat and doing what we do best for family time. I think these next 3 weeks will go fast as it feels like home and I can already tell I’m not ready for this summer to be over.
