About Us
Our One-Year Anniversary
Exactly one year ago today, we posted Earning Checkmarks signifying our departure from Atlanta and selling our home of over 20 years. Did we make a mistake? Is it everything we thought it would be? Are we going to carry on? Mark’s thoughts…. Life on a boat is a little harder than […]
Moving South
Mona (our third crew member) joined us on our trip south from Deltaville, VA. She spoiled us with a big batch of Mona Cookies. The marina we stayed at (where the Coast Guard towed us) was great. Deltaville VA has a lot of marinas but the town is really lacking. They really have nothing at all to […]
Fernandina Beach
Meet the third member of the Cream Puff crew. Mona is our land contact and knows the whereabouts of Cream Puff at all times. During ocean passages, we check in at predetermined times. If we don’t check in, Mona has a protocol to alert authorities. She is also the primary contact in case an EPIRB […]
Gone Sailin’
Early this morning, Cream Puff slipped her mooring lines as we embarked upon our new life as full time cruisers. What is a cruiser? There are many definitions of a cruiser; see Cindy’s post for her explanation about the different ways people can travel by boat. For me, a cruiser has always been a sailor […]
Fifty Shades of Gray ….. but not What You are Thinking
It is nice that in these days and times people have more options when it comes to hairstyles. I would have loved to have had the blue or pink streaks added to my hair when I was young. Much to my family’s delight this idea was not invented until I was too old to […]
Losing My Keys
I guess I really have not given key chains much thought over the past 30 years or so. That is, until today. I remember my first key chain. I was not even close to driving age yet but I had a little key chain. The novelty of buying souvenirs at roadside stops was new to […]
Cindy’s Two Cents Worth at 50% Off
A week or so ago, Mark was working on a post for the blog. I think he was writing about moving from the house onto the boat. He asked me if at some point I would “add my two cents on the subject” and put it in a post. I think I was busy trying […]
Frustration
A day in my life. “Hey Cindy, today I’m going to install the new GPS unit I bought. You remember me telling you about it. It tracks the Russian satellites from the GLONASS system as well as the USA system. I think I told you about it, didn’t I? Well, during the cold war, the […]
Adjustments
Our time in St Petersburg is getting short. We are slightly giddy with excitement about our first passage as cruisers. Although, we are not sure where we will go first. As it stands right now, we will hop to the Dry Tortugas, sail around Key West (been there, done that), and hit some stops up […]
We’ll know in a couple of hours…
Am I about to die of food poisoning? I have an insatiable curiosity. It is who I am. Because of this, I read. A lot! As our plan to go sailing came closer into view, I substituted my reading material of investment prospectus’ and sales related leadership books to boat blogs, cruising guides and […]
Earning Checkmarks
10 Things to do before going cruising, made easy: Set a 20 year savings plan allowing us to retire before 55, afford a boat and not have to worry about money during our sailing adventures Work Hard Save money Avoid buying […]
Surprise Surprise!
Nobody is more surprised than I am at the number of people who follow our blog. We really enjoy doing the updates and hope we can bring a smile to a reader’s face every once and a while. We do the blog mostly for selfish purposes. It is a way for us to look back […]
Almost Homeless
So, the blog has been quiet for a little while over the holidays. Just the opposite is true in our lives. We returned to the house on Christmas day to clean up the yard and rake leaves. As I write this, I am so happy to think it will be a very very very long […]
The Day of the Binder
I have carried a personal planner in the form of a DayTimer binder around with me for, well, probably since when they were invented. I cannot remember in my adult working life not having one with me at all times. I continued using one even with today’s modern technology. I found that if I did […]
Our First Christmas on a Boat
St. Petersburg never ceases to impress me. The downtown activities here are nonstop. There seems to be a happening just about every weekend. There are always concerts, festivals, parades and even a Grand Prix. This weekend was the lighting of the Christmas tree and a lighted boat parade. Allow me to digress here for a […]
