Round Two of Backpacks and Head Thumps, but Only One Cell in the Toilet

The cellphone is in a nice mixture of bulgar and wild rice. It fell in the toilet when the cabinet crashed down and hit me on the head.  That lump will balance out the lump on my forehead from a box that fell off a shelf in a closet. It’s been a bit of a weird day.

I leave town early in the morning, and I need that cell phone. (I need my head too, but it will heal on its own)  But the phone, how else will I call the ship if I can’t find it?  Do you think there are telephone booths in Moss Landing? Do telephone booths still exist or are they only used for Tardis’s nowadays? Imagine not long ago we travelled without cell phones. We looked for interet cafes and paid to use a computer to keep in touch with people back home. And before that.. well, there was a time when the only way my Dad knew how I was doing on my travels was through letters that took weeks to arrive. Okay, the real truth is, I want my cell phone so I can easily keep in touch with my family and those little granddaughters of mine! But if it is not well by morning, I do have the Surface computer. So funny, now that I think of it. I’ve never travelled with so much technology. And I really don’t know if I’ll have a minute to be posting and puting anyway!

Preparing for this grand adventure- the “Two Weeks Before the Mast” sail training – has been a bit of a grand adventure in itself. Lots to think about … cold weather gear, very wet weather gear, ‘foulies’, knives, (oh ya, I’ll be checking that luggage!) … and how to fit what I need into a backpack. I’ve thought about how that will work for weeks. I had no doubt my old backpack that travelled Costa Rica with me would be ideal. Until it was fully packed today and I hoisted it onto my back only to discover it hurt like hell.  It just ain’t what it used to be.. or I’m not. Ha ha ha!! And so, the scramble was on. Fortunately, backpacks run in the family and my daughter’s turned out to be a much better fit.

It’s packed and ready.

The sketch-adventure journal is ready too.  It will become a treasure for me.. sketching a scene or a story while travelling creates such a powerful memory. When you look back at the sketches, you instantly and clearly remember the sights, the sounds, the smells…

But am I ready? I resorted to Advil to settle the lumpaches. (Why THAT’s a cool looking word. Foreign. Not like an injury at all.) I am nervous. The more I study lines and sails, the more I learn how little I know.

Two weeks ago, I had some doubts. A major house move pushed me maybe a little too far, especially when it’s not been all that long since I finished treatments, (and Oh ya, I’m still on one.) Knees, back, neck.. everything hurt. Chiropractor, massage, and being a little gentler with my body seems to have gotten me back on track. Sort of.

But, “Ready or not, here I come!”    Scared! Anxious! Over the top Thrilled! Happy!  In awe that this is really happening!  Okay, Yes. I am ready.

Oh it is so late, I need my sleep for the journey, so you know what? I’m going to published this post unedited. And I will get to bed, cuddle my little granddaughter who has already snuck in for the night,  and dream of the creak of the ship, the wind in her sails, the smell of the sea, the comraderie of crew mates… all things I feel like I know so well, yet logically I do not. It’s magic.. truly.

Thanks for being here reading this…you inspire me to share this journey. And I’m curious.. if you had a chance to go train as a sailor on a tall ship, is it something you would do?

And so it begins.  The cover of my sketch-journal says so…

Learning to Sail a Tall Ship. Really. A Real One.

Seven more sleeps and I sail the seven seas. Okay, no, not all seven… but a part of the coast of California is plenty of a dream come true for me….as you can imagine if you know me or have followed my posts for a bit.

I get to train as a sailor on the magnificent Tall Ship, Lady Washington. My life has been full of preparing, planning, and learning things like clews, rigging knives, marlinspikes, and fortmistays’ls. (And I did spell that wrong… sure proof of what a beginner I be!) My life has also been full of selling my home and moving in a 3 week period. I have so much to say as I experience preparing for this dream come true adventure…but it’s been a little busy around here!

I do hope to share the journey with you. The scary, the anticipation, the “Am I crazy?”, the calling in the bravery, the ‘oh my god, I’m really going to do this!”, the “I am so blessed,” but for now, I wanted to share a beautiful video of a journey the Lady Washington and her crew took when she went to the Caribbean to play HMS Interceptor in the Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.  I notice her masts are really really really tall… (eek? No, I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.) Enjoy, my friends!

Lady Washington to the Caribbean