We made our way back from Ideal Cove to Petersburg. We again had to have Pizza for dinner at Papa Bear Pizza as its some of the best Pizza ever. And, no, this isn’t the “food is always better when you are camping” effect. They won 2nd place in an international contest in Las Vegas a few years ago.
As we head back South, a few thoughts about the trip thus far...
We can do without the giant flies that take such big chunks out of you they draw blood. They come out when the sun does and then in the afternoon they start biting – right through your clothes. The bug spray became more important than the sunscreen in Alaska despite the sunshine!
Having the light all night is weird. At 11pm we will be working on a project only to look up and realize it is well past bedtime. We typically sleep two short nights – a few hours because our bodies swear we should be awake all night. Then by the third night we are so exhausted we sleep a long solid night with no difficulty.
The lack of routine enforced by external influences (appointments, work, etc) is odd. There is no morning routine to make you take a shower, or take your daily vitamins. No reason to do laundry today when tomorrow will be just as good. Melissa is down to wearing three shirts. Dave wears his favorite shorts every day. Melissa has set up task reminders on the computer but even that isn’t working since she only opens the computer when we have internet connectivity.
A wise woman asked us before we left if we thought we would change over the course of these two years. What Melissa has done for a living for a very long time is fret. That’s really what drives PMs. They worry about everything that might go wrong. This is not serving Melissa well on this venture thus far. Melissa suspects that this may be the thing she needs to change about herself this trip. Learn not to worry about all the zillion things that might go wrong. In the PM world you can do something about most of those things. No so on the boat venture. I mean how do you prevent a whale from hitting your boat and sinking it? (Yes its been known to happen.) Will this make her a lesser PM? Don’t know. But it will make her a better sailor. Dave has long worried about “becoming Melissa’s project”. Fortunately there are enough boat projects that this has yet to be an issue. Melissa seems content with tracking all the various things that need to be done. So at least she has some PM duties.
Listening to Jimmy Buffet does get old eventually.
Best boat shoes ever - Keen. Melissa bought a pair in Seattle and realized by Vancouver Dave couldn’t live without a pair. Expensive - $100 a pair. But bet me money we won’t buy shoes for a year. The water drains off. They protect us from stubbed toes on deck. They give enough support that Melissa doesn’t need her orthotics (don’t we sound old now!). Just love ‘em and haven’t worn anything else the whole trip.
