Post Log (June 2006)

“There exists a presence in the ocean, seldom glimpsed in waking hours, best envisioned in your dreams.  While you drift in sleep, turtles ride the curve of the deep, seeking their inspiration from the sky.  From tranquil tropic bays or nightmare maelstroms hissing foam, they come unseen to share our air.  Each sharp exhalation affirms, “Life yet endures.” Each inhaled gasp vows, “Life will continue.”  With each breath, they declare to the stars and wild silence.  By night and by light, sea turtles glide always, their parallel universe strangely alien, yet intertwining with ours.”  Carl Safina, Voyage of the Turtle, In Pursuit of the World’s Last Dinosaur.

  This author, Carl Safina,  who I am fortunate to call friend, describes exactly how I felt during night watches.  I knew I wasn’t alone and it actually was not scary, but comforting.  

 I’m sitting in our new jet black Prius in a parking lot of a Mountain View, CA watching Martin skateboard.  Wow, we’re a long ways from where we were one year ago—anchored off of Bora, Bora  in the Society Islands of French Polynesia.  And the Bay Area is the last place I thought I would be when we left on our adventure almost three years ago.   We wanted to make a clean break that would force us not to return to the Bay Area (included selling our house-which at this point feels like a huge financial mistake- Lou feels this more intensely than I do).

 So, you are probably wondering what happened to Ace?  Well, she is for sale in New Zealand.  She has been on the hard for repairs for the last two months.  The repairs weren’t so extreme, but the repair work was just very slow.  Its winter in New Zealand and there is some bit of hibernating going on.  We have an interested buyer, but he’s been interested for 4 months.  I miss Ace.  She was an excellent ship and kept us safe and comfortable.  Who knows…maybe we’ll bring her back here.

 And now the next question is—what happened, why are you back in Mountain View?   We did look for opportunities in New Zealand.  We made some excellent contacts and met some fantastic people. We loved the pristine beauty of New Zealand and the sparse population.    But, while the socialistic government is a wonderful thing for its citizens—free health care, good retirement pension and inexpensive universities—it means that the salaries are much lower than California and some lower than the States.  Real estate in NZ has made a recent run and it is still less expensive than California, it is not a deal.  Top that with $8,000 that we would have to pay to visit the US every year.  We had come to NZ with the idea that we would “try it out”, but it seemed like we needed to make a decision on staying for good.

 So, we returned to the US.    By this time, we were anxious to provide Emily and Martin with some semblance of a stable life.   My thoughts went instantly to my hometown, Topeka, Kansas.  My parents, siblings and friends enthusiastically welcomed us to Topeka.  We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and then got to work.  We rented a 2 bedroom apartment just down the hall from my parents.  Emily and Martin were enrolled in the private school that my mom is affiliated with. Emily and Martin had wonderful experiences and did well academically and had a good time with extra-curricular activities.  We enjoyed the time with my parents who are in their 80s and yet are in great health. We felt so fortunate to have this time together. Emily took ballroom dancing with her grandfather and Martin built a model jet with him.  

 In the meantime, Lou began an earnest job search- his first job search in his life.  The job search had its highs and lows.  Many of our friends and former colleagues were immediately giving him names to make contact with.  Our first thought was to have him make a career change into the solar industry since he had become such an enthusiast while we were out sailing.  Although he had some invigorating conversations with some employers, career opportunities did not progress.  Overall that has been the frustration of this job search—communication!  Now we have so many ways to get in contact with each other—how hard is it to communicate status to job seekers.  Well, so far it seems impossible.

 After just a few weeks (Lou viewed this as an eternity), Lou started working as a contractor for a medical device company in the Bay Area.   For two months, he was commuting from Kansas—10 days in California (staying with friends) and 10 days in Kansas.  He has continued to add clients and for right now the contract work is the right thing for him to do. So, we saw that it was the right thing to move back to Silicon Valley to get his career restarted.    I am assisting in setting up his business.  I enjoy doing this work.

 What I like about being back in Mountain View: 

Close to friends who continue to do some amazing things,  able to get involved in some interesting initiatives and the diversity of cultures makes me happy.  And I feel like it is here that we have to take the lead and it is here that we can make the most impact in a positive way or in a negative way.  

 Of course, the cost of housing is more than depressing.  It is now over 4 times as much to buy a similar house in this area of California as to Topeka Kansas.  Now one may argue who would want to live in Topeka Kansas— you only get 20 days of nice weather per year and it is so far from the ocean.  But, there are some amazing people there.  Kansas has a democratic governor—and a Woman!  California—well you know what is going on here!  And in Kansas sunsets are amazing.  Here, I don’t get to see a sunset unless I make a special effort.

 In this area of the world, there are some many people just running around and not really thinking about what is important.  It is amazing to me that people are still buying SUVs.  That they are buying food at McDonald’s and other fast food places.  That they so rudely speak loudly and anywhere on their cell phones.  I noticed that less in Kansas.  I did note a high rate of smoking in Kansas and even more disconcerting—throwing their butts on the ground.  

 When we returned to the United States, I knew that I couldn’t just sit by and just let things happen to the earth. I am still interested in politics, but I believe that until we have campaign finance reform in a big way, we don’t have a democracy. But, I think the needs of Mother Earth are more in need of immediate attention than those of politics.  Yes, there is a symbiotic relationship, but I feel we’ll just have to hold on for the next 2.5 years until Bush leaves.  It is a travesty what we have allowed him to do to the United States, our freedoms and our relationship to the international community.  

 I wasn’t sure how I was going to decide upon what to do, but I felt it was important to find something.  I was hoping for inspiration.  I was hoping for that kind of inspiration when we were cruising.  I thought one place would call out to us as place to live.  There was no perfect paradise.  I had distilled my highest concerns to two paths that I wanted to work on.  I felt such a connection with the Ocean now.  It is very difficult to for me to be away from the Ocean.  It is like being away from one of my family.   I miss being in tune with something so large.  I feel quite isolated.  Some friends we made while cruising the South Pacific, connected me with Oceana.    This organization is currently focusing on the coral and sea turtles.    I hope to write you more later about Oceana.

 The other concern was the women of the world.  Throughout my life, I have been inspired by women from many parts of the world, many different walks of life—all striving for a reasonable existence for their families and themselves.   When I think about all the women that have touched my life and who have shared their stories with me, I am so grateful. By happenstance, I have met a woman with a PHD in public health who is working on this exact initiative—to help the women of the world by providing access to health care information and assistance without the sponsorship of corporate entities.

 I think it was a good time for us to stop cruising.  Emily and Martin will have access to many opportunities and will have the confidence to pursue them (Martin is in a School of Rock camp this week—yes like Jack Black--- and Emily is in ballet camp).

 I miss so much of our cruising life—sunsets, passages where the moon, stars and immenseness of the ocean  are your only companions and having no “distractions” of the day to day life.  And I miss my cruising friends—yoga on the beach, bike rides, beach walks, morning or afternoon swims and just having a blast as we explore the world in the company of whales, dolphins and mating turtles!   Lou and I both needed to feel productive.   I was blaming Lou—that he needed to be productive.  That it wasn’t enough that he kept Ace afloat.  But, I know that some of the unhappiness that I felt out cruising is that with all that was going on, I needed to be part of the solution.

 There are several peculiar things that happen to me now due to the cruising.  I still can’t help when I shop at  Trader Joe’s, Costco, or Safeway  to every once in awhile get the feeling that I’m in provisioning mode.  I see Root Beer—Emily and Martin love Root Beer---I must get a case of Root Beer.  Whoa.  Calm down woman.  I’m in the land of unlimited Root Beer.

 When I’m out and about, I often see someone and think—Oh there’s one of our cruisers friends, but its not, no way that it can be.  But, I feel confident that one day it will be and that will be a happy day!

We went to Walmart (yes, I’m admitting it) the other day.  It was late on a Saturday afternoon.  It was like being in an international market.  There were people from Mexico, El Salvador, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, India and China.  They were all milling around this huge store stacked with THINGS!  And I reminisced about how much I loved going to markets on our trip.  I loved it because for me it was truly a sensuous experience.  And I pondered is that what they are experiencing here—do they feel any parallel to the native markets.  I can’t imagine how they could and how dreadful if they would take this in as an “American experience”.

 I’m still so careful about water consumption.  I love a hot shower, but I can’t stand to just let the water flow while it warms up to my preferred temperature.  So, I get a bucket and use the water to help the pumpkins grow for Halloween.

 I will leave you with this quote from Helen Keller, “I am only one, but still I am one.  I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.  I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”