For several weeks now, K. has been saying that he wants to make pancakes. Actually, he’s been feverishly wanting to bake, but alas, our boat is too wee to fit an oven on it, so no baking for us. He decided that pancakes are the next best thing to baking…..
So today is the day. I awake to K. flippin’ pancakes! He even made coffee and PREHEATED my mug so it would stay warm longer! I have a truly wonderful husband and traveling companion!
But where are our Canadian friends now that we need maple syrup? We don’t have any aboard, ZUT ALORS!
The other unusual thing about this morning is that we woke up feeling peaceful and rested! Our anchorage the night before last seemed peaceful when we dropped anchor, but in the middle of the night the wind shifted and sudden big waves rocked us awake for much of the night. And, for some time now, I’ve been dreaming every night that our boat is moving (which it is, as we sway back and forth on the anchor). But the dream involves the boat REALLY moving, like starting to set sail on it’s own without anyone steering it while we are in bed sleeping. And I get all stressed out in my dream that we need to wake up and go steer the boat before we crash into something. The dream always seems so real that I’ve woken K. up on numerous occasions to check with him if we are still actually anchored or not. It’s really not a restful way to sleep, and the dream is starting to get really annoying. Last night I declared I would NOT dream that stupid dream again, and thank God, I didn’t!!
The last few days have had some really stressful sailing moments. I, in particular, get white knuckled and panicked way too easily when the waves get big or we encounter a situation that feels beyond my comfort level. (which, given my sailing experience, is not an unusual occurrence). By the time the end of the day rolls around, I’m exhausted and desperately wanting to just relax. Last night we started playing REALLY calm music, and brainstormed ways to cultivate relaxation ALL DAY while sailing. Anyone have ideas on how to do that when you have to go adjust the mainsail lines, hanging onto the mast while the boat bucks like a bronco at crazy angles? Well, you say, if you want relaxation, what are you doing on a sailboat? People love sailing for the pure adrenalin rush of it! You should be lounging on a beach somewhere! THAT’S A GREAT IDEA! That is exactly what I want! Beach! My goal for the next week is to make it to a beach and HANG OUT AND RELAX on it!
Luckily, we are entering beach country. We crossed the imaginary line into Virginia yesterday, and the weather is getting a wee bit warmer. I have the strange impression of going back in seasonal time, as the trees are in a similar state of full color fall glory here as when we left Lake Champlain. The Canadian geese that were getting ready to fly south in the field next to our yurt in Saratoga Springs have been following us the whole way, and we still regularly see giant flocks of them, stopping for breaks in quiet bays just like we do. We’ve also seen lots of other migrating birds, many which I do not recognize. We are part of the giant migration!