We did it. We took down our yurt and it is gone. After a few weeks of moving and sorting all our stuff into piles destined to either go into storage, trash, give-away or sell, we spent 3 full, hot days taking down the yurt, dismantling the deck platform, and putting everything into a big moving truck. The buyers of our yurt came over from Massachusetts and put in their own sweat equity helping to make the take-down happen. We had a great time with them, and it all went as smoothly as it could go. The sale of our yurt included most of our furniture and many other possessions that “went with the yurt”, and it was a bizarre feeling to see your entire house and belongings put into a truck and taken away by someone else. But Patrick and Katie were as awesome as awesome can be, and we felt good about sending them off with such a good start to their own off-grid living experience. Here are a few shots of the last few intense days. If you have ever wondered how a yurt is taken down, here is a glimpse. It is really quite amazing to take a whole building down in a matter of hours!
The Carpet Comes Up
The Walls Come Down
Captain K lifts the heavy roof canvas from the dome
The view from the loft without the roof on
The deck comes apart
In the midst of the chaos, we hooked up the stove and K. made bread!
And it was the best bread ever!!!!
The truck loaded to the gills
Burning the scrap wood on the yurt site
We feel grateful that this process has been going so well, even though the circumstances have been stressful. Our time with Patrick and Katie was wonderful, and we have 2 new good friends now! And it didn’t even rain, although it was really, really hot!
We are now in the final stretch of getting everything off the land. We are now in the process of selling our cars and other major possessions. The stuff is clearing and it feels good. We are looking forward to getting back on the water and are looking at larger boats……what will the next step of our adventure look like? Right now we can just focus on what it in front of us, which at the moment is the last pile of crap to get rid of!
You almost could have fit a full-on fire circle around that bonfire! Looking forward to seeing you both, and dancing/drumming/sharing time with you. And very grateful you are choosing to spend time on the mountain with your SFF family!
J
Joss, believe me, we thought about it! Our SFF family is what we missed the most while traveling, so we are SO excited to be there in a few days!
Too bad you’ve been banned. Unless, of course, you bring that bottle of champagne so lovingly held in Lita’s hands on that lovely beach. Then I might let you in.
EXCELLENT that you are getting closer to getting back to the water.
A larger boat? Hmmm, you sound like you have the fever as most of us do.
Our 30′ seems just right for us.
Sail on friends, tell us more.
Jim and Judy
Yes, we are so excited to get back on the water!! We are on Lake Champlain right now WITHOUT a sailboat and it is absolutely PAINFUL!!! We do have a little canoe that we took out on the water just so we could drool longingly at sailboats anchored in the bay. It was a good reminder though, looking at the boats, of why we are going through all this…
hope to sail your way soon,
Lala and K.
I am really really happy for you! I hope that you have the finances to get the size boat you need and get bak to the water.
I wish you nothing but a nice breeze to your back and sunshine in your travels.
I hope you will pay Gandara a visit, we would love to see you. Before you leave for Europe!
Good luck you 2. I will keep checking the site to see where your new adventures take you.
Great to hear your heading back to cruising again. Good luck with choosing a new boat! Remember a few Solar panels this time.. We will follow your blog. Maybe see you out there again somewhere! SeaWolff arrives in Singapore today, very exciting.
Hi guys,
Sounds like you are laying out plans for the next chapter in your life. How exciting is that!? Way cool! BTW, I was following the website of a young couple who unfortunately for now, are giving up sailing, after a wonderful adventure to the Bahamas. I emailed them a few times and “bought them a bag of ice!” LOL! Anyway, they just list their boat in Ft. Lauderdale. Sounds like it could be a win/win, with some engine work. Worth a look: (http://svbrighteyes.blogspot.com), otherwise there are many good boats out there to be had, and adventures a-plenty to be enjoyed, to be sure. Good luck!
Steve
I just found your website. Your “about us” section reminded me alot of the “bright eyes” couple. They also has alot of ideas about living off the grid and the lack of need for preparation. They only lasted 6 months before hanging it up.
We would rather have bright eyes and a positive attitude than be full of pessimism and negativity, thank you very much! That has gotten us farther than most people would have expected, including people like you who don’t even know us!
What I advocate for is that people be realistic about the cruising life, that they be informed on how to operate their boats well and safely and that they have sufficiant means to support this very expensive lifestle.
I have seen too many blogs of people who just quit their jobs and jump in a boat only to find, they cannot afford it and then have to rejoin the job world with a gapping hole in their resume. The boating industry loves it though and will gladly take the money this dream brings in.
If you want to charaterize my comments and pessimistic and negativity that’s fine but all I’m saying is most people who jump off a building get hurt. I have lots of evidence to back up that claim.