Get Lost On Purpose

Author: Margie

  • Big Cities in OZ prove to be a fav for me!

    I’ve always enjoyed the occasional shopping excursion as much as the next gal but as of summer last year I’ve been forced into having to basically replace a wardrobe. While gone for our trip, somewhere in the mix of things, miscommunication between my mom and I led to ALL of my spring/summer clothes…ALL of them other than the few things I had on the boat…being given away to our church. When my mom told me that my mouth dropped to my feet. Ten years of clothes…gone. What could I do? Be mad…no. They went to a good cause and I hope someone who really needed it is enjoying my all time favorite black dress. We are returning to the States as spring arrives and so Drew and I have both been aware of my need for some new clothes. While I was excited to look around when we got to Australia I wouldn’t exactly say I was looking forward to it. Over the years I’ve seen too many cute dresses in the window only to go in to try it on and it fit everywhere on me but up top. And swimsuits…FORGET ABOUT IT! Much to my surprise though the stores in Australia were unbelievable and shopping there became my best friend for a couple of weeks. The stores were any girls paradise as there were LOTS of them whether they were lining the streets or neatly stacked inside of what on the outside looks like a run down building. There were price ranges for any budget as well as opposed to some places we’ve been where all I could do was laugh at some of the things I found. Not there though… I was in shopping heaven!
    Marge in China Town-Melbourne Marge happy with shopping in Australia!
    Poor Drew…he was such the trooper! I offered many times to go by myself but whether it was fear of me roaming the city alone or fear of me having money in my hands without his supervision, he chose to stick by me and for days on end he was in and out, in and out of store, after store, after store. Going home to run a bed and breakfast I knew I would need some nice stuff and was definitely able to get a good head start with what I was able to find in Australia. I highly recommend it to any gal out there that doesn’t sport a stick figure.

    Looking back on it I enjoyed Australia for many reasons other than those most people normally peg it for. The coastal drive was fun and offered us a great view of some of Australia’s beaches but I most enjoyed the shopping, the casino in Sydney which was good to us so that probably put it on my list, and the larger city feel of Sydney & Melbourne was a warm welcome for Drew and myself as well. I know he mentioned in a previous post that we like big cities…the noise, the people watching, the shopping, the FOOD!!! Melbourne probably is at the top of my list as one of my all time favorite cities ever as it was a perfect melting pot!

  • Almost time to go…

    Well hello! Happy belated new year to everybody. The days have quickly ticked by since our arrival back to New Zealand and in the midst of it all I have failed to post this year! In preparation for our trip across the Tasman my significant other has been up to his elbows in boat projects for two days straight. Most cruising wives/girlfriends can back me up in that more often than not, the best way to help out on days such as these is to just stay out of the way. So here I sit on the couch, legs tucked underneath me, trying to leave as much room as possible for my boat monkey to get his work done. We’ve been given the go ahead by Bob McDavitt, a weather guru god if you will to the sailing community, to set sail for Australia this week. We wait now on our alternator to be returned to us and then there’s nothing else I can think of that would delay the inevitable any longer. It’s passage time, once again.

    Thus come mid afternoon tomorrow the galley will be ablaze with sauces, casseroles, boiling chicken breasts, chopped this, and chopped that. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Knocking out any, or possibly all, cooking that would otherwise have to be done at sea is a hands down must for yours truly. If you’ve followed us along our journey through any previous passages then you are probably fully aware of my ridiculous fear of gimbal stoves. At anchor, I’ll cook all day but when there is motion in the ocean, I’d rather eat cardboard.
    The Force 10 3 Burner Stove top. You may notice one small support bar missing on the small left burner. I fell over into it and broke it off on a recent passage but I have it sitting right here to be welded back on so it's not lost or anything. Another shot of the galley
    After more than a year of this incredible lifestyle, the stove and I (at sea) I have thus far failed to establish a good relationship and its in sensitiveness has made more cry on way more than one occasion. You label me any name in the book you want to…punanny, pansy, or even worse a different p word…I could care less. There are many women far braver than I who tackle their own gimbal stove with no fear whatsoever but I, unfortunately, have been unable to do so. It’s a fear I hope to conquer…one day.

    Speaking of conquering fears, last night I layed awake for a solid hour. My armpits were sweating. I was nervous. Drew was dead to the world. There was no one trying to come aboard Dosia and inflict bodily harm on me. I was merely thinking about the bungee jumps that are waiting to taunt me when we arrive back in New Zealand to travel the South Island. Will I find the gonads to jump? Just how pissed will I be at myself if I return back to the States having not taken the plunge(s)? My dad writes me the other day…”Marge, do me a favor. If you’re going to jump off of anything or out of anything, please wait until after you do so to tell your mother.” Thus he enforces the fact that its all dangerous. I don’t crave the danger. I really don’t. It didn’t thrill me to stand on the edge of that Sky Tower in Auckland and look down over my toes at a distance so great it looked like the building beneath me was inverted. All the while a giant bulls eye was there to guide me “home.” It reminded me later of the skit Ron White did that time where the guy asks him how far the single engine plane they were riding in was going to take them and he replied, “all the way to the scene of the crash.” I cried like a little girl. The fear that consumed me was so intense. Mascara was streaming down my face so bad the guy had to delay my jump so I could wipe it off just to be able to watch as I plunged to the earth. However, as soon as I went, as soon as I was falling, I loved every second of it. I know that I would love sky diving over the incredible Nelson Lakes or bungee jumping in Queenstown. I will hope every night for the courage to take the plunge when the time comes…

    Until then I’ll continue to partake in wonderful events that aren’t so life threatening like our buddy, Tom’s from s/v Zen, birthday the other day. Being the dessert lover that he is, I whipped up a cake for him and his lovely wife, Monique, took a small group of us out to lunch to celebrate in Paihia. The day was full of good food, great laughs, awesome music, and incredible company. I am going to miss these people that I’ve formed these bonds with out here so much when this is all said and done. There isn’t a single wave that would have been the same without them, or Drew, by my side.
    Monique-s/v Zen, Marge, & Rina-s/v Follow You, Follow Me The b-day boy with the cake Marge made him

  • Just enjoyin’ our time in NZ…

    ahhhh, finally....New Zealand
    It didn’t take long to get reacquainted with life on land after having been away from it for a while. Well, I take that back…reacquainted to life on land where you can get anything you need, anytime, anywhere. Life in New Zealand is life made simple again which probably accounts for why we’ve gone a wall on our website since our arrival. The Tuesday we got here we hit the ground running, we hit it quick, and we haven’t stopped since. Due to lack of sleep for the last two nights at sea Drew settled in for a nap Tuesday before last while I, not at all sleep deprived, set off to mingle amongst those whom had arrived and were safely nestled into their slips at the Opua Marina. I was with Marc & Jane of s/v Imagine enjoying a nice beer when their daughter, Caroline, yelled from outside, “mom, Zen is here.” I knew I’d only had a sip of my beer so I wasn’t hearing things but thought there was no way she could be right. One look outside and I couldn’t believe my eyes!
    Monique of Zen captured my face when they surprised in Opua the day we arrived!
    Sure enough, Tom, Monique, Cammi, & Cole had driven up from Whangarei to surprise us. I had no idea that Whangarei was only an hour down the road, they might as well have traveled from Tonga, but nonetheless, in my heart it felt the same and the tears began. One would think I hadn’t seen these amazing friends in years when in fact it had barely been a month. Oh, they just make me that happy! Hugs all around, “what are you doing here?”s, and a quick plan derived to awake a napping Drew with the surprise. Unfortunately we weren’t as slick as we’d hoped and he heard us coming but he was shocked, nonetheless, and within ten minutes it was decided that we had to go to their house with them. According to Monique, we had no choice. So off we went. A quick dinner in town and one scary as hell on the other side of the road hour long drive later we were nestled snug in their living room. One night turned to two and we had a ball just hanging out, cooking, eating, exploring, shopping, laughing, doing laundry, sleeping in a big cozy bed, enjoying very fast/free internet, and taking hot showers as long as we wanted. It was heaven.

    Back in Opua on Thursday, we took even more time to breath and relax for a bit. Spent several nights being groupies to our buddy Alan from s/v Follow You, Follow Me. He’s a drummer and often finds local musicians at ports so he can jam. He played alongside a local named, Trippy, another named, Dan, and wherever they played we went cause they were fantastic! Lots and lots of emails from everyone asking what it looks like here and unfortunately, we haven’t a whole lot of time to really explore just yet. Cabs here are RIDICULOUSLY expensive so unless we can bum a ride off of a fellow cruiser then we stick pretty close to the marina. Had to go to the bank in town the other day, about a 5 mile ride, and the cabbie was going to charge me $40NZ to get there and back. Ummm, no thank you. One of the sweet ladies in the marine insurance office asked if I knew how to drive on the left side of the ride and I said, “sure!” Her car turned out to be a stick shift which I’m familiar with but wasn’t accustomed to doing so with my left hand. Some things you learn never go away so my memories of driving my first car which was a stick clicked in and I made it safe and sound. It was fun!

    Night before last we sailed from Opua to Whangarei and are prepping Dosia for her month long slumber party here. Drew and I catch a bus to Auckland Sunday morning and are going to be spending two jammed packed days and luxurious nights in the SKYCITY Grand Hotel. I absolutely cannot wait to use my birthday present and be pampered in the spa on Monday afternoon but not before I defy death and jump off the Sky Tower! One would think that after seven months of a gals toes not seeing a pedi that I could get one free and clear but nope. Drew and I are both scheduled to leap off the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere that morning and from that accomplishment comes the spa package. Tuesday we catch our flights home and will be stateside until the end of December! We have every intention of maintaining the blog while home so for now we’ll just say thanks for following us along these past seven months. It’s been an unbelievable journey, one we look forward to continuing next year. Happy Holidays and much love to you all from both Drew and myself!

  • Arrival in Opua, NZ

    After nine days at sea we are finally sitting still again. It feels very, very nice. I have officially completed my first 1000+ mile passage. We arrived at the customs dock around 7:30 this morning. I cooked up the last pound of bacon we had on board, as well as the rest of our eggs, as they would have just been confiscated by quarantine otherwise. Confiscated bacon!? There is no room for that phrase anywhere in Drew’s vocabulary. He took much pleasure in being able to devour almost the entire pound without me being able to scold him or tell him he had had enough. The quarantine official was very nice, yet very thorough. She got a few goods off of us…some mayo, wild rice, fresh cucumbers & onions. Nothing that can’t be replaced very inexpensively. Then it was time for the customs officials as well as the drug and bomb dogs. With a cup of bacon grease sitting on the counter, neither pup seemed too interested in their job at hand! By 9 we were done and by 9:30 we were safely in a slip. Ahh, fresh hot showers…

    A quick lunch with our buds Alan & Rina and we’re back on board so Drew can get some sleep. He’s seen very little in the past 48 hours. Naturally, the last two days of the passage had to give us a little run for our money but we made it. We’ll start making some decisions on our route to Whangarei, which is where Dosia will stay while we head home for the holidays! That’s all in due time though. Right now…that other couch is looking pretty good…