There's a Monkey in the Rigging!

Vlad climbed to the top of our neighbors' 60 foot mast. Not just for grins, of course, but to drop their jib. He said it wasn't too scary, but the sound of the main halyard going snap, crackle and pop was mildly disconcerting. Yikes!

I haven't gotten up the nerve to climb up Bettie's mast yet, but I might have to, judging from how hard it looked for two grown men to haul Vlad to the top. I see either overcoming my fear of heights or some serious push-ups in my future.

The Surreal Life

Have you ever felt as though your life was a movie? That somehow reality had jumped the proverbial shark and landed you in a Coen brothers' quasi-comedy where you lived on a boat in the middle of an amusement park? Well, that's pretty much what has happened to us.

We currently live aboard in Kemah, Texas, a small coastal town outside of Houston. Now, Kemah has the typical seaside touristy feel to it, with bed and breakfasts, cheesy tiki bars and, yes, a roller coaster called the Boardwalk Bullet. And our marina is smack dab in the center of the mayhem.

You'd think that we would get tired of the screams coming from The Inverter, but Vlad and I still think it's pretty funny to be chilling on deck and hear the occasional "Ahhhhhhhh!!" Funny, but surreal.

Just so you see what we're dealing with, here's a little video action taken by our dear friend Charles.

TGIF

Sorry to be cheesy, but thank god it's fall. Or at least close to that cool, delightful season. As a quick re-cap, Vlad and I made the unfortunate decision to move on to our boat in August, and if you've ever experienced Texas in August, especially the Houston area, you'll know what a sweat-inducing experience we slogged through.

The air was stifling and muggy. The sun blazed down on the dock, and the temperature hovered around or over the 100 degree mark for the ENTIRE month. A perfect time to move our stuff on board, scrub down the deck and tend to all the boat maintenance that had built up over the past year. But on the bright side, it's good practice for our future forays toward the equator. And there may have even been fewer mosquitoes!

We Bought a Boat!

Introducing Bettie. We are now the proud owners of a 36' Cascade. She's cutter rigged, built like a tank and sure to take us on many a grand adventure. In fact, it's been quite a ride already.