It’s starting to get cold here in Sidney… the fierce south-easterlies are starting and it’s feeling like we are back at sea although we are securely tied to the dock. In September, when we made the decision to postpone our Mexico travel plans, all the momentum leading up to that point made it feel like a part of me broke off and carried on, and then for weeks was drifting around somewhere in the Pacific… I’m now able to safely say that all of me is back together and is able to reflect on the summer’s travels without feeling the sting of longing for traveling…
Firstly, if we haven’t yet said so, Haida Gwaii is very far from here! It is surprisingly remote. Beautiful, but very remote. This might be a trip more suited for adults who enjoy solitude, serenity and sunsets. Traveling with two young children however, we definitely questioned our choices with them this summer… there were very few opportunities for them to play with other kids their ages… there were few opportunities to meet any other people. Period. So we had to make our own fun.
Introducing the spinnaker pole swing set:
The swing was awesome! Neli especially loved it and would sing at the top her lungs as she swung up there, back and forth and back and forth…. So much fun!
Here is a link to her in action:
And then there is “Rock, paper, scissors.” Endless fun with that one, as demonstrated here:
We just had Neli’s birthday party on the weekend. She was thrilled to be having a waterslide party with many friends. It was a lot of fun – made us feel thankful for being part of a community full of people we love and who clearly love our children too. This is the element that we all most missed this summer. There it is. I said it. For those of you who are thinking that the full time cruising life is one extended vacation full of uninterrupted fun times and laughs, well, I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but all that freedom really means sometimes feeling lonely. Or bored. But there is also the opportunity to let that boredom transform into a creative moment. A creative moment to build happy memories for you and your children… but, full time extended vacation? – it is definitely not.
As I’m writing this, the children are coming down with a cold and aren’t in the mood to get out and play. They are bundled up in their blankets on the port side settee watching “Charlotte’s web 2”. Things don’t feel very different from the summer at this moment actually. Except that it’s a lot colder and rainy now.. oh wait. The sun’s peeking though. It might be a sunny day after all.