Where do avid weekend cruisers go on a landlocked river that offers up-river cruising and down-river cruising, but no cruising around you? We cruised up river to the American, down river to the Delta and the San Francisco Bay, but often we simply anchored just outside the marina. A “destination” allowing us the feeling we were cruising without hours of monotonous travels through bland landscapes of grey and beige riprap rocks along the levy banks. We even launched the dinghy for shore trips allowing Tito’s to do his thing in the morning and again in the evening. We were at least off-grid despite the very short cruise. Often our friend came to visit our oasis. Sometimes friends looking to get off the dock would come for a short visit. Dropping their anchor and drifting back to raft-up, their intent to visit for an afternoon often lasted the weekend. On glorious and beautiful weekends, there were enough boats to line the entire river requiring us to allow some boats to tie stern to stern to our raft up.
We enjoyed these weekends, even when the weather was less than ideal. Our boat was small (certainly nowhere as spacious as our home) but it was comfortable; perhaps even more comfortable than our big house. This became far too apparent after a week’s cruise to the San Francisco Bay and returning home. “Damn, I must be getting old,” I mumble under my breath, waking up at 02:10 hours for the call of nature. “Shit! It wasn’t all that long ago I didn’t wake until morning, now I can’t sleep more than two or three hours before needing to pee. This sucks!” I slowly rolled out of bed trying not to wake Monique. The head is located about two feet from the foot of her beside. Without fully waking up, I shuffle to the head, do my thing and return to bed; mostly without opening my eyes. But things were different when we returned home. Confirming my advancement toward old age, I work up again for the call of nature. But this time, we were home. The bathroom, still in our room, was located on the other side of the house. A hell of a walk, even when wide awake, I didn’t just roll out of bed and shuffle to the toilet. After rolling out of bed, I waddled the apparent mile, up-hill both ways, to the bathroom just to pee and then return to bed. “Shit! I’m wide awake” as I throw cold sheets and a blanket over my body. The disadvantages of a big-ass house were becoming more apparent and the coziness of our small boat began calling us to stay longer, even if we’re only moored at the dock.
Thoughts became utterances; utterances became conversations; conversation became plans. If spending long weekends on our small boat was more comfortable than living in our home, could we cruise long term? Is it worth discovering new places and meeting new people and visiting new cultures? Would this be a good experience for this family? Would such an adventure make it worth giving up my career and practice? Would Morgan be able to find happiness without being surrounded by her school friends? And can we financially survive if I’m not working? These are important questions we should answer before we sell our house and I give up my career. Well, the house is sold, but these questions weren’t answered as well as I expected before leaving. And that’s fine because whatever answers we may have created before leaving would be thrown out the window soon after leaving; here’s why!
It’s time to leave and get on with our adventures; so let’s goooooooooo! We have places to see and people to meet.