Prior to departure I did a lot of research, and by that I mean I read a lot of sailing blogs. I thought it would be wise to know what to expect in the life of a cruiser.  By the way, that's what they call this lifestyle of living and traveling on your boat full time. John wasn't as interested in the blogs.  His belief is that every experience is unique, and that it's pointless to try and compare.  Instead, he researched things like solar installation, weather patterns, water makers, and navigation.  I guess those things are important too.  In case there was any doubt, he is the brains behind Team Lucia.

My research has proven helpful, though.  When boat repairs and maintenance are part of our daily existence, I am not surprised, and when we have to fire up the engine more often than we'd like, there's no disappointment. I expect it. What I didn't expect, however, was the amount of social interaction we would have with friends both new and old. I sort of figured we'd be alone, just John and I and several 1,000 marine mammals. Instead, we've enjoyed numerous visitors: siblings, friends from Bend, from college, and from our many years at Mt Rainier. We've had random encounters with people from Oregon, we were hooked up with bike rentals in Santa Cruz (thanks Family Cycling Center), friends messaged us with memories and recommendations for the places we've visited, and we were even contacted by one of the original owners of our boat. 

Additionally, we've met other cruisers heading south, some for a year and some with dreams of circumnavigating. What I appreciate most about these interactions is that because the 'get to know each other' phase is in a time crunch, people just get right down to it. They give you 100%, they build community, they see the commonality despite the differences, and it feels like home.

So if you are worried that we are lonely, we are not.  But please come to visit, there's room for more.