All those in favour of being abnormal....stand up

I admit to having a severe case of itchy feet.  I’ve been this way all my life.   While many of my childhood friends still reside within the same community, I feel no angst in contemplating a change of venue.  A new province, a new state or country, a new house, a new neighborhood or job; for me, change is as necessary as breathing.  For many, deciding to move away from an established circle of friends and routine is anathema.  To leave behind family, and a house turned into a home, surrounded by cherished possessions to some is a foreign and inconceivable notion.  

For the last 4 years, Ron and I have moved from country to country, anchorage to anchorage, and have reveled in “the new”.  Ron is a bit more settled than I, and there have been times when the Captain and the Admiral have stood chest to chest to determine who had the right of way.  We both win, based on who wants to move or stay the most.  When I’ve seen a new view off the back of the poop deck every few weeks, to stick in one spot for more than a month is strange.  Which brings me to Panama…..

Here we still are.  We arrived here at the La Playita anchorage in the middle of January.  If someone had asked me where we’d be now, mid-April, I would have said that we would have made two or three trips out to the Perlas and back to Panama City.  Friends on other boats couldn’t get out of Panama fast enough, but strangely, we seem to have settled in here quite nicely.  We’ve been working on the boat (when don’t we?) but after the constant moving in 2013, it feels pretty great to stop and take a breath.  

Lest you think that I’ve been sedentary, I DID make a trip back to the states on a “parts run”, and ended up staying there for almost 5 weeks.  Two months ago, in a moment of sheer madness, (and there could have been some alcohol involved) one evening Ron and I bought a 5 acre parcel of land on ebay, sight unseen, in Puget Sound.  This trip to San Diego also included a trip north to Washington State to see just what we had done.  Located on Key Peninsula, across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, our little plot of land needs a bit of work, and by “bit” I mean that should we decide to keep this place and make it our own, our days of working on a sailboat will be interspersed with working to make a little plot of wilderness habitable. 

Neither Ron nor I are wedded to the idea of being a part of this sailing life forever; however we also know that to hang out in one spot for too long is also not what we are about.  The piece of land is a start to figure out just what we want to do when we are tired of this game.  Whether it be Washington based, sea-based, another little slice of heaven in some yet-to-be-discovered island or country, or a combination of two, or three, or more options, is up for discussion.  

From an early age, I never wanted to be normal.  When everyone in my “group” was smoking pot, I opted to be the only girl that didn’t.  When all my high school contemporaries were heading to the ball games, I was heading to a full time job.  When my friends were popping out babies left and right, my loins remained barren (thank GOD!!!!).  All those people that now consider becoming “alternative” with a tattoo, will not count me among the inked.   I’ve never regretted any of my choices, although some of them have given me a wrinkle or two.  To be ORDINARY just wasn’t something I was interested in.  I have only one life, and man, I mean to try to DO IT ALL!