LYDIA'S TOTALLY AWESOMELY FANTABULOUSLY NEAT-O PAGE
May 10th, 2006
Great Exuma-Bahamas
I'll start by saying......This is a TRUE story......most of you who know my family well may never believe this, but believe it! I mean, it wasn't really out of the ordinary for me, but for my parents, Bridey, and Caitlin...here it goes:
It all started when we were having dinner at a place called Two Turtles Bar and Resaurant. We ate DELICIOUS cheesburgers and then were just enjoying the atmoshere. There weren't many people around besides the few locals. The town was not "hopping", most of the nice hotels were miles away, but still, not many people come here for vacation. Anyway, we were sitting there and then we hear from behind us, "Well, look who it is!" We turned around and saw these two guys. We met these two guys first when we were in Rum Cay, Bahamas. They were on a fishing boat that was behind us at the fuel dock. They had just caught a Dolphin Fish (Mahi Mahi), and the captain was cutting it and cleaning it. The Captain asked if we wanted any and we said sure...and it was delicious by the way, and I hate fish! The two guys that were crew on the boat were a little older than college aged (I forgot their names), and the captain was in is late 30's or 40's. We started talking to them and learned that they were hear scouting out spots for a fishing tournament they were going to be in for the owner of the boat. Anyway, at the restaurant last night, we started talking to them and learned a whole lot more about them and they wanted to hear about our trip and everything. The fishing tourney starts from here, and that is why they were here. They informed us that it was karaoke night at the bar and asked if we would be staying. We had nothing better to do, so we stayed, and thought it would be fun to watch. We also were wondering who on earth could possibly be coming. A little later, people started arriving by the bus load! When the Karaoke started, everyoe around us seemed to have had a little too much to drink...I guess you can't have Karaoke without some tipsy people! The first song was people passing the microphone to everyone else because of embarrassment...and then MY MOM went up and requested "The Way You Move" by Outkast/Big Boi. We get up there and Caitlin, Bridey and I know every word to the song and start belting outall the rap parts without looking at the screen, and my mom new most of them. When it got to right before the first chorus, the CD started skipping, so he took it out and tried to rub it off. we started over again and when we got to the same spot it started doing it again. So we never got to finish, but everyone was very impressed. One of the guys we knew thought it was awesome that we were singing to the crowd without looking at the screen. A little later my mom and I go up for Nelly, Hot in Herre. A couple other people come up with us, but they blew it. I new every word and was singing towards the crowd, not the TV, and they were off beat and off key. All the guys in the bar were cheering me on, especially at the "like girl, I think my butt gettin' big" part. It was great. We tried again and again to get our fisher friends up there, but they refused. We had Whitney Huston, "I will Always Love You" playing and we were totally butchering the high notes. This guy that we met from Savannah finally came up for the first time that night to help us out a little, and he made Whitney Houston look bad. He was hitting the high notes and new all the words...I was amazed. We also, believe it or not, got my dad up there for "Give Me the Beat Boys" and "Brandy". He had a very good voice. Also, we were dancing up there when we weren't singing, busting up the dance floor. Caitlin, me, and my parents had our dancing shoes on! Bridey was pretty much a party pooper. After the 1st song "the Way You Move" she sat out the entire night. We had a blast. We were dancing and singing with a bunch of older girls and women that we met there...I haven't had this much fun the entire time we were there. When we were singing Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle", my dad told me to hold onto the microphone because I was the only one who had that song down, except for my mom and Caitlin. We wished that Brien and Molly had been there last night because it would have been even more fun with them! If you guys don't believe this, I have videos to prove it. I had my camera with me, so I took some short movies!
Well, Brien comes tonight and Molly a week from today......then we sail back to Charleston.
I am counting down the days until I get to see you guys! I can't wait!
May 3rd, 2006
It's MAY!!!!!!!! I can't believe
how quickly these last few months have gone! Oh, I am going to give my birthday "shout-outs"...Happy Birthday Paisley (on the 5th)!
Happy Birthday Andie (on the 14th)! and Happy Birthday Patrick (on the 17th, although I doubt he ever reads my page)!
This week we
have been in the Dominican Republic. We were going to go to a different place here, but the weather was not good for sailing (well
OUR type of sailing), so we stopped in Samana. We have been here since Sunday morning. We read in our "passage south" book that this
was a very dangerous place. There were huge warnings...they were almost implying that we shouldn't come here. Actually, we have found
quite the opposite. I mean, yeah there is the threat of getting things stolen, but you have that threat walking around the streets
of Chicago. As soon as we anchored, a boat came out carrying the customs guys on it. This was the first time that the Customs guy
came out to our boat. Then Joe (he drove the boat) brought my dad to Immigrations, and showed him where he could find anything he
needs. When went in for the first time, my dad told us to not wear any tight clothes, and to not be "good looking". I have to say
that it was pretty difficult for me to not be good looking...I mean I tried to look bad, but I just couldn't do it....haha. He said
this because we had heard all the bad things about this place. So, when we went in, there was an armed Navy guard ready to help us
off the dinghy, and then he watched our dinghy every time we were gone. This was the place where they had the biggest threat of getting
things stolen, and this is the only place that we didn't lock up our dinghy when we left it...go figure. Anyway, I absolutely LOVE
it here! The first few days were a holiday weekend for them...they have Labor Day in the spring. There is a huge election that is
going to take place at the end of the month, so they were having all sorts of rallies. They have a white party and a yellow party,
and each of them had a parade, and each had trucks with huge speakers on them playing the same song over and over again, but it was
pretty cool. They really get into politics around here, it would be so cool to see people get into it back in the States. Around here
everyone is so nice...but there is only one problem. Anywhere we went, they knew what boat we came from. Practically the whole town
knows who we are. But still, everyone says hi to us and they are extremely helpful. So, the entire time my parents lived in Lake Bluff,
they had no friends, and within 12 hours of being here, they had tons! Everyone talked to us if they knew who we were. People who
we met once came and were buddy buddy with my parents...it was cool.
Yesterday, we took a trip to a huge waterfall that was atleast
5 stories hi. So picture this, my mom is an even bigger worry wart than I am. She is always preaching about wearing seatbelts, and
being safe, and yada yada yad. Well, yesterday, we were sitting in the bed of a pick-up truck, going through hills and winding roads
at VERY excessive speeds. Of course my mom goes along with the ride in a town where there best hospital is 4 hours away and that isn't
saying much. When we got to the place, you were supposed to take horses to the waterfall. We wanted to walk because we need the exercise.
They kept saying, "are you sure you don't want to take horses? Most people decide part way that they want horses". We said no, because
really, how hard can it be to go on a 45 minute hike? Well, part way through we realized why they take horses. We were all in our
Keanes (shoes-we call them our adventure shoes) and our stained shorts and shirts (well, what of our clothes aren't stained), and
Caitlin had her adventure backpack. Most of the trip we were trying to avoid the ankle deep mud which was the path. We had to find
the harder stuff and try to walk on that. Now, we have videos of my gymnastics days with Mrs. Strauss, and believe me, I was NOT very
good at it. This mud was like walking on a balance beam and I was failing miserably. Everyone kept slipping and getting our feet covered
in dirt. Bridey had her Crocs on, so she ended up taking them off because she was covered in mud past her ankle. Then, on the decline
to the base of the waterfall, there were these steps made of rocks (if you have been to Devils Lake, they were kind of like those
rock steps). These rocks were not made for short people. My dad always complains about stairs being to close together and that they
are for short people, and he loved these steps. They were perfect for is long legs...(Brien and Patrick, when I wrote this I was thinking
"wong wegs", but no one else would understand). When we got to the waterfall it was definitely worth it. The waterfall was gorgeous
and even more fun to swim under...Caitlin even came swimming! Then when we got back to the entrance, they had a meal ready for us.
That was delicious!
So if you haven't read my moms yet, I tell you one of the best stories of all time. We were trying to find a place
to anchor outside of Samana (before we realized it wasn't that bad) and we saw 3 boats further along the coast. One started talking
to us on the radio, and he told us they were going to Samana and it wasn't that bad, but where they were anchoring was not ideal to
anchor. When my dad was talking, all the sudden a women on another boat came running out and started to hang over the side and starting
going to the bathroom...she was hanging over the side of her boat Pooping! My mom started calling her poopy girl. She came over to
introduce herself a few days later, and we found out that their toilet is broken...but still, there are better ways to do that. Well,
we are going to the market now...and we leave tomorrow for the Bahamas because the weather is finally going to agree with us!
Can't
wait to see everyone at the end of the month! Good luck with the rest of softball and school and whatever else!
4/28/06
Hello Everybody!
After St. Martin, we did an overnight sail to Anegada...this is an island in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). This is one of my mom's favorite places to go. They have a restaurant at the Anegada Reef Hotel. In the morning, you radio in and place your order, and then in the afternoon, you can watch them prepare the lobster on the side of the dock. When you go to shore, you can see all the fresh lobster in the cages right next to the dock. Then when your are sitting on your boat in the evening, they fire up all the grills on the beach and you can see all the flames, and if you are close enough, you can smell it all. Dinner is at 7:00 for everyone. The coolest part about having dinner here, is that you go in barefoot, and sit eating dinner with your feet in the sand. It is just so much fun. They give you dishes to pass around the table to go woth your main course...I just love it! If you ever have a chance to go to the BVI, you should go to Anegada for a day.
After Anegada, we went to the US Virgin Islands. We have never been here before. St. Johns is 85% national park or something, so it is beautiful. There are so many hiking trails and camp sites. We went to St. Thomas, but didn't really like it. It was just a big cruise ship town. It is a very big city, and all you could find there was duty free liquor, cigarettes, perfumes and Jewelry. I really don't understand how you can pack so many jewelry stores into that place, but they managed. You can get all of that stuff there, but we couldn't find ice anywhere. We searched the entire town and came back to the boat empty handed. What I did like about in St. Thomas was that in the bay that we were in, they had the airplanes that land and take-off in water. I took videos on my digital camera...I could watch these planes all day, it is so cool.
The next place we went was the Spanish Virgin Islands. We went to Vieques. This is where until a few years ago, the US used it for target practice and testing bombs. There were some beaches that you couldn't go on and couldn't anchor in the harbor...I wouldn't want to have our anchor cause a bomb to explode...that would be bad. This island is where Caitlin, Bridey and I had our near death experience. My mom always has these great ideas where she says, "YOu guys can go on an adventure! It will be like a sister thing! Won't that be fun? You can go find ice!" Oh yeah, sounds like a fun adventure. So, we dropped our parents off at one end of the beach so they could go on a beach walk, and we had to all the way to the other end...it was a very very long beach. They have swimming areas roped in, so there is only one place to pull the dinghy in. We had to go here because it was closest to the ice, and we didn't want it to melt. So we get close to the shore and Bridey jumps out to pull us in a little closer so it is shallower, and that is when we realized just how big the waves were crashing into the shore. So the dinghy was sideways, so we told Bridey to turn it reallt fast, so we were going forward again. Just as she did that a HUGE wave crashed in. It came over the dinghy, and made the dinghy go straight up so that the back end (with the engine) almost tumbled over the front end, where Bridey was. Caitlin and I got tossed around in the dinghy until we fell out. Bridey managed to pull the dinghy right on time, which prevented it from flipping all the way. The gas can was covered with water because so much got in the dinghy. Then we had to pull the dinghy up a steep slant onto the beach. There was so much water in the dinghy that is was too heavy, and we couldn't drain it because we pulled the plug, but where the plug was was still under the waves that were coming on shore. Finally we got it up far enough so we could drain the water. Then started laughing so hard, that it made Caitlin laugh. She got made at me for laughing though becuase then we couldn't pull it. When we left the dinghy to go get ice, there was sand and seaweed all over. Our parents were meeting us there, after their beach walk, and they were very confused when they got to the boat and saw how dirty it was. Then they looked at the waves and realized that it was really dangerous for us to be pulling in there. Atleast our stupidity didn't kill us. But, my dad said that that is how a lot of cruisers get injured, becuase they can't tell how bad the waves are until they are already in them. Well, we'll never so that again!
Now we are in Puerto Rico. Nothing real interesting yet. We anchored outside of Marina De Salinas. In shore they had this place called the Cruiser's Galley. It was really cool. It was run by cruisers and you could get internet in there, food, TV, and talk to other cruisers. I really liked the atmosphere. Then it was my mom's birthday last night. We got cake from a small bakery, Caitlin made dinner, and we have been collecting little presents along the way. She loved all of them. We were in a bay where no one else was. We were the only boat...it was awesome. Tonight we are doing some provisioning, and tomorrow we will go on a 36 hour sail to the Dominican Republic, and then the Bahamas! Hopefully by next week we will be there. Brien is meeting us there the 10th, and Molly is meeting us there the 17th! I am so excited! Oh yeah, yesterday I was captain for the day! It was exciting. I steered when picking the anchor up, and out of the anchorage and had to avoid reefs and stuff. It was fun!
I'll see all of you in a month!!!!!!!! I can't wait!
April 15th, 2006 and April 18th, 2006
So, we made it to St. Martin! Not that
we didn't think that we would make it here. We left yesterday (the 14th) morning at around 8:30, and sailed through the day and night,
and got here at about 2:00 today. We each had 2 hour watches, and then had 8 hours off. My first watch was fine because it was 1600-1800
hours...the rest of the world (including sailors) use what we call military time...I guess people think that the average American
can only count to 12, not 24...the one useful thing I have learned on this trip is to count to 24! Anyway, everyone was awake during
the day, which made watches easier because then you had company...that doesn't include Bridey...the only time she isn't sleeping is
when it is time for a meal, or it is her watch. I think if she had it her way, she would sleep the entire time during our passages.
My next watch, I was woken up for at 2:00 am...this one was fun because I got my alone time. I sat and looked at the stars, and thought
for 2 hours. Also, a huge container ship passes us the closest a big ship has ever gotten to us. But I did my job, took my bearings,
and concluded that we weren't on a collision course. I have learned how to tell which direction another boat is traveling by looking
at the lights, and if we are on a collision course, by using the hand bearing compass...it is actually kind of fun because it gives
you something to keep you busy and pass the time during your watches! The other cool thing that we saw as we approached St. Martin
was a huge aircraft carrier...it had at least 20 planes and helicopters aboard, if not more. As we came nearer, we saw that it was
the US Navy. We aren't sure what they could be doing in St. Martin, besides getting some R and R.
My favorite place that we have been
is Martinique. Not only do I love the way that the French make sandwiches (on a baguette), but everywhere we went had cute little
towns. Everyone was so nice, and it was fun trying to speak French to them, and it gave Caitlin and Bridey a chance to practice their
French. Also, we went to Fort De France, and they had AMAZING shopping. It has the feeling of a big city in the US, but a lot calmer.
And it was different from all the other places we have been because it is more...sophisticated. I absolutely loved that city and could
have stayed there for weeks!
We also went to Dominica (pronounced Dom-in-eeca)...this is where a lot of Pirates of the Caribbean 2
and 3 were filmed, and we saw some of where they filmed. It's funny though, because they were the original island that was asked to
have the first movie filmed there and they said no...and after the success of the first one, they happened to change their minds and
had the 2nd and 3rd filmed there.
After St. Martin, we are going to the Virgin Islands. Then we are going places in between their
and the Bahamas...places like the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico...and some others, we aren't really sure yet. Then the Bahamas,
then Charleston! Brien is coming around the first week in May, and then Molly comes around the 16th of May...I am so excited!!!!!
We will be back in Charleston between the 20th and the 25th or something. Then I will be coming to Lake Bluff on the Amtrak with Brien,
Molly, Caitlin and maybe Bridey...it should be fun, we have 2 overnight trips with a stop in Washington, D.C. For the day! What an
adventure...Brien always manages to find the inexpensive but fun ways of going places.
April 18th, 2006
We have been without Internet
for a few days. People not only celebrate Easter Sunday around here, but they celebrate Easter Monday, and they open late, close for
about 2 hours at lunch, and then close at about 4...making it a little difficult to find Internet.
Easter and Monday, we went to Orient
Bay in St. Martin. Yes, you may think this is gross because it is a nudist beach/resort place, but it isn't what it sounds like. For
the most part it is “Live and Let Live” as my Mom says. Naked people don't hassle the bathing suited (Not even sure that is a word,
but I'll go with it) and the suited people don't hassle the naked people. It is all about being natural. It is just a human body,
and people are doing nothing more than walking around and laying out naked. Yes, coming from a town like Lake Forest and Lake Bluff,
you hesitate a little bit when you see this. But we went there on a family vacation for Christmas one year, and I didn't care then
and I don't care now. I have always been the one who got really upset because at the pool I had to wear a top and the boys didn't...it
just seems so unfair. I know you are all wondering....and the answer is no...I didn't go naked or topless or whatever because I do
come from a society where this isn't what people do...although in places like Sweden, there are plenty of Nude beaches and there is
nothing unusual about going to them...and my Dad was there...and that was enough for me. I still don't understand why people think
it is so wrong to go to a place like this. I do think that some may make the assumption that since it is a beach where everyone is
naked, there must be more going on, but people are really just there to relax...and they just happen to want to relax natural...That's
why I loved this place, because everyone went along with their own business and no one seemed to care...it is such a great environment!
We are having a great time in St. Martin...we are calling this our mini vacation. Any time we ever referred to our trip as a vacation,
my Dad corrected us and either said “this is not a vacation, it's a trip”, or “this is not a vacation, it's an adventure.” This trip
has been relaxing and a great time-out from life, but it is a LOT of work. There is so much work to be done and so many things to
be taken care of..but we do make sure we have a lot of time to “see the world”. My brother's make fun of us for it. If we say something
about the poverty in one place, or anything related to this trip at all, Patrick says, “you guys think you are so worldly now.”
Well,
this trip is going by so fast and before I know it, it will be a month from now and we will be days away from Charleston. I guess
we'll have to enjoy the time we have left! See you guys soon!
April 1st, 2006
Howdy! So, Spring Break was so much fun. First my brothers came and we had so much fun on our family vacation. Then when Peyton and Amy came, we worked our way to St. Vincent. This is where most of Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. The first day we were there, we were riding in a taxi and the driver told us that he was hired to drive Johnny Depp around every time he was there filming. I swear to God Amy almost fainted. Then, we went to Wallilabou Bay. This is where most of the filming took place. The first thing that we saw was the rock that was used in Johnny Depp’s first scene. When he was coming in and he looked at the Pirates that were hung. Then we saw the things that he swung on when he was trying to escape after saving Keira Knightly. By the way, everyone we talked to said Johnny Depp was the nicest guy and talked to everyone, and shook their hands, and there were pictures of him all over the place of him with kids. Also, they all said Keira Knightly was “not nice” and wouldn’t talk to anyone. They still had a lot of the set up, so we walked around it. It was amazing!!
Spring Break is coming to an end (we’re in St. Lucia now), and Amy and Peyton are leaving tomorrow. We’re going back to having a junk food free boat, and a very low-key lifestyle. I can’t keep up with Amy and Peyton because I am so used to doing almost nothing (besides work on the boat).
That’s all for now…we’re off to Martinique tomorrow. Bridey and Caitlin are excited to practice their French!
See you guys in less than 2 months!!!
March 20th, 2006
Life has been somewhat uninteresting lately. Although, we went to
We have been going from island to island in The Grenadines until we went to Canouan to pick up my brothers. It has been so great to see them. It is amazing how fun they are to be with when you are no longer living with them. I missed them so much and it is going to be hard to say goodbye to them again. We are going to go back to Canouan on Friday to pick up Amy and Peyton, so we have a fun two weeks ahead of us!
One day, we were in a bay called
One thing that we have gotten used to while we have been here is Island Time. Everything is so slow around here and nothing is opened at certain times. They just kind of close and open when they feel like it, and at the restaurants, you never know how long it will take. It is going to be very different when I come home and everything goes back to being fast pace…I kind of enjoy the slow and care free lifestyle some of the time, but sometimes it does get a little frustrating.
That’s about all of the interesting things that have been going on lately...Hopefully next time I will be able to tell you some good stories the next time I update.
As always, I miss you guys and I can’t wait to see you!
March 5th, 2006
So, it has been awhile, but for good reason…I just didn’t feel like getting sea-sick just to type up an entry for you guys to read. I figured it would be the same two weeks later, so I waited! This may be a long one, and it may take me a few days to write seeing as I have ADD and can’t sit in front of this computer screen for long periods of time. It just manages to bore me. However, I do have good old Kelly Clarkson playing right now, and that will keep my attention for longer. I LOVE KELLY!
Anyway, the sailing
had its good moments and its bad. First, we had to make a change of plans very early. Our generator broke, and that is (obviously)
what provides us with all of our power…and that makes it very hard to sail because you can lose all the use of your electronics. First
we stopped in
Well, we got out alive, and never had to go behind bars! Our next destination was
During the sail, there were about 4 days that were miserable. One of those days, I ended up lying in bed all day, unless it was my turn to be on watch. What was worse was that we couldn’t go outside. The waves were crashing all over the boat, so anywhere you went, you got drenched. For these for days, my mom was so seasick that she stayed in bed for 4 days straight. It was just so choppy. Plus, I never slept well because one, the bunks are really uncomfortable, two, my bed is under water, so the waves bashing against the side are really loud, and three, with the watch system, you have 3 hours on, 6 hours off, so you can only get 6 hours of sleep at a time. With all the noise though, that was VERY interrupted sleep. That wasn’t even the worst part of the passage. The worst was that the toilet leaks, so we have to clean it a lot because it leaks continuously and it smells.
There were parts of the passage that were good. Team Roam (that is what
my dad and I called our cooking team and we were also watch partners, so yeah…we took that name so no one else could have the name
team Rome…and we always managed to wear our Roam t-shirts on the same day, and then put on our Roam hats just for fun!) Anyway, Team
Roam were the BEST cooks ever. Everyone always had seconds and complimented our cooking. All we did were things like Chicken seasoning
with rice, red and green peppers and chicken…simple but delicious. Also, on the second night of the whole sailing part of the trip,
my dad and I had the Midnight to 3 AM watch. It was pitch black and we were right underneath the Milky Way. There were billions of
stars, and Saturn was shining bright behind us, and we saw the Southern Cross for the first time. It isn’t as cool as I though it
was going to be. It is just like the North Star, except it is a constellation and it points south. It was so beautiful though. The
best part of the trip though have been the sea creatures. The flying fish are cool, and we saw a ray jump 5 ft. out of the water.
Even cooler are the dolphins. They have come up to our boat multiple times and swam with us for 10 minutes. We think it is because
we are a Dolphin Catamaran and so we are like kin to them. On the day we arrived in
Well, I want to go to bed…I think it is almost 1 o’clock here…oh yeah, we sailed to T’dad this morning after spending yesterday afternoon and evening with Jorge’s friends, who we ran into in T’go. They knew that we were going to be in T’dad, but they had no idea that we were stopping in T’go. And they said that they never go to town in the afternoon, and that day they just decided to. On our way to Immigrations and Customs we ran into them, and spent the rest of the day with them. It really is a small world. They were the most amazing people I have ever met. They were so nice and they are the type of people that you trust right away, and you’re not sure why. And Anne is like everyone’s mom and I just wanted to hug her. They were such great people, and I am really thankful that I met them. It felt like we had known them forever!
Not much to report in T’dad, because we haven’t left the marina yet. We will tomorrow though. But I took a long shower, and a hot one and it felt damn good. And in T’go we had the best pizza ever. Maybe both these things were so great because we were sick of our food choices, craving a lot (all I wanted when we got here was a huge bowl of mashed potatoes, a Dove Bar, and anything to drink that was not water), and all of our showers were water conserving, every 3 days, and cold. I mean, we didn’t need to wait 3 days for a shower, but the generator broke again (like 3 days after it was fixed) and is still broken, and that gives power to the water maker to convert salt water to fresh water, and it was such a hassle to take a shower in the tiny bathroom, with the waves throwing you into the walls. There is an outdoor shower, but when it is real rough, you can’t really use it without my mom constantly worrying about you falling off, and telling you to hold on every 3 seconds, and you have to wear a bathing suit in the outside shower. Needless to say, we all looked our finest with greasy hair and hairy legs and armpits. Although, I got a gift of deodorant from a source that I will leave unidentified for their protection and that kept me smelling fresh. That was how we freshened up. However I did shower especially for the occasion of crossing the equator. I mean come on; we were going from one hemisphere to the other!!!
I made it through everything in one sitting, wow, impressive. Thank God for Kelly. I even have a bracelet that says WWKD, What Would Kelly Do. And you think I’m kidding.
Miss you guys! See you soon!
February 16th, 2006
Well, it has been an interesting week in Aracaju, Brazil. We arrived on Sunday afternoon, only to find that there are only a couple of people who speak English in the whole city! We have found one nice lady at the hotel who speaks pretty good English and has been helping us out. But, we made it through the week without getting lost, or ordering the wrong thing at a restaurant (my mom being the exception: she ordered the wrong thing once).
Monday was not the best day. It was my dad’s 50th birthday and I pretty much ruined his big day. They left me in the hotel room around 10:00 with a stomachache, headache, and a temperature of about 99.3 degrees. By 2:00, I had a fever just shy of 103 degrees, and I was on the verge of delirium. It was not pretty…I pretty much thought I was going to die. I haven’t had a fever since I was young, and I don’t remember what it feels like. All I was thinking was “Oh, great. I am going to burn to death because my fever won’t stop going up, and I am going to have to try to communicate that I need an ambulance to the people in the hotel that don’t speak English.” Maybe I was overreacting just a little, but having a fever is not fun. Then, my sisters and my parents stayed in, and my dad’s 50th birthday dinner was pizza from some Brazilian Pizzeria in a hotel room, watching the Olympic re-runs that they have been playing in a cycle for 3 days now. The great news is….I lived!!!!
I got to see our boat for the first time yesterday, and went for a sail. We were going faster than I have ever gone in a boat before. It was AMAZING!!! We came here thinking that the boat wouldn’t even be in the water until yesterday or the day before. It turns out our boat is ahead of schedule! We thought that we were leaving maybe Sunday, but probably Monday. Yesterday, we were told that we had to leave Friday (tomorrow)! We didn’t think that was possible, we still had to provision for our 2 week trip without stopping! Luckily, we got a ton done today, and will be ready to go tomorrow! It is just amazing though, all of theses months we have been waiting and now it is finally here. It seemed like forever until a month ago, and then that month went by in a snap!
We met our captain, Jorge, the other day. He is really really nice, and really smart. I have complete confidence in him that he will keep us safe, teach us what we know, and help us get to Trinidad. After that though, we will be left alone. He is just with us for the first 2 weeks to teach us what we need to know about the boat, safety stuff, ocean passages, etc. I think we will have a great time with him. He has a sense of humor, so we have nothing to worry about. Nothing is worse than being with a person who can’t joke around and have fun, at the same time being responsible and our Captain. I think it will work out nicely.
I am not sure if I will be able to update my page or not during this passage. There is a way to e-mail Brien my logs, that is of course if he was willing to do that for me. I’ll try to keep you guys up to date with our Voyage. I’ll also try to load up some pictures when we get to Trinidad. I am so excited to show them to you guys. I miss you all!
February 9th, 2006
Hello Everybody!!
I am having so so so so much fun already. We are in
It is very different lifestyle down here. There is a lot of poverty, and not many people speak English. The language barrier, however, has made everything a little more fun and interesting. Have you ever tried to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak English? It is usually very frustrating and difficult. I have always wanted to speak another language, and wanted to hear what English sounds like to them. Now I walk around, and no one speaks English. We are walking around with our Portuguese dictionary, and trying to communicate. We are doing very well though. We (or I should say Caitlin mostly) has learned to say thank you, excuse me, how much does it cost, no ice (for our drinks), please, and then some more that only Caitlin knows. The locals are very nice and attempt to help us with our pronunciations, and they practice their shaky English with us. It is a lot of fun!
I can’t wait until next week when we get to see our boat for the first time!!! We are leaving
I am so glad that I am able to have this experience. It has been so great to see the world from another view. I have gotten away from the sheltered life of Lake Bluff/Lake Forest, and I am experiencing a whole new life. It has been interesting to be the one who is “different” from everyone else. It has been so interesting so far. If any of you ever get the chance to have these experiences, don’t hesitate, just go. You won’t be sorry.
I’ll update you guys about the boat after we get to see it, and start sailing! I miss you guys a bunch, and I can’t wait to hear from all of you along the way. E-mail me and let me know what’s going on in your lives!
February 2nd, 2006
Hey Everybody!! I miss you all so much, but I am having a great time in warm South Carolina! The morning that you guys got 10 inches of snow, we were at the beach! It was 73 degrees that day, and we saw dolphins! I can't wait until we leave on Monday. I have been so bored (as most of you know because of my frequent e-mails), but now that our day of departure is only 3 full days away, I am feeling like I should have been doing more than watching re-runs of Dawson's Creek, ER, Gilmore Girls, and of course getting my daily fix of Ellen!! In the past 7 days we have taken so many Target trips, that I am afraid that I will get sick of that store, just kidding (don't worry Andie, I don't think I could ever get sick of Target). Today we brought Bridey to our new Target, she was a Mt. Pleasant Target virgin. Oh, how I love Target!
The other day, I went to get our South Carolina license. It wasn't as thrilling as I thought it would be...maybe that's because I have been driving for 2 years : ) Yesterday, we stocked up on books for the trip. While my parents and Caitlin were looking at the historical books, and the books you really have to think about when you read, I was in the "teen" section getting my trashy, no-brainer books. I know I will probably appreciate my mom's books on the Vietnam War, and U.S. History, but I love reading the books taht are full of nonsense!
On to more important things...I decided that next fall I will be attending College of Charleston. I love the city, and I love that the campus is spread out right in the middle of the city. It is so so so pretty! I also love the fact that it is only about 15-20 minutes away from home. That way, my mom can come and meet me for lunch, or to go shopping whenever we want! Also, Bridey will be able to come see me anytime to, because as much as I don't want to admit this, I did miss her the past two weeks...but only a little.
Well, that's all for now! I let you all know how Brazil is next week! We will be able to get and send e-mails for the next two weeks-ish. After that, we will be on our two week passage to Trinadad, so I won't be able to update or e-mail. I miss you tons, and I love y'all! (hehe, I said y'all)