Home Isn't Where You Hang Your Hat.....

Home is where the people you care about most hang their's!

And southern Ontario, is home for us.

This will probably be the last blog entry for awhile. With any luck we'll get a small trip in August, just to blow off some steam, and there will be some maintenance entries this fall. But for now it is time to concentrate on putting together a land based home. And as such, I am afraid that this post is going to be short-short.

We left Oswego Canal lock 5 shortly after 7 am on Friday. The lockmaster was a little late for work, so we were slightly delayed, but made good time down through the remainder of the locks. The winds were blowing 20 knots out of the south, and I was a little concerned about heading out into Lake Ontario with that kind of wind, and the mast on the deck. But Serena was gung-ho, and unconcerned. "If its bad, we'll just turn back". It was a good call, because the winds on the lake never climbed over 10 knots, and we had a lovely, if boring 8 hr drive. Must be some kind of funneling effect from the Oswego valley that made the wind speed pick up in the canal. Anyway, we decided to push on to Trenton, as the forecast for Saturday showed 50 km/hr from the west, right on the nose. After weathering a few squalls, some bumpy going, and a 1:30 am pizza craving, we arrived at CFB Trenton Yacht Club, tied up to vistor's dock, had showers, and fell into our bunks.

We spent a lot of time reflecting on our trip as we traveled the last stretch towards home. It is amazing how much we have grown as sailors, and cruisers. How our attitudes have changed towards potential challenges, and hazards. I can remember being concerned about crossing Lake Ontario, anchoring, things that seem simple to me now. I remember being scared shitless of New York Harbor, which on reflection, seems just silly. And we can remember our naive beliefs about cruising, which stand up very little to the act itself.  Have we done something special? No, not really, people do this all the time, and some others make our little 9 month trip look like a stroll through the park. But for us it has been a tremendous opportunity to expand our experiences; and if lives can be measured by their experiences, then ours has just grown by leaps and bounds.

Whats next? Well, that's the big question. Building a house is first. But as far as cruising is concerned, I am sure there are plenty who do not expect us to go again. And there are days I go to bed wanting to sell Vita and move on to something completely different. However, we still love boat life, and there are still so many things that are on our bucket lists that include "Vita", so no doubt she will be in our family for a long time to come. As for cruising itself, I think that Serena and I have found the limits of our abilities, and as long as we keep them in mind, we should be able to cruise for many more years to come. As for gaining experience outside of what we have already done, well, ya just never know... Life is too precious and too short to deal in absolutes........