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| A NEW DAY!!!! |
I have put off doing this post now for almost a month, but now I must. This will most likely be my last post on this blog. Because we have ended the journey of the Lady J, right in Sheboygan, WI.
Before we ever left our dock in Sandusky Mike and I had agreed that on September 1st we would sit down and have a serious discussions as to whether we still wanted to continue this journey. Was the fun outweighing the stress and could we afford (financially) to go on. Well that conversation did indeed take place. Not so much planned as it just came up on our sixth day of fog in Sheboygan. There were many factors in our decision. First was the cost, we were on a limited budget and were not willing to delve into our "retirement" money to finance this expedition. Yes there are ways of cruising cheaply, we ate most all meals on board, took no side trips, rented no vehicles on days we couldn't cruise. Our money went to fuel, food, and docking and miscellaneous items like charts, parts, etc. We were not comfortable anchoring out so the majority of our money went to dockage fees. So consequently when we were stuck because of weather the days became a bit monotonous and frustrating. This probably effected me more than it did Mike, as you see I am not much one for just sitting around, I like to be busy. Besides the fact we missed our kids and grand kids not to mention our friends back home.
So we made the decision that day to end this amazing journey, sell the boat and return back to Ohio. What amazed me still to this day is how quickly we made the decision and executed it so quickly. Literally within two days of making this decision we put the boat up with a broker, rented a truck, emptied her out of all our belongings and were on the road back to Ohio. So the boat will stay in Sheboygan until she is sold. She is in great condition and ready to go on a new journey.
We on the other hand have landed in Blacklick Ohio, just outside of Columbus. We have rented a condo near our family and have not looked back. Well at least not for too long. We were so blessed when we arrived back in Ohio, we stayed with our dear friends Ed & Julie Kerns while we looked for a place to settle into. Within a week we were able to locate a place we liked and with the help from our amazing family we moved in and have now been here for 2 weeks.
Is this where we want to be? For now, yes. Will we continue to travel? If we have anything to do with it, YES! Are we thrilled to be near our family and friends? ABSOLUTELY!!!
Is there life after living aboard? Yes, in fact check our our new blog at http://afterourjourney.blogspot.com
Thanks to everyone who followed us on our amazing journey. Now begins our new journey on land.
