Friday, November 19, 2010

The End


Once it became apparent that the U.S. Virgin Islands were out of our reach Pete and I needed a revised plan. Keenly feeling the bite of homesickness by this point, the thought of living on the boat for the summer was not appealing. Pete wanted to be back in NH for the Summer and I was committed to a seasonal job river guiding in Jackson Hole. We needed a place to leave the boat. Enter our friend Laila. She had an empty dock at her house and generously agreed to let us park Strolla there for the Summer.

After a joyful reunion with her and our first night's rest on land in many weeks, we awoke the next morning ready prepare Strolla for a season of disuse. Over the next several days, anything that could mildew in Florida's muggy summer air was stripped out and stowed away in the dry heat of Laila's attic. The boat was emptied, the water tank bleached, the engine oil changed. Then, we cleaned. We scrubbed Strolla's ample interior from bow to stern. Ant poison was laid and cockroach traps set and, when there was nothing more we could do for her, we said goodbye to Strolla and Laila and boarded a plane for New Hampshire.

Our flight had a layover in Baltimore. The first leg of the trip from Florida was out over the ocean and I slept most of the way. The final hop home from Maryland, however, took us through clear Spring skies and right up along the coast.

Having spent so many hours studying our coastal charts on the passage South, I found I could readily identify the landmarks slipping by beneath me as I headed back North. I could even make out the individual harbors where we had spent the night, breakwaters we had groped by in the dark, lighthouse we had scanned for on the horizon. Like turning back the clock, I could count backwards through the days of our trip as we covered in minutes the distances that had taken days to travel in the other direction. A reminder of all we had done, all the places we'd been, all the things we had seen.


A very special thank you to everyone from Cape Cod to Cuba that helped us and housed us and advised us and fed us along the way. Without you this trip would certainly not have been possible.

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