“Searching is half the fun: life is much more exciting when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.” ~Jimmy Buffett
Though I agree with the idea of a “Bucket List”, I never liked the basic guidelines, “Things to do before you die.” Being the prefect procrastinator I would, by my vary nature, not try to accomplish anything on the list until I became terminally ill or very old thereby defeating the purpose of the list in the first place.
I like Jimmy’s idea of the “Scavenger Hunt” list. Even a procrastinator recognizes that a scavenger hunt is a race and should be completed now.
So after a few quite months in the Swamp House our need to get on the move again has surfaced and here are a few things that we have on our scavenger hunt list for this upcoming year.
1. The sailing cruise will continue as we jump back aboard the Great Escape in two weeks and move her 300 miles north to Jacksonville FL.
2. We always wanted to see Jimmy Buffett in concert but never got around to doing it. But this is the year. Floor tickets have been purchased and we are off to see the Parrot Head’s founding father in concert in February.
3. The greatest sailing, travel, adventure book of all time will be released in April. The name is still a work in progress as well as the cover. If anybody has a book title suggestion we would love to hear it.
Here are a few that we came up with.
– From the cubicle to Key West: We quit our jobs, sold all of our stuff and sailed away.
– The Greatest of Escapes: We quite our jobs, sold all of our stuff and sailed away.
– Own Less and Live More: A sailing adventure that takes you from the cubicle to Key West.
4. And then in June or July, it’s off to the Marche region of Italy where we will rent a small house and enjoy the Italian lifestyle for three months.
—
We left town last January before Roxanne could eat a large bowl of boiled crawfish and during the whole sailing adventure she was constantly on the lookout for anybody in Florida who sold these little red Cajun delicacies. Sadly there were none to be had.
With crawfish season just beginning, Roxanne swore she wasn’t going anywhere without a crawfish fix. As fortune would have it, Orlando’s seafood just started serving crawfish and Roxanne stuffed herself on the boiled mudbugs and raw oysters. Once again we have a happy cajun.
I love the name, ‘Own Less & Live More’. After all it is our memories that stay with us after all the material things are gone.
Thank y’ll for allowing me to enjoy your travels. What an awesome life to be living. Have an great trip.
I wish you smooth sailing.
Thanks Melvina,
The “Own Less & Live More” title is my favorite also.
I enjoy your blog. It is nice to know someone is living the life that they dreamed off. I do have a couple of questions though. I thought this year you were going to sail in the carribean. What changed your plans? Also, are you sailing to Italy? And lastly, is the book going to have more details about sailing, how to find docking, how you have Internet service on the boat, just more details,so those that dream about what you are doing can pretend we are going to do the same thing. Even though we never will.
Keep living the dream for the rest of us.
Hi Brad,
Escaping the cubicle doesn’t happen overnight. I know my wife and I spent a lifetime tangling ourselves in a web of car payments, mortgage payments and credit card debt, so escaping all of that doesn’t happen overnight. It truly is a daily effort that takes time.
And escapes come in many fashions. We chose the cliché’ sailing away escape but others buy an RV and cruise the country and some take on short term leases in furnished houses as they fly around the world.
Not everyone is ready to leave their job but small adventures are still possible. Most people I know have a car note but if they opted for a sufficient used car instead, the money they saved from making car payments could have them enjoying a two week vacation in Hawaii or Europe, every year. Start small and see what you can come up with.
Our plans do change, almost daily sometimes. We are trying to sell our sailboat so we can by a Trawler or some other kind of motor boat. We seem to be in constant negotiations with someone and that’s why we have remained in the States.
We will fly to Italy. Though staying in a tourist location at a hotel is very expensive, leasing a furnished home outside of the tourist traps is much more affordable.
I have worked some of the logistics into the book but I have kept it to an absolute minimum thinking that it might bore most people. I may include an appendix that specifically deals with the logistics part of the story.
Thanks for the questions Brand and merry Christmas
Coop, like the cover. Looks like you. Think how you could make the books a series. Cubicle to key west, cubicle Italy , India…etc
Be safe and have fun !!
lol. Is that a big head joke?
You guys are great! We will follow your adventure on land or sea, you’re funny and always have something interesting to say! And that goes for Roxanne and Logan, too :-) Rain or shine, have a fun trip up the ICW and watch for dolphins and “large prehistoric critters”!
You are all welcome to come visit us anytime in Harrogate, England. My husband is working here for 3 years, and we are half-way. We have plenty of room at our house for the three of you, especially since you are accustomed to living on a boat. : ) I quit my job and our two boys are in school here. The North Yorkshire Dales are beautiful and there are lots of castles. We went to Italy last summer. Our favorite was the Cinque Terre! Enjoy the Buffet concert next month.