Heading south

Heading south on a beautiful day. Nothing like unwinding on the boat. Motor off and just listening to the whoosh of the water. Breathe.  

Northbound

Enjoyed Key West, but just like Vegas, a few days is enough.  Went to Schooner's Wharf for our last fish tacos, and left the next morning about 9.  We had a beautiful overnight sail.  Very comfortable point of sail and breezy almost the entire way.  Landed at Crow's Nest mid afternoon.  Benstock's stopped by to fuel up, and then we went for a nice walk on the beach and swam.  While out on the jetty, it started raining.  We had a good thunderstorm, and it was pretty to watch from the boat.  After it subsided, we grilled a delicious steak, cauliflower and corn.  We watched a movie that I chose, which was so depressing we laughed!  Next time Eric will choose the movie.

Taking the inter coastal to Longboat Key Club for our last night of vacation.  It's pretty humid and warm, so we will enjoy having air conditioning and a pool.

We made it to Key West

Our overnight was uneventful.  Around midnight the winds picked up and Eric let me sleep until 6 am.  I took over and watched the sunrise.  We arrived safely in Key West about noon, and went to have our traditional margarita and swim.  We cleaned up the boat and did laundry.  The Benstock's arrived on Sababa about 5, along with crew Shirley and Zack to help them.  We went to A and B restaurant for a bunch of h'ors doevres.  The following day I went for a long walk, and Eric worked out on the boat.  We went to Duval for a really fun parade.  I paddleboarded, which is really fun around here with all of the huge yachts.  Mike made dinner on their boat and we watched the Lighting win.  The funniest part was when they scored and Eric threw up his hands - only problem was he had a full glass of red wine which spilled over everything.  

Last night we did something we had not done before.  We went to the roof top of the building next to us and watched the sunset.  Beautiful.  Some men who caught MANY fish gave us some fresh mahi and we grilled it for dinner.  Delicious.  

It is so much fun to be here on our beautiful boat.  It is so interesting to walk around and hear everyone's stories.  Some people have been very lucky in business and have been able to retire early and spend a lot of time on their boats.

Today we took advantage of our water toys.  We went kayaking and I paddleboarded again, which I love.  We reprovisioned the boat and will take off in the morning.

Key West or Bust 2016

We left St. Pete on Monday morning after Mothers Day.  We sailed to Moores Stone Crab, one of our favorite anchorages in Longboat Key.  Only to find that the restaurant, Moores, was no longer there.  A crane was taking it down.  Funny that new cruisers to the area will never know that Moores was there. To us it will always be Moores.

We grilled delicious grouper for dinner.  I paddleboarded around the area, which I love.  In the morning we headed to Venice.  When we arrived, we saw the boat HEADROOM was there.  Our friends, Tom and Brady.  We were so happy to see each other.  I paddleboarded, very close to a dolphin, and then Eric and I walked on the beach and swam.  We pooled our food with Tom and Brady, and after the four of us walked on the jetty to watch the sunset, we had a delicious dinner on their boat.

This morning we headed off to Key West.  It was a beautiful day on the water.  We tried to catch dinner, but only caught 3 inedible fish, Bonitas.  So I baked bread, and we ate leftover chicken which was delicious.  The smell of the fresh bread baking was amazing.

I am really having fun with my new Ukelele.  Eric and I are playing duets and having fun.  I am on watch now for a couple of hours.  I have not even napped today.  The day has gone so quickly.  For the first time, I have not even read, because I was afraid of getting seasick.  I have never enjoyed a day so much.  It was just a pleasure to relax and look at the beautiful water and just chill.

Born in the USA (thank goodness)

After over 20 hours of flying, we are in California, spending a few days with Josh, Ali, Ari and Jesse and trying to recover from jet lag.  

Some reflections on the trip - Vietnam is a beautiful country.  The people are extremely friendly and welcoming.  The majority of them work extremely hard in very extreme heat just to be able to feed their families.  Their chance of being able to leave their tiny bubble to experience anything else is basically impossible.  There is a very small minority that live well there, but that is because they are government officials and they are most likely corrupt, and know how to work the Communist system to their advantage.  

I think it is very sad that so many thousands of Americans, and millions of Vietnamese people were killed in a war that to me seems senseless.  I am not sure I understand what it accomplished, if anything.  

It is very good to be back on US soil.  How fortunate I am to live in a country where I  am free to live as I want, travel to wherever I desire and enjoy an extremely privileged life.   And that what traveling is really about - to "culture shock" and, in the end, come home with a refreshed perspective.

Hanoi

We arrived in Hanoi, and checked into a lovely hotel.  Across the street there was a building that looked like it had been bombed, yet there were people living in it.  That is the norm in Vietnam.  Hanoi is a bustling city, filled with hundreds of scooters going in every direction; no rules.  Every man and woman for themselves.  

We spent much time in the old quarter, where each street specializes in something different - there is a clothes street, button street, fake Rayban street, purse street, etc.  The sidewalks are so full of scooters, one has to walk in the street. I tried to walk on the sidewalk and a man walking with his daughter said to me "the sidewalks are not for walking!"  We were fascinated with the Hanoi street life. Hundreds of businesses in dilapidated builidings, and they all live where they work.  We saw tiny alleyways alongside the businesses, and there is laundry hanging, people sleeping, children playing.  People are cooking on the streets and washing their dishes there as well.  It is like being in another century.  We ate lunch at a Bon Mi shop that Jacob recommended, and the owner told us he remembered Jacob.  

We saw the Ho Chi Minh's tomb - his body is actually been preserved, and people wait hours to see it (we only saw the outside of the building).  My new friend, Maureen, took me somewhere where she had gotten a manicure, near our hotel. I will never forget it - a run down tiny shop, where children were playing with play doh on the floor.  She keeps the nail clippers on floor (thank goodness, she didn't really use them on me) and when I looked upstairs, I could see where they all sleep.  

We ate Pho at a tiny place with benches and guests sit down, and they bring you pho!  That is the only thing they serve.  There are humongous pots where they cook the stock and huge slabs of beef they use for the pho.  A real experience.  We also went to a famous restaurant, again very tiny (you have to walk upstairs and there are about 5 tables) and the only thing they serve is grilled fish; they actually cook it on your table, with tumeric and greens.  Yum.  We saw a water puppet show that was fun (except that the seats were made for Vietnamese people, not Americans with long legs!  I didn't know what to do with my legs!)

We visited the"Hanoi Hilton," the prison where John McCain was during the war. It was amazing to see the section about American soldiers, with propaganda pictures of them smiling, playing checkers, decorating the Christmas tree, etc.

We had a farewell dinner, that was delicious and said goodbye to our new friends.  

Above is a very typical house (for those lucky enough); they are all built up and very narrow.

This restaurant, called Cha Ca La Vong, is 1 of 1,000 places to eat before you die!  One menu item!

Water puppet show

Great pho 

The Vietnamese mini van!  It is common to see a family of four on a scooter.

On a personal note

I am very touched by how excited Josh and Jacob are about the experiences Eric and I are having.  Even leading up to this trip. their happiness for us was clear.  While on this trip, they have been anxiously awaiting reports from us.  

This trip pushed me out of my comfort zone; I haven't had a strong desire to travel too far from home.  It is much easier to just step on the sailboat and stay close, but still enjoy a wonderful escape.

But Josh's blog post about what are we looking for when we travel really sums up this trip for me; Josh concludes that we travel to see how people live and to get "culture shocked."   I have definitely accomplished those things in Vietnam.  I have done a good bit of traveling, but Vietnam is different.  It is struggling to break out ot the old and move forward, but this country is so poor and most of the people don't know there is a different life.  Their lives are on the streets - literally.  They cook on the street, socialize and sleep.  This is what their parents and grandparents did, and there are so many young people who are following in those footsteps.  The difference now is that they all have smartphones and are able to see there is more - but the chances of them being able to break away is almost impossible.

So, thank you Eric, Josh and Jacob for encouraging me to step out of my bubble.  I have gained a new perspective.  Vietnam has definitely "culture shocked" me.