Doing Hard Time

Saying Goodbye in Antigua

We're 3/4 of the way through our first "intermission" - our first of two separate eight week stints of work in the US. The boat is in Antigua ...........and Kirstin and I are living out of suitcases in various cities while I work.

I've had to be a bit evasive in business meetings............."So Tom, where do you live ?"......Can't tell a guy from Allentown, Pennsylvania that I live in Antigua on a yacht..........I just quip that I have a long commute.

The transition has been difficult, to say the least..........I arrived in DC wondering why I was sneezing constantly. I found to my horror that both of the suits I had brought back from the Caribbean had mold on them.............hanging in a humid locker in our sailboat did not do too much for wool.
Being the cheap cruiser that I have become, I wiped them off with a Clorox wipe and in my mind, they're fine..........and since my work involved being in hospitals, anyone I cause to become ill is already in the right place anyway, right ?

Being cold has been a huge adjustment for both of us............especially Kirstin (her parents live in Wisconsin). Our tans are completely gone and we've both had colds since we arrived. I think our time in Miami Beach and the Caribbean has rendered us completely unsuited to winter.

An a positive note, we've been able to see family and reconnect with people. Kirstin is a regular on the Wisconsin fish fry circuit.........a curious local tradition. I've seen nieces, nephews, mom, and siblings.

We have accumulated all the spare parts we need for our next 4 months on the boat and are eager to return to L'ORIENT to begin our work. Just 14 more days and we're back in Antigua and on the boat.