We Are NOT in the Bahamas (Yet)

This is a good news/bad news type of post. The best part of the good news is that we successfully surprised my mom and Rylie for Christmas. Neither expected us on the west coast for the holiday. To be honest, we didn't expect to be there either until the waning days of November. As the December departure date was clearly not going to be met and the weather was looking a bit dismal, we figured a trip to the West was in good order. I was in need of a visit to the homeland. It does a soul good to share space, time, laughter and food with family and friends. Love replenishes qi (great scrabble word, by the way).

Carson City lights were beautiful.

Although it felt rather weird, a bit self-promoting, and maybe presumptuous, I made presents from my art. I liked how they turned out and the gifts were well received, so perhaps it was a decent idea. Then, I decided Aevitas needed a better, cushier, water absorbent mat at the bottom of the companionway stairs and, in keeping with the "use my art" theme, I had one made. I love how it looks and am now contemplating other items to add to my boat decor. Why not? It is a Free Radical Hippie kind of boat after all.

On December 27, just before we left Nevada, Captain Jeff called with a new proposed leave date: January 3! Oh boy! We'd be back to the boat on the 29th and the new water heater still needed to be installed. Sure, we can do it. Oh yeah, and the wind instrument is being funky and there is something odd going on with the oil pressure indication. Also, we need to provision and the dog has to get her vet check for the Bahama pet permit before we sail. No worries! Deadlines are very motivating. We were strategizing, planning, figuring it out.

Happy New Year! Water heater update - apparently nothing is straightforward in boats - much like life, there are many variations on a theme. Dave got the water heater installed in record time. Looks like we may be ready by 1/3! And... it leaks. What!?! The current leak is coming from one fitting. The fitting in question is a different size than all the other fittings. But, what is it exactly? Well, that is a mystery that must wait until the hot water heater dealer opens on 1/3.

And then... the weather (of course!). January 3 looked decent, but January 4 started looking a little less ideal. Maybe a sigh of relief that we had a few more days? Uh, yes.

The bad news is that we are now on The Bahama Adventure Plan # 1,657. We are thinking we will go down to Beaufort, NC on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) and then along the coast until we find a good time and place to cross the Gulf Stream. This latest rendition of the The Plan, has some positives:

1. We don't need a huge chunk of decent weather to be able to start our journey.

2. We will not be traveling overnight which will be an easier journey for the dog.

3. We won't need a captain until later and then for a shorter period of time and we won't need additional crew.

4. The ICW is supposed to have some lovely scenery.

January 9: yes, we are still in Hampton and we are still waiting for the water heater part. But, the oil pressure thingy is fixed and the provisioning is mostly done. We wouldn't want to have been enroute right now anyway. Hurricane force winds in the Western Atlantic and tornados in Florida don't sound that great. We are in our slip, here in Hampton, rocking and rolling with 30 knot winds, anticipating gusts up to 52. Tornado watch in effect... now there is a severe thunderstorm watch.... the dog is freaking out because of the boat action, it looks like the big boat next to us is going to tip over and crash into us... gave the dog her CBD that I got from Bensons in Carson City... it works! She is quite the mellow beastie now. One positive discovery from this weather incident - the new drugs are effective for the dog. We are ok. Not sure I'd be saying that if we were somewhere out there...

January 12: water heater is officially done! Now, Dave is finishing the battery wiring situation. Just a few more parts needed... And, we are anticipating the second storm this week. Winds are not supposed to be quite as high as they were on Tuesday. Rain is starting, best take the dog out before the big downpour starts.

January 13: Dave took a day off from boat work! We explored Hampton a little bit, ate

amazing donuts at Glazed Doughnuts, found an excellent place to take the dog at Fort Monroe, and learned a little about Hampton at the Casemate Museum.

In August of 1619, the first ship carrying enslaved persons landed at what is now Fort Monroe. The Angolans were being transported to labor in the Spanish colonies in Veracruz when the English privateer ship, White Lion, seized the ship carrying them. The captain of the White Lion traded the "20 and odd" enslaved persons for supplies. By 1661, Virginia had enshrined race-based slavery into law. By 1860, the US census counted 3,953,760 enslaved persons living in the Untied States. The first step towards the ending of slavery also took place at Fort Monroe. On May 23, 1861, Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory and James Townsend took an incredible risk: they escaped from slavery. They had been taken to Sewell's Point to help construct a Confederate artillery battery. While their overseers where celebrating Virginia's decision to secede, the three men rowed across Hampton Roads to the Union stronghold of Fort Monroe. When the plantation owner demanded their return under the Fugitive Slave Law, General Benjamin Butler refused. General Butler declared the men to be "contrabands of war." Within a month, hundreds of refugees from slavery settled around Fort Monroe, earning it the moniker "Freedom's Fortress."

In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was read aloud under The Emancipation Oak on land that, in 1868, became Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School (now Hampton University).

It is a little karmic - the circle of inhumanity that was slavery in America began and ended in the same place.