Setting Sail (Metaphorically)

1 house sold. 2 boats to new owners. 3 storage locations for the stuff we’re keeping. 4th of June— the start of our journey.

We sold it, gave it away, threw it out, and put into storage only a tiny bit of thirteen+ years, not counting the pre-marriage lifetimes, of accumulated things. A massive garage sale, several trips to the dump, and a deployed life raft (what else were we going to do with it before getting rid of it?!). I got several lessons on how to maximize packing cubes from my sister (which largely consisted of her telling me I don’t need that, that, or that and then having her repack it all…). I have to admit, I knew we didn’t need as much as we had, and day by day I realize we don’t even need as much as we brought. But that said, there are things I’m really glad to have with me even if I don’t need it.

The long term plan is to live on a boat, hopefully a sailing catamaran. But we sold the house and haven’t found the boat. Thus, our journey starts on land.

After a wonderful farewell party and some very sad good byes, we stuffed the 15 various suitcases, storage containers and bags in a rented minivan and we were off! (It sounds simple in retrospect but don’t be fooled, none of it was easy.)

Our first stop was Atlanta to see friends, then we headed to North Carolina for several weeks with Jess’ parents while Rosie attended sleep-away camp. We pared down to 8 suitcases and some heavy carry-ons to get on a plane to Boston. Jordan attended sleep-away camp in New Hampshire while the rest of us enjoyed some beach time with friends in York Beach, Maine.

From Boston we flew to Faro, Portugal, our first overseas stop. And while we certainly fit an epic amount into our suitcases, we’ve also packed quite a bit into the two months since leaving the States.