Back to Florida

We had the most beautiful crossing back to the States just ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

After leaving West End under a full moon, we nearly got spooled by a billfish that was way too big. Later in the day, a pod of dolphins swam with us for over 30 minutes. The Gulf Stream was like a lake and we had to keep a motor running most of the time to keep our speed up.

It was the perfect exclamation point on our first season in the Bahamas. In case you missed it, here's our Bahamas recap video.

Even after just a few months away, it was a shock to come home to the land of center consoles, Publix and dirty brown intracoastal water.

We spent a week or so catching up with family and taking care of the chores we came back to complete, such as selling the Jeep, picking up new equipment for work and stocking up the boat with food again.

We'd been on the fence about selling our beloved 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (LJ) since moving onto the boat. Not only is it nice having a car when back home but it’s a pretty unique and sought-after Jeep. Knowing we are leaving the state for hurricane season and then planning to return to the islands next cruising season meant it was finally time. And, once again the universe delivered the right person at the right time.

“And then there is the M O S T dangerous risk of all — the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.”
Randy Komisar

After being ghosted several times by potential buyers, someone responded to our ad asking to come see the Jeep so we scheduled a time, halfway expecting another no-show.

The couple pulled up in an enormous camper, which we later learned they purchased only a few weeks prior. They test drove the car then made us a very reasonable offer, which we accepted. We explained that we were selling the car because we live on a boat and plan to travel, which they thought was very cool. After drawing up a purchase agreement and setting a time to exchange the cash and keys a few days later, they shared their backstory.

A few months after retiring from a 30+ year career, the man learned he had stage 4 cancer. He completed treatments for months before finally coming to terms with the terminal nature of his disease and deciding he was not going to sit around waiting for his day to come.

They always wanted to travel but could never find the time, so they bought the camper and the Jeep to tow behind it as they travel the country together with their dog for the rest of their time together. He had always wanted a cool Jeep and now he finally gets to have one.

This couple was so positive about their situation and at complete peace with the harsh realities of it, which is both unnerving and inspiring. It's another reminder of why we chose to leave our comfortable routines and big house full of stuff for something more unconventional. We will never be younger, healthier or more capable than we are right now, and tomorrow is not guaranteed. This is life not retirement, and we’re not going to bet it all to hopefully have these opportunities someday in the future.

Now that our last major land possession has found a new home, we’re ready to start our journey north. We have no idea how far we will get knowing we’re just counting down the days until we can turn around and head south again at the end of hurricane season. But, we have some fun stops planned and new places to explore.