Home for the Holidays

Today finds me in my van, parked outside an internet cafe in Eugene, Oregon. I don't feel like coffee or tea, so I'm sitting in the 32 degree cold using their wifi signal. Don't worry- we spend plenty of money at this cafe.

So we made it to Mazatlan and had a great two weeks there. During those two weeks, I lost my wanderlust and decided that we would cancel or postpone our trip to Puerto Vallarta and instead fly home for Christmas. I just needed to get off the boat. I wasn't looking foward to another 24 hour passage to San Blas and we were pretty exhausted when we got to Mazatlan. After two weeks, we still hadn't seen much of Mazatlan. So what's the point of cruising? Is it to rush through as many destinations as possible in whatever time you have available? I can't imagine anything better for us- because of the kids- than a secure marina with two pools and easy access to markets, restaraunts and the beaches. It really blew me away that I didn't feel like continuing. I figured that my dream was shattered, but then accepted that we are in different circumstances than most cruisers. We have to take things slower, stay closer to the boat and limit our social activities.

So we've been in Eugene for 4 days now. It's freezing, but Hans's house is toasty and comfortable (it's where we lived before cruising, and much of our stuff is still in place- toys, bedroom, etc...). I am looking foward to some cold weather mountain biking- possibly some surfing and walks on the beach. But most of all it's good to see the kids with space to play. I hope it's not too hard to get Heidi back to the boat. I think the weather will do it!

-Ian