Before I share some photos from our overnight boat trip, I have a small announcement about some changes I’m going to be trying out here on the blog. Here’s the deal — these days I am spending more time working then ever before, and as a result have far less time to craft lengthy blog posts about our adventures. I’ve found myself feeling stressed about getting the posts out, and viewing it as more of a chore than a fun way to share our lives and connect with others.
I don’t want to give the blog up, nor do I want to this to become a space where I only post sporadically. So in an effort to make things less time consuming, I have decided to simplify. Going forward I will be posting much shorter blog posts with fewer photos and fewer words. I intend to post more often so that I can continue to share all the fun stuff we do, but without needing to sort through hundreds of photos and write long narratives.
I am telling you this to keep myself accountable. I am not very good at doing things the easy way :) I don’t want to slip back into my old ways, so I figure if I announce my intentions here I will have to stick with it. Okay? Okay. Enough about that.
Last week we went on an overnight boating trip with Tim’s dad and step-mom, Al & Michele. This is a relatively new boat for them (they previously had a sailboat), and we had the privilege of being their very first overnight guests!
Introducing “Kindred Spirit” — She’s a 38-foot Mariner Orient Trawler
The boat trip was a short journey from their yacht club in New London, CT over to Watch Hill, RI.
On the water
We anchored in the bay right outside Watch Hill harbor. Tim and I couldn’t help but feel like we were experiencing the boat version of RV boondocking. The difference is that here you can stay all summer for free, and there’s a pump out boat that comes around and empties your tanks — for free! I could get used to this boating life.
From our anchorage it was only a short dinghy ride over to the beach where we walked around looking for shells and other things to collect.
Looks like Tim & Al wore their matching father-son outfits :)
After the beach Tim and I went on a short kayaking trip around the bay. I didn’t take my camera, but we saw lots of fancy houses, and even more fancy boats.
Kayaking fun
As evening fell we sat up on the flybridge and had dinner while watching the sun sink below the horizon. Yup, I like this boating thing.
Sunset on the bay
The next morning we took the dinghy over to the town dock and walked around Watch Hill. We saw the lighthouse, the fancy Ocean House Hotel, and some of the really beautiful flower gardens.
Watch Hill
The weather was taking a turn for the worse, so we headed back to New London, arriving just in time for the rain to start falling. We really love our RV lifestyle, but oh man is that boating life grand.
If you want to see more pictures of the boat, check out Michele’s blog. She recently wrote a series of posts detailing all the changes and upgrades they have made in the last year.
17 comments
You guys should get a boat! A number of people split their time between their RV and their boat (that’s what we’re doing now). The lifestyles have such similarities!
One of us already thinks this is a good idea :) While I do love being on the water, I am not quite convinced yet. But who knows what might happen in the future!
Ahhhh, yes. Beautiful flashback for us. We lived on our sailboat for over 7 years and saw so many of those gorgeous sunsets from the water. Many of our sailing buddies either transition to a power boat or RV and/or split their time between RV, house, and boat. You are right in that there are a lot of similarities between boondocking and anchoring out. Enjoyed your post!
Not sure I could imagine it for 7 years! But then again, that’s what most people say about RV life and to me it seems like the best way to live. It was great to get a small taste of the lifestyle.
We love camping near water. There was a time we considered the full-time boating lifestyle especially after staying with friends on their sailboat in Clearwater Beach FL. It might be boat loads of fun to spend time doing both.
Yup, we love the water too. Think we’ll probably start with some kayaks before we trade in the RV, but if Tim has his way, someday we might find ourselves on a boat.
I’ve been following your blog for some time. I hate to see you abbreviate your posts, but I understand your decision. My wife and I left home in San Diego 2 years ago in our motorhome and we’ve been exploring America full-time ever since. I’ve blogged every step of the way. But you’re right…it takes a lot of time and effort! I’m going to resist the temptation to cut back for the time being, but if blogging begins to take more time than exploring it kind of misses the point, doesn’t it? Happy trails to you guys!
Thanks for the support Greg. As you well know blogging is a lot of work. And since the blog doesn’t make us money, and my job does, that needs to be the priority. Also, as you said, if you spend all your time writing and editing photos, when will you have fun? By the way, looks like we’re not far from you right now (we’re in Gloucester, MA) , but I think we’re heading in opposite directions!
I love camping near the water but I don’t think I could live on it. I get tired of the always moving part! Your pictures are wonderful. I have been following you for a while now and understand the cut back. I have only been blogging since the beginning of the year, I love doing it but do notice it takes lots of time.
Thanks for the support and nice comments Nonna. You’re right, blogging is more time consuming then I ever thought it would be!
I just want to say thank you for all of the hard work that you have put into this blog. I have been reading it nearly since you started it and you have given me so much inspiration from it. I understand what you must do as I am sure it is a hard decision. I will still look forward to your posts whether large or small as I will still get knowledge about where you have visited. Thank you.
Thanks so much Rick! One of the reasons why I would never want to give up the blog is because we get so much out of other people’s blogs, and I love contributing to the community. I am hoping that a different format of shorter, more frequent, blogs will allow me to share almost as much, but not take up so much time.
Amanda, you’re right, crafting an interesting blog takes a lot of time and effort. Thanks for all of the beautiful and informative posts you’ve done over the years! I’ve also found it challenging at times to fit it all in (my paid writing work, blogging, traveling full-time, planning our travels, camp hosting, and having FUN) so I completely understand your decision and fully support you in simplifying.
As far as living on a boat, we love being on the water (hence we travel with our kayaks and use them a lot) but I think I would go crazy not being able to head out the door at will for walks/hikes/biking. So much fun to have boating adventures, though!
Yes, I’ve noticed that those of out on the road who work don’t blog nearly as much as those who are retired. It certainly is time consuming! I agree with you on the water thing. I like to step out my door and go for a morning walk – not so easy in a boat. Still fun to get a taste of the lifestyle!
A boat is dreadfully more expensive and more work than an Airstream. I have sat in airports I the Carribean waiting for a frig compressor to arrive so I wouldn’t lose 2k worth of meat in the freezer for my charter season. Can’t just whip into Camping World or Napa and get what you need. They are also difficult to store reasonably, in out of the water. I have about 8 years of offshore/Carribean miles and while fun, I’m not sure I’d do it again.
It’s hard for me to imagine trading in the Airstream for a boat. I like the idea of it – and when we’re out there it’s fun – but when I think of it in practical terms it doesn’t make sense. I guess we’ll have to be satisfied with going out on other people’s boats :)
Absolutely lovely pictures! I would love to go kayaking sometime before summer is up – your pictures are making me want that more. Thanks for sharing!