Two Years and Counting

Vero Beach

Yesterday was the second anniversary of our retirement. Still, we think that it was one of the best life choices we ever made. We are by no means getting tired or bored of the cruising life. Indeed, we feel that we're still in the preliminary stages. We have so many places that we haven't gone yet.

Do I miss work? In a word, no. The truth is that my stature as an engineer and programmer peaked years ago. 20 years ago when I was offered management jobs, I declined. In later years when a manager's job would have suited me better, I was too old to get considered.

Do we miss our family? You bet we do. But the truth is that in the past two years we have seen our family about as often as we did when living in New York.

Do we get tired of each other? Speaking for myself, no. Libby and I have been together since High School and there has never been a time where I tired of each other's company. I believe that Libby feels the same. Last year my ears perked when a long time cruiser said, "You can keep a woman on a boat for about two years. After that, they get restless." Well I'm happy to say that Libby is showing no signs of restlessness.

Do we feel cramped living in such a small space? Not at all. In fact, I picked up a copy of an old Time Magazine in the sailors lounge this morning and I read an article about people who live in micro-houses -- i.e. houses of less than 150 square feet (15 square meters) They looked very attractive to me. I could see us choosing something like that if the day came that we were unable to live on board a boat any more.

In about three weeks, we'll have our 2nd anniversay of living onboard Tarwathie.

p.s. I achieved another milestone on the anniversary date. I struck up a conversation with a local woman while sitting on a bench in the park waiting for the bus. I was eating a hot dog while talking to her about life on board a boat. She told me that I had mustard on my beard. While I was trying to wipe it off she said, "We locals have difficulty telling the difference between you sailors and the homeless people." Some sailors might have been offended by that but I was honored.