By Land & Sea
As I sit and write this I’m enjoying the cuddling company of Penny Love and I’m partly watching “All Is Lost”, staring Robert Redford. Think of Castaway but with less dialog and more man and boat vs. the sea interaction with lots of CGI work. Not the worst movie nor the best, but it does serve as a reminder of how quickly things change out on the open ocean and how lucky I am to not be alone in the journey of life.
Pamela and I just returned from a week of sailing in the British Virgin Islands where no CGI was needed to create breathtaking scenery. We were down there with 38 friends, to sail, drink, be merry and for the wedding of Holly and Greg on the island of Anegada at Cow Wreck Beach. The weather all week was magical, minus the first days storm which had sustained winds of 30knots and sideways rain. Always a fun combo while sailing….or not sailing as we didn’t put the sails up in those conditions. After day one, the rest of the week was postcard perfect. Little unknown fact for Pamela, I know how to sail and how to operate a boat with twin engines (we were on a 40’+ catamaran. She was impressed and surprised I hadn’t said anything before…why would I when we live in a land locked state 🙂 )
After a great week of sailing, I am potentially interested in pursuing my captain’s license. My father-in-law is tempting us with a possible delivery from the Bahamas to Bermuda in April and that may serve as my first official lesson given his lifetime of expertise. The week in the BVI consisted of lots of rum drinks, BBQ chicken, playing chef for the boat mates, snacking at all hours, snorkeling and, oh yeah, sailing. The coolest part of the trip, outside of the wedding and the trip itself, was having a friendly run-in with 3 dolphins on our sail from Anegada to Jost Van Dyke. The dolphins swam off the bow for a good 10 minutes, allowing just enough time to capture a few images with the GoPro!
Before we left for the #BVINuptials, I joined friends Ashley and Jered Gruber for #ChasingFall15. The objective: Ride bikes from Emmaus, PA (home of Bicycling Mag) to Athens, GA (home of Ashley and Jered). The journey took 12 days, passing through 7 states, covering over 1,200 miles, 90,000 feet of climbing and countless laughs and memories. The weather during this trip started out grand, then it took a turn for the worse with steady rain and cold temps lasting 6 days. For me, the ride had good days and bad days due to a hamstring injury or as Jered called it “hamstrung”. For those days that I had to pull the plug, for the sake of self preservation, I ended up driving the support van and prepped food and drinks for the others. #TeamEffort.
I tip my cap to Jered and Ashely for brainstorming the journey and for gritting it out during the crappy days. Thanks to both of them for having me along.