Some of This But Not Much of That

Two graduations down, another 2 to go then Yogi and I will be off to Belgium.  I am getting excited.  It's not that I don't love my family, I just hate their weather.  It snowed all day yesterday and this is what we woke to this morning.  I know it's Tahoe and I know it snows lots here but come on, it is May 29th.

Meanwhile, this is what Dwight is experiencing in Liege.  T'ain't fair.

 

He even bought some flowers so our boat wouldn't look so forlorn.

 You can see from the picture what a big city Liege really is.  By the time we are ready to move the boat, I am sure that Dwight will have had his fill of crowds and noise and bustle. He will be anxious for a little countryside peace and quiet.  So will Yogi so will I, but first we have to get there.

I am apprehensive about our journey.  We are following Dwight's itinerary, almost.  We fly out of Reno, change planes in Denver, fly to Boston, overnight there then the next day fly to Rekjavik, change to the plane flying into Brussels finally meeting Dwight at 6 a.m. then take the train to the boat.  My poor Yogi-dog--although I am not certain which one of us will be the worse for wear; the 4 year old dog or the septugenarian woman.  

Because it would be so much easier and less expensive to stay home, I often wonder just why we enjoy this boating life.  We struggle with the expense of owning and maintaining a boat; we struggle with the logistics of getting from here to there; day-to-day living in a foreign country can be hard, especially in the French speaking part of Belgium where, just like in France, everyone speaks English but refuses to, so we struggle to communicate in another language.  We have to learn to navigate not just new canals but new cities, stretch, stretch, stretching ourselves, mentally and physically, all the time.  We are not sure whether all this is keeping us young or just making us tired.  Nevertheless, it is what we do.

Waking to the birds' morning songs while tied to the bank of a quiet canal; buying our daily baguette and crispy warm croissants from the local boulangerie; serendipitous meetings with old cruising friends or sharing a glass of wine with new cruising buddies satisfies us, it expands our world and warms the cockles of our hearts.  We are better people because of it.....albeit with emptier pockets.  Ehhh, you can't have everything.