I've been dying to find a home for my sailboat in NC. I am trying to decide between Lake Norman and Lake Wylie. In the end, I'm going to sail at each location to make a decision, but the wait for warm weather is killing me. I've been watching it snow all day! I feel like there is a groundhog to blame.

In the meantime, my mind has been scheming at full steam. Bre is sick of hearing me contemplate my next boat and the various gear that I'm considering. Frankly, I'm kind of sick of myself. Trying to plan things that are so far away and out of my control is a little pointless.

I'm sure that my mind will settle down once I'm bobbing along in the water again. I need to find a way to make saving money a little more entertaining.

Ok, this first post is going to be quite lame, but I though I'd share some thoughts from the Annapolis boat show.

Catalina - I loved the Catalina 375. I could actually stand up in the boat!! And the use of space and overall quality of the interior were better than most boats we visited. If only I knew the real difference between Catalina's 'cruiser' series and their 'ocean' series.

Beneteau - I used to love the appearance of these boats, but once I was able to tour the interior of the boat, I was completely unimpressed. The layout of the interior was terrible for boats under 40 feet. The quality was fine, but I wouldn't want to spend a significant amount of time on this boat.

Hunter/Jeanneau - Good boats, but nothing worth writing home about (irony acknowledged)

Island Packet - I'd never heard of these boats before, so I decided to check them out. The exterior of these boats is not attractive. Their lines weren't impressive and their color is distinctively ugly. On the other hand, I fell in love with these boats. From the moment you step aboard, you can see that the boat is solidly built with top notch materials. They layout of the Estero was the most uniquely brilliant design I've ever seen. This boat wants to be lived in. The only downside is that you don't get multiple private cabins. Luckily I don't have any other friends!!! I've now determined that Island Packet yachts are beautiful and I want one. The bad news is that they are probably the most expensive boats we toured. Oh well, it's fun to dream.