It is a little rare, but today Lori and I were in total agreement in our determination that living aboard in California is much more difficult than living aboard in Mexico. Physically and mentally the whole lifestyle of living aboard is harder and feels different and the question we were trying to figure out is why. Unlike living aboard in Mexico, we are now surrounded with things rumored to make our lives easier. Forget public transportation and walking to the store, we have two cars at our disposal. Gone are the days when you needed to go to 5 stores to find 3 different things, because Costco, Trader Joe’s and Stuff*Mart has it all under one roof. Shopping and the day-to-day foraging through town is conducted in our native language of English, so there is no struggle to communicate. Our smart phone gives us turn-by-turn verbal directions through town, so we can forget about having to reading a map, asking for directions, or stressing about being lost in town. Just tell the phone where you want to go, and bingo, Droid will hold your hand to the front door. If modern life here in California is so good, made so easy by our gadgets and modern conveniences, why then are we both so exhausted all the time? Why do we feel like we have just completed the Baja Bash by the time homework is done and the crew collapses in their bunks for the night?

I think I'm starting to understand the answer to the question of "Why". The trick and more difficult part of the game is figuring out how to live and deal with the answer in a way other than cutting our mooring line and returning to Mexico. Unfortunately, I'll have to carry on this discussion in a Part 2 Post tomorrow because it's now 10PM and I'm already starting tomorrow morning behind schedule. There's that word...schedule...the problem haunts me even when I'm trying to put dealing and talking about it off for another day.