I realized this afternoon that it has been three years since we sold Tender Spirit. Oh, how I miss her. On the other hand, I have been really enjoying our summers cruising in the truck. I'll tell you, there is a life after sailing. I have had a very difficult time readjusting to this new lifestyle. Every day I daydreamed about our cruising adventures, and I quietly schemed how to return to our cruising life.
Then this summer arrived. We were sharing a beer with a couple from Indiana. We chatted with some year-round RV visitors from all across the US. We exchanged fix-its, and tips for free and low cost camping (best anchorages in Anchorage). It suddenly dawned on me...DUH....we ARE cruising. We just swapped out the keel for 6 wheels. We still have a trusty diesel. OK, the sail plan is simplified, and our anchor has never dragged; the truck goes to windward so sweetly!
I guess this is our new normal, and I am finally not agonizing over our land-locked ways and feeling like I am somehow no longer an adventurer.
This summer I really enjoyed seeking out unusual places to camp. We challenged ourselves to see how little we could spend in camping fees. Well, we spent $65 total from Mid. May through this month - so, mission accomplished.
Our biggest mistake in all of our cruising years has been not having a positive exit plan for when it became necessary for me to re-enter the work force. I got a huge dose of independence, and having that experience will fuel our next adventures as we work towards our permanent retirement.
We just finished provisioning for another exciting school year. I have returned to Bering Strait School District. It was here I started as a first year teacher at Little Diomede. I am back now as the district librarian.
I have the world's greatest job now, traveling to all of our districts 15 villages in small airplanes all year. I love catching up with old friends at Gambell and Diomede. Some of my students now have their own children in school! It's exciting to see where our district is going and especially being a part of it once again.
So, I am back to my old happy self once again, ready to travel...but with pac boots instead of Crocs, and armed with books instead of varnish brushes.

We had a great school year at Point Hope. We really are enjoying this warm, friendly community! The school year is winding down as whaling season for the community is winding up.
We will be spending the summer in our home state this year enjoying the "Great Land" as we all fondly call it. We will also be taking a look at a couple of cruising boats for sale. We aren't quit sure if we will be purchasing this summer, it all depends on what we find. Regardless, we will have fun cruising on the Alaska road system.
We decided that I will continue to work here...as usual with cruisers lingo...."as long as it's fun" and we are enjoying our anchorage. The lovely part about this arrangement is that we have the summer months to either land cruise or start preparing a cruising boat...if we find one.

We are back in the north country now, enjoying Point Hope, AK where work is abundant so we can start saving for another cruising boat.
That's right, I guess we don't make such great land lubbers after all. We are back on a 5-year plan for me to teach and then retire.

We are hoping to find the new "Tender Spirit" and be out there again exploring.

The weather is great in Haines this morning. Another sunny day greats us as we enjoy a morning cup of java on the "new boat". We will be loading everything on board the ferry for the passage down to Sitka. We leave tonight on board the M/V Columbia.

Well, we are sad to say good-bye to Tender Spirit. We sincerely hope the new owners love her as we did. If you see her out there, wave and give a cheerful greeting!

We are touring Alaska in the new camper. We have definitely enjoyed seeing the mountains and wildlife. We've seen everything from caribou and moose to ptarmigan and black bears. We have traveled on all of Alaska's highway system. We are now heading down the Marine Highway with stops in Sitka and Wrangell. We will then go back to Haines and then Anchorage to finish out our summer travels.

While we have been cruising, we are also thinking about our future. I expect that we are not...well...quite through with our boating life. Chuck has already told me that our next boat will be called "Spirit Tender"!

So, hang in there as we probably won't be able to really give up our beloved life on the water!!!! I expect it will not look like our past cruising days. Quitting cruising is much more difficult than you can ever imagine!

I am looking forward to getting back into the classroom this school year. I miss the energy and the productivity...and always the challenge to educate young people in a remote setting.

So, it you're out and about and see a truck and camper that is behaving like a sailboat cruiser.....pop on over and lets swap some sea stories!

I am building a new blog about our land cruising adventures. I am sure there will be some fun Robin Williams style RV moments as we learn about our new magic carpet, the RV Tender Spirit!

Come join us as we travel by road exploring North America!

rvtenderspirit.wordpress.com

Also watch as I learn how to use Wordpress!!!

I thought you would like to see the "new boat". It will take us on new adventures. We will probably name it the RV Tender Spirit.
What do you think?