Well that's it, then

Well, we've done it... the knot has been tied, the die has been cast, the leap has been leapt: we're married.

The wedding was wonderful and we want to thank everyone again for making it so. We were thrilled that so many people were able to make it out and be with us for the occasion. On top of the challenging trip to our wedding site in scenic but out-of-the-way Port Hadlock, friends and family alike chipped in and helped out with the hundreds of details, major and minor, that go along with a mostly do-it-yourself wedding. Woven in with our memories of the day and each other, we will always have the recollection of the spirit and generosity that came from all of you before, during, and after the event.

We've been working our way through our cards, and have been absolutely blown away by the generosity of both those who attended and those who were unable to make it. We had not requested gifts, since traditional wedding gifts would only be a hindrance aboard the boat, but what people have given us is amazing and is certainly making our honeymoon a wonderful and memorable experience! Nothing but fine dining and the best hotels from now on!

We're in Victoria now, finally having had a chance to catch up on a good night's sleep in a nice hotel overlooking the Inner Harbour. We had about an eight hour crossing from Hadlock, despite a slow start in light winds. There was still patchy fog on the Strait once we turned the corner at Point Wilson, so we ended up motor-sailing much of the way, because the balky radar seems to have a slightly higher proclivity toward working normally when it is powered off the starting battery bank... and we have a rule that if the starting bank is in use, the engine must be on to keep it charged. Either way, it was a fairly quick trip and the Strait was largely well-behaved (relatively speaking--Mandy still got queasy), but we hadn't gotten much sleep the day before and were both pretty beat.

Today feels like a new world after eight solid hours in a real bed, and multiple showers apiece. The weather is as gorgeous up here as it was in Hadlock for the wedding, and tourists abound. We're happy to take our place among them; we had a coupon for the boat show for a deal with three nights moorage with the Harbour Authority here and so we will spend the next few days here relaxing and seeing the sights we have missed on previous trips. It will also give my computer power adapter a chance to catch up with us; I forgot it when we left so the Graebel's are having to ship it up to us. I'm writing this on my little Eee PC, which is okay but a little challenging in the typing department. It also is missing some of my programs and passwords for work stuff, so I am a little crippled without the PowerBook. I suppose that will force me to take a break for a couple days, though.

In addition to sightseeing and restaurant grazing, we'll take the opportunity here to take a more in-depth look at the radar. I want to replace some of the battery cabling on the house bank, which has some corrosion... the tendency of the radar to work more often on the starting bank has me looking at power again. But since it still cuts out on the start bank, that can't be the only problem, so Mandy is still going to have to go up the mast and check the wiring.

We'll also probably do some laundry, and I will have to find a Canada Post office and master the intricacies of international mail... I also forgot to leave my truck key for the Graebels and am blocking in their lawnmower! I imagine they need a break from yard work right now anyway, though. We'll be working our way through thank-you cards as well. Don't be offended if gift checks aren't cashed for a month or more... we can't take care of some of the name and bank related changes we need to make from foreign soil.

Figuring out those and other things are good practice for living aboard, however, and although we haven't completely moved out of the house yet, this is really the beginning of that stage of life. It's interesting and a little exciting and not so frightening as I had imagined. Living aboard provides its own element of "island time" where the cares and concerns of real life are not wholly absent, but are frequently subsumed or replaced by the exigencies of the moment. Dodging tanker traffic in the fog in the Strait of Juan de Fuca is no time to be thinking about work or mortgages or banking. And if I have to think about those things at some point, it's fun and challenging to do so in such a beautiful place as this.

The stop is less hectic than most of our port stops so perhaps I am getting a somewhat jaded view of life aboard. But I think I can put up with the bad parts if the good parts continue to be this good.