Marina-stop Balance Challenge

It has taken us a while to find a good coffee shop in Nanaimo. I often think it is overstated that Seattle is addicted to its coffee shops, and that there are too many of them around, often multiple per street corner. I love the Seattle coffee shops; I love the "sameness" of them, and I love the sheer quantity. I am the biggest Seattle cliche. You can get pretty much the same things at all the Seattle coffee shops, which means that no matter which one you find yourself at, you can still get your favorite beverage (I never get coffee, but that is a different topic all together).

This morning, while walking back to the boat after visiting "Serious Coffee" (a place I'd go back to), Scott said he felt like we'd wasted our stay in Nanaimo by not going further from the marina and exploring more. I somewhat agree.

Marina stops have contradictory objectives. On one hand, they are a place to rest the body and mind since there are so many fewer worries, such as how well the anchor is set or if we are too close to another boat, or rock; and the tides (and subsequent anchor rodes) really don't matter when tied to a dock. On the other hand, marinas are an opportunity to get a lot of work done since we have Internet and unlimited power for computer activities. And then there are the necessary things to do as well: get groceries and ice, fill up the water and fuel tanks, do laundry, clean the salt off the dodger with freshwater (so we can see through it again), and pump out our waste holding tanks. The challenge is getting the necessary stuff all done while finding time to rest as well. When the activity of sailing itself takes so much energy, it is difficult to expend an equal amount of energy on onshore activities, too. While the lists say, "Get this done!" the body and brain say, "No." It doesn't seem like it would be so hard, yet I certainly haven't found the balance it seems to require.

In the end, even a stay of three or four days flies past. Onshore activities just aren't as urgent or demanding and at some point rest is needed. I'm trying, instead of fighting the urge to sleep and relax, to just let it be, and not rush through it, even if that means not exploring so much of the city around us. But then, instead of fighting the urge to sleep more, I find myself battling the nagging feeling of "missing something."

I'm going to need more practice at this.

~M