 |
 |
 |
||
 |
||||
 |
||||
|
May 6, 2009 “Where you go, there you are.”~William S. Morrison I decided to begin this log with a quote that was recently sent to us as it sums up much of our past six months of “undocumented” time. When I last wrote we were in Ensenada, Mexico preparing to return to the States. On New Year’s Eve we waved adios to friends, threw off the dock lines and spent the next 18 hours motor-sailing to San Diego Bay. Gary was sleeping as we crossed the US border and awoke very happy to be “back in the USA!” The trip was somewhat trying as we encountered fog for the first time in over a year and were shadowed by an image on the radar for approximately two hours that appeared to be attempting to overtake us and would then fall off; we were close to transiting the border and we hypothesized that we were being watched as a possible drug-runner boat, which is funny as our average speed is 5 knots! Eventually the shadow disappeared and we safely docked at the Police Dock in San Diego Bay at 8:00 a.m.! US Customs officers arrived quickly allowing us to move on to our new “home” at the Chula Vista Marina in the south end of the bay. It was great being back in San Diego after 14 months in Mexico; surprisingly we found the transition from “gracias” to “thank you” and “por favor” to “please” took a little longer than expected, but it was wonderful being able to read all the signs! Now the job of selling Wand’rin Star began in earnest and several folks looked at the boat. Unfortunately economic conditions beyond our control have made it difficult for those who wish to buy her to actually have the money to do so! Interest is high, but money is scarce. Our philosophy is that she’s a desirable, wonderful boat and that as the economy improves, someone will become her new owner. In February she was listed with Yachtfinders/Windseakers to increase her visibility on the world market. One enjoyable sidelight of having the boat for sale is that we’ve had the We’d “lived” in San Diego on two earlier occasions and enjoyed knowing our way around. The roadsides were brilliant with spring wildflowers and Gary’s sharp photographer’s eye created this lovely photo. We became members of the Chula Vista Nature Center and he spent several afternoons there photographing birds; all of their birds are disabled or maimed and therefore cannot survive in the wild. The Hillcrest Farmers’ Market as well as the Chula Vista Farmers’ Market became part of our weekly routine.
Diane & Dennis arrived for a week’s visit in March and we had a super time with them as always. Highlights of their visit were a road trip to Borrego Springs in east San Diego County to view the desert in bloom, a stop to see the Palomar Telescope, and a trip to the San Diego Zoo. Visiting the desert in the spring was a new experience and Gary’s camera was very active!
Since arriving in San Diego, we’d been renting a car from Enterprise (sure wish I could buy stock in that company) as it helped our psyches to have access to mobility. After much discussion and looking, we decided to help out the local economy and buy a car! Now remember, we have not owned a car for five years, so this was a BIG step for us; moving ashore does require certain sacrifices, but ones we’re willing to make. We are now proud owners of a 2009 Honda Civic and have been very pleased with our decision. One door often opens another and because we had wheels, the time had come to explore possible areas for relocating. The search began close to home as we starting looking at condos in San Diego. Now you may have heard that real estate prices have declined in this area due to the overall economic fallout; that may be true, but it was still amazing to be looking at a 600 sq. foot condo for $250,000! Some of the places we looked at felt smaller than the boat! Another area that I’d been investigating for a while was St. George, Utah. It’s located in the southwestern corner of Utah 120 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada and within a 4 hours drive of Zion, Bryce Canyon, & Grand Canyon National Parks, Cedar Break & Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, Snow Canyon State Park, and the Red Cliff Recreation Area. Additionally it boasts over 300 days of sunshine per year, a college, a hospital, a varied climate and was listed as one of the top 10 places in the US to retire. On April 18 we headed north on I-15 for a trip that would definitely change our lives. June 28, 2009 Much has happened in our lives since the last time I attempted to get a new log online on May. It’s currently 103 degrees outside as I sit in our new home in St. George, Utah, and gaze at the red Navaho sandstone cliffs visible from the balcony as well as Snow Canyon State Park. If any one had told us that we’d be living in a condo on a golf course on the edge of the Mojave Desert, we would have look at them with a mixture of disbelief and humor....it can’t get much different from living on the Pacific Ocean! That trip in April up I-15 lead us to St. George and a chance meeting with Dalia Cole of Colt Properties when we visited an Open House in a $1.8 million house....needless to say, we were only rubbernecking! To make a long, long, long story short, we are now the delighted owners of a 1,300 sq. ft. condo overlooking a field of black lava and a green, green golf course with a gorgeous view of red cliffs, white cliffs, and the Pine Valley Mountains on the northern edge of St. George, UT.
As we had sold most of our furniture when we left Michigan, it was a bonus that we were able to buy the condo furnished and that we liked most of the furniture! The previous owners used it as a rental part of the year, so it also came with linens, a fully outfitted kitchen as well as some staples in the cupboards...definitely a turnkey operation. On May 20 we loaded our car and a rented SUV with the first batch of boxes to be transported to our home and luxuriated in waking up the next day to a great view of the sunrise reflecting on the impression red Navaho sandstones cliffs! However, there was little time to tarry as we had to make another trip back to Chula Vista to reload the vehicles and bring Murray to his new home. He traveled very well and has quickly adapted to life on the third floor with a large balcony. Unfortunately, within days of moving in he presented us with a fledgling bird that made the mistake of landing on the balcony floor; for a 12 year old cat he still moves quickly! Luckily, he released the bird allowing us to rescue it and set it free unharmed (probably a little traumatized, but physically all right!) We are currently settling in and exploring the area around us. It was great fun to visit Zion National Park for an afternoon as it’s only a 40 minute ride from here. What a wonderful national treasure it is. Snow Canyon State Park is less than 10 minutes from us and Gary has already made great use of our yearly pass as it enables him to visit whenever the “light is right.”
For now, we are splitting our time between Utah & Chula Vista as we want to make sure SV Wand’rin Star continues to be in excellent condition for her new owner....whoever that may be! It’s delightful to be in a house again and we look forward to making new friends, becoming an active part of this friendly community, and reestablishing contact with friends from our former landed life! All that said, living aboard Wand’rin Star was a very special time in our lives and one we leave with some sadness and regret. One definitely has a heightened sense of freedom and adventure when living in such a fluid, changing, beautiful environment. Now a plug for anyone interested in trying that life.... Wand’rin Star is a 1981 Hans Christian Pilothouse Motorsailer and is ready to provide some lucky owners a safe, comfortable life cruising the Seven Seas.. May the warmth of the summer and blue skies brighten your life in these difficult times as we all attempt to make this a better world. Dorothy, Gary & Murray the Cat Random Thoughts
© Copyright 2009 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
||
| Home - Log - Boat Information - Locations - Photos - Friends | ||||
While in Chula Vista we spent several afternoons at