Did you miss me? And a few notes about a sailing ship

OK, so I know I have a immensely small (nice juxtaposition of opposing adjectives, eh?) readership. But, I've noticed that when I do get around to posting something, some one reads it eventually.

So, I'm back :-) Did ya miss me? (that's a rhetorical question, of course).

Not sure where the summer went this year. It's just about mid-August and there's tons of stuff I still haven't done. Didn't take out the kayak once. The bike is still in storage with flat tires. I didn't do any of the home renovations that are desperately needed.

What I DID do:

Go away more than usual. A weekend in New York City, a weekend in the White Mountains. And then there was the sailing vacation.

My dear friend B invited me to join her on a sailing ship cruise around the New England coast. Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cuttyhunk. I've always wanted to take a trip on a sailing ship so, of course, I agreed to go.

What a marvelous trip. Really. It was the first time I went away when I wasn't eager to come home. I could have stayed on that ship for...well, I don't know how long -- maybe forever?

The ship is a beautiful three-masted schooner called the Arabella and she was glorious when under full sail. The routine went like this: Get up in the morning and go up to the deck for coffee and breakfast. By then, we were under way to our next destination. So, we would spend an hour or so sitting on the fore deck, just enjoying the wind and sea. Then down for a shower (the cabin was about as small as could be -- we took turns in there if we weren't sleeping). Then, back to the deck to read, talk, or just sit. The ship was only half full with passengers so there's was always a great place to sit. Then, we'd anchor, have lunch on board, and head off to the day's island to explore, shop, or watch a sunset on the beach. After dinner, it was back to the ship for our nightly session in the hot tub on the aft deck.

One of the best vacations ever. To just sit on the deck, listening to the wind in the sails was sublime. To not have to make any real decisions about what to cook, where to go, what to do...such a relief. To have no real responsibilities...fantabulous.

Sigh.