Our plans to play in the Buckskin Mountains on the southern Utah/northern Arizona border fizzled when, just a few days prior to departure, its 10-day weather forecast read like a broken record: rain-rain-rain-rain-rain. Plan B was Las Vegas and I was not very excited about it. Red Rocks Canyon, a [...]
Read More"We haven't seen a winter like this in over twenty years." Our next-door neighbors Forest and Gina didn't grow up in Wyoming, but they've been here long enough to be considered "natives". So when they tell us that this is just about the worst and longest Wyoming winter they've lived [...]
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Inspired by Pastor Ross’s photos from Glacier National Park, we decided we should probably go see this amazing place. So we pack up and head out. Our route will be counter-clockwise, heading to see The Crazy Frazeys, Brent & Julie, in Lewiston, Idaho, then Jessica & Andrew in Coeur d’Alene. Up to check out Sandpoint, then over to Glacier. […]
One afternoon last week, a cheery gold and yellow box decorated with travel-themed stickers appeared on the stairs of the Great White Buffalo. The colorful package, pulsing happiness and begging to be opened, could be no other than Mom Mail. Over the years and addresses, mom’s upbeat, encouraging letters, nestled in sticker-laden envelopes, always found their way to wherever home was […]
I’m thinking we should start our own business: S&S: Boat Deliverers, Extraordinaire. Because for the second time in four months, we’re delivering a boat. Okay, so business isn’t exactly booming – maybe we’ll keep our day jobs (once we get them) – but it’s definitely a fun little side gig. This delivery’s a little different from sailing Free Range to Antigua: no grumpy […]
You thought we’d closed the sailing chapter of our lives back in April when we sold Free Range, right? Wrong. As part of our arrangement with Free Range’s new owners, we are responsible for removing Free Range from the US Registry of Boats. See, her new owners are Canadian and in order to register Free Range as a Canadian boat, she must first […]
It’s a joke amongst our group, Army of Darkness, that you have to “earn it”: earn your campfire hobo meal and drink of choice (glasses of wine / swigs of tequila) by pumping yourself out climbing that 5.11, grinding up a set of never-ending switchbacks on some gnarly trail, or engaging in some other activity that renders you exhausted, bloody or bruised […]
Free Range taught us pretty quickly that sailing is really just fixing your boat in exotic locations. On our second day of camping, The Great White Buffalo decided it was important that we understand that that particular concept applies on land too. As we crouch under The GWB’s forward frame, wading through wiring and screws to get to a fuel […]
So we bought a fifth wheel. And a truck to pull it. Because who wants to live in a regular old house, anyways? Apparently not us. We came to the decision after realizing that we probably aren’t going to be settling down anytime soon and that the next place – or places – we go may very well not […]
Last week we stepped it up a notch and a verb. Before we were searching. Now we’re seeking. (Because seeking definitely sounds more active and significant than searching, right? You be the judge: “He is seeking the hidden treasure of Atlantis” -or- “I am searching for my sunglasses” p.s. : Harry Potter was a Seeker! Enough Said. Seeking > Searching). Last […]
What are your daily rituals? At The Little House, a.k.a. The Hefti Household, we have settled into a steady rhythm, one which includes coffee, internet, running shoes, Google Maps (“So there’s this job opening in Raton, New Mexico…” “…where?”), and coding classes (Me: C#, Stéphane: Swift). Oftentimes we are up early, perusing job postings, sharing research […]
We landed in Colorado last week and hit the ground running. Literally and figuratively. Literally: a long, muddy hike in “Dry” Creek (it’s been super rainy here lately), multiple runs on my favorite local trail system, Buzzard Gulch. Figuratively: spending hours updating resumes, writing cover letters, and searching for jobs. Stephane: chopping wood, fixing Dan’s weed whacker, and, […]
Since leaving Montrose, nine months ago, we’ve had the opportunity to try on many different homes: What’s Home feel like in Lafayette, Indiana? Norfolk, Virginia? Oriental, North Carolina? What’s Home like with three kids? Is Home on a sailboat? Is it where you grew up? Is Home a tangible thing? Is it a box made of brick and drywall or […]
It all started with a test drive. During which we ran out of gas. While I steered us toward the gas station, Stéphane and our car salesman, Jay, pushed me down the car-infested mega street. Jay was shocked and so apologetic; we thought it made for a good story. So the car? A VW Tiguan. Room for Myra in the […]
(Adapted from Dr. Seuss’s One Fish Two Fish) one car two car red car blue car black truck blue truck old truck new truck some are red and some are blue. some are old and some are new. For the last week and a half we’ve been in St. Clair Shores spending family time and looking for a small SUV (me) and / or truck […]
We rounded the west coast of Antigua, bashing into wind and waves; after passing Prickly Pear Island (probably the tenth island we’ve seen with this name in the Caribbean), we pointed south to enter the channel for North Sound Marina – our final destination and Free Range’s new home. The end of the road. […]
We sailed across to Antigua from Saint Eustatius on a bright, moonlit night. It was a much smoother passage than the previous, Anegada.
It was a rough ride across the Anegada Passage but we made it. It took 21 hours and we ended up diverting to St. Eustatius (instead of the intended Anguilla) because it was a better point of sail and further south: closer to our objective, Antigua. This photo best describes our state post passage: Last night in St. Eustatius was […]
To mark the next chapter in our sailing adventure, we’ve created a new blog category, “The Delivery”. See – we are no longer cruising; we are delivering. Over the next week or so, we’ll sail Free Range to her new home, Antigua, and deliver her into the hands of her new owners (whom we like very much and who we […]
Taking advantage of the “cooler” day and a little buffer from the sun, we dinghy over to Hassel Island. Steve’s been hiking the trails on this island for a few days and we’ve heard good things, so, let’s go explore! Hassel Island has a lot of history. It was home to the British, then the Dutch, then the British again. […]
Three piles: Goodwill, Colorado, boat. Pants, t-shirts, bedding, socks, jackets, and shorts fly between one pile and another, hoping to make the cut: the bag that will be flown back to Montrose. Thinking we’d done a really good job of downsizing our wardrobes before leaving Colorado, we were surprised with the amount of clothing that filled the Goodwill bags – so […]
We met Jason in St. Thomas – our first showing of Free Range. Jason had just bought a Whitby 42 but was looking to downsize to a smaller, more manageable boat because he’s a single-hander. Stéphane and I visited him on his boat one night, grilled some chicken wings and burgers, and checked out his Whitby (it’s really fun to […]
We’re currently in Christiansted, St. Croix. This place is neat! There’s a boardwalk all along the water with wooden siding (instead of concrete – much nicer for the boat) and pylons all along. We anchored out in the harbor last night but brought Free Range up to the boardwalk this morning to show her off to a few potential buyers. […]
Our buddy boat friend, Steve, on Slow Flight, busted a piece off of his forestay (that’s the metal wire that runs from the bow of the boat up to the mast; it helps support the mast and is what the jib sail flies from). So we are all anchored in Redhook, east coast of St. Thomas, hoping we’ll be able […]
We have Free Range for sale on Craigslist and Sailboatlistings.com. If you’re curious to see the ads: http://virgin.craigslist.org/boa/4890379030.html http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/48540 Anyways, since posting Free Range for sale, we’ve been contacted by a fair number of programs/people – some scammers (the programs), some tire kickers, some pretty serious. Through the course of interacting with these potential buyers, we received an email […]
We’ve been poking around the US Virgin Islands, killing time, waiting for Dan to come (he arrives later this month). We are REALLY excited for my brother’s visit and are exploring different spots we’ll take him when he comes. So far on the list we have: Mayo Bay, St. John Jost Van Dyke (Soggy Dollar Bar, Foxy’s) The Indians (snorkeling) […]
Although all the real major refitting was done on Free Range before leaving Oriental, there’s ALWAYS little projects that need to be done along the way. The other day we found ourselves anchored at Redhook – an anchorage on the east coast of St. Thomas – because our buddy boat had broken his forestay. Within walking distance of Redhook we discovered a […]
Until the money runs out or it isn’t fun anymore. Our canned response to those who asked how long we’d be gone on our sailing adventure. Surprisingly (to us anyways), the “it isn’t fun anymore” came first. And, it’s come much sooner than anticipated. We thought we’d be sailing for at least a few years, cross the Atlantic; cruise […]
Pour Anthony et Thierry!!!
The Grizz (Winnebago View - active duty)
1,800 miles and counting
The Hungry hippo (Popup camper - retired)
1,200 miles
The Gruffalo (Tow behind camper - retired):
12,000 miles and counting
The Baby Bison (Tow behind toy hauler - retired):
7000+ miles
Maine > New Mexico + adventures in between
The Great White Buffalo (5th wheel camper - retired):
3,000 miles
Free Range (Slocum 37 sailboat - resting; getting overhauled in Nova Scotia):
Traveled 2,400 nautical miles from Oriental, NC > Antigua (end of the road).