It’s 6 days before we leave Boston and Mike decides to replace the entire steering cables. I know it needs to get done… but to wait 6 days before we want to leave is where I begin to wear my defiant look of ‘Good grief Mike! You wait this long!’.

Edson is our manufacturer in this project and let me just take one second and extoll the greatness of Edson…. Not only is Edson Corp the original manufacturer from 1979 but they have been around making steering mechanisms since 1859! Put that in your pipe & smoke it GE Corp (GE is about 40 years behind the game of Edson)! Okay so they’re still around that’s great , we can get replacement parts and it’s distribution is in Mass…. Mike you’re luck is astounding.

I felt like we had to reflect on what we were doing and soak it all in…. but in all the last minute trips to Home Depot, “final” storage runs, and dozens of last minute fixes… it just felt like another 10 hour day of boatwork no big deal.

When people commented on how excited I must be for the journey, I did however, feel a pang of sadness or at least the stark perspective of my reality. It was not going to be happy-go-lucky all the time. It occurred to me, I’m going to be leaving all of THIS! I had already left a safe and happy job. I had no secure income and no idea of what future work was to come. I was about to leave the most amazing crew of lively climbers, hikers, sailors, bikers, artists, runners, kayakers, yogis, programmers, soccer players, musicians, and partiers. Okay, I’ve painted a fairly bleak picture… oops.  I was uneasy about having this sense of loss upon the brink of an amazing journey. I’ve never been one not to dive head first on a journey partly because I had never created a home, a community built on years and years of good friends, trips, and familiar bars where everyone seems to know your name (queu music, you know the tune). In all my preparation over the past years, I always dreamed of the places I’d see. It was only now, days prior to departure, when I was face to face with the people and places I’d leave did it hit me.

I might travel far to seek what I need, but I always return home to realize where it really is.” – Unknown

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