A synopsis of our lives outside of cruising

For four years, we enjoyed full-time cruising of the Caribbean.  In 2009, we were running low on funds and went back to Houston to work again, leaving MoonSail in Antigua.  We both were lucky enough to find employment in our old field (IT) and bank enough to carry on with cruising in 2011.  Our cruising from then on was seasonal, meaning we spent winters on the boat and summers in the States.  This added a whole new dimension to our lives, that being the breaking down or putting together the boat twice a year.  It was a lot of physical work, as well as added logistics of scheduling the marina, a hotel, and the storage yard twice a year.

During these summers, Barb spent most of her time dealing with her aging parents.  The short story was moving them into a house we bought, then to a nursing home, and her dad passed away in 2014, while her mom remains in the nursing home as of this writing (spring 2015).  The experience for her and her sister was not fun, dealing with the emotions of aging parents and the frustrations of dealing with the health care system.

My summers were a combination of working some short-term IT contracts in NY and CT, and helping Barb in OH.  The trips to and from the boat were a major planning effort, and somewhere along the line we both felt the pendulum swing from enjoying the boat to it being more effort than enjoyment.  Our last season on the boat was fun, but we both knew it was time for the change.  There were certainly mixed emotions, but it's good to be back to a one domicile owner (the RV).

On to the next chapter...