WE NOW HAVE SOLAR

After hauling solar panels down on the overloaded car and not being able to live on the boat for 2 weeks while they installed the panels, we are now off the grid. The solar panels are working great. We are so green.
P1010023, originally uploaded by seaparents.

Yelapa (our first overnight)

P1010042, originally uploaded by seaparents.

We had an amazing first overnight by ourselves in Yelapa. We watched the dolphins and their young play in the bay, at sunset, while eating dinner on the boat. I know, this only happens in the movies or Troy and Brady's life:) It is hard for me to describe how majestic this experience was for us. And then reality hit us with a bilge filled with poop, that's right, Troy forgot to tell me that he disconnected our toilet. Thankfully this falls under Troy's job description, I am sure glad I am the cook. So, a couple hours later Troy crawls out from the bilge with a discusted look and a funky odor, but now we have new hoses under our sink and we are minus one nasty bathroom odor.

Boating with Papa

Boating with Papa, originally uploaded by seaparents.

Hello All,

The dream lives on! We are in the midst of some crazy boat work. First, we decided to install solar panels and I am slowly learning that in Mexico, everything gets done tomorrow. We have been here for over three weeks now and a "two week install" is nearing its end. While in the middle of a sailing lesson (yes, me actually paying attention) the sail was very hard to raise. It turns out that the headboard car (the one that attaches to the top of the sail) had begun losing ball bearings. Thankfully, we were back at the dock when it actually seized up. Four days and a sore wallet later the part came UPS and we are back in business. We have been busy tracing hoses and wires, rebedding hatches, trying to find to find the solution to a small leak, and replacing smelly toilet hoses. My dad has been with us at the boat for a week now and we have only managed one day out on the water, but hopefully, we will be heading to the south of the bay to a place called Yelapa for a couple of overnights on the anchor (our first!). We plan on leaving no later than Tuesday since my dad will be returning with our car on Friday. I hope everyone is well and we will continue with the photos and blog updates when we are able.

THAT'S RIGHT

THAT'S RIGHT, originally uploaded by seaparents.

Sporting the Denver Station 6 Hamer Flag. THAT'S RIGHT. Thanks to all the boys back at home.

Welcome to Mexico

Checking it all out, originally uploaded by seaparents.

The New Life

Getting to Mexico went well, everything stayed on the car and we did not have any major hitches. The first day we wound up driving 18 hours, I know, Troy is a mad man behind the wheel. Also, we had a very hard time finding a hotel, we found garages that you sleep in your car, but hotels were much harder to locate. The second day was quick and easy, only 5 hours, much more manageable.
Since we have been here we have easily slipped into Mexican life. SLOW DOWN is the theme. We are learning that everything happens tomorrow, if you are a person who wants something done today you are out of luck. Thankfully we have nowhere that we have to be, so today we will sail. Speaking of sailing, we had a wonderful trip out into the bay yesterday. We were visited by a group of dolphins and I even got to see a sea turtle. I don't think one can see too many dolphins in life. They are so elegant and graceful in the water.
We did have one mishap, Ashley had to get stitches in her chin yesterday. She was jumping into a pool and hit the side with her chin. Not fun. I think she handled it like a champ, I did not do so well.
We have lots to learn and many exciting days ahead of us doing so. I am having a BLAST. -Brady

Moving day!

Tucson Hillbillies, originally uploaded by seaparents.

Tomorrow is the day we have all been waiting for! We have been talking about this adventure to most of you for several years now, and we are finally preparing to leave. After two hot months in Tucson, we are packed and ready to go, as you can see by our (slightly over)loaded car. We hope to leave around 4:00 AM tomorrow so we can be at the Nogales border crossing by 5ish. Assuming all goes well with customs we should get more than halfway to Puerto Vallarta by tomorrow afternoon and all the way by Saturday. Boat preparations have already begun as we have purchased solar panels, batteries and related items to take with us. Visits from family will occupy most of our pre-departure time. I'm glad we are able to see all available family in the area before we leave since we are unsure of the date and frequency of future visits. My dad, Deb and sister Lindsey will be joining us in PV on the 6th. We will post updates on the blog when we can and hope to get plenty of visitors. Ta ta for now.

Troy