Guest's Post & Comments

Mom’s first impression

By August 11, 2013 4 Comments

Sitting on stairs at the Dungeon Recovering at Fort Recovery Ready for our hike Come here mr turtle Which way do we go? View from Culebrita's lighthouse Culebrita's jacuzzi A tank on a beach

Like Shane, his dad and I sold a lot of our stuff and our house that we had lived in for 36 years.  We have been traveling and living in motels since January 12, 2013. One of the things that I have learned from being a motel dweller is that once I have figured out how the coffee pot and shower in each room works, the rest of the day is relatively easy from there on.

Coming aboard the Guiding Light has been a very similar experience although I have had to learn a few more things than just operating the coffeepot and shower and most of those things I have learned have been very positive experiences. I want to share a few of those thoughts with the readers of my son’s blog.

  • Finally getting to experience firsthand what our oldest son has been doing for the last four years has been a delightful experience. Reading his blog each week and talking to him never prepared me for what I would get to see and do during the last ten days.
  • I brought way too much to wear while on the boat. A couple of swimming suits, cover ups and walking shoes that got wet have taken care of getting me to where I wanted to go.  There are many wonderful sights that Shane has shown us. This includes forts, lighthouses, small quaint villages, tanks, and rain forests.
  • Showering on a boat is a unique experience but feels oh so good after a day of hiking, swimming, or sailing. I also have learned that a part of that shower experience includes washing the clothes I wore for the day and hanging them up so they can flap in the wind overnight. It has been a long time since I have used as many clothes pins as I have on the Guiding Light.
  • Shane provides a beautifully made up cabin for his guests and his parents were no exception. The beds are comfy and opening the hatch above the bed, feeling the sea breeze blow down on us and gazing up at the stars is incredible.
  • Like I had breakfast ready for Shane each morning when he was growing up, Shane had a pot of coffee waiting for me each morning when I came upstairs to the salon. This was especially nice since Shane nor his dad are coffee drinkers.
  •  You do not go anywhere fast on a sailboat but the landscape that you see on the way is fabulous.
  • Everything tastes good after a day in the wind and sea, but Shane makes some of the best soups, desserts, and main dishes you will have anywhere (I like to think he got his cooking skills from me). We have got to taste his chickpea and sausage soup, mango pasta, and white chocolate cranberry tart.  Additionally, he is a whiz at finding out of the way little restaurants that we have been able to enjoy. An example is on Viequez Island, we ate at Café Mamasonga where we had the best cocoanut shrimp, crab cake sandwich, and key lime pie that we had ever tasted. Even the French fries were good.

I have had a wonderful time cruising through the Spanish Virgin Islands [Shane – check out the next couple of blogs where I will be writing about the SVI] with my son and seeing firsthand what his life is all about on the boat.  Now his dad would like to say a few things.

My name is Bill and I basically knew what it was going to be like on the boat since I sailed with Shane for a month in 2010. I have really enjoyed everything, but the thing that has impressed me is all the information Shane knows about places we go by. I am a history nut and I think Shane has acquired that gene from me. An example is when we went to St. John Island, before we got there Shane knew that it was two thirds National Park. Most of this island was bought up by Rockefeller in the 50s who then donated it to the National Park Service so that following generations would be able to enjoy what he enjoyed. Within the park there is an old abandoned sugar plantation that Shane was telling us about. During our “private tour” people came up and asked him if he worked for the parks department because of all the things he knew about the area. One small point of many that he made on our sugar plantation tour was about a big oven that they would bake bread in. The way they baked the bread was they put the wood in the oven, lit it and burned it down to coals. They would scrap the coals out and put the bread in to bake from the hot bricks. This is just one small thing he told about the sugar plantation and he seems to know stuff about everything we see which to me is way and above what he has to do on a captain only charter.

4 Comments

  • Bill and Dee McClellan says:

    This is totally a dream vacation. I could never imagine the fun and relaxing time we would have. I was totally amazed at how easy life on the boat would be. Even figuring out what we are going to eat each day is fun. Right now Shane is making bread because we are out of bread for lunch sandwiches and it is easier to make it than find a grocery store. Yesterday I made “Clean Out the Cabinet Casserole” and “Cherryless Cherry Cheesecake” and they both turned out quite tasty although Shane did say that the casserole reminded him of dog food. (Obviously we are at the end of our cruise and trying to get rid of everything before Shane has the boat hauled out for the season on Saturday.)

  • Cynthia Grubbs says:

    You are living a dream come true! What a treasured experience for all 3 of you to add to your memories. Spending a week with Shane is now on my bucket list! !

  • Linda Clark says:

    Sounds like you are having a blast

  • Linda Clark says:

    Sounds like you are having fun

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