An Update & the Game Plan

The Game Plan
The original game plan was to sail around the world. After much debate, and no joy with the boat buying, we decided to switch up our game plan and just hitch hike (boat rides). If we find a boat to buy in our travels, then great, if not, then travel on! We are not going to let a little thing like a boat stop us now!

Fresh off our Copper Canyon trip, we sat in San Carlos, Mexico posting our crew listings, touting our swashbuckling, stellar sailing, and crew skills. Bored to death waiting for return e-mails, we get word that my 2nd cousin eloped in Vegas and their wedding reception was to be at a Rodeo bar north of Phoenix, Az. Perfect, since now crewing, we needed to store the van and all the boat gear back in the US somewhere. Thanks Aunt Lue! This time we were going to do it right and travel light. Remember, the first rule of crewing is you have no personal belongs. Well, very few.

Excited about having somewhere to go, we had one more thing to do! Hike Nacapule Canyon. It is this beautiful, lush, tropical raven, 1/2 hour outside of downtown. It is suppose to be a fairly easy hike and really neat since SC is located in the high desert. It was. Check out the pictures on our Flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/)!

So, off to Arizona we went. On the way up we went through many military and customs check points, all friendly but time consuming. We stayed the first night in a hotel that had a bed like a cloud!. The next day Brian and I went to the SF Giants vs Oak A's spring training baseball game and ate Portabello mushroom burgers. (Not available in MX!) Right after the game we headed to Cave Creek, AZ for the reception. We changed clothes in the parking lot and headed into the Buffalo Chip Bar and Saloon for the evening. The bar has a live bull riding ring out back and we enjoyed a great BBQ dinner, sitting on picnic tables and warmed by camp fires. Great time, great couple.

It was fun to be in the states and to see all my family, but as we already knew, it was so much cheaper to live in Mexico! As we scoured the web for crew positions and opportunities, my friend Niki, whom we met on the Ha Ha, emailed me. She was in Mahahual, Mexico helping out Capt. Gary with his 55’ catamaran excursions. After a couple of email conversations, we were invited to come help do tours on the sailboat. Schweet, sweet. It wasn’t exactly what we had in mind, as we would be located in one spot, however, we would be back on the water, sailing, on a huge boat, and in a beautiful Caribbean location. Remaining flexible is key and you never know what can happen. So, off we went (Mar 24th)……