Good Horizons, Very Good

Last night I spent the first evening with my new neighbors. My husband is out of town for 10 days and its a little weird meeting everyone w/o my better half, but its still lots of fun. The people that live out in the anchorage are so cool. A bunch of ex-hippies and Vietnam vets. It is so nice to be hanging w/ an older crowd again. I do like them better than people that are younger than me - they just make me feel old. I feel naive and inexperienced w/ an older crowd, but I also feel that they have much to teach me, not that younger people don't either.
Michel - the previous boat owner is great, as is his wife Barbie. They both thing they have met Hubby and I and last night we figured out it might have been while strutting with the Sierra Club in the King Mango Strut. Barbie is totally environmental and has reintroduced me to the world of organic cleaners. It's called Natures Way and the soap that you can use for everything left my hair great. When I say great, I mean usually after day one of washing hair it is a giant greaseball. My hair stayed looking great for 3 days which something I have never experienced before. In another post I will put down the all the chemicals that anti-freeze, shampoo, soap, and toothpaste have in common as well as all the other ingredients that are known to cause cancer in lab rats (but really - what doesn't cause cancer in lab rats? Its like they have cancer inbred into them).
These people are so cool. Barbie is just a few years older than me and Michel is in his early forties but the other people there where in their 50's and 60's. I heard tales of them being kicked out of stores because they had long hair. "Git out - we don't want your kind in here". I heard a story about when a bunch of Vietnam Vets w/ long hair were surrounded by a bunch of red-neck hunters with rifles. The so called "hippies" were not at they appeared. He said the hunters surrounded their van and then everyone inside the van picked up their own guns. He was sure they were going to have to shoot their way out until the head redneck approached the van and realized that was inside were not mere long haired hippies, but in fact, pissed-off long haired Vets. He then told the other guys to immediately put down their weapons and let the van pass quickly. He saw the guns and realized that everyone had a good chance of dying w/ just one false move.
Barbie and Michel also have the most adorable 17 month old little girl - Jackie - she is so sweet and friendly. Last night when I left the sailboat she insisted on giving me a hug. So Sweet! Michel is also so helpful w/ the boat. The whole night he was talking to me about everything and I was thinking that I need a tape recorder or notepad when I am around this guy because he really wants me to learn everything I need to know about boats. I thought I could leave that to Husband because he already knows, but being self sufficient is great. Barbie and Michel have raised that little girl since day one on a boat. Man, you think raising a baby is hard, just imagine raising one on a cramped sailboat. I have so much admiration for the both of them; such good people. Barbie sells the soaps and stuff I was talking about earlier. You can find her site here.

In sum, its great hanging out w/ a bunch of cool people who all live off land using solar panels, wind energy, and an occasional generator. If your door is open people will stop by. While buying supplies for the "boat" I ran into so many people - oh you're the one who bought Michel's house boat. I have also met a few of my neighbor's while buying boat supplies. Did I mention how many supplies there are? Because there are an unbelievable amount of things that a boat needs. It is mindboggling.

Everyone in Sailboat Bay also looks out for each other. It is not uncommon for a non-live aboard boat to become un-anchored during a storm. We had one a few days ago and a 45' sailboat came loose and was heading out to sea. Because it is so big, and trailing anchors it is a menace to all the other boats out there. Michel and his neighbor got on the boat during the storm to (a) prevent it from ramming another boat (b) prevent it from unanchoring another boat, and (c) to prevent it from floating off into the open ocean. He reachored it and two days later it was gone w/o a thanks. Most people out there are much nicer. So real. Not pretentious. But as everywhere, there are a few assholes and apparently one of them is my closest neighbor. I do want to move though. Because this fat bottomed girl has a flat bottomed boat it is now in the grassy shallows. This allows for great fishing I hear, but it is really close to the channel and all the wake that boats cause speeding though the channel really sucks. I want to moor it further out back, where there is less traffic and neighbors aren't so close by.

Short entry might be coming soon.

I am embarking on a new chapter of my life, and so far, it seems like it will either rock or suck every bit of energy I have out of my body. I am pretty sure that no matter what, IT WILL ROCK!