Anchors Aweigh

It’s spring break! The news is heavy and dark lately, and we talk about Ukraine, NATO, nuclear war and refugees all the time. A friend shared good news with me recently and I felt encouraged for weeks! In the same way, blogging about our trip is forcing me to think about something besides what we’re always thinking about.

So despite continuous technical difficulties and having to use a very clunky interface, we will persist!

Day One—Chris and I put the kids on the school bus, then raced around doing 5,000 things at once. Trying to figure out our next set of orders, make sure we have all our paperwork and reservations for spring break, and–oh yeah–I haven’t packed yet! We also moved our estimated time of departure up an hour at the last minute.

We picked the kids up from school and hit the road to Amsterdam. Stunningly, we had no traffic. Chris drove us through customs in the port town Ijmuiden, the Netherlands, and straight onto the boat, destination: Newcastle, UK. We found our sea-view cabin and headed up to the top deck for a coffee. The music played; we got underway, gliding past cargo ships, fishing boats, lighthouses and breakwaters.

Everything was novel. Chris was so delighted to be at sea with our family and Gatsby (the family car, named by Eloise) below deck instead of a squadron and helicopter. I don’t think the kids and I have ever slept on a ship before. The sun set in calm seas and rose again the same way. Our clear, warm weather continued as we sailed steadily on.

We’re off on an adventure! UK or bust!