November 6th, 2011  We have arrived to Canada a few days ago.  We have said farewell to our friends and colleagues at Tetra Pak.  Jens had a wonderful farewell party for him in Iran and I had a last farewell with my colleagues in Istanbul.  Lots of good wishes being sent our way.  We'll miss the camaraderie of our colleagues because above all else, it's the people that makes this company so special.  It's been a great journey with them ... for me it has been 28 years and for Jens it was 15.  So a big part of our lives that we now leave behind.    


Now we embark on a new journey.  New waters to explore; new adventures to have and lots of challenges to face.  The first will be learning to live together.  I'm hoping this will be the least of our challenges.  It will be a little more complicated because we also need to learn how to be without a job and without incomes.  The word "budget" is now seen in a totally new light.  Not number of packs or thousands of dollars;  more like dollars and cents (with emphasis on counting the cents).   


Now - on to the journey.  We have been asked about our plans so I'll give a quick outline here, but as we go along, I'll provide more details of exactly where and when.  


We leave the cottage tomorrow morning and drive down to Rock Hall, Maryland.  It will be the first time we will see the boat since we bought it last Easter.  Since then, she has been equipped with a new dinghy, a life raft and a water maker.  She has had her bottom sanded and repainted and she now sports her new name "SEGWUN".  We have packed up some practical things (dishes, cutlery, bedding, towels, pots and pans) to take with us.   We're not sure about crossing the border to the US with a van full of stuff, so we have taken a full inventory and prepared a list.  We spent one morning with Jens and Dad sorting and cataloguing everything  

We'll have to buy the rest of our gear when we get down there.  


Eric will drive down with us and return to Canada with the car on Wednesday.  Jens hopes to have us sailing out of Rock Hall on Thursday this week.  The destination is Daytona Beach, Florida where we'll leave her in port and fly home for Christmas holidays.  We plan to sail the Intercoastal Waterways along the US Atlantic coast.  I'll try and post as we go along and let you know how we make out in getting acquainted with the boat, with Jens getting me acquainted with sailing and with us learning how to live together in a very small space compared to two apartments in two different countries.