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4 Editors Letter

8 Sweet Wind: One Woman’s Love of the Low Country

25 Eco-Adventuring

40 How-to: Planning a Get-away with Your Sweetie

46 East Meets West Travel Guide: Charleston

56 Tides & Moons

62 Blog Lovin’: Three@Seas

CONTENTS

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EDITORS’ LETTER I love nerds. No seriously...I love them. I love them because I am one of them. I love to read all the interpre-tive signs at a National Park. When it comes to marshes, ponds, or tide pools I am all about my field guide and natural-ist journal. I collect pine cones, shells, driftwood, and acorns. I encourage my daughter to turn over rocks for pill bugs and to catch fireflies after dinner. On our sailboat I chart our route two or three times just for fun. When I am in class I drive the teacher crazy with ques-

tions. I am a nerd who constantly wonders about the world around her. That is why I am so excited to introduce our newest chica to you…Jennifer Barbour (Jen). Jen Barbour is one of those rarities that is com-pletely gorgeous and kinda nerdy at the same time

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(nerdy in the most af-fectionate sense of the word). She knows tons about the world around her and she ra-diates wonder. Jen is the friend you wish you could hang out on the beach with everyday just to hear all she knows. But, she is also the girl that teaches you how to paddle board, wears the cutest board shorts and stays up late to point out the constellations. So this month as you read her story and take inspiration from her life in the Lowcountry, may you become a nerd too and may you always find yourself beautiful.

xoxo -Mel

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CONTRIBUTORSWe could not have done this without ya!

Jen Haynes & Mel WilsonCo-Editors-In-Chief

Jennifer (Jen) BarbourCovergirl & Writer

Guest Writer Jenny Shemerhorn

Guest Blogger Kathryn Besemer Three@Seas

Director of Photographer Jen HaynesPhotographer Cathy RodriguezPhotographer Jess RodriguezPhotographer Jason Haynes

Photography Assistant Charlie Wilson

Thanks to Kiawah Resort, Heron Park Nature Center, & the Montreat College’s Masters in

Environmental Education.

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Lowcountry LoveLocated on a beautiful barrier island just a few miles from historic Charleston, South Carolina lies Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

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SWEET WINDOne Woman’s Love for the Lowcountrywritten by Mel Wilson photography by Jen Haynes

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She bends down close to the marshy mud. A fid-dler crab scurries to its hole and she gasps and motions for others to draw in close. Her feet then walk the rug-ged dock in confidence to-wards her boat. She cranks the motor, ready to set out for a new adventure. Her husband and two boys grin as they honor how happy she is on the water. The el-ements nod in agreement that she is welcome there. The wind and waves call her and she listens. Their words fill her with wonder. Suddenly she flails her arms and shouts “that’s awesome” as she points to

a dolphin pod feeding its way down the creek. We all lean in close listen-ing to her. She is capti-vating. A poet of nature’s wisdom. A natural beau-ty. A rider of the wind. I am inspired. She is love-ly. She is radiant. She is steady. She is Jen.

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Naturally StunningWhether on the dock or jumping through the waves, Jen moves with grace and kindness. It is no wonder she is adored by so many.

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Jennifer Barbour (Jen) is one of the most wonder-filled wom-en I know. She is not the newest host of Animal Planet. She is not a grant funded marine biologist or even a National Park Ranger. She has not circumnavigated the world (at least not yet) and is not on the US Racing Team. Jennifer Barbo-ur is a mom. A wife. A friend. Jen is a girl just like you and me, who fell in love with the world around her and took off to live among it. While Jen’s love of the wind and waves has been in her since her upbringing in Florida, her defin-ing moment of her commitment to the ocean was the day her and Jus-tin (her husband) bought their first boat and decided to become “cruis-ers” (Cruisers are folks that take ex-

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tended voyages on their boats and generally use their boat as their primary residence). They were both in their twenties and a twenty-seven foot Bristol sailboat seemed like the ideal adventure. After two weeks of pristine sailing they stopped in Belhaven, NC to perform a little boat main-tenance. (Like any experienced boater knows working on a boat always cost more than you

Wind & WavesFor Jen & Justin there is no better day than sailing together wing & wing.

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CAPTAIN BARBOURWe love that Jen is not only a naturalist, but a licensed boat captian as well. I mean, who wouldn’t want to go on an eco-tour with her...she is so much fun.

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NO FEARThis girl seems to be

okay with handling any-thing from blue crabs to

alligators.

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think and takes twice as long as you were hoping). So, two months later with no boat maintenance money left and their cruis-ing dream unfinished, they began researching jobs in Charleston, SC. Since Jen has a natural teaching abil-ity and a great understand-ing of the outdoors she in-stantly lined up a job as a naturalist at the Kiawah Island Resort. By mid winter 2005 they were back “cruising” this time for a marina in Charles-ton. Living aboard their boat by night and teach-ing about the lowcountry wildlife by day Jen had found her niche. Her job at Kiawah included giv-ing classroom presenta-

tions, walking nature tours, bike excursions, and ca-noeing and kayaking trips. (Sounds like a blast doesn’t it?) Within only two years she was promoted to a man-agement position in which she trained and recruited numerous naturalists on the island and received her Cap-tain’s License (that’s right this girl is a boat captain!). With a captain’s license in hand, a boat in the marina, and a coastal playground surrounding her, Jen quick-ly began to explore every inch of the Charleston area. From paddle boarding to surf boarding from kayak-ing to sailing Jen and her husband Justin lived a life full of adventure. At one point they even outfitted an

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18-foot buccaneer sail-boat for overnight sleep-ing, even though it was an open boat. Then they sailed it to Beaufort, SC in a dense fog and anchored for the night. Early the next morn they awoke to sev-eral shrimpers surround-ing them dragging their nets and bioluminescence trailing in the water behind their stern on the ebb tide. Then in 2008 with the birth of her son Dylan, Jen’s life drastically changed. Ecstatic over his birth and wanting to do the best thing for him, Jen decided it was best to step down from manage-ment and took a job writ-ing conservation articles

MOST IMPORTANTLY MOMMY Jen’s cautiously balances her love of nature with her love of her husband and two boys.

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for the programs news-letter instead. While she would never trade the time she had with Dylan, Jen quickly realized that a piece of her was missing. Over the years she had become so closely tied to the water, the marsh, and the sea life that with-out teaching about them, she was not fully awake. So this Spring when asked to rejoin the Kiawah team by program directors Liz King and Jake Feary, this time as an eco-tour guide through Kiawah’s new motorboat program, she jumped. According to Jen the best part her job is that she gets to work with in-credible people in the low-country land she has fallen

in love with…and she actu-ally gets paid to do it! Not only that but the program has been indubitably flex-ible with her hours granting her increased family time. According to Jen, “Wheth-er it is looking for lizards and snakes with Dylan, in our backyard space, or packing up the car and heading to the beach” she just loves to be outside with her family. Don’t worry her boys and Justin love that she is boat captain and naturalist, too! In fact, on our recent vis-it to Charleston, Dylan the oldest asked us to take him to the beach almost every hour on the hour. It seems that Jen’s love of waves and wind is contagious.

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PADDLE AWAYWhile in Kiawah Jen taught us to paddle board. Stay tuned

for our “Paddleboard How-To”. We prom-ise that is the best full body workout that we

have experienced!

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IT’S CONTAGIOUSThis month we hope you are inspired to catch Jen’s love of the wind, waves, and life. Check out a few of her answers during our recent interview.

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1. What has been the best time in your life?Justin and I recently asked one another what the best time of our life was. We both quickly responded that it was our trip down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) aboard our first home – a beautiful 27 foot Bristol sailboat. The simplicity of life aboard was alluring. Working together to get from point A to point B on a chart was gratifying. And all the while, we were surrounded by the most beautiful scenery the east coast could boast. We were alone, yet among a tight knit group of people who refer to themselves as ‘cruisers’. Most of the folks we met along the way and stayed in touch with through-out our journey were at least 30 years our senior, so we quickly became know as the ‘kids’ en route to the south. It’ll be great to do that trip again with our boys.

2.Do you have a favorite place?My favorite place on Kiawah is the western most point of the is-land along Captain Sam’s spit.

There, I still get a feel of what an untouched barrier island is like. As for an adventure spot, I like Ki-awah’s small clean waves for long boarding, or the salt marsh for paddle boarding.

3. How do you keep the adven-ture alive now with two kids and a house?We’re realistic about what’s feasi-ble and fun toting kids along. Liv-ing life through our toddler’s eyes helps us make big adventures out of little outings. A trip to the beach or road trip to visit family is a big deal for a little guy! But Justin and I also constantly talk about our dreams for both the near and dis-tant future. I don’t stifle his desire to look at sailboats, even though another boat is not in our plans presently. We make time for each other. The boys have an early bedtime so we can have our time together.

4. What are you dreaming about doing next?There’s definitely a plan for another boat and more adventures at sea!

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www.solehope.org

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ECO-ADVENTURINGWhy Millenials Are Loving Ittext by Mel Wilson photography by Jen Haynes

Vacations can be exhausting. Flights and rental cars, traffic and gps navigation systems, Amuse-ment parks and crowded beaches. There are lit-erary times in which I have come home wishing I never had gone. The whole process can leave you empty, worn out, and just plain annoyed.

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After meeting with Jen Barbour on Kiawah Island a few weeks ago, I could not help but think about the vacations I love. The ones in which the pace is slow; I am playing out-doors and I get to see the world in a new way. These types of vacations com-bine adventure and relax-ation all in the outdoors (a naturally calming agent). When I return from these places I am rejuvenated. Life seems in balance and I am ready to return to work. For the past five years Eco-tourism has been on the on the rise. More and more folks are longing to

see the natural world: ex-plore it’s depth and awe at it’s bounty. Eco-tourism defined is being a tourist amidst the natural world (such as the Kiawah re-sort, Yellowstone Nation-al Park, or your favorite beach.) What’s the draw you might ask? Peace. In our millennial lives of cell phones and Facebook, it is nice to head to the woods and hear nothing. It is great to sit on the sand dunes and watch the waves crest again and again. It is breathtak-ing to stand on top of Vol-cano national park and be on top of the clouds. We see in the outdoors, beauty that we can never totally match (no matter how hard

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GET OUTSIDEResearch has shown

that the combina-tion of movement in

the outdoors reduces stress and increases

concentration.

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GO THERE So many of us plan our vacations around

major cities, when the reality is that what we re-ally need is to get-away.

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Wouldn’t you ratherbe here....than Disneyworld?

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ON TOP OF THE WORLD

Away from the dis-tractions from every-day, on high peaks where the world is

below you...you can see what really

counts.

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we try) and there is a calm that tells us there is more to life then human endeavor. Richard Louv in his 2007 bestseller Last Child in the Woods states, “Ameri-cans around my age, baby boomers or older, enjoyed a kind of free, natural play that seems, in the era of kid pagers, instant messag-ing, and Nintendo, like a quaint artifact. Within the space of a few decades, the way children understand and experience nature has changed radically. The po-larity of the relationship has reversed. Today, kids are aware of the global threats to the environment—but their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fad-

ing. That’s exactly the op-posite of how it was when I was a child.”. Isn’t that an oddity...our children know more about the saving the world than the world? Overtime our connec-tion to place has been lost and what we know of the world has been paired down to air-conditioning, Wii video gaming, and Google searches. Maybe this is another reason why Eco-tourism appeals. We long to know the world in which we are from. Sure we can search for the min-uet details about places in microsecond, Mapquest it, and add waypoints to the best Chinese take-out places in a five mile radius,

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but that does not mean we really know it. We know a place instead when we get our feet sandy and our hair wet with ocean spray. So this month we en-courage you to get outside. Find your spot. It could be Kiawah or Kona. It could be Maui or your backyard. But no matter what...get going. This world is wait-ing to be known by you.

YOUR TURNIt’s yourt turn to get out and get your feet dirty. Find your spot. Then send us your vacation pics...we would love to share them this month.

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1. Zip line toursHigh above the canopy zip line tours are a fast and furious way to see a region in style. From free styling trick routes to long 900 foot runs, zip lines make you feel like a kid again. Besides along the way you will get a little education about the place before zipping away. Weeeeeee!

2. Sailing AdventuresThere is no better way to see an island than by boat. Numerous companies have begun to offer not only sunset cruises but also eco-tours where you can view marine mammals. You can even sip a cocktail as dol-phins cross the bow. Not too shabby.

OUR TOP 3ECO-ADVENTURING IDEAStext by Mel Wilson photography by Jen Haynes

[www.navitat.com[www..zipline.com [www.mauizipline.com

[www.inthewild.org/charters/ecotours.htm[www.kairosvacations.com

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bike tours can be low adventure or high!

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3. Bike ToursDownhill a volcano in a mountain bike or leisure-ly cruise the wine country on a ten speed. Bike tours are a great way to see a place pedal by pedal. Sound to laborious? No worries these companies are equipped with their very own sag van, just in case you need to change a flat, need a respite, or just want a snack.

[www.cruiserphil.com[www.backroads.com

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ROMANTIC GETAWAY WITH YOUR SWEETIEwritten by Jenny Schermerhorn photography by Jen Haynes, Cathy Rodriguez & Jess Rodriguez

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Charleston, SC is quite romantic, with its cobblestone streets, glowing gas lights and horse drawn carriages. Even lo-cated just four hours southeast of our Asheville home, Charleston seemed about as far away as the moon. Our jobs, kids and bud-get seemed bent on keeping us home and accompanied 365 cal-endar days a year. Here’s how we made the trip happen, and en-joyed every part of the process. A note to those with very small ones: If you have kids, you know that leaving them for a few days is like planning an expedition to Mount Everest. The planning, packing, the emergency plans. But like a great climb, the exer-tion also leads to a new outlook.

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It’s incredibly challeng-ing to leave small chil-dren, but those caring for them are often those most in need of a break! So commit to the sacrifices you’ll need to make and look forward to the relax-ation and refreshment at the end of your journey.

Swap childcare with an-other couple. Since we couldn’t pay someone to watch our kiddos for sev-eral days we exchanged weekends with some trust-ed friends. We watched their kids for a weekend, then they watched ours. I’m not going to lie, there were some “moments.” But overall, it was more fun than I imagined. It was

like a marathon sleepover for my daughters, and whenever it got hairy my husband and I focused on the fact that we were earn-ing some needed time away.

Enjoy the planning process. Your weekend will only last for a few days, but you can enjoy planning for weeks or months. I adore planning vacations. Because plan-ning for me is part of an-ticipating the trip. Before you go on your trip plan a date to a local bookstore and browse through some guidebooks. Order your favorite coffee drinks and look at the pictures and top recommended activities for the place you are planning to visit. Discuss what sounds

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GETTING AWAYGoing away togeth-

er, can remind us why we fell in love.

And can restore pas-sion again.

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fun to you. Make a list of two or three top things you want to do while visiting.

Don’t pack every minute! Sure, you could fill every hour of every day you are gone, but then it will speed by and you’ll be exhaust-ed when it’s over. This is supposed to be about being together. Reveling in each other’s presence. Talk-ing and listening. Kissing, and more kissing. These things are a bit harder to do if you’re always dashing between activities, dehy-drated and cranky due to low blood sugar. So leave yourselves some margins.

Plan at least one surprise for your honey. It doesn’t have to be big and expensive, it just needs to be right for your guy (or gal). When we got away to Charleston for our 10th anniversary this year, I picked up some of my man’s favor-ite candies (Andes Mints) and put them on his pil-low every night. It was a small thing, but it showed him I was thinking about him.

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HOLD HANDSThese sea turtles remind us that we should take time, to sit down and hold hands (on vacation and back at home)!

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east meets westTRAVEL GUIDE:

CHARLESTONthis weekwritten by Jenny Schermerhorn photography by

Jen Haynes & Cathy Rodriguez

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Here are a few specifics on how our romantic getaway to Charleston shaped up.

Our planning process: When we talked about our 10th anniversary trip the word “relax” kept coming up. It’d been a stressful few years with a preemie baby, countless 50+ hour work weeks, moves and a house on the market. We made a list of wishes (it included Paris and Bora Bora) and got more prac-tical (no plane tickets) and when we added “beach” and “close by” to “relax” we came up with Charles-ton. It’s a good idea to come

up with a trip budget, then fit your trip into your bud-get, and not the other way around. This will help you enjoy your vacation with-out the guilty undertones.

Stay: We decided to spend most of our trip budget on accommodations. We wanted to hide away some-where quiet, not stay right in downtown. So we choose Water’s Edge Inn, a Bed and Breakfast just outside Charleston in Folly Beach. We had visited Charleston several times before and planned to spend our time on the beach gazing out at the waves. We wanted a fan-

TRULY CHARLESTON

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tastic room where we could be incredibly lazy in luxury. Water’s Edge Inn deliv-ered. Our third floor room had a view of the marsh, a flat screen TV, rainwater shower head mounted on the ceiling, European feath-er bed and linens to die for. Plus they would drive us anywhere on the island on a golf cart whenever we asked, and that’s just fun.

Do: Here are a few things to try if you visit Charleston with your honey. Reconnect with a walk in Waterfront Park. You’ll see beautiful water features with the city stretching to one side and

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the harbor to the other. Sit down on one of many wood slat benches and people watch. Ask some ques-tions like : “What are your top five best memories from our relation-ship?”, and “What are some of your dreams for the next ten years?” Then stroll downtown and cool off with some Italian Ice or ice cream.

Enjoy a kayak tour of the wet-lands. We went out with Charles-ton Outdoor Adventures (www.charlestonoutdooradventures.com) and enjoyed a guided two-hour eco- tour of the marsh. We saw egrets, small and great blue heron, cranes, pelicans, crabs, osprey, an american wood stork, and even a pair of dolphins that glided silently just inches from our boats. It was beautiful, qui-et and relaxing. Ahhhhhhhh.

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Also check out Kiawah Island Resort’s Eco-tours

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Eat: Try Hominy Grill, the sister restaurant of Asheville’s famous Early Girl Eatery. The fresh, lo-cal ingredients and quirky beach meets southern fare is fantastic. I ordered the fried green tomato BLT w/ ancho chile lime may-onnaise; my husband en-joyed the omelet with spanish rice, shrimp gra-vy, home fries and toast. Still not convinced? Peo-ple were standing outside in the sun for 45 minutes in Charleston heat to get a table. For other great restaurant recommenda-tions, ask the person at the front desk of your ho-tel or B&B, they’re local, and can give you the low down. Try to be as specif-

ic as possible when describ-ing what you feel like eat-ing, about how much you’d like to spend, and how long you’re willing to wait. On the evening of our tenth anniversary, in Charleston, we boarded a small boat for a dinner cruise of the har-bor. I had been anticipat-ing a breathtaking view of the city at night from the water. Instead, we watched sheets of rain blast against our window. The captain came over the PA system to let us know we would be heading back to safer har-bor because the storm was so strong, and our boat was quite small. The theme song from Gilligan’s Island began playing in my head. (Our tour was three hours

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long! “A three hour tour...”) Lat-er, on a dripping wet deck, while various loners smoked, Stephen explained that he had custom-ordered me a gift six weeks ear-lier, but that it hadn’t come in on time. As he showed me a small printed out photo of the gift he grimaced as he looked around and commented “I had imagined this moment to be a bit more ro-mantic and a bit less back alley.” But that is the moment we’re still remembering and laugh-ing about now that we’re home. No trip is perfect. Take it anyway. Nothing goes just as you had planned. Laugh about the disasters, and enjoy the un-expected great moments. It’s good practice for real life.

next week Oahu Travel Guide

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THROUGH ALL TYPES OF WEATHEREven stormy seas can bring you and your sweetie together.Remember that vacation is about eachother, not about hav-

ing the perfect trip.

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OF MOONS & TIDES

written by Jen Barbour photography by Jen Haynes

A special little section from our Covergirl.

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I read about ancient cultures marking days and seasons by the phas-es of the moon and think how radically different our society is today. Then I consider the ocean, its tides that continue to be swayed by the lesser light governing the night, and I become aware of some-thing that has not changed since antiquity. Maybe the most familiar association you have with the tides involves some frantic at-tempt to relocate your beach belongings before the incoming tide makes a yard sale wash up out of them. I imagine the star-fish has a similar feeling

of panick as the tide re-cedes, leaving it high and dry. Many are well accus-tomed to the ebb and flow of our tides both on the beach and in the salt marsh. We recognize and appre-ciate how the landscape and wildlife thrive on the rhythm of tide transitions. If you seek to under-stand more about the tides, you must first get comfort-able with the fact that the only constant is change. With a four-to-seven foot tide range along our local coastline, water is mov-ing in and out of our inlets nearly a foot an hour. Small creeks in the salt marsh be-come difficult, sometimes impossible to navigate with a kayak. Adding an oyster

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knife to your kayak gear dur-ing cooler months is always a good idea in the event you find yourself stuck, waiting for the tide to rise. The hor-izontal plane of the beach provides and even more dra-matic tide transition. It only takes one bike ride at high tide for you to consider the tide every trip thereafter. The phase of the moon determines how much wa-ter swells our tidal creeks at high tide and how much beach is exposed at low tide. When the moon is either new or full in the Lowcoun-try, the gravitational pull it has on the earth is stronger, causing higher tides and lower low tides. We call these tides spring tides. The word spring comes from

TAKE TIMETo notice the little things right

in front of you. You will be amazed by what you learn

just by stopping and listening.

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the Saxon word “sprun-gen,” and refers not to the season, but to the brim-ming fullness of water “springing” forth. When we experience a quarter moon, the gravitational pull is less, causing a de-crease of water volume along our coastline. We call this a neap tide. Neap is an old Scandinavian word for “barely touch-ing” or “hardly enough.” The transition extremes during spring tides pro-vide new opportunities of exploring both on the beach and in the marsh. When was the last time you observed the tide’s boundary and explored its edges? Fascinating arrays of marine creatures inhab-

it the tidal zone. Scoop up a handful of living coquina clams after a wave washes ashore and feel them bur-row in the sand to your palms and fingertips. Surf the early morning waves of the incoming tide. Kayak the salt marsh at low tide so you can witness the oyster beds uncovered and birds feasting on worms and mol-lusks. Paddleboard or kayak those same creeks six hours later when the tide is high and have an entirely differ-ent experience. Walk the beach and take note of the treasures found in the high tide wrack line. In short, slow down, marvel and take delight in the tide tran-sitions of the Lowcountry.

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It’s no wonder her boys love the water....check out Jen with her bump!

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Sometimes we assume that if we are a wife or a mom that our adventure has to stop. We had college dreams of seeing the world or backpacking though Europe, but life has caught up with us and we are home. Home is not a bad thing, but there are days when we still dream of adventure. Recently we heard of Kathryn Besemer, her husband Da-vid and their fourteen year old Ayla who all, along with their cat, live aboard a 43-foot Nordhavn Trawler (that’s a boat)! In 2008, the Bessemer family set out for a “global journey of discover and kinship based on the hope that there is more that binds us than divides us”. When reading through their blog Three@Sea we could not help but celebrate their love of travel, place, culture, and life. As well, we are totally amazed with their parenting! Their daughter Ayla, writes her own blog, too, and is an advocate for our oceans thanks to help by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Here is a blog entry from Kath-ryn that explains why they decided to go for it!

BLOG LOVIN’

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the

CR

EW

text by Kathryn Besemer photography by Jen Haynes

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OUR DREAMBlog Entry 2008Coordinates: 40° 2.58 N 105° 18.80 W

I have no doubt this will be my lon-gest blog entry by far, but I thought some of you might like to know a little about the journey that has us selling our home and cars and mov-ing on to a 43-foot Nordhavn for the next few years. We can’t claim tem-porary insanity — we have actually thought about it for quite a while.

Eight years ago (August 2000) the seed of an idea was planted at the Chittenden Locks in Seattle Wash-ington. While visiting family that summer we took Ayla (3-years-old) to see the salmon ladders at the locks. Dad’s attention was quickly distracted by an unusual look-ing boat going through the locks. Those of you who know and love Dave know that his nature is not to just randomly “visit” with people, but he was so curious about the boat that he struck up a long con-versation with the family aboard. The boat was a Kadey-Krogan trawler, and the idea of a family

traveling for extended periods of time aboard a power boat was planted. For ages, sailing families have been able to cross oceans assisted by the wind, but the idea of a small power boat being able to cross ocean was rela-tively new, as they usually couldn’t carry enough fuel. However, a new breed of production boat, full dis-placement trawlers, had been born.

On a completely different theme, we were engaged in the joy and everyday antics of a raising a three old daugh-ter. Her natural curiosity and sense of exploration always inspired us and kept us busy. Dave and I had taken a year and traveled abroad before we got married. Travel and parent-ing were more similar than you might think, as each day is filled with un-known and often unexpected adven-tures. While traveling we came across a great quote by Mark Twain, “Trav-el is fatal to ignorance, prejudice, and narrow-mindedness.” Hmmm…what a great gift to give Ayla.

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family adventuresOn Three@Seas’ website

Ayla, now 14, has her own Youtube channel. Click the image above to see one of

her family’s adventures.

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So for the next few years Dave read every copy of PassageMaker-magazine (a relatively new pub-lication at that time, dedicated to ocean cruising) along with books like, Honey Let’s Get A Boat and Voyage of the Northern Magic. What at first seemed like a passing crazy idea or pipe dream actually started to look like a real possibil-ity if we were willing to commit to some radical changes in our lives. Before we got too carried away, we decided to charter a boat for a week in the Bahamas and see if any of us got horribly sea sick or drove each other crazy in such tight quar-ters. Our Sea of Abaco adventure (April 2005) was fantastic, from marine-toilet fountains of urine, and a cockroach infested boat, to breathtaking sunsets, and island smiles that make you never want to go home. At the end of the week we would have kept going if we could. We had everything we need-ed: each other, a GPS, a camera and a deck of cards. We LOVED it!!!

The next step was to spend two

weeks in more foreign waters: dif-ferent language, deeper water, Mediterranean moorings, etc. The following year (July 2006) we went to Greece. The same result: abso-lute joy even though the voyage was filled with challenges, like com-pletely losing our ability to steer the boat on a very windy day in the Gulf of Hydra, and having to be towed in to an incredibly cramped harbor by a small fishing boat. At the time I felt as if I was going to throw up due to the stress, but later it is those mo-ments that make the tapestry of that voyage so rich. We easily fell into a routine of cruising in the morning, and exploring our new destination in the afternoon and evening. Ayla loved the cats of Greece, the ancient history, and the apple pastries. Her world was expanding through direct experience. The colors, smells and feeling of Greece will always be with her.

After that trip our vision became clear: to travel with Ayla during her middle school years on a boat that could safely take us any where we wanted to go. So much of world history happened near the water, it

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would be a great education and ad-venture. We understood all too well that we only have a few years left with her at home, we plan to savor every moment.

If middle school was the goal, then the date was set: Ayla would com-plete 5th grade in May 2008. After years of reading, attending Trawler-fests and boat shows, we were pret-ty sure what boat we wanted. Safety was our number one priority, fol-lowed closely by having a company who is committed to supporting their cruising customers. We attend-ed the Annapolis Power Boat show in October 2007 to make our last comparisons and finalize our deci-sion. That trip confirmed what we had known for several years: a Nor-dhavn trawler would be our boat. It also became clear that unless we won the lottery unexpectedly, the only way to make this dream pos-sible was to sell our home in Boul-der, Colorado. Here is where reality versus dreaming kicks in: security and responsibility (owning a home) versus taking the road less traveled. In the end, what made the decision easier is that all three of us shared

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this dream and were willing to make the trade-offs to achieve it.I’m sure you’ve seen the quote by Goethe, “Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Bold-ness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!” We have al-ways loved that quote, but the full context of the quote is even more powerful:“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of ini-tiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the mo-ment one definitely commits one-self, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the deci-sion, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assis-tance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Bold-ness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now!”

So we took a deep breathe, and decided to go for it. It is hard to truly understand all that needed to hap-pen for this dream to become a real-ity; from selling our home during the largest mortgage industry melt down in recent history; to qualify-ing for a boat loan that was almost twice our home mortgage never hav-ing owned a boat before; to meeting seemingly impossible stipulations from our lender, and the list goes on …But we believed everyday; and we just tried to “eat that elephant one bite at a time.” With the help of real-life angels (Ray, Russ, Joanie, Barb, Bobby) and family and friends who believed in this dream with us, it has all come together. We have success-fully sold our home, bought a boat, and moved aboard. One incredible chapter of our lives has closed, and another is just beginning….

To read more about their adven-ture that began in 2008 go to www.threeatseas.com.

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BEGINNINGSIt all started at the airport of all places. A 5-hour layover, with tons of people watching, and a realization that people are beautiful. Yet, we spend so much time grabbing inspiration from beauties on the screen or magazine. What if instead we just looked around and no-ticed the girl-next-door that is living a beautiful life? Wouldn’t that be inspiration enough?

Not only because they are fashionistas, keep stunning homes, and love to entertain well; but because they have soul. The type of soul that reaches out to a neighbor and ends up rocking the world. So we at DOCICA are taking twelve women this year (one a month) and bringing us all back to our our roots, our original selves...and saying that’s beautiful.

xoxo- Jen & Mel

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next WEEK:artsy ABODE

home ideas inspired by the SEA LIFE