You've got to fight for your right to poooootttty!!!!

My beloved has been telling me that joke for days now and claimed it HAD to be the title of my next blog posting.  

It's been an eventful life the last month or two (and yes, I do realize I've fallen off into the blog abyss!).....

We got engaged!  

We're getting married in France this fall!

We bought our boat!

We've moved onto Audentes! (and that's where the potty jokes start!)

First off--Patrick asked me to marry him while we were in NYC visiting with my family.   It was unexpected, didn't go as planned, but beautiful none the less.  I couldn't be more excited or happier to be the future Mrs. Jorgensen, and I'm lucky to be marrying my best friend.

Right after P popped the question!!

The lovely ring he picked for me

We've decided to get married in France this fall and we'll also be having a reception in Hawaii during the holidays....wedding planning is crazy.  One minute I'm super excited, the next I'm overwhelmed, then back to being excited!....sometimes it feels a bit lonely trying to plan so far away from my best friends and my mom, but they've been amazing in helping me plan AND most importantly, keeping my sense of humor!!!  Roooaaaar!  Run for your lives--here comes Bridezilla!!! (Luckily, this Bridezilla is tamed by a good laugh and a cold beer!)

And the boat!  We FINALLY have possession of Audentes (Latin for "bold"), our 36' liveaboard catamaran.....it's be a long (and I mean looooong) time coming--we've been planning our adventure for over a year--and made it through waves of doubt, uncertainty and fear--but we're HERE.  

We woke up at o'dark thirty on Monday morning and drove down from Jacksonville to South Florida and walked on board, keys in hand.  The boat needs some work before we head up north for under hull work....and it's been quite a bit of work!  So very hard, so very tiring, but really satisfying.

The engine needs fixing, AC is getting repaired (yes, one does need AC on a boat in Florida...I've NEVER been anywhere hotter!!!), and then there's the toilet issue!

There was an electric toilet (or "head" on the boating world!) that didn't work when we bought the boat, so Patrick and I decided to switch out to a manual one--one DOES NOT want to be without a toilet in case of an electric problem.  Not a big deal, right?  WRONG!

We switched out the head without too much trauma....we used it for a day or so, and by the second day it was time for the inaugural el dumpo.  I made Patrick give it a go (I know--I'm a chicken!)...and then I hear an explosion and a helluva lot of swearing.  Not that I blame him--while pumping the handle to flush the toilet, the toilet exploded....all over him and the entire bathroom.  To make matters worse, the handle broke off!  Massive clean up ensued (yup, there is no doubt that I love that man!), and we had to pull apart the entire plumbing system.....needless to say, the entire system had been neglected for over a year, there was a blocked vent, and the pressure was too much!!  It's been completely disgusting (yes, picture--if you dare--poop everywhere, 90 degree heat, 90% humidity, and a cramped space!  Ugh!), but we know that once the new system is in place, we'll be better off.  MUCH better off! 

Ahhh, this mist be what people talk about in term of pride in ownership!  

We're keeping our sense of humor, and I'll make sure to put up pictures as soon as things settle down.....

Boat, Space Shuttle Launches and Rabid Raccoons

Me, post-shuttle launch!

Hello All! It's been a while since I last blogged, but here is the update! It's certainly been an eventful few weeks!

We have a boat!! (Well, we think we do!) We have a boat in escrow up in Maryland and after a month of negotiations about this, that, and the other it looks like we're finally getting to head up this week to complete a sea trial!!! I'll let you know as soon as we finish if this is the boat for us--and I'll post pictures then too!

We headed down to Cape Canaveral about a week an a half ago to see the launch of the Shuttle Discovery. Patrick's friend Leandro works at NASA and he got us VIP launch passes ("Excuse me no pictures, VIPs coming through" haha). We got to watch the launch from the Saturn V building and it was incredible! This is the second time I've been to NASA, and each time I go, I think it's more for P's enjoyment than mine but I always have a great time. Maybe I'm a space nerd after all!

blast-off! going...


going....

gone!!!!

In other news, Patrick and I (who have so far managed to avoid injury since leaving Hawai`i) finally have another grand, somewhat weird, injury related story to share with you all.

Patrick got bit by a raccoon.

While we were playing putt putt mini golf.

While giving me a kiss.

We were playing mini golf one evening and between holes 9 & 10, he leaned over to give me a kiss. He said he felt a pressure on his foot, and thought it was me standing on him. He then felt little sharp pokes and thought my toenails were too long (ummm, eww, whose toenails are EVER that long?!?!?!) and then he felt a crazy sharp bite on the top of his foot--he though a snake bit him initially (ummm, yeah he's been bitten by a snake too!!!), he jumped back and there was a big ol' raccoon running off!!! We thought maybe it was just a scratch but there was a disgusting amount o' saliva on his foot....we tried cleaning it with the 1st aid kit at the golf course, but then headed to an urgent care center, who promptly sent us over to an ER....he has to go through rabies treatment because it was an unprovoked attack and apparently, there has been an increase in rabid raccoons found in the area...

Ok, the circumstances of the bite are hilarious but the treatment for rabies is AWFUL. The nurses gave him about 20 injections of the initial globulin (a very thick corn syrup like solution around the rabies site) and he now needs to get a vaccination shot every few of days for the next month to protect him against rabies. It's horrible! But, Patrick is a certified bad ass, and is a trooper!

The foot in the ER

the hump, sailing lessons and a boat?!?!?1

I wasn't sure I'd make it through the week but I can proudly say I did. P and I started our American Sailing Association classes this week and it's been harder than I'd imagined, but ultimately more rewarding.





I almost quit the first day.





I thought I had made a HUGE mistake---everything was different than the sailing lesson I took at home--the boat was bigger, it heeled much more (pushing 40 degrees, which pretty much means you're standing on the side of the boat since it is riding completely on it's side) and a lot more was expected of me in terms nautical know how. I was pretty much flailing around like a fish, completely out of my element and quite uncomfortable....I'll admit it, there were a couple of moments of biting the inside of my lip to quell any emotion as I was really frustrated, and perhaps more than frustrated, horrified by the idea that after a year of planning and dreaming the big sailboat dream, that I might be the worst sailor around.





I hate the thought of failing, and hate the idea of being a quitter.





After a rough couple of days with our trusty Cap'n Don (yes, he really spells his name that way and he does look a bit like the guy from the fish sticks commercial), he unleashed us on to the water on our own.





Oh my God, honestly, does the man know what he's doing!?!?!?





I was pretty sure P would end up wanting to kill me that day due to my marginal sailing ability, but the reality was, I knew what to do. Not always perfectly, but competently. And I did it on my own, without having to check in with P all the time. We worked well as a team. Again, not perfectly, but whatever bumps we encountered we figured them out. And that's what we've set out to do in life, so we might as well learn on a sailboat!





The first day out on our own was both completely terrifying and utterly exhilarating. After a couple of runs, I turned my face to the sun, felt the wind whip through my hair, gripped the helm with my fingertips and knew with certainty, that I can do this!

Oh! Before I sign off for now, just to let you know, we have a boat in escrow....keep your fingers crossed, we hope it's what we're looking for! More details soon!

Gastro Distress and Midwest Eating

I forgot to tell all of you about our hilarious McDonalds encounter in Missouri. And it's a must, especially for my girls (and Will!) at the CRC.

We've been on the road for weeks and I've become quite the connoisseur of gas station/truck stop cuisine. As many of you know from my last road trip to Annapolis, truck stop food and the like is no good for any stomach, particularly mine. It pretty much equates to any sort of honeymoon being over pretty quickly if you get my drift. There isn't much option for healthy-ness along highways. I tried to buy slightly mushy apples and oranges at gas stations, but other than that, greens were hard to come by. I'm pretty sure putting jalapenos on my nachos doesn't count as veggies!

After a long day of driving in the snow, we pull off the road to a McDonald's. I can already feel my already bloated unhappy stomach starting to rumble in protest. Ok, I decide, I'll get a salad, even if it means stopping and eating in the restaurant. P and I head in, order a couple of their southwest salads with grilled chicken and wait off to the side. Wait and wait. And wait some more. Almost 15 minutes has passed and still no signs of salad! However, it has given me the opportunity to see what others are ordering--including 6 double cheeseburgers, extra mayo please. I know what you're thinking--McDonalds cheeseburgers don't come with mayo, much less EXTRA mayo! Blah! It's like I'm doing a public health survey right in the McDonalds! I feel my public health cogs working in overdrive as I speak!

So we're waiting, and waiting. So far, no trouble for the staff banging out the double cheeseburgers with extra mayo. I think that came out in 15 seconds flat! Finally, I see a manager and let her know we're still waiting for our order. She apologizes (people are really quite nice in the Midwest!) and heads back to to the kitchen. I see her conferring with her food preps guys and them she bellows "Does anyone know how to make a chicken salad?????" Apparently, they aren't ordered too often!!! I almost dreaded getting it--how old was the lettuce REALLY?!?!?!--but it was actually quite tasty (which may have been my body's response to severe vitamin deficiency, but who knows!)

Ice Storm 2009

Ice on trees--Kentucky 2.2009

Ok, admittedly, I've been delinquent these past couple of weeks. I'm excited to get you all up to speed! Our post-Colorado adventure found us smack dab in the middle of ice storm '09. What we anticipated taking a couple of days actually took over a week.

We roared through Kansas on our way to Oklahoma City, where Patrick's friend from high school, DJ, lives. Let's put it out there--I'm not kidding when I say roared through. There isn't much to see in Kansas except gas stations, large Jesus billboards ("Are YOU saved?"being asked by a rather menacing looking 30 foot tall, slightly wind-battered wooden Jesus....not exactly a way to win the folks over!), and a biting cold wind! My ass was chapped, in more ways than one, I kid you not!

Patrick loves to drive, and has pretty much been driving since we left San Francisco....he likes to drive and I like to ride so it's worked out so far. We decided to trade off in Kansas for a bit....as soon as I pulled back on to the freeway, I see a cop behind me. I check my speed, I'm a-ok (for once in my life, I am UNDER the speed limit! I must have left my lead boot at home!) so I move over to the right hand lane. The cop pulls up along side me and falls behind me again and wooot-wooot, pulls me over. Let it be noted I've been on the road all of 60 seconds. P drives for 2000 miles and nary a second glance from a cop. I drive for 1 mile and bam! He's the epitome of the country cop, and I am already hot because I know he has no reason to pull me over. After I give him my license and registration, he says asked where we've come from and where we're going. I told him we were going to Florida from Hawaii. Blank stare. "Via (yes, I actually said "via"!!) Oakland," I clarified. Another blank stare. I was starting to give him the "are you an idiot" stare, but P jumped in and told him we left Fort Collins that morning. Finally--a city he recognized! Thank goodness for P, I was about to get myself in trouble! He let us off with a warning (no blinker) and we headed to Oklahoma as fast a we could! Dorothy, you are DEFINITELY not in Kansas anymore!

Oklahoma found us warmly nestled in DJ's fabulous home. Went to dinner and I ice skated my way to the car--must have been a solid inch or more of ice on every flat surface there! I was initially paralyzed, pretty sure ordering a pizza would be the way to go, but this was all part of the experience I guess! It was heinous, utterly heinous to have to shuffle our way to the car as I grabbed on to P for dear life. My butt was clenched the entire way (I guess it could count as exercise after not doing a darn thing for 3 weeks!) and I was terrified of falling and wiping out taking everyone with me!

DJ and P

After our respite we hit the road again. The conditions were awful--pretty much only tractor trailers and us on the road. Apparently everyone else has the good sense to stay home! We saw lots of cars skidded out and abandoned, or flipped over entirely. If any of you got a late delivery from FedEx, I'm pretty sure it's because we saw an entire trailer flipped in the ditch somewhere in Oklahoma! I've honestly never seen anything like it--snow and ice and wind and hail! P is a good driver (OBVIOUSLY I gave up driving again after Kansas!) and our car, for all the times we've been sure she's a bonafide P.O.S., really pulled through and kept us safe.

Sometimes it takes "bawls" to drive in the storm!


On a country road in Missouri


For all the driving horror, it was beautful when you stopped to take a look

Illinois brought us our second encounter with a cop in as many days. P and I pulled off the freeway to take a look at the scenery--because honestly, even though it was cold and windy and icy and horrendous for most of the time, it was also really beautiful in parts. We drive around this lake, about 5 miles on an unplowed backwoods road, about 20 miles off the freeway. It's lovely and we are the only souls out there. Our car is holding up (yay to our old girl!) and we are having a great time. We realize we can't go any further up the road because it drops off, so we turn around--no easy feat as it is a one lane road with lots o' snow! We realize there is a highway patrol officer behind us....and he's stuck stuck stuck behind us. Wheels spinning, digging himself deeper and deeper. We have a shovel (how prepared of us!) and P heads back to see if the cop needs help digging out. When he gets to the car, he looks into the window and sees on the police laptop not any sort of police data program but an exercise video. Specifically a female aerobics video. The cop tells P he was headed out to "take a piss"--which he repeatedly tells Patrick over and over!!--but I'm sure he didn't need to drive 20 miles to use the bathroom!.....hmmm, but to watch aerobics videos, that may need some privacy! Super Trooper looks exactly like the cops in the movie--crew cut, wearing Oakley blades sunglasses, sporting a rather large mustache, and has cargo pants tucked into his shoes. He looks ready for Armageddon, but doesn't have a shovel. We try to shovel him out, and he asks us to help push his car. We brace ourselves against the back bumper and puuuuuuush. Wheels spinning, going nowhere. "Try again!" he says, and we ready ourselves for another go....but this time he's hitting the reverse lights! We scamper and avoid being run over. I told P it would have been a tragedy to have our life of adventure cut short by a Super Trooper in the backwoods of Illinois. We never did get him out!

P and the Super Trooper

We continued east stopping in West Virginia and heading to NYC....West Virginia was the end of the ice storm, and we were glad to see the sun (even if it was cold outside!)

Take that name and stick it!

Just a couple of thoughts on names we’ve seen as we’ve been driving.  HILARIOUS.  The list thus far:

Virgin River

Beaver Dam

Poudre River (pronounced “pooter” by the locals!)

Arapahoe Ski Lodge (say that one out loud!)

Kickapoo Reservation

I love America, land o' funny and fabulous.

Joy is a cold beer and the Rockies

Colorado has been an unexpected joy.  I have to admit, I thought we’d spend a couple of days here and move on, but it’s been nearly a week and we’re still here.  Fort Collins (where Patrick’s old and my new friend Josh lives) is a cute, very walkable college town with cheap (and good!) beer and buffalo wings.  Ok, I know that shouldn’t necessarily be the 1^st thing I tell you about, but honestly, it was THAT good.

Ok, on to the NATURAL wonders of Colorado.  It’s beautiful—the Rockies are just as majestic as one would imagine.  The snow that fell consisted of snowflakes so large you could see the minute differences between each flake, and so light that you could shake your hair and see the snow float off like fairy dust. 

We attempted snowboarding for the first time—and thankfully (and in contrast to our usual catastrophes) P and I came away in one piece—minus the initial venture on the chair lift in which we collapsed in a heap. Our instructor assured us that in all his time teaching that only 2 people had fallen on their first chair lift run.  P and I DOUBLED his number in seconds!  It was hilarious and we had a great time.

 

(the gang post adventure!)

We also went up to Rocky Mountain National Park, which was absolutely incredible.  The mountains, streams, snow, forests…all so different than anything I’ve seen growing up in Hawaii or living in California.  We also got to see several herds of wild elk (MUCH bigger than one would imagine!).  Patrick encouraged me to get closer to take my pictures but Josh (future vet) and I determined that might end up catastrophically….though it may have made for a REALLY good story!

(Seriously.  Look at how big these guys are compared to the house...HUGE!)

  

(This doesn't do it justice....it was so beautiful!)

(A halfway frozen river!)

And delightfully, Colorado seems to be full of animal sculptures, so I’ve been busy attacking each one with gusto!

(Taming the bear in the National Park)

(Covert pic in the resource center)

(small sculptures or big ones...I'm ON IT--with a little help from P)

(ok, honestly, do the sculptures HAVE to be so realistic?!?!?)