Here we are back in Fiji after a 3 week trip to the USA. Read Jordan's journal dated August 31 for a great overview. It was great to see family - I miss them lots and wish more of them would visit us on the boat. I understand the difficulty and expense of the trip not to mention the impossibility of it with small babies.

It was funny to be asked "How's the trip?" and I would answer "Oh I am having a great time here in the states." But they were talking about living on my boat which I see as my life not a "trip". The misconceptions people have about living on a boat are really very funny. Someone said they were surprised at how social our life sounded when we talked because they imagined us always at sea and alone. My all time favorite comment is about big ocean passages is that we must anchor and stop at night. I gently remind them that the Pacific is the deepest ocean in the world and we don't carry that much chain. The idea of night sailing seems to terrify most people. We assure that we don't do this near land but it doesn't seem to assure them. The other funny question are if I find the waves scary which I have to answer sometimes yes! Hollywood has convinced most people that most big waves are boat killers. Very few waves, even in extreme conditions, can be enough to sink a boat; bathing in a tub is proven to be more dangerous statistically.

Some family worry if it's good for the kid which we think it obviously is otherwise we would stop. The most important fact of our everyday life is that we are always with our son - of course he plays with other kids but 100% of his care taking is done by us as opposed to school/teachers/nannies. We feel this is a really good for us as family and for Jonah as a individual. There some drawbacks but far less than most families deal have to cope with bringing up kids, maintaining a career and a self of some sort. I just know I see my son everyday and know that he is happy and contented child with a strong personality, a quick head and a penchant for being silly.

I turned 42 on August 25. I share Rita's (Jordan's Mom) birthday which is fun. Rita celebrated a major milestone birthday so there was a major party to commemorate it. The party was the night of the 24th so on Sunday we had a awesome shared birthday breakfast at a nice place. My mom and my sister, Vicky came and a bunch of other extended family folks. It was lovely although I must admit to not enjoying Birthdays anymore. I like my 40's but the basic fact is that I am definitely getting older which is underscore by my the thickening gray in my hair, crinkly lines and crepey skin around the eyes and those achy joints. This is the age when men and women differ hugely in personal appearance descriptions when men get distinguished, women just get old. I certainly am not going to spend money reversing the inevitable. No one can stop time. I figure I will be happy claim most of them are crinkle eyes from living on a boat, the blond sun streaks will hide the gray for a while and heat is good for achy bones. I simply have to remember that half of all the good looking men in the world could be my son if I had started earlier. Of course I am looking forward to harassing and teasing my husband about finally turning 40 in the near future. Except he is beginning to look distinguished.

I am mad at work organizing and cleaning the boat already. Almost all of the stuff we bought in the US has been put away. I am making a list for provisioning and feel excited and ready to go cruising. I am wiped from jet lag and might have to quit early today.