Just my luck!

For the last few weeks I have gone to and from our house and along the way I have admired a small Hobie Kat Catamaran (?) sitting in someone's driveway with a "For Sale" sign on it.

I really don't know why it is so appealing to me because the first thing I probably should do is learn to spell Catamaran (?), before I fantasize about driving one. (O.K., I know it's not driving, it is sailing!).

This one is probably sixteen feet in length, the mast would be fifteen to twenty feet tall, a mat approximately eight feet by eight feet spans between the twin hulls. Nothing fancy, bare bones sail boating, yet this craft leapt out at me every time I passed.

I don't know why sailing seems so relaxing and enjoyable because I know nothing about it. My only sailboat experience is limited to small craft in the bath tub when I was a child. (Of course if your sail boat tended to turn over you could pull the mast and rub it across the stern several times and miraculously your boat would sail right. (I don't know so don't ask me).

If I were to depart on a sail boat it would be much like people feared for Columbus, that I might sail out of sight never to return. (Maybe that is the appeal). Before I depart I would leave specific instructions and time frame for my return with appropriate reaction should I not return. These would include approximate destinations depending on wind direction should I not be able to return against the wind, and last but not least a powerboat large enough to tow me and my "vessel" back to my point of origin.

This all became a moot point the past couple of days. I had been leaving while it was dark and returning while it was dark (not continued darkness, dark again). Yesterday morning I left for Lubbock just after daybreak and as I prepared to admire the object of my dreams, I found that it was gone.

Alas, someone else has similar dreams.

My biggest problem now is explaining to Krl that my dream of sailing her to Cozumel for vacation is no longer possible. (I felt this would be the sure selling (or sailing point) to her!). I was very confident that if I could sail South, we could ride the leading edge of a hurricane back home.

I would have made a tremendous Captain and she could have been my Gilligan.

For several years, Krl and I have bantered about "dream" vacations. Hers is filled with blue water, it's white foam blending into white beaches.

Mine has always been aboard a "sailing" cruise ship. I have even checked on them on-line. They call them tall ships and I think they are gorgeous. I can imagine sitting on the deck listening to the ripple of the sails in the breeze. There are working ships (where "you" are a member of the crew, and there are luxury cruises. Either way, I have found they are expensive, much more than the cruises you run across daily. One trip that was "my dream" cruise was listed at just over ten thousand dollars per person.

Hey, a guy can dream.

Friday I was in the metroplex and then went to Waco. I was amazed at the number of out of state cars packed with college students headed south toward Austin. Of course, Ohio, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and I even saw a car from California. I began to wonder how many parents thought the last three hundred dollars they sent "Junior" was for text books. I can only imagine the dorm and classroom conversations. "O.K., if we share books, we can put this money toward our road trip!" Nearly every car, I saw all the inhabitants (with one designated exception) soundly sleeping while the driver filled his time slot at the helm. (Another sailing term!). Let's see, nineteen hours to Imperial Valley, twelve hours to Birmingham, sixteen hours to Columbus. Hhhhmmm.

Not that I ever did anything like that.

The week that just ended should have been shot about day two. Lots of miles, lots of waiting. Endless frustration. I should have been home Friday evening between seven and eight. I left Waco just after eight, put the truck in the yard after eleven. Gathered my things, got in my pickup, arrived home just before midnight, got a shower and a bite to eat, tried to relax before going to bed just after one. I didn't set an alarm. If I woke up early enough to deliver Saturday (yuk), fine, if not, Monday works for me. Legally I could not leave before completing a ten consecutive hour break (of course I was out of hours before I arrived home Friday night. I turned in a blank log with the message that the office can figure this crap out). I awakened early, and departed. Destination, Lubbock, Texas. After all, I am a professional.

I have been arguing with myself for the past few weeks about whether or not it is "worth it", putting up with the frustration and hassle. Friday made it easy. D.O. called just after I bumped the dock and I told her "This load is my swan's song". I tried repeatedly to call K.O. to tell him but either he refuses to answer or isn't carrying his phone. (Either would be indicative of the problems I encountered daily throughout the summer).

So, one week until we begin the move to the seasonal jobsite. Three weeks until hopefully we start work. I have a list of things to fix on Blacksheep 222. I plan on making good use of my time.

Actually, it is a tremendous relief.

I've got a little time, ......... . . if I only had a sailboat.

FATHER, restore in me, YOUR joy and hope.