If you are planning on traveling extensively with the purpose of purchasing a live aboard sailboat, I have a few tips for you that I learned during our 13 state journey.
- Doug and I are both blessed with careers and employers that allow us to work from virtually anywhere. Surely it would be easy to work while we are traveling. Not so much. Just because you can work from the car does not mean that you should work from the car. It’s not as easy as it sounds and can be quite frustrating. Doug was a trooper and managed it pretty much our entire trip. We would both work from the hotel until about noon and then while I drove, Doug would work some more. I tried working in the car for one day and the moving and bouncing and swaying made my stomach a bit topsy turvy so it didn’t last as long as I wanted it to. My advice: take some vacation time and leave the working until you are in one place.
- This trip will not be a vacation. You will constantly be on the move, stressed out and trying to figure out the best thing to do. Leave the snorkels and fins at home! Do not bring the camping gear! There will be no time for any such shenanigans. However, do look for places of interest that you can stop along the way that will only be an hour or two of your time. We stopped to see a conservation area where carnivorous plants grow. Doug has wanted to that for ages and it was on the way so we made it a priority to stop there. We also made a detour to a dog beach so the pups could get their first taste of the ocean. (Literally, their first taste. They quickly learned not to drink the water.)
- Eating out constantly will get old fast. Not only is horrible for you but it will eat into your boat and trip budget. We had a cooler in the car and packed it with sandwich makings, hummus, and vegetables. Yes, we had some sodas and a package of Oreos but we tried to eat as well as we could. Take advantage of the breakfast at the hotel and grab a few things that you can take with you to eat later. Grab a couple cans of soup that you can heat up in your hotel room microwave. Just make sure that your room has a microwave. When you do eat out, make it a special occasion and skip the drive thru. Take advantage of being near all that fresh seafood and enjoy a nice meal or two.
- If you have family that lives anywhere along or near your route, take time to stop and see them! This was one of my favorite things about our trip. We got to see two of my aunts, two of my uncles, one sister-in-law, her husband, and their two precious babies. The chance to recharge, share your experiences thus far, and get some much needed love and encouragement was priceless!
- Take your own pillow. Hotel pillows are awful no matter where you stay.
- Take lots of pictures. I failed in this area. I need to get better at that.
- Take your dogs with you! I loved having Crew and Maizey with us. They were great snugglers at night and lowered my stress immensely. It is also fun to see them experience all the new sights and sounds. We mostly stayed at Hampton Inn’s and they are very welcoming to pets so don’t worry about finding a place to stay that will welcome them with open arms. Also, they have waffles.
- Buy a sailboat. That’s why you are on this journey in the first place. And that is exactly what we did. We are in the process of purchasing a 1996 Hunter 40.5 Legend. She is beautiful and I can’t wait to call her home!
