Early this morning we arrived in Bahia Tortuga (actually about midnight last night). I spent the last sailing leg of this trip thinking about what fun it is to be “camping” on a boat. We are on the water version of a road trip. I always wanted to take a cross country road trip and this is better!

Obviously showers are limited as is sleep time because we are doing 4 hour shifts. But there are many ways that we adapt and I wanted to share a few of these with you.

A gourmet meal can be made in a single bowl! And more impressively for those of you that know me, I made a spectacular gourmet dinner last night in a single pot. It was a chicken pasta primavera and contained not only chicken, but leftover pasta, broccoli, sun dried tomatoes, red peppers and the last of the mushrooms that were threatening to spoil. That’s how we plan our meals – what is about to spoil – that’s for dinner. But I do have to brag about what a yummy meal it was. Even my son, Andy (the chef) would be proud of me. And in fact, Bob and I had leftovers tonight while Danna and Elan went into town for dinner and to watch the World Series game.

I also wanted to share some other adaptations that make life on a boat special. Candlelight meals become meals lit by the red light of our head lamps – great ambiance.

And for my cycling/YMCA friends let me share my exercise adaptations. Sitting on a rocking sailboat is a constant “ab” workout. We are constantly using stomach muscles to keep our balance. But I’ve taken it a step farther (surprise!)

The rail from the cockpit to the scuppers has become my “step aerobics” machine. As long as I am harnessed in I can hold on to the dodger and the lifelines and have a special little step routine. Enough to get my heart rate up. And then thanks to my friend, Joanne, and my sister, Joan, I have exercise bands. I have found ways to use the stanchions and the rails to enhance my exercise routine. And let me tell you about sit-ups on the foredeck. Ouch. Nothing more needs to be said.

Other than that, thank God for arm exercises – made steering in strong winds so much easier. So to all of our fans, don’t worry. We are getting exercise! In fact, we played in a softball game with some local children today. I can’t remember the last time I played softball. And thank goodness the first basemen dropped the ball every time I hit it! (And by the way, Bob cheats when he plays first base!)