Where we imagine our retired selves yelling "Ahoy! Ahoy!"

The weekend after Dan and I came back from our sailing vacation, still in the happy shiny cloud known as post-vacation bliss, we took it upon ourselves to go to one of the biggest sailboat conventions in the US. At Chicago's very own Navy Pier, all the major manufacturers came out to display their newest models.

Called Strictly Sail, it was like a Star Wars convention for sailing enthusiasts. The Beneteau First 30 (seen below), was my favorite for day sails. It was really gorgeous and shockingly affordable.

And here I am in another Beneteau with their retractable steering wheel. I think this was the 37'. Can you see the teak flooring in the cockpit? Tres swank.

At last, but not least, here is the Hunter 50 that Dan and I will retire on when we have enough money to stop working, want to live on a boat for at least 6 months out of the year, and plan to invite friends/couples/families onboard for short jaunts. It has 3 cabins, 2 heads, and a kitchen bigger and better than the one we currently possess. I have a serious case of boat envy.

And we are back after a long, long hiatus! I'm pretty sure I missed the entire last quarter of 2010 on this blog, but I've declared "blog bankruptcy" and start anew. First up, Dan and I took a week long sailing vacation during the frigid month of January in Key Largo, Florida. Our boat was the "Kaya", a 41-foot, 40,000 ton Morgan that was like a tank; almost impossible to heal. Most of the readers of this blog know that we love to sail on Lake Michigan during the magical summer months. But to truly charter boats around the world, we would need a whole another level of training. So we decided to take a 6-day ASA (American Sailing Association) course to get our bareboat charter certification.

Dan and I slept in the V-shaped berth in the aft (back) of the boat.

The Kaya was moored at Gilbert's Marina, which is a tiny marina + hotel + tiki bar frequented by leathery locals. Apparently, this is the "real deal", not like those other tourist traps disguised as tourists traps. We are fortunate (or not) to have very calm weather while we were there, which made for smooth sailing but not much excitement on the water.

View from the Kaya to the other side (another marina).

And this is the Kaya looking at the stern.

Daniel wore this shirt too many times during the trip. We didn't take any showers while we were on the water so the shirt ended up acquiring quite the B.O. Our crotchety captain and instructor, Lenny, had bought cookies as part of the provisioning to "please the ladies" as he put it, but Dan ended up eating at least 70% of the cookies. Lenny accused me of hogging the cookies, to my chagrin and Dan's utter amusement.

 

This was the most peaceful vacation week I've ever had. Despite the not 1, not 2, but THREE one-hundred multiple choice tests I had to take to pass my certifications, I was literally off the map for a week. No cellphone, no laptop, not way a client or my work could reach me. Now I recommend that sailing trips for fellow consultants who are expected to be "on call" even during vacation if they are plugged in.

View from starboard side; you can see Pumpkin Key and another anchored boat.

 

We were so fortunate to have Neil and Nancy M as our sailing companions. From Sante Fe, this was their first foray into ocean sailing, and were the best sports to have around while Lenny would berate us time and time again for our apparent lack of sailing skills. 

Here's me and Neil.

Here's me and Dan, eating our dinner on deck. Notice he's wearing the same shirt as in previous shirts. Seriously, we were completely filthy and gross (having not showered in errrrr....4 days?), but so deliriously happy.

We saw beautiful sunsets every night we anchored. It was so relaxing and yet challenging (imagine cramming US Naval guidelines on safety and navigation every night) that I can't imagine a better getaway in January. Dan and I are totally planning to do this all over the world, and perhaps one day even sail around the world. After all, who wouldn't want to go to end a day with a view like this?

Carpe El Weekend

I remember an arm of the US armed services had a slogan like "We do more by 7am than most people do all day". Our July 4th weekend could be summed up in "We do more in one weekend than most people do  all week." I remember a time one day during our honeymoon in Japan when Dan turned to me, authentically confused, and asked "Why are you tired all the time?" This weekend is an excellent example of why, perhaps, I may be tired all the time!

Friday

A delicious lunch of meatloaf and pork belly sandwiches at Birchwood Kitchen in Wicker Park was followed by a leisurely stroll to the Steppenwolf Theatre where we watched "Parallelogram". It was a darkly comedic play about a woman who believes that her future self has come back to warn her of an impending apocalypse, but she is absolutely powerless to stop it (and convince others that she is not insane). By the end, you're not sure if she's loony or if she possess supernatural powers.  Post-play, we ordered Italian ice from our favorite Lincoln Park spot, Annette's. We highly recommend it.

Saturday

Our friend Lolita came over bright and early to devote a a sinfully full day of eating Chicago's finest foods. We hit up the Wine Discount Center and came away feeling like alcoholics with large jugs of wine before noon.  

Giles the Cheese Guy was next. This is, like the Willis fka Sears Tower, a great Chicago institution. Giles is a wholesaler and distributor, but opens his very chilly warehouse to the public from 10am-1pm on Saturdays only for free cheese tastings and sales. You are allowed, nay ENCOURAGED, to bring alcoholic libations, which was all the permission we needed to uncork the wine we just bought and have a wine and cheese tasting all by our selves. There is something very special about hanging out on the South Side of Chicago on beautiful Saturday summer morning in a warehouse surrounded by dairy products. It's addicting.

Post-cheese overload, we marched over to our friend's Seema and Dave's place to watch the Paraguay vs. Spain in the World Cup quarterfinal. As if we didn't have enough pizza and cupcakes (you cannot watch soccer without cupcakes), we made the rounds of Xoco (churros), Sushi Samba (yellowtail w/ lemongrass jalapeno sauce), Frontera Grill (ceviche tasting), then Xoco again (goat sandwich specials and a million churros). Needless to say, we are BIG Rick Bayless fans. Well, at least I am.

Sunday

Every year, we pick one of Chicago's great museums, get an annual membership for 2 people, and visit the heck out of it. It's a great way to enjoy all the exhibits in any one place, and you never feel rushed or hurried. Best yet, it's a charitable donation and saves you money. That's how we roll. 

This year, we are members of the Shedd Aquarium. After our homemade fried chicken lunch, we enjoyed the Wild Reef exhibit about the Apo Islands in the Philippines. The best part is when you can identify a certain fish that no one else knows. It feels us feel intellectually superior for a nanosecond. The second best part is that you can argue endlessly over whether certain fish would taste more delicious steamed or fried. 

We made our way from the Shedd Aquarium to a BBQ all the way up north at an attending's beautiful house in Highland Park, made a game-time decision to buy bikes at Walmart, and watched the Fourth of July fireworks on Lake Michigan from Lake Shore Drive from the sunroof of our car. 

Monday

Again, an early start as we pushed off on our first sail of the season from the Belmont Harbor at 10am! We had a jolly crew of friends onboard, the winds were perfect, we were reefing the sails, drinking beers, and eating cheesy Doritos. We are a classy bunch. Dan was captain per usual, and I was the wench. That just means he gives orders like "tighten the boomvang!", I glare at him, and do what he commands. 

The weather really was perfect for sailing. The winds were strong but not too strong, the sun was shining but there was enough cloud cover that we weren't getting baked, and the lake was completely deserted. After our 3 hour sail, we trooped over to our friends' Sujeet and Shamita's swank apartment to BBQ (again), eat the requisite 10 lbs of meat each, and then loll around helplessly as our stomachs protested in complaint. We grabbed some delicious watermelon and strawberry Italian lemonade with Lee and Lolita at Mario's Italian Lemonade stand in University Village before heading home.

I am happy to report that most of our weekends are like this. Great feats of culinary and athletic strength! Brought to you by the Kwan-Chang household. Tomorrow, unfortunately, is a work day and Joanne's first day at her new job, so we'll see if we can keep up the pace.