The Would-Be Farm Summer Vacation

This is the longest stretch in his adult life that my favorite skipper has spent away from sailboats. 

Jeff contemplates a pile of fresh bear scat.

For decades, we schedule our year around various regattas. We've missed weddings and birthdays because of our sailing calendar. As I remember, we'd been together for five years before taking a trip that was NOT related to sailing.  

Because of regattas, we've traveled to Italy and Sardinia and Greece and all over South America. And North America. Hawaii even. The year the Flying Scot North American championship was held in Texas, we planned a summer adventure that took us looping out West.  All for competition at the mercy of wind. 

Racing on the bounding main –– it's a sport, a calling, a joy. It's the bones of our life together. 

Then along comes the Covid-19 Pandemic, leaving us high and dry.

​Which is how we've managed to finish the Woodbee in a matter of months. 

When last we left the build, the 600-square-foot structure was dried in, with a pair of walls and a loft accessible by pull-down ladder. Jeff and I had put down flooring, slathered paint on everything that held still, and set the wood stove into place.

When we arrived in late April, the list of to-dos was not inconsiderable: walls, plumbing, electricity, kitchen, bathroom...

Kitchen wall complete!

He's called himself a "rough" carpenter, but he's gotten some chops.

Of course we had help from a local contractor (Joel Zimmer!) and super-handy man John Donovan.

Dry pack concrete and coffee...it's what's for breakfast!

It was then that she realized the importance of a good stretch...

Jiffy-Pop over a wood fire at the end of a long day.

And a drumroll, please....