Home is Where the Boat is

Storyville at anchor with our neighbor Pipe Muh Bligh

If you follow this blog then you know that I am in Texas visiting family for Thanksgiving while Troy stayed behind on Storyville. We've been out cruising for two years now and we have been so fortunate in those two years to be able to visit our children and families back home in Texas several times. When we left on Storyville I wasn't sure how often we would be able to come back for visits, due to questions like: a) where would we leave Storyville? and b) could we afford flights back to the states from the islands?  Fortunately, we have discovered that there are many places that we can safely leave our boat (depending on the time of year) and that there are many friends who will happily look after our boat while we are gone.  We have also discovered that flights back to Texas (if planned far enough in advance) have not been so expensive that they break the bank.  My youngest daughter even commented the other day that she was happy that she had been able to see us more than she expected to.

We get many questions from family, friends and acquaintances about our cruising lifestyle.  Questions like "Where do you go to the bathroom?" - "Do you ever leave sight of land?" - "Are you afraid of storms?".  I was asked a different question yesterday though: "Do you ever miss your home?".  Here is my answer to that question:

My home is Storyville, and yes, I miss her when I am gone. Do I miss having a house on land? The answer to that question is "no".  I love our boat and our cruising lifestyle so much that I couldn't imagine living any other way at this point in our lives, and I think, no, I'm pretty sure, that Troy feels the same way.

Storyville has all the comforts of home for us, and as long as Troy and I are both there and happy and healthy, then this is where our heart is.  I guess it must be true, home is where the heart is - and our heart is on Storyville!

Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.
~Henry Van Dyke

Where thou art - that - is Home. ~Emily Dickinson