the beautiful rocks of los gatos

Did you know that rock formations take hundreds to thousands of years to form. In fact we just went to a rock formation of sandstone.sandstone is a rock made out of sand.it forms by having layer after layer.and then something like a river flows threw it and watches it away.and then the water stops and it leaves a giant crack in the rock. And then that sand dries and over hundreds of years it becomes rock and that is how sandstone is made. We climbed the sandstone. It was tricky to climb. because the sand on top of the rock was loose.because some o the sand did not get wet means it is still loose another way is the sand from the beach.which one is it.it is actually a trick question because it is both.but this one particularly was a sandstone that was made by sand blowing layer after layer.and then turned into stone.

There were two typse of sandstone where there was a smooth and a jaggid.the jagged sandstone was like an overhang except it was really spikey and it hurts if you hit it.i know that because i hit my hand on it and it hurt.and the smooth sandstone feels nice when you rub your hand on it and why the smooth sandstone is smooth is because the water went threw it.and since we are in mexico it means it barely ever rian`s. but when it did that rock got a lot of water to make it a rock.

Sandstone is amazing. These are just some cool facts about sandstone. I wrote this paragraph dedicated to my mother, a geologist.

Smooth sandstone

At the top of a trail above the anchorage at Los Gatos

Forrest update age 9

Hello I am Forrest and I love this boat trip but I am sad that I have to leave school but this boat trip is something new something I haven’t experienced before and so I am trying to get the best out of it. I have loved boats for most of my life. So I think it’s amazing to do this. I love snorkeling. And I also love playing at the sandy beaches. The islands I have visited are beautiful and I love the culture. It is amazing when we walk on land and see the welcoming people. Like home. And it is amazing that they live in these places where there town is like seven houses. The hiking trails are gorgeous. And when you get to the top you can see a wonderful view of the bay. And when you jump of the sand dunes and land in the nice soft sand and explore islands that have never been lived on. And jump in the ocean where the water is 89 degrees. And swam behind the boat when it was going 1.9 knots. I love when the waves rock me to sleep. And I love when they bounce up and spray me in the face. And when we were sailing the breeze hits my face and the smell of the ocean . And my favorite thing on this voyage is seeing the wildlife.

Jumping off sand dunes in Bahia Santa Maria, Baja California Sur, Mexico
I backpacked in Yosemite National Park and earned some Webelo Cub Scout pins!

Exploring Yosemite.

We were in Sausalito for over 5 weeks but it went by really fast. We were in Michigan and Maine for 10 days of it, backpacking in Yosemite for another 5 days and visiting friends in Sacramento and East Bay for other overnight trips. In the city we visited The Academy of Sciences, Exploratorium, 6-Flags, Bay Model, The Marine Mammal Center, rode the Trolley, participated with local girl scout troop events, walked the Golden Gate Bridge, entertained long time friends, rode some single track and played at the beach. Mike worked in the city some days and the kids did a great first month of 1st and 4th grade. The kids have created a video of their favorite parts; two backpacking trips in Yosemite National Park where we camped above 9,000 feet in perfect weather at alpine lakes accessed from Tuolumne Meadows. Ok, their favorite was probably Great Wolf Lodge (we went twice because I needed to dry out our camping gear somewhere), but they are nice enough to tell me it was Yosemite.

Orcas Island to San Francisco.

The kids interviewed the 4 crew that joined Mike for the trip from orcas island, WA to San Francisco. We (mom and kids) drove the car south for that part so we could have a car for the month in California and so the boat could give useful crew a dedicated berth. The delivery crew saw some great wildlife and had a mix of motoring and spicy sailing…and they didn’t even have to eat any vegetables! They did compose a custom song for the trip and all 20 bags of chips were gone upon arrival though 😂. Enjoy!

Introductions!

If you have met me for even a few minutes, you’re probably aware that I am slightly obsessed with planning and spreadsheets and wringing every single drop of life out of every second we have on this planet. Sympathy (or pity?) may be one of the first emotions that you feel towards the 4 kids that have transpired from the 10 years of marriage that mike and I have shared. I feel incredibly lucky that all 4 of them have good attitudes *most* of the time and are generally eager to participate in whatever shenanigans we have planned.

I’m trying to savor the moments of this adventure, remaining focused on observing the present. Yes we take videos and photos often and I’m looking at my phone more than I care to admit. But I’m not reaching for the selfie stick or setting up the camera for every experience we have. These videos are essentially research project presentations created by 6 and 9 year olds. You’ll see interviews of visiting crew and friends, demonstrations of our safety gear, explanations of how we produce electricity, lessons on how to wing foil, what we eat, what boat-school is like and if you’re lucky, the names of the 10,000 stuffed animals that occupy most of the volume of the boat.

Enjoy these short glimpses into our life and come along on this adventure with us!

Sv Lyrae Part 1: Introductions!

2022 Egypt

Ancient Millers at the Pharonic Village, Cairo.

It’s November 2022 and we are finally traveling again! It feels good to get on international flights and use our passports. What a long 2 years it has been with Covid. Our move to Orcas Island (Feb 2020) has been a dream. All of us have embraced and adapted to this unique small community and are so grateful for it. Yet we long for adventure and tropical waters. We hope to depart on Lyrae late summer 2023. This month trip to Egypt (by plane) is a warm up. Forrest and Sierra are loving 3rd grade at orcas elementary school and Aurora and Coral think Salmonberry kindergarten is the most fun place on earth.

We have split the 23 days of Egypt into 3 sections. The first Nov 3-9 was Cairo/Giza museums and pyramids and a fantastic land cruiser safari to the White Desert and Bahariya. Here is Forrest and Sierras narrative: https://youtu.be/pm0eYaYvzCo

Wind sculpted limestone of the white desert.

Our second part was Nov 9-12, flight to Aswan, temples temples temples, nile cruise, tombs tombs tombs, and Luxor.

Sarcophagus in the tomb of Ramesses IV. Valley of the Kings

Final part of the trip Nov 13-24. Starts with a “vacation from vacation” at a swanky air-bnb in El Gouna paired with daily wing surfing lessons. Beach buggy and camel rides. Then 7 days aboard a scuba/“family safari” on a boat in the Red Sea.

Gazillions of kite surfers at El Gouna. What a perfect place to learn this sport.

Hi from Forrest!

I am 5 and started kindegarten this year. I like it. I draw many of pictures of boats and I like Legos. Here are some pictures. I’m a fast runner and like to go on adventures with my family. I’m really excited to move onto our catamaran and explore new places and people every day. Just as long as I can still take my Legos with me and do ninja stuff.