We're hanging out in the Dominican Republic for the week. The marina where we are is right next to the adventure park. We went there last time we were here, and I wasn't sure we would go again this time. With the large crowds and the
Our starboard transmission had been slipping for a while. It wouldn't engage forward gear until the engine was fully warmed up — never a great sign. The ZF 15MA uses internal clutch packs and seals that wear over time, and ours had clearly reached the end of the line.
Our boat Yoto has two battery banks — a 48V LiFePO4 bank that gets charged by solar, and a 12V AGM bank connected to the alternator. The problem is getting energy between them. When the sun's out, the 48V bank fills up but the 12V needs topping off. When
This season has been the most difficult one so far. We've had lots of things break on the boat since November - at least 17 things (yes, I've been keeping count). The weather has been making it very difficult to travel, especially south (the direction we
Where imagination meets the canvas. We are so excited to share this corner of our family site with you. What started as simple doodles has grown into a vibrant collection of colors, textures, and big ideas. Whether she’s working with watercolors, acrylics, or a simple sketchbook and pencil, Emma’
Well... half of us are. Braden and Emma took this long stretch of sitting and waiting to take a trip to Florida for a couple days. We had some much needed packages and mail to pick up, and now seemed like a good time since the boat isn't
When we were the in the Bahamas we were moving around a lot. We usually like to spend days or weeks in one spot, but between the weather and trying to get south it felt like we were moving just about every day. At one point Braden said he just
We (mainly Braden) spent a lot of hours looking at weather. We went back and forth for days and days and days on whether we should go, or stay. The trip to either the Turks and Caicos or the Dominican Republic would take us multiple days out on the open
Ah... George Town - lots of boats, tons of kids, rules like an HOA. I have a love/hate relationship with George Town, but the girls love it here. It has been cold in the Bahamas! It got so cold that the temperature inside our boat got down to 68
With more windy weather in the forecast we decided to wait it out in a marina for a couple days. When the weather is bad you can't really get off the boat when you're anchored, but when the weather is bad and you're in
Lee Stocking Island is private, but in the Bahamas all beaches are public up to the high tide line. The last time we were here the caretakers of the island were not happy we were on the beach - even though we were following the rules and staying below the
Black Point has a few must do's. One of them is lunch at Lorraine's Cafe. Another one is getting coconut bread made fresh daily by Lorraine's mom. We stopped in Black Point in March (post here) hoping to get some bread, but the weather
family
The Bahamas has so many unique little islands to visit. This is one of them. 0:00 /0:08 1× 0:00 /0:09 1×
family
You know you've made it to a big island when there are lots of cruise ships. After being in the Berry Islands for almost 2 weeks there were two things we really need to do - (1) buy some fresh food, and (2) get rid of trash. We
family
The Berry Islands are fairly remote despite being close to Freeport. There were no restaurants. No places to drop trash. No big cities. No houses. Just white sand beaches, a blue hole and lots of sea life. Really the only attraction here is Hoffman's Blue Hole. We'
family
We only spent one night in West End. The next day we headed over to Freeport for a couple days. Apparently Freeport is the hub for oil imports and exports. We passed a lot of huge oil tankers on our way. The first time we had a Bahamian breakfast was
family
West Palm is a bit nostalgic for us since Braden and I lived in the area for so long and Emma was born there. We enjoyed being in a city that was so familiar to us while we waited for good weather to get over to the Bahamas. We saw
family
For the last two years we've been on the boat for Olivia's birthday. I'm not going to lie. I felt a lot of pressure for this one. She was so excited it was her golden birthday and I did not want to disappoint her.
family
It was a busy couple weeks in St. Augustine. We had lots of boat projects, shopping, cleaning, organizing, family time (especially the girls who spent the last two weeks with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins) and a little bit of sight seeing. As with any place we stop we
family
We've been wanting to take the girls to an FSU football game for years. It doesn't really make sense living in Minnesota, but it does make sense when your family lives in Jacksonville, your boat is in St. Augustine and you have friends in Tallahassee. Our
family
Once we got to Florida we wasted no time getting to work on our endless list of boat projects. Since we're in the US where parts are easy to get, we wanted to get a lot of projects done that have been on the list for a long
family
Once we decided on a route down to Florida it was time to pack the car and get on the road. Our goal was to get to New Orleans in two days, spend a day exploring the city and then get to Florida on the fourth day. Our first stop
Our fall was just as busy (or busier) than our summer. This fall we - made lots more sourdough, saw the jack o lanterns at the zoo, rode rides at Mall of America, took Nana and Grandpa to Duluth, went to the RV museum in Indiana, took the girls to
family
After we got the boat ready to leave in Florida we spent some time with family before heading back to Minnesota for the summer. As soon as we got back the girls did their yearly assessments so summer could officially begin! We've been going non-stop since we got