It’s amazing how easy it is to amuse and entertain a one year old. As we were crossing from Santa Catalina Island to San Diego we were in no hurry. We knew that either we were going to arrive in the middle of the night or we could take our time. There was no wind so we spent the day going half of the 75 mile distance before the wind died down entirely.
Along the way we decided to turn on the water-maker (this needs to be done monthly or the system goes bad) for its monthly maintenance. Jaeden and Orin took on the task of firing up the generator for an hour to determine that we were getting about 1/2 a gallon of water per minute as the water-maker sucked up the salt water and created a bucket of nice fresh drinking water. To test the speed of the water making process Jaeden timed how long it took to fill a 5 gallon pail that we had.
It wasn’t long before Zakary discovered the bucket of fresh water that was placed inside the cockpit. It was the perfect height for him to reach in his hands and splash around. Let me tell you, he sure made a big puddle on the floor. The blanket and shoes nearby got a bit wet but he was soaking by the time he was done. It didn’t seem to phase him however! He would have kept on going with the fun all night long.
When Dailin discovered that we were 25 miles offshore and well away from any civilization he was all too excited to pull out his small stash of fireworks that he had been saving. I though we had managed to get rid of all fireworks we had accumulated for New Years but I guess there were still a few more hidden away. I think he wants to keep some of them for a “crossing the equator” party.
Have spent several hours reviewing your fascinating tales of your trip accross Canada and the beginning of the current adventure. We look forward to following you as you continue your journey, and pray that you will have a wonderful experience that will leave all of your children with a lifetime of joyous memories such as Kirsten has of her family trip as a teen.
Norm, it’s great to meet you and your beautiful family via your posts. As I mentioned, we hope to follow in your footsteps (or maybe I should say “wake”) later this year. With five kids of our own, it’s great to see another family with several kids out there making it happen. Fair winds!