Cross-Country

Hi again! Sorry it’s been so long. It seems like we haven’t had any time to keep up on the blog lately! We are finally home & settled in for a while though. We had an awesome trip across the country. Without going on & on I’ll try to give you the short version.

We left North Carolina with WIND-BORNE on the hard safe & sound. She is in good hands until we can return. We headed south towards Florida to see Ben’s grandpa Reg & our friend Hamish in Miami. We made a stop in Savannah GA on the way & had a great time walking around & admiring all the old houses & beautiful parks that are on every other block. It is worth going to Savannah just to see it…and go to the Mellow Mushroom, which has the best food & beer ever! We took a night time ghost tour before hitting the road again & off we went to meet Reg & Dot in Ft. Lauderdale.
We had a really nice evening with Ben’s grandpa & went to Miami to stay on Hamish’s boat “FREE @ LAST” We stayed with him about 4 days I think (it’s been a while) and had an awesome time catching up & Ben got to help a bit with boat stuff & getting sails put up. We went to the beach & Henry had his first dip in the ocean at Miami Beach. He was a little wary at first, but warmed up to it quickly. The waves hitting him didn’t seem to worry him at all. He seemed quite at home.
From there we went up the East coast a little way to get Ben a little surfing in & Henry took another dunk in the ocean. Then we headed west across Florida, Louisiana bound. We made it to New Orleans! The plan was to spend only 2 days there, but we had no idea that we arrived just 3 days before Jazz Fest!!!! We had to stay! There was no way we could miss such an awesome show. Who knows if we will ever get back to that city again. Jazz Fest is even bigger in New Orleans than Mardigras believe it or not. We were on a limited budget, so we only went to one day of shows, and had a blast despite the torrential downpours we encountered. The pavilion we were in flooded almost a foot deep. We were sitting watching the show with water up to our shins. Henry slept through the shows mostly. He does really well with loud noises. He sleeps best when there is a lot going on. We wrapped a pair of his little pants around his head with balls of fabric over his ears to muffle the sound a little. He looked really funny.
We walked around the French & garden districts for days & saw one of their famous above ground graveyards. We also took another ghost/history walking tour in the French Quarter. I had no idea that New Orleans had such a crazy & violent past! I could write a whole blog on just the history that we learned about it. We also ate some awesome local cuisine. Ben loved the gumbo, muffaletta, and brioche royale. I loved the Jambalaya, Cajun duck Po boy, & alligator sausage.
We sadly left New Orleans with much left to see. We were on the way to Colorado. I’m going to have to say Texas was the least driver friendly state in my mind that we encountered. The speeds were lower than other states & the rest stops were all closed after dark, so if you had to stop for a bathroom break at night you were out of luck. We would drive for ever trying to find some silly little town & hope that they might have an open gas station…which they usually didn’t…. The multiple rattlesnake warnings made sure we never just pulled the car over on the side of the road to get out. Anyway, we made it to Mesa Verde which was really amazing!!! I have no idea why the Indians in that area decided to build their houses and villages into the sides of sheer cliffs, but it makes an amazing sight to see. They farmed the plateaus above their houses & had to climb tiny foot hold “ladders” carved into the rock face to get food & water. Not the life for me. Mind boggling to visit though. I highly recommend everyone see this as well.
We spent one night here then hurriedly got on the road towards Utah. We made it to Moab where the Arches National Park is & spent an entire day hiking & driving around to the different arch sites. The arches are spectacular & even though they explain how they are made it’s still hard to believe they stand there. You can’t help but just stare at them wondering how the middle has so much strength no to just cave in to gravity. I loved arches!
So, after a whirlwind tour of the US, we were on the way home. We had to finish quarterlies etc… and take care of things at home. We had been gone almost a month & a half. Home looked like heaven when we arrived. Our own bed, finally!!
We didn’t make it at home very long. Still more people & places to visit, so we went to Blakely Island to see John & Laurie & take Henry prawning & he was in his first ever boat parade.
We once again made it home, had a few visits from family…Mary & Martha came by & we went to Port Angeles & Port Townsend & saw Chris, Mary, Spencer, and Cy. We stayed out there for 3 days or so & here we are again at home.
My mom Lori has been staying with us a few days a week & is getting as much Henry time in as possible before we leave for Australia. She is really excited about being a grandma & loves playing with the little man. Since being home Henry has been making the rounds locally to see everyone. We spent mother’s day out at grandma’s in the Teanaway & he was happy to see My grandparents, great aunt Becky, auntie Jessica, Unlce Tyler, Serina, his new little cousin Alice….the list goes on. He also recently go to see great grandma Gwen, Doug & Janis, and a bunch of friends who haven’t seen him since he was a new born. There’s lots to do when you are as in demand as our little man. J
As far as Ben & I, we have been trying to find work & clean out the basement getting ready to leave. Lots to do. We managed to have the biggest yard sale ever memorial weekend. We did it Sunday only & had a yard filled with things. We had Ben’s scaffold set up with planks as shelves three sections deep full of things, three tables, stuff on the ground, and a clothesline full. We ended the day with only one table of stuff left over & we even sold the suburban which came as quite a surprise considering it was a last minute thought to put a sign on it.
I got a part time weekend job at a local coffee stand and little bits of work have been coming in for Ben. Looks like we will make it alright for the summer. It’s nice to have mom around to watch the little man while I’m working weekends so Ben can get some things done.
Well, that’s just about it. Thanks for hanging in there & waiting for us to finally fill you all in. Hope to hear from you all soon & hope to see as many of you as possible this summer.
Love, Kristen, Ben, & Henry the busiest most non sleeping baby ever.
Oh, forgot to give you an update on the little man :
Weight 22 lbs! Age 5 months, chews on toes, talks all the time, grabs anything he can get his hands on, can get knees worked up under his booty when on his tummy, but no crawling yet. Stands on his own feet, but needs support. Sitting well alone, but needs a spotter for when he tips over for a soft landing. Rolls over & over. Can’t leave him alone for a minute.

Anchored in Ocracoke

Hey Ya’ll,
We’re out here on Wind-Borne happily anchored in Silver Lake on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. Really cool place! We came camping here in the car on our first trip to NC. Awesome little village with lots of great little shops & beaches that you can drive on. Awazing coffee that is the best we have had this side of Montana, maybe even one of the best lattes ever actually.
This is where Black Beard lost his head. After he was beheaded, his body was thrown overboard & his head was attached to the bow of the navy vessel that captured him as a prize. It is said that Black Beard swam around the ship headless 7 times & still haunts these waters to this day seeking his head. There is a Blackbeard museum here that we intend to see during our stay. It is also said that he left his treasure here, but no one is allowed to look for it, because the part of the island that is believed to be the treasures hiding place is a nature preserve & no metal detectors or shovels are allowed.
We are currently listening to the most ridiculous radio traffic ever on channel 16. There was a boat that didn’t know its vhf button was down & two hillbilly fellas were talking about installing beer coolers & one said he could swallow a Coors right about now & no they couldn’t afford to get power, & needed showers badly. Then, on came a lovely back woods voice yelling to “red dog” to “come back, because we have a brunette as a seat cover…come back, come back…..”Now we have two boats with what appears to be teenagers taking turns screaming & yelling at each other into the VHF. Good times all around really. Quite entertaining, but the funny part is that the coast guard isn’t intervening at all tonight. Usually they come on giving warnings to people misusing the radio. They don’t’ really seem to want to do anything tonight. They were almost refusing to help a boat grounded in the channel on the way in earlier this evening as well. He eventually got help from a local power boat. It’s been an interesting evening listening in on the local vhf radio. I’m sure we haven’t heard the end of it yet either. The night is still young.
Well, off to cook dinner. Will write in soon. Pictures to come!

Out of Oriental

So, we left Oriental on the first (HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA!!!!!) and anchored at Cedar island. We had a great sail over with nice winds. Henry couldn’t resist the noise of the engine & the rocking of the boat & slept well for about 2 hours. I (Kristen) joined him. I never get a mid day nap, so it was pretty amazing!!!
Ben found a new beer that he reckons rivals Sierra Nevada for the best beer ever. Ive never heard him even put another beer in the category of his Sierra before. He always tries a new beer, then the first words out of his mouth are “it’s good, but it’s no Sierra” The reaction to this one was “this might be better…no…it couldn’t be…yeah, it might beat Sierra….oh no, I hope they keep making it…better stock up. “ It’s a New Belgium “ranger IPA” It’s funny, because he doesn’t really like the other New Belgium beers anywhere near as much as Sierra, but here it is Ranger IPA! Great name too!
Ben & Henry are sitting in the cockpit across from me right now reading a book. The sunset is beautiful & we are having a great mini vacation on Wind-Borne. We can’t put her up on the hard until our broker/boat hauler Paul gets back from seeing his boat in the Bahamas this next weekend. So, on Monday the 12th or so, we will be out of the water & on the way back home.
We have to shorten the drive on the way home, because we are staying on the boat longer than we intended. We may not be able to take the southern route home like we wanted, because we need to get home. We were hoping to see New Orleans, and lots of southern states on the way, but looks like the farthest south we are going to make it is Oregon. We had plans to stop in tillamock on the way home & see the cheese factory & the air museum ,and we hope to make it there still. We also might catch a bit of the redwoods too if we can make it. Just a bit of a detour instead of the big one we had planned, but I’m still excited about it.
Ok, got stuff to do, talk to you guys soon!

Road trip so far

We're off Superman style

Uncle Scott & Vito

New baby

A dog his size

Angry mom about to charge

riding an elk cowboy style

cold baby going to the barn to get warmed up.

awesome Wind-Borne blanket

Tyson & Neris

Chloe & Henry are good friends

Henry & Dad walking the docks

Obviously loves his life jacket.....even though it may squish his cheeks a little.

Part one of Team Davidson's road trip across America:

First stop: Bozeman Montana to see Uncle Scott & Vito.

Made it to Bozeman in one day. Henry did really well. We were pleasantly surprised! Came in to Bozeman around 9:00 pm, ate a late dinner & stayed the night at Scott's. Hung out a little in the morning, then on the road again.

Second stop: Buffalo Gap South Dakota to see family.
Arrived at Dad & Karen's house just before dark. Just in time for dinner, then out to the barn to pull a calf. It's calving season on the ranch & there were tons of cows ready to have babies all at the same time.There was one in the barn that needed a little help, so we watched as Jerry & Karen pulled it out. It's an interesting sight if you've never seen it before. They carefully attach a small chain around the hooves, then slowly pull the calf out by it's front legs.

We went out several times during our stay to check on the cows & see which ones had calves, would be expecting within hours, were having trouble, tag the calves ears, etc... It was really a lot of fun. We found a newborn calf that was still wet alone out in the field, then later found it's confused mother trying to steal another cow's baby thinking it was hers. The other cow was not to pleased as you can imagine, but couldn't get rid of her. We brought the confused cow & the abandoned calf back to the barn where they were reunited. We then headed out to the field again, because on the way back into the barn with these two Jerry spotted another lost newborn calf. Turns out it belonged to a cow that was in the barn already...oops..not sure what happened there. Anyway, they were reunited also & all was well. Back out to the field again the next day to tag some ears. You need to run down & capture the newborn calves before they get to old & can outrun you,(about 2 days old) then put ID tags in their ears. The hard part is trying to separate cranky overprotective cows from their babies long enough to do it. I'm not sure if any of you have had a mad cow after you, but I can assure you it's pretty freaky. We brought a pitchfork along to keep mad cows at bay & drove around the field. When we spotted a new one, we would pull up right next to it & someone would jump out & wrangle the calf & someone else would run over & tag & hold the pitchfork in the direction of the mama cow, then back in the truck & off we would go to find the next one. Ben took a few turns wrangling & had quite a run after a particularly fast calf & just as he caught it here came it's big mean mom running & mooing at him. Needless to say, he dropped that calf & ran for the car. Pretty funny actually.

Overall, this was a really fun stop with lots of action. We also got to see Grandma Elaine!! Henry's Great grandma. We were really excited to see her & Henry couldn't keep his eyes off her. The little man stared at her the entire time she was over. It was a great visit, although we wish it could have been longer.

Karen made Henry an awesome quilt with Wind-Borne on it!!! It's awesome & we will post a picture of it.

Third stop: Omaha Nebraska to see Tyson & Neris.

Got in late. stayed up a while & hung out. Poor Neris, we didn't know it at the time, but she had a benefit to attend the next day & needed to work until midnight. Henry could not get enough of her though!! He giggled & laughed so much. She even told him stories in Spanish. Tyson was a hit too & so was Chloe their golden retriever.

We were there the whole next day & went into the city to see Neris for lunch & take a tour of her workplace, which is a beautiful old building in old down town. I wish we had gotten pictures of it, because it was an amazing building. We all went down the huge slide outside her building & then went back to the house for some hang out time. Neris got to come back home for a little while & we had fun just playing with the the little man & watching tv. We went to the farm after that & saw all the cool stuff they have going on & all the animals. They have 5 golden retrievers there (Chloe makes 6) and they are all related. They have the coolest dog pen with like 5 acres to play on & a house that includes a real queen size bed complete with comforter & pillows, two chairs to sit on, and a heater. It's really quite posh for a dog house.

Henry met Tyson's brother Zach at the farm & his little boy who is 16 months old & walking & talking is the same weight as Henry!!!! He's about 22lbs now! Getting quite heavy to carry actually.

Off we went again in the morning destination Oriental.

Oriental at last:

almost 2 days on the road & here we are. We will update you on that in the next blog. Seeing lots of old friends & having a good time working in the boat. I'm sue I Left some stuff out, but I'm a little distracted trying to type one handed while feeding & entertaining Henry.

Will post more soon. Miss you all.

Almost on the road again

All ready to travel with his new passport!

Open mouth..insert frog

Happy little boy having a chat with mom

Hey Ya'll,

We are on our way to North Carolina again. We will be most likely leaving on Monday, making stops in Bozeman MT, South Dakota, Omaha, then on to Oriental. Wish us luck on our first road trip with the little man. He hates to be tied down in his car seat for any length of time & can stay awake in the car even on the freeway...we had to have the only baby on earth not put to sleep by a moving vehicle...Should be alright though. One of us can entertain Henry while the other drives.

Here are a few new pics from the last week. Henry got his first passport & is all ready to go to Australia at the end of the summer! He's really excited about it. You can see him clutching on to that passport all ready to go.

He's a happy little guy & smiles all the time. He grabs toys a lot now & puts everything in his mouth! He is still super active all the time! He just can't stop kicking & bouncing & punching his arms all over the place. He is extremely talkative too. He has so much to say & we can't wait until he makes sense.

Ben is at work today (saturday) finishing up a project & we will finish sewing up the spinnaker sock & packing for the trip tomorrow. We need to get taxes done too...yay.. Alright, gotta to get some stuff done. We'll be reporting from the road soon!

Potty time!

Newest accomplishment for Henry....Going to the bathroom in the froggy potty!! He actually loves it & he really goes potty in it every time you set him down on it!! You can see how happy he is. We are on our way to slowly getting him out of those yucky diapers! Wish us luck!

Sundays are fantastic!

Nap time.

Henry holding himself up quite well.

Found his hand & loves to put it in his mouth.

Loves to put bunny & everything else in his mouth as well. He's grabbing & holding toys all by himself now. Very fun!

Nap time again! Oops on the repeat pic.

And, nap time again! Sundays are great!

Sundays have become our favorite days by far! It's the only day of the week that Ben doesn't work, so I get to sleep in & Ben gets a nice long nap mid day. It's funny how used to a schedule you can get. I'm definitely getting better with the night shift that I have with Henry & Ben is so good at getting up anywhere between 2:30 & 4:00 am to take him after me. I don't find it as hard to get up at 7:00am as I used to either, but when Sunday rolls around... I get to stay in Bed until 9:00 am & sometimes a little later if I'm really lucky & I love it!!

Henry is slowly adjusting his schedule recently. He will sleep 2 1/2 hours at a time on rare occasion & more increasingly over 1 1/2!!!! This is a miracle, since for the most part of his life so far he has refused to sleep for more than one hour at a time & only took 10 minute naps (which he still does) during the day....leaving no time for me to nap with him. Thus, I was only receiving 3-4 hours of sleep nightly & feeling less than perky. It didn't help that our little munchkin has a need to bounce nearly every second of his awake time in order to stay happy. It's difficult to have the energy for that on no sleep. Somehow we managed, and now the hard work is starting to pay off. Henry is starting to sleep in his crib, which means we each get to go to bed in...of all things...our BED instead of on the couch & on occasion get to snooze more than an hour at a time. Things are looking up!!

On another note, Grandma Betty's birthday was on Friday & The family got together at her house to celebrate on Saturday! Happy birthday grandma!!! It was so nice to see everyone again!! Henry loves going to his great grandparents house! So do we!

We tried to measure Henry again today & with all the wiggling we got a few measurements, but ended up with somewhere around 26 inches, so he has grown one inch since 3 weeks ago. He has been averaging 2 inches per month, but it looks like he may finally be slowing down, although he is growing out of his 3 month clothes quickly. He's in a lot of his 6 month stuff already. We do not have a weight, but are guessing somewhere between 18 & 20 lbs! Big boy. I'm getting a really strong left arm from carrying him around all day. We don't get him officially weighed at the doctors until he is 4 months old & I can't wait!

I'm currently finishing the sock for our spinnaker & it's HUGE! I keep finding these ridiculously large sewing projects to do. The sock is just a foot shorter than the sail.. I can't remember how long it is exactly off the top of my head, but it's nearly a thousand square foot sail, so it's really long! Lots of material to sort through & wrangle. It's taking up the dining room at the moment. I'm also preparing to sew the sails for Doug's sailboat!! Finally!! I'm so excited & honored that I get the job. We are in the material ordering & design process currently & I'm hoping to finish the sails before we get too far into summer. Wish me luck!! This is a beautiful boat & it deserves beautiful sails. I hope I can do it justice.

Also, we are headed to North Carolina before the end of March to move the boat onto the hard. We will pull Wind-Borne out of the water & get her all covered up & squared away before leaving the country at the end of summer for Australia. We will be making the usual trek across the country by car so that we can visit family & friends along the way...should be interesting with a baby who hates his car seat...hmmm. We may be leaving next weekend depending on Ben's work situation etc... Of course we will keep you informed.

Ok, gotta go. Have a good week everyone!!