When I Grow Up...

Well I suppose I have to start somewhere. Starting a new blog is both exciting and arduous. Where to start? What to write about? Will I be entertaining? Will anyone read what I write?

After my successful and much followed sail blog about our adventures in the Bahamas aboard our 32' sailboat, I wondered how I could continue writing a blog. I enjoyed the daily ritual of sitting down to the computer and composing the latest news as an interesting and descriptive story. I loved the replies from friends and family back home in Seattle, always urging us on, giving us their cyber support as we made our way slowly south from Charleston, SC, through Florida and across the Gulf Stream, over to those islands that feel a world away. My friends and family were with me every step of the way. And it felt good to feel so connected. But how do I compete with a blog that followed such an epic adventure? I'm not quite sure, but I know I must keep writing.

We are settling down in SW Florida after years of hoping around the country. I should have been blogging for the past 5 years. Im sure I was much more interesting then than I am now. Sure, I know a lot more now, Im a seasoned mover and traveler. My little TravBuddy map says I've seen 10% of the world. I could have blogged about my flight attendant days and the trips we took at Delta Airline's expense. This last drive across the country was my 5th, the 5th in 6 years, and I am hoping the last. We have settled. So for now, no more adventuring on our sailboat. No more romantic anchorages in that "one particular harbor," probably not even any traveling abroad for a while (oh how I long to go back to Italy). But Im OK with that. I love south Florida. It's February and Im sitting out on my patio in short sleeves, while up north is getting hammered with blizzards. As our mentor's Bob and Mel Blanchard say, "live what you love." We try to live by those words and make our choices based on how happy we will end up being in the long run. We picked a place to live that encompassed as many key positives as possible. The weather being number one. We attempted moving back to Seattle, which don't get me wrong, I love Seattle. I love my family and friends who live there, I love the culture, the arts, the cuisine, the wine, the beer. But I do not love the weather. So now we are in a place that is instrumental for Dave's career in solar energy and my mental sanity. Now I am forced to face something that has been on the back burner of my entire life so far...what do I want to be when I grow up?

I guess I am coming to realize that it all comes down to passion. What am I passionate about? I liked sailing, but it made me nervous. I was happiest when we dropped anchor and we could mix up a rum drink and relax. I like painting, but Im not that great at it, so I don't think I could make a career out of it like my grandfather did in his days working as a cartoonist for the Seattle Post Intelligencer. I like writing, but I am a long way off of making any money at it, and I have bills to pay.

For those of you who know me well, you know that Dave and I have been all over the board with ideas during our past 6 years together. From a kayak company in the Everglades, to starting a brewery, sailboat charters in the Caribbean and window cleaning, courier delivery business and house flipping, the list goes on. But was I passionate about any of it? Obviously not, otherwise I would have been doing one of those things. I have been tossing a lot of ideas around but three things keep coming to mind; food - beer - wine.

I grew up in a large family. I like to think of your stereotypical loud Italian family, only an English speaking, dominantly blonde version. Every get together for as long as I can remember has been centered around food; Northwest style salmon feasts, with dungeness crab and of course a good Washington Chardonnay and craft brewed IPA. I grew up with that. It's part of who I am. So, now I am on the quest to find my path - other than working nights in the kitchen at a restaurant - that somehow embodies my passion for food - beer - wine. I am dedicating myself to a culinary adventure. Along the way I will share recipes, talk about our travels and pass on what I learn as I dive further into the culinary world. And I hope you will join me.