Most of us, I am sure, have a someday list of things we want to do and places we want to go. No doubt this list will change many times throughout our lifetime and seems to be associated with our season of life. In our youth, our list of someday things is driven by our need to be independent and those lists are often directed to anything that takes us in that direction. During the busy child rearing years I think that the someday life usually includes a slower paced life filled with a few things we personally find enjoyable. For me, I am now in the season where my someday life is filled with the dreams of a lifetime and I would be foolish not to live as many of those dreams as I could.
I was talking to a friend of mine recently and she asked me if I had ever imagined that I would be part of group of people who charted a yacht and sailed through the British Virgin Islands. While I love travel and will go almost anywhere, this type of travel had not made my list until last year. We made the decision to do this as Tom was finishing up his chemotherapy. It gave us something to look forward during that difficult season and that anticipation has been almost as nice as the trip itself.
We started our travels in St Thomas, which is part of the US Virgin islands. In 1671, the Dutch West India Company established a post on this Island and divided the land into plantations and sugarcane production became the primary economic activity. It wasn’t until 1917 that the United States purchased these Islands as a part of a defensive strategy to maintain control over the Caribbean and Panama Canal during the First World War.
We quickly embraced the Islander pace of life where time is just not that important. We move when we are ready, eat when we are hungry, and rest when we are tired. We are flexible and if something comes up that looks appealing we seize the opportunity to enjoy it.
We will pick up our fifty-foot catamaran in a few days. Until then, we are staying in Magen’s Bay in a beautiful villa that overlooks the sea. We will explore the area and acclimate to these islands. Looking forward to this moment in our someday life!
Tom and Nancy’s Journeys 