It’s been a whirlwind!

Two weeks ago, we were furiously packing our things, trying to decide what would come on the boat and what would stay behind. Our cats went to live with some friends, and we enjoyed time in between packing and cleaning by celebrating with family and friends.

On the day of our departure from Zeeland, MI, we went through the house one more time, loaded up the trailer, and waited for the mailman to deliver one more part for the boat. We drove a good part of our trip and stopped for the night in New Cumberland, PA. There we visited with more friends and family.

Sunday afternoon brought us to Deltaville, VA, and our boat!

Previously named Caprica, we renamed our vessel Fika. Pronounced “fee-ka,” our boat represents our desire to spend quality time together as a family and with friends, old and new. The site SwedishFood.com explains “fika” so well:

Fika is often translated as "a coffee and cake break", which is kind of correct, but really it is much more than that.

Fika is a concept, a state of mind, an attitude and an important part of Swedish culture. Many Swedes consider that it is almost essential to make time for fika every day. It means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat.

Fika cannot be experienced at your desk by yourself. That would just be taking coffee and cake.

Fika is a ritual. Even the mighty Volvo plant stops for fika. All Swedes consider it important to make time to stop and socialise: to take a pause. It refreshes the brain and strengthens relationships. And it makes good business sense: firms have better teams and are more productive where fika is institutionalised.

Fika can be a verb. Swedes will say to each other, "Let's go and fika!" or "You and I fika together so well.”

The Swedish meaning of fika is what we hope to gain on this trip and with sailing. A time to take a pause, refresh our brains, and strengthen our relationships.

Moving onto the boat has been an adjustment. We may have packed too many things, but we’re slowly finding homes for the things that we think we will want with us. There may be a time to purge a few more items later as we discover what extra things we don’t need. At the moment, a bit of extra clutter makes it hard to settle in, but we’re getting there!

The kids have embraced boat life so far, loving the people they’ve chatted with at marinas, shops, and restaurants. They will enjoy everyone they can meet at the AGLCA Spring Rendezvous next week.

Last week we spent time at a marina, allowing us to unpack from the car, provision, and get any final parts and supplies we needed while we had easy land transportation. We left the marina yesterday and sailed a bit south to a nice quiet anchorage of Mobjack Bay. This coming weekend we’ll head for Norfolk, where we’ll spend the first week of May meeting with and learning from other Loopers.

What a grand adventure!