We are back from our wonderful vacation on Lake Pepin where we had a fantastic time sailing our Islander 28, Aurion. It was the best weather of the season too, not counting a couple of boisterous thunder storms which reeked havoc in other areas of Minnesota. We had lots of visitors to our boat as well. It is always fun having guests on board! We did not quite do all that we had hoped to do, such as visit the town of Pepin, but we did anchor by the beach in Lake City where we took in the 4th of July fireworks display, very nice! And we got to practice anchoring and rowing the dingy into town to resupply our provisions just like the real cruisers do. We even rowed in to shore our last Saturday night to eat at the restaurant, Nosh, where we had a superb meal and were extremely well taken care of by our waiter, Andrew. I had an exquisite lamb rib-eye served with black lentils and a cherry demi glace. Yum! Honey Bunny had a heirloom tomato salad with basil ice cream and their signature Seafood Paella which was to die for. They change their menu weekly too. Oh, by the way we love good food as well as sailing. All in all, it was a great vacation and really whetted our taste buds for longer and farther reaching trips aboard our sail boat. Here are some of the photos from our trip, some I shot, some Honey Bunny shot.

Anchorage at Long Point. HB-photographer

Banished? HB-Photographer

Anchored off of Ohuta Park. HB-Photographer

Saturday morning races. HB-Photographer

Split Decision in racing trim. HB-Photographer

C & C 99 Makani healing nicely. HB-Photographer

Not a racing boat. CP-Photographer

Sunrise after thunderstorm. CP-Photographer

At one point while we were sailing to our anchorage for the night, it was night of the fourth I believe, I asked Honey Bunny if this was really our lives we were living and not someone else’s. It just seams so unreal to us that we were sailing around a beautiful place on a beautiful sailboat enjoying ourselves so much. To think that only four short years ago all this splendor was unknown to us is amazing. I know this sounds a bit cliché, but it is so true. When you buy a sailboat, you are buying a lifestyle. We are not wealthy in the least, but we have made choices and prioritized so that we can afford sailing and everyday I am so happy we did. If you are reading this and contemplating taking the leap, we whole heartedly recommend that you do. The world is out there for everyone to experience, so get out there while you can. Don’t waste another moment. Life is short.

Now I’m off to the kitchen to make myself a bowl of Lucky Charms. Bon Appétit.