This one completely slipped me by - I knew that the fifth anniversary of our setting sail from Kodiak was coming up later this month. But I just realized that this blog, which we began in the lead-up to our departure, is now three months past the five-year-old mark.
Here's our very first post. Nothing fancy - just a suggestive title and a single pic.
The photo is from a trip that Alisa and I had made along the Alaska Peninsula in Pelagic the summer before we set off to Australia. She's reacting to the fact that we were up and moving at three am (dig the endless summer light in Alaska!) after a wind shift made our anchorage untenable.
But of course the title of the post gets at something else. In those days we just couldn't escape the idea that it was time for a bold move, time to take ownership of our lives and to start living exactly the way that we wanted to, and that every day that we delayed was a chance that was gone forever.
And I guess we still think about things pretty much the same way.
Hello Mike and Alisa,
ReplyDeleteYou may not remember me, but we met briefy at a McD's in Pago Pago, My wife and I and 2 young children lived in Kodiak in the 1980 and we even knew someone, i think. I was visting my aging father and had come from Seattle for a few days.
I related to your blog from the past about the epic adventure. You are in and have experienced it. You will not regred it. If you are every in Seattle we have a spare room or 2 and would love to have your family, we live on a beautiful lake I grew up on as a kid in the same house, "shire" my mother passed away in 5 years ago.
In 2 days my son, Rian 28 will leave us for his adventure and it was helpful to realize that as one of your bolgs said, "How can you be missed if you never leave." I love him beyond words and can't even express it except though tears. When Rian was 5 we took him and his 2 sisters 3 and 7 years old to live on the Amazon River in Peru for 4 years; after that we moved to the Andes at 10,000 feet for 10 years. Rian and I fished the rivers and climbed and hiked and caught giant trout in the Andes. Rian and have have summited Mt. Rainier 12 times together and next week I will atempt my 23 summit on my 60th BD with my youngest daughter Shannon 26, Rian and I have even camped in the summit, he helped save my life at least one time in our adventures. We have suba dived 100 times in Puget Sound and he even took me on his spring break from the UW to MX to dive for a week in Cozmuel. One time we caught 2 50# Kings off a friends boat in BC in a place called Rivers Inlet at the same time! When he was 18 he left us in South America, Ecuador at the time, to go to University at UW, after 8 years he became a MD "Dr. Rian Fisher" last week, we are proud and thankful for his hard work. We have talked a lot about it and for better or worse, MD's are now the high priests of our culture. With that there is some saddness.
When you are 60, like I will be next week and your son is 28. You will not be sad you did all the adventures with your children at the young age they are. I live with no regreds in this piece. We are back from the great adventure now, taking care of aging parents and grandkids, but our time on the epic journey is a highlight of our family. Carol and I have been married 33 years and our time in Peru and Ecuador were some of the best, if not the best. God's speed with you all. This writing helped me as my son leaves with his wife and baby in the "cooker" to start a new life in IN. I love and miss him, but it is sweeter at times from a distance, he needs his own space. I could not stop crying as i wrote this short piece. It was cathartic and hopefully encouraging for your family. Thanks.
It is 2am in Maple Valley,WA and the full moon is over the lake, it is beautiful here near Seattle tonight! "Over the misty mountians cold through dungeons deep and cavens old, we must go ere break of day to find the long forgotten gold"
Love, Mark PS Opps know it is 3am; time to go back to sleep.
thanks, Mate!
Delete