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Author - Nestor

The Five Year Plan

January 1, 2019Nestor3 min read

Many years ago, when Yolanda and I were just getting to know each other, we decided to follow a 5-year plan. If we only had five years together, what would we want to do? Where would we go? Five...

We are on a mission to reduce single-use plastic packaging, for both here and now, and for the future in which we live on a boat. Many places around the world don't have the recycling facilities the U.S. has & so most garbage ends up in landfills; even in the U.S. we purportedly recycle only around 5% of plastic. WTF! Instead of trying to get people to recycle more often, a better solution may be to avoid buying anything that would even need to be recycled, by skipping single-use plastic packages altogether! This is Shampoo, Conditioner, Laundry Detergent & Body Lotion in BAR form. All of it arrived in paper packaging, which will more easily be broken down into degradable ingredients. ((The shampoo & conditioner containers are self-draining to improve the life of the bar. And the green container should last 5 years and is then actually compostable.)) We are starting off with each other these brands and will do a test run over the life of the bars to see if we will stick with them or look for a better version. Round 1 testing is under way. 🌎
After years of scheming and saving and researching and dreaming, we finally booked a trip to ANTARCTICA! In December 2023, just days after Nestor finishes teaching his last semester ever at UofM, we will travel on Ponant Cruises for a 12-day adventure to the Antarctic Peninsula; leaving out of Ushuaia (“the end of the world”), Argentina. We will spend 2 days crossing the notoriously rough Drake Passage and then spend 5 whirlwind days setting foot on the white continent, before heading back across the Drake. We may be brave enough to kayak on those frigid waters, but probably not crazy enough to do a Polar Plunge in them. We dream of seeing penguins, whales, and seals and hope to float by icebergs the size of houses, while again enjoying the wild phenomenon of the midnight sun. So, fingers super crossed, that covid-willing, this trip will cross off the destination at the tippy top of Yolanda’s bucket list (and I think secretly Nestor’s too).
We made it back to the civilized world, for better or for worse, and are unwinding in the birthplace of grunge & Starbucks. One full day in the city tomorrow, what should we do?
At the top of Grinnell Glacier Trail. #grinnellglaciertrail #grinnellglacier #glaciernationalpark
Glaciar National Park - hiking to Grinnell Glacier. 11 miles and 2,100ft of elevation gain #glaciernationalpark #grinnellglaciertrail
Today we completed one of the most iconic day hikes of North Cascades National Park: Hidden Lake Trail. 8 miles out and back with 3200 ft of elevation gain. The view at the top was breathtaking and worth the pain. Tomorrow we are off to Glacier National Park. #northcascades #hiddenlaketrail
I had an amazing experience during the Annapolis to Newport race with @oceanracers. It was my first open ocean race and it was humbling, inspiring, and definitely educational. Nothing makes you a better sailor than racing, and racing on a Pogo in the Atlantic definitely supercharges the learning! Can’t wait to be in the water again. Thank you @morgen_watson and Meg for the great coaching!
Can’t take a bad picture of this place. #sundowners #harbour #boatlife
Dealing with the vacation phenomenon of Wednesday feeling like it’s over. It’s so funny, in the first few days of vacay you feel like you have allll the time in the world, by Wednesday though a feeling creeps in like it’s almost over. Fighting those vibes and hanging onto every minute left. We fly home Saturday and won’t be back to Antigua for a year! So sad. We love this place. So many amazing places to sail, anchor, swim, dive, chill, eat; so many beautiful, friendly people. It really is a gem. But, we must go back to our crazy work lives to stay on track for the grand adventure. Cheers to that.