Time for the partying to end and the work to begin...

After I got word that I got the job, I needed to wrap up some loose ends in Fort Lauderdale. I wanted to send a bag of stuff home to my Mom because I had packed more than I needed. Traveling with so much stuff is nothing more than a hassle. I easily sent home half of the things that I had packed. I also had to say goodbye to all of my new friends that I had made. Fortunately, the yachting community is relatively small so you are able to run into friends while you are traveling with the boat.

I left the crew house on a Friday morning and headed to the airport. I had a flight into New York City. The boat was docked in New Jersey at the Newport Yacht Club and Marina, just across the Hudson River. After my flight arrived I grabbed a cab and made my way to the PATH Station to catch a train to Jersey. When I got off the train the captain was there to pick me up. The boat was a couple of minutes away, so he gave me a quick rundown of who was onboard. I was going to get thrown straight into it. I was nervous and excited; in a few minutes I would be meeting my new home/job, my crewmates, and the Mr. and the Mrs..

Newport Yacht Club and Marina

Golden Boy II

Dave, the captain, seemed to be very nice. He was full of energy and very up-beat. When we arrived at the boat he helped me with my bags and showed me to my cabin. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of my cabin. It was very small. There were bunk beds, a small closet, and a combined shower/toilet/sink. For the time being I had the cabin to myself, which was great.

Dave introduced me to my crewmates; all of whom were very welcoming. Julie was our chef from New Orleans. Jolene and Johan were the chief stewardess and the first mate/deckhand. They are a couple from South Africa. After the introductions I got a quick tour of Golden Boy II. Jolene got me a uniform and gave me a bit of time to settle in and unpack.

Julie and I

Johan and I

Dave, Jolene and I

That evening I had dinner with the crew in the galley. Besides our cabin, the only other spot that you can really hang out on the boat is in the galley. There is a crew mess area where we all sit together for our meals. We had a TV in there which was nice since my cabin did not have a TV (all of the other crew quarters had TV's in their cabins). After our dinner I helped with the dishes while Jolene tended to the guest's dinner service. She let me go to bed relatively early my first night there. I had to be ready to work the next morning at 6:30, so she wanted me to get plenty of rest. I had a long day of work and training ahead of me!

Thankful...

This year I am spending my first Thanksgiving completely away from my family, friends and home. I have had to work during Thanksgiving in the past, but I was still able to see my family for a little while, or join some friends for their Thanksgiving celebration. This year is much different. I am away from home, and have no family nearby. I am currently living in the crewhouse in Fort Lauderdale. I am fortunate to be living with some truly lovely people, and we will all be sharing our Thanksgiving together. We are each other’s family this year and we plan to spend the day barbecuing and relaxing.

Being that it is Thanksgiving, I have been thinking about all of the things that I am grateful for and I wanted to share them:

• I am thankful that everyone that I love and care about is healthy.
• I am thankful that I was able to pursue my dream and set out on this journey. I have undergone a substantial amount of personal growth and for that I am truly grateful.
• I am thankful that my Mom and I have become so close over the past year. We were always close in the past, but now I feel that my Mom is one of my best friends.
• I am thankful that my Dad was able to pursue his dream to open a wine bar. I am so proud of him.
• I am thankful that I was able to reunite with Lisa this year. She was such an important part of my life for so many years, and I had missed her a great deal. Thanks to facebook she is back in my life.
• I am thankful for all of my wonderful friends. They are all remarkable and I am a better person for having each of them in my life.
• I am thankful that I am learning to live each day with passion, to slow down and enjoy the beauty surrounding us, and to worry less because everything has a way of working itself out.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Fort Lauderdale...

After my week in New York City quickly came to an end, it was time for me to head down to Fort Lauderdale to set out on my yachting career. I had arranged to stay in the Neptune Group crew housing when I arrived. Crew housing is similar to a hostel, but for yacht crew. It is very affordable, and it is a great way to network with other yachties. Crew house accommodations vary from house to house, but you are essentially staying in a fully furnished house which includes cable, internet, washer & dryer, bed and bath linens, kitchenware, etc..

Crew House Kitchen Area

Crew House Common Area

I was slightly nervous and extremely excited to meet my new roommates. I knew I would be meeting lots of new people from all over the world, but I really wasn't prepared for the whirlwind of fun, excitement and partying that was about to become my life for the next three weeks. As soon as I walked through the door I was instantly greeted by Guy from South Africa who was very eager to help me with my bags (South Africans are some of the most polite people I have ever encountered). Soon after I met the rest of my roommates. There were sisters Brooke and Ashley from Bermuda, Jane from New Zealand, Emily and Georgia from the US (and some other girl that was from the US who was super sketch and got kicked out so I can't remember her name).

This was unlike any living situation I had ever experienced, but I imagine it could be equated to living in a college dorm. The biggest difference is that there are constantly people arriving and departing, so the dynamic of the house is continuously undergoing change. I met so many people and made some truly remarkable friends during this time.

In a previous post I had mentioned that I had to take the week long STCW course. Fortunately Brooke, Ashley and Georgia were enrolled in the same course with me, so the four of us set off to class together early each morning after a night of hard partying. I honestly don't know how we made it to the class each day, but somehow we managed!

The STCW course was pretty basic. It covers personal safety and survival, first aid and fire safety. My favorite part of the course was the fire safety. We got to dress up in full fire gear, including the breathing apparatus, and fight fires. I feel that it is something most people should try to take so that they better understand fires and how to fight them.

After the STCW course was complete I spent a great deal of time hanging out with my roomies at the beach, the pool, bars, etc.. We were all having such a great time that we weren't in a huge hurry to avidly search for work until the beginning of week three.

Guy at the Embassy Suite's pool

Rolf & Brooke at the beach

Ashley & Rolf at Waxy's

Molly & Georgia

To find work in the yachting industry you put together a CV, similar to a resume, and register with various crew agents. Once you register with a crew agent they set up an interview to get to know you a bit. Crew agents help you look for work on boats, so it's beneficial to sign up with several crew agents so you can get as many leads as possible. There are other places that you can post your CV, such as the Neptune Group's website, or at Smallwood's. And another avenue to find work is to walk the docks early each morning with your CV in hand. Walking the docks is also a good way to find daywork. Some boats may require a little extra help for a project, so they hire a dayworker. This is a great way for someone with no experience to obtain a little which is good for the CV. Also, dayworking can often lead to a full time position.

I was fortunate. Once I decided to find a job, it happened very quickly. I hadn't even been out to walk the docks yet. A captain saw my CV posted on Neptune Group's website and gave me a call. The boat wasn't in Fort Lauderdale so I wasn't able to see him for a face to face interview. We chatted for a few minutes over the phone. He told me he would call me back in about 10 minutes to let me know if he wanted to hire me. About 2 minutes later he called back and offered me the job. This happened on a Wednesday afternoon, and he wanted me to fly to New Jersey to meet up with the boat on Friday. This is where all of the fun and craziness ends, and where the hard work began.

The Big Apple...

I arrived in NYC on a Friday evening. I was so excited to go and visit Justin in his new Manhattan apartment. We spent Friday evening catching up since we hadn't seen each other for quite some time.

Saturday we walked from his place to Central Park. The walk was astounding; Justin lives on such a beautiful street. I couldn't get enough of the architecture. Every block we would walk down something would catch my eye. I would point it out to Justin and he would always say that he had never noticed it before. It was a lot of fun to explore the city together. Justin showed me a lot of cool places that he has found while living there. And I was able to show Justin NYC from my perspective by bringing things to his attention that he had never noticed, which happened quite often!

One of the buildings on Justin's Street

Central Park made for a beautiful walk as well. The park was bustling with people out on their Saturday strolls. While exploring the park we got caught in a torrential downpour. Of course we weren't prepared with umbrellas, so we stood under a tree to wait it out. We had to wait for quite a while, but the rain was nice to watch anyway.


Saturday evening we headed to Little Italy for some dinner at Casa Bella. After dinner we walked around and explored Little Italy when we stumbled upon Ferrara Cafe. This cafe was packed, so we decided that we would get some dessert and check it out. This was a wise decision. Their desserts were like eating a little slice of heaven. Little Italy was touristy, but the food was well worth it.

My priority on Sunday was to go to the Guggenheim Museum. I had never been and always wanted to see it, so off we went. The architecture of the building itself makes the visit worthwhile. The exhibits were also phenomenal. I highly encourage anyone visiting New York City to take the time to explore the Guggenheim. You won't be disappointed.


Monday I met up with Justin in Chelsea for lunch at Kiku Sushi. After lunch we walked to the Chelsea Market. Justin used to work in this area and he had stumbled across the indoor marketplace. The building used to be a bakery, but it was more recently refurbished into a charming little marketplace. We enjoyed a scoop of gelato as we explored the shops. This is another place that I recommend visiting if you are in NYC.



Justin had to get back to work, so I set off on my own to explore the great city. I walked by Ground Zero to see the progress they have made thus far.


Next I walked through Rockefeller Park. I literally just stumbled upon it, and it was a lovely discovery. It lies right along the Hudson River. I followed it along until I reached Battery Park. Battery Park pales in comparison to Rockefeller Park. Rockefeller Park is so beautifully maintained. Battery Park is often overrun with tourists looking to visit the Statue of Liberty. As I walked through Rockefeller Park I felt as though I had discovered one of New York City's hidden gems. This is where the locals picnicked with their families. As I left Rockefeller Park and made my way into Battery Park it's as if I entered into tourist hell. I went from a splendidly manicured park to a deteriorated and chaotic park within minutes.


Justin works in Brooklyn and he wanted me to meet him at his office when he was off of work so we could hit up a pizza place he had discovered. I decided that I wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge instead of taking the subway into Brooklyn. This was a great decission on my part. Everything about the bridge is exquisite. The architecture, the view. I can't believe that I had never made the time to visit the bridge during my prior trips to NYC. In my opinion, if someone has a very limited amount of time to visit New York City, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge should be very high on their priority list. I took so many great photos of the bridge, but I think it's pretty much impossible to take a bad photo of it.


We had dinner at Grimaldi's Pizzeria. I must say, as far as pizza goes this place has some of the best pizza I have ever had. It was amazing. During dinner I told Justin about how much I had enjoyed my walk across the bridge. Now, he lives in Manhattan and works in Brooklyn, and he had never once walked across the bridge. So I suggested we walk across it after dinner so that he could see how truly amazing it is for himself. And I was excited to see the view from the bridge at night since it would be an entirely different perspective. Justin also fell in love with the bridge, but how could he not?!



More to come.....

Picturesque escapades in the city...

Late Tuesday morning I decided to head off to the Art Institute of Chicago on my own. I love to get lost for hours upon hours exploring museums, and since Sonny was at work this was a perfect opportunity for me to do so. I was pretty impressed with the art exhibits at the museum. They had a decent selection containing Picasso, Matisse, Seurat, Monet, Wood & Hopper just to name a few. They even had an Egyptian exhibit which I have always been fascinated with, but it hardly compared to the Egyptian exhibit at the Met in New York (which I will be visiting again next week!).

Picasso

Monet

Seurat

Wood

Hopper

Later in the evening Sonny and I headed to Navy Pier. He had challenged me to a game of putt putt (which he totally kicked my butt) and he also wanted to show me the view from the Ferris Wheel. The pier was a little touristy, but it was fun to experience it nonetheless.




Wednesday afternoon I met Sonny for lunch at Rivers. We sat outside at a table right on the river. The food and the atmosphere were superfluous. Sears Tower is just down the street from Rivers, so I headed over there right after lunch. Sears Tower is another touristy attraction, but the view up there is spectacular.



To finish off our day we headed to a White Sox game. It was fun, but not nearly as fun as the Cubs game. There was a different feel at the Cubs game; the people there seemed to be more energized. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to experience both.

Ravinia...

Sonny asked me if I had any interest in going to a park outside the city to listen to string quartet perform while enjoying a picnic on the grass. I answered with a resounding ABSOLUTELY! The concert was on a Monday evening, so Sonny had to work during the day. I spent Monday afternoon packing an amazing, if I do say so myself, picnic for us to enjoy. Goat cheese. Check. Brie. Check. Prosciutto. Check. Almonds, hummus & cherries. Check, check, check. Oh, and how could I forget about the wine?! I packed 2 bottles for good measure.

With the picnic all ready to go I headed down to meet Sonny at the train station. The string quartet was due to start at 8 PM in Ravinia which is about a 45 minute train ride outside the city. We wanted to arrive early so we could set up our picnic and relax in the park. At Ravinia you can watch the performance from the Theatre (or the Hall or Pavillion depending on the concert) or you can purchase lawn tickets and picnic out on Ravinia's expansive lawn. The concert is broadcast out onto the lawn audience from their state-of-the-art sound system so we didn't have to worry about not being able to hear the concert.

The Martin Theatre

The Lawn

The Julliard String Quartet commenced promptly at 8. They performed beautifully. As the sun went down everyone began to light candles which created an amazing ambiance. Earlier in the evening the sky was slightly overcast, but as the evening went on the curtain of clouds dissipated to reveal the star encrusted sky. It was a magical evening.

A leisurely Sunday...

Sunday morning Sonny decided to take me to Chinatown to introduce me to Dim Sum. Apparently everyone else in Chicago had the same idea as us because we had quite a wait at Shui Wah. The wait was well worth it. It was a fun new dining experience and I encourage everyone go and to try it. After eating entirely too much food we explored the streets of Chinatown before hopping on the Red Line to Lincoln Park.

When we got off the train we walked through the most gorgeous neighborhood on the way to the park. The streets were lined with trees and decadent homes. If I were to move to Chicago someday this is the neighborhood I would like to live in.


While exploring Lincoln Park we stumbled across a charming lily pond. Chicago seems to have captivating little jewels strewn amongst the entire city just waiting to be discovered!

Adjacent to the lily pond was the Lincoln Park Zoo. Exploring the zoo was a perfect way to spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon. It's not too big, so you can go and see it all in a couple of hours. After viewing the animal exhibits we grabbed a table near the South Lagoon and people watched as we enjoyed a beer.
We had been nonstop busy since I arrived in Chicago and so this day was much needed interlude.

A Wicked good time...

Saturday morning we awoke with a bit of a hangover from the festivities the prior evening. There is no better cure for a hangover than a big greasy hamburger, so off we went to Boston Blackies which is famous for their "hefty" burgers. After lunch we decided to catch a movie. We went and saw The Happening (which is NOT happening in case you were curious). After the movie we headed home to get ready for our evening affairs.

We met Sonny's friends for dinner at Dao Thai before heading off to see Wicked The Musical. I must say that I was most impressed with Wicked. I wasn't too sure what to expect, although I had heard several people rave about it. It was very well written and highly entertaining. It was Sonny's idea that we go to see the show and I am so glad that we did!

30 things I want to do/accomplish before I'm 30...

While I have been in Chicago I have been doing a lot of walking around the city. I think that the best way to really get a feel for a city is to explore it by walking the streets. Sometimes it can't be avoided and Sonny and I must take the subway or a cab, but for the most part my transportation of choice is to go by foot. This week Sonny has been working during the day, and so I am left to explore the city on my own. While exploring the city I rock out to my I-pod and get lost in my thoughts. As I was walking down Michigan Avenue (The Magnificent Mile) to meet Sonny for lunch yesterday I began to think about what it is that I would like to accomplish in the next few years, or more specifically, before I turn 30. I decided to compile a list of 30 things that I would like to do/accomplish before I turn 30. As I began to compose my ideas of what I would like to accomplish before 30 I quickly noticed a recurring theme. Most of the things that I want to accomplish on my list over the next few years involve travel. This has confirmed that I have made the right decision to pursue my dreams to travel. Without further ado, here is my list:

1. Visit Greece












2. Learn how to sail








3. Learn another language












4. Go scuba diving








5. Visit the Taj Mahal









6. Visit the pyramids in Egypt









7. Pay off my debt












8. Visit Thailand









9. Visit Hong Kong









10. Replenish retirement account












11. Visit all 50 U.S. states









12. Visit Brazil








13. Visit Australia









14. Visit France












15. Visit Russia












16. Visit Switzerland









17. Go on an African Safari








18. Swim with the great white sharks








19. Visit Dubai












20. Visit Japan









21. Take some photography classes









22. Take some cooking classes in Italy









23. Visit Scotland








24. Visit Ireland









25. Visit England









26. Visit the Bahamas









27. Visit Canada









28. Visit Costa Rica








29. Live in another country












30. Live in a large metropolitan city









It will be exciting to see if I am able to accomplish all of these things before I reach 30. Let the countdown to the completion of my accomplishments begin!


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