Waiting for election results

It's three days after the election and we're still waiting for results. I dropped my phone overboard. We've experienced a few days in a row of 30+ knot winds, twice. Covid cases are skyrocketing worldwide. It's a crazy start to the month of November. 

I have this anxious feeling, one that I'm sure many Americans have, and I've been trying to stay busy to distract myself but that unsettled, sort of hyper feeling is still there in the background. At least last night I slept through the night without waking up multiple times to check for results. But, right. My cellphone is one meter under water, beneath our boat, settling into the sand and mud. Probably for the best. Here's hoping that by the time you read this blog, we'll know who our next President is and Hans and I will be sipping our bubbly. (It's in the fridge, waiting!) 

We spent about a week in Gothenburg, sightseeing, shopping, and waiting for our ballots. The minute we received our ballots in the mail, we filled them in and Hans ran them to UPS to overnight them to the states. Call it an absentee poll tax. An expensive way to vote and in two years I'll be more organized and get our ballots delivered to us in a more timely fashion. 

Strolling in the botanical gardens in Gothenburg

Best city park ever.

Botanical gardens.

   Before we arrived in Gothenburg, Hans found an expats group on Facebook. Our kids really needed some play time with English-speaking kids. We met a great family with two girls about the same age as ours, and what Hans and I didn't realize is that we also needed some adult conversation as well! It was so refreshing and energizing to socialize again. It had been a long time. A few days later, Facebook friends and a fellow kid-boat family (now landlubbing in southern Sweden) came over to the boat. They also have two kids around the same age as ours and we had a great afternoon talking all things boating and cruising while the kids shrieked with laughter and silliness. 

Other kids! And adults for me and Hans to socilialize with! 

With our ballots mailed back to the States, we untied the docklines and headed out to the archipelago. Our first sail in west coast waters was beautiful. Sunny with perfect broad reach winds. We sailed to Rammen, a little island group just northwest of Gothenburg. It is uninhabited, but from 1803-1824 about 80 people lived there, fishing for herring and using the fish to produce lamp oil. The area was completely overfished by 1824 and the island was deserted. The kids were surprised to know that even 200 years ago people used the environment for their own gain without considering the consequences. 

           

  

It was the kind of cruising experience we really needed. We had spent the past three years telling the kids about cruising and how much they'll love it: the freedom, the adventure, the nature, the fresh air; so far, almost all we had shown them was moving the boat from one place to the next, grocery shopping, motoring, and aiming for the next destination. When we reached the west coast, we all exhaled a little. Schoolwork was shortened to about one hour because there was so much exploring to do ashore. We were outdoors all day and came home hungry for dinner. The kids went ashore by themselves, actually insisted that Hans and I *not* be with them, and they found their own adventures. 

After a few days we sailed north to Marstrand, stopping halfway to (unsuccessfully) bottom fish for cod. Freja started feeling seasick so I encouraged her to put on some warm clothes, come outside, and try fishing. It worked, and while she didn't have tons of fun fishing, being active and engaged is the best cure for seasickness. 

We anchored in a small cove and took the dinghy ashore to rendezvous with Hans's sister Sofia and her family. They rented a cottage on the coast for a long weekend on an island within easy reach for us to meet them. They stopped at a fish market on the way to the island and brought oysters, shrimp, and crawfish for dinner. And champagne of course! We had a feast! The next day we sailed a short distance to a small island group where the kids went ashore and scrambled around on rocks while the adults had Bloody Mary's in the cockpit. Around 2PM Hans rigged the code zero for the sail home and we flew. The days are getting noticeably shorter every day so we need to keep a close eye on the time of sunset and leave plenty of time to reach our destination. We tore the code zero the last time we used it, so it was the first time we'd used it since we repaired it a month ago. It's such a fun sail and we had a fast, comfortable sail back to our anchorage. It was Halloween weekend and we planned a beach bonfire, BBQ, and spooky candlelit walk through the woods. Unfortunately Matilda threw up about an hour before the party started, but the rest of us told spooky stories and tried to scare the kids. (No luck.)

Oysters harvested from the dock.

     

After Sofia & Patrik left, we spent a few days in Marstrand. The town is a popular summer resort town, but was absolutely deserted in the beginning of November. A handful of restaurants were open on the weekend, but on Monday morning everything was shut up tight. We walked around the cobblestone streets and admired all the old wooden houses. More than 2/3 of the island is undeveloped and criss-crossed with nature trails, so we spent a sunny afternoon walking around the island. Hans is in the thick of our water maker installation and he made two trips to Gothenburg to pick up some custom-made pieces he needed to fit the pump and panel in the right place.

 

Hans and Freja stopped at a bookstore in Gothenburg and picked up a few new books. Matilda is starting to read with more stamina and we're challenging her with chapter books. This was the first chapter book she read entirely by herself: The 130-storey Treehouse.

Follow the signs to the women's only nude beach. Mens was to the left.

Playing soccer on the grounds of a castle/fortress.

    

With both northerly and southerly entrances to the harbor and gale force winds blowing from the west, the dock got pretty uncomfortable. We left the dock in the middle of some strong winds, stopped at the fuel dock to fill up, and motored around to the south of island into a protected harbor. It is much more comfortable here than at the dock. The bow of the boat points into the wind and waves and we gently swing at anchor, instead of being pushed against or pulled from the dock. The kids are also happier at anchor. The days become from focused: schoolwork in the morning, lunch, then an afternoon adventure. We're spending hours outdoors everyday and we can see Matilda getting stronger and faster every day with much more endurance.

Afternoon art class.