Five weeks of winter

Touchdown at Central Wisconsin Airport just south of Wausau greeted us with below freezing temperatures and a frosty sheen covering the landscape. It was freezing! The kids ran out of the airport terminal and immediately started playing in a pile of dirty, icy snow. I, meanwhile, stayed inside and checked out the tourist brochures to get ideas for the next five weeks.

Day 1 of winter and the kids had an epic snowfight.

We had one storm with about 6 inches of snow, enough for a little snowman.

First item on the agenda: pick up our ski gear at the local ski shop located in downtown Wausau. We were excited to see the town where Hans has been working for the past few years. Since he basically only works and sleeps when he’s in Wisconsin, he failed to mention how nice Wausau is—real small town America. The town has a big square (or green as we call it in New England) that was flooded and shoveled clear for ice skating, and numerous shops, cafes, and restaurants surrounding the square. There is an historic district which has bigger, old houses, and the rest of the town is small neighborhoods with small houses. There is a large Hmong population so it was easy to find good Pho, and Asian grocery stores. On the outskirts of town there is a strip with Walmart, Kohls, and other box stores, but nothing too obscene like many other towns. My first impressions of Wausau were definitely positive.

The stuffed bear at one of the best independent bookstores I've ever been to, Janke's in downtown Wausau.

Hans always goes to work by himself and the kids and I stay on the boat. This works out well for a number of reasons: 1) we don’t have to leave the boat, thus avoiding all the work that it takes to leave a boat unattended; 2) by focusing solely on work, Hans is able to work the number of hours he wants (and our bank account needs) very efficiently (all at once with no distractions); 3) we usually don’t move the boat very much while Hans is gone so we get caught up on school and boat chores and we have the chance to pause and refresh before we start traveling again; and 4) full disclosure: Hans and I get a break from each other. Absence makes the heart grow fonder is a legit expression.

That said, we do miss him when he is at work. I don’t think he actively misses us because he is too busy working, but the repeated separations were getting a little tiring. Even though he is gone for the same amount of time for each work trip, the past few trips have felt longer. We needed a little break from the usual 6 weeks on/2 weeks off. This was evident when we were in Wisconsin. The kids, Matilda especially, really liked being at home to say goodbye to Hans when he left for work and to welcome him home again. She repeatedly told him this and would say to me: “it must be really nice for Pappa to see us when he gets home from work and to know that we’re waiting for him.”

We also needed a break from boat life. We do love living on Positive Waves, but it is pretty intense. The living space is small, we’re together all the time, and the maintenance and daily tasks require a lot of work. It was luxurious to spread out in a house where we weren’t (literally) within arms reach of each other at all times. A dishwasher, washing machine, and bathtub with unlimited freshwater was heavenly. And having a car and a massive, fully stocked grocery store just five minutes away made life so easy. While we were indeed in Wisconsin, the dairy capital of the US after all, we went through an impressive amount of milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream in five weeks! A few years back I went through a phase where I used oat milk instead of cow’s milk, but I really love dairy. And I really really love fresh dairy as opposed to the UHT milk we usually drink on PW.

Just like being on the boat, we did run out of ice one evening. Problem solved: Matilda ran outside and knocked down an icicle for me!

Matilda liked how the dry air made her hair very straight.

Beyond spending more time with Hans, the impetus for spending five weeks in Wisconsin in January and February was winter, snow, and skiing. Wausau has a decent sized mountain for the mid-west, Granite Peak. While Hans and I are both used to much bigger and steeper mountains, it was perfect for the kids. They had been skiing once before, but only for one week, two years ago. It was great for them to start small. We spent the first two weeks on green trails. After a couple days I felt comfortable leaving them for an hour or so at a time so I could ski the more difficult terrain. Being boat kids, they are comfortable and happy being left to their own devices, so we would ski a few runs together then meet for lunch in the lodge. Since we had weeks of skiing lined up, we didn’t feel pressured to max out each day on the slopes. We would often do our schoolwork in the morning and then ski for a few hours after lunch, or we would ski in the morning and do schoolwork in the afternoon. Hans worked the first 10 nights in a row, so when he was finally able to join us skiing, the kids were ready for blue trails and quickly after that they were bombing down the blacks. Their skiing styles matched their personalities: Freja tracked down the slopes carefully, methodically working on her turns, and eventually getting comfortable making parallel turns down the blue trails, while Matilda just bombed down the slopes trying to beat Hans in speed. She also worked on her parallel turns, but she certainly enjoyed going straight down the mountain much more than turning. Thankfully, we all wore helmets!

Day one of skiing was very wet, but that didn't deter us. Up the magic carpet a few times and then we moved on to the 3-person chair.

The first run in over two years. Good job kids!

And then they quickly moved to the top of the mountain and had fun on the black trails.

Riding the lift alone, their preferred way to get up the mountain.

Classic scene at lunchtime or hot chocolate time in the lodge. Matilda quickly made herself at home. The mid-week skiiers are few and mainly retirees and no one seemed to mind when she took over the entire hearth!

We all enjoyed the creature comforts of land-based life, some of them a little too much. Our screen time shot up, with the kids finding “important” and “necessary” things to do online all the time, and our nightly activity was Netflix. With unlimited internet and power, we were glued to the screens. I tried fighting it, but reminded myself that it was only for a few weeks and then we’d get back to our normal life.

In addition to skiing we went to a ice hockey game, we took the kids sledding a few times, ice skating, nordic skiing, and we even saw the Wausau Children’s Theater production of James and the Giant Peach. We were busy and comfortable, but after awhile we were ready to get back to life on PW. At least Hans and I were. The kids absolutely loved winter and wished we could stay in winter year round. Before we left for Wisconsin, I was sure the novelty would wear off after a couple weeks, but they were still loving the cold and snow up till the minute we entered the airport to fly back to the Bahamas.

We quickly found our favorite breakfast place!

We met up with friends that we met from Hans's residency in Florida and had a blast going snowmobiling and touring their large property in their UTV.

sock laundry for a week, not something we're used to!

We went x-c skiing a couple times. The kids were both naturals, and Matilda especially loved it.

It was important that Freja kept up with her piano lessons, so after a few phone calls we found a church down the street that let her use their grand piano twice a week.

The rental house provided shoveling and plowing but Freja declared that she couldn't be a real winter kid without shoveling snow.

What does that mean for our future? Nothing for now. Maybe aim for a ski trip every winter? Maybe they’ll look at colleges in cold, wintery places? But for now, we’re thoroughly enjoying living and sailing on PW in warm climates. (At least Hans and I are!) We tried our hand at wintering aboard over the years: on PW for a couple months in Sweden in the winter and on our powerboat Rhumb Line for 5 winters in Philadelphia. I can say with certainty: boats are not designed for full-time winter living. It is difficult, uncomfortable,  and cramped. No thanks. Especially as I type this while floating in the crystal clear water of the Exumas, I have no desire to be in cold weather! Sorry kids.

Teh view from the top of Rib Mountain (Granite Peak).

On our way home to PW, raising a toast to friends who just sold their house and are now full-time liveaboards/cruisers!