I'd Rather Be Sailing

A friend of mine said to me this evening that she would see me tomorrow afternoon "as long as it isn't snowing too much, 'cause I'll be on my bicycle." "Snowing?!" I said. Gimme a break. Is this because I didn't plant my bulbs on the weekend? Summer is well and truly over. I do hope that we get one more little break in the weather because I have not taken my bike in for its last oil change (more on the bike in a minute).

I mentioned that we usually spend the summer sailing on this:


But for the past few months, it has been in various stages of this:

And we don't expect to have it ready for next summer either. So we have instead had to settle for:

This one's mine:

I do think it's a beauty. But it is not as comfortable as the sail boat. Not by any stretch of the imagination. And though at first I felt super cool on my motorcycle, I am now more aware of my sore butt, the hot road, and cars and transports blasting past me on the highway. On the sailboat, by contrast, I feel at ease. I can knit or read or write or even sleep while we are travelling. I can pack more than one change of clothes. I don't have to worry about it falling over. Parking is even easier on a sail boat. Just drop the anchor (well, okay, there are sometimes issues with how well the anchor is set and whether it is dragging, but that is not my department) and make some lunch.

After one boatless summer, I can say this much: I miss the boat. I can't wait to get it back. I will not be going on another two week road trip on the motorcycle again. Ever.

Still, I am not quite ready for the snow. And I did plan to take one more ride somewhere before that final oil change.