Finally, a blog post with accompanying musical score. Here’s the playlist so you can listen along from home.

So, what should we listen to today? Perhaps a little… Styx!

Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me…

Ugh no, Styx, that’s not the track we need right now. We’re sailing HOME, and we’re on the final stretch. It’s really sinking in. Sailing away was a major period of upheaval, and after three years, sailing home feels equally intense. We are feeling a lot of feelings.

Skip.

Sail away sail away sail away.

Damnit Enya!

Skip.

Take me hoooooome, down country roads…

A little off on the specifics John Denver, but we appreciate the sentiment.

We arrived in Canada (by water) on August 15th and called Canadian Border Services to check in to the country by phone.

“And how long have you been out of Canada?”

“Three years.”

A pause.

“Three… years!? Where have you been?”

Sarah briefly explained our journey.

“Siiiiick, that’s awesome! Welcome home!”

Hearing the taciturn customs officer break character was our favourite border interaction of the whole trip. A great welcome to Canada.

Ain’t nothin’ gonna to break my stride
Nobody’s gonna slow me down, oh-no
I got to keep on movin’

This one resonates. The past three months have been a mission.

From Dutch Harbor to Salt Spring we had to travel 2000 miles in 58 days, necessitating 35 miles, or 7 hours of travel, every single day. If we missed a day due to weather or a supply stop, we needed to make it up with 14 hours of travel the next day. If we missed 2 days, we had to pull an overnighter.

I thought this was a little grueling until we stopped in Ketchikan, Alaska, where we observed salmon trying to swim upstream against roaring white water rapids. They were literally destroying themselves to get back to their place of origin, and for what? All they had to look forward to was ejaculation and death.

By comparison our final stretch feels relaxed and rewarding. I won’t complain any more. There should be more songs written about salmon.

You belong among the Wildflowers, you belong on a boat out at sea…

Ouch, Tom Petty. We dearly miss our friends the Wildflowers, who are still in Fiji. We also miss a dozen other crews we’ve said goodbye to, now scattered across the globe.

Traveling by boat has offered a unique opportunity to forge friendships through shared experience and adversity.

I’m really going to miss the ease with which we’ve made new friends on this trip. How can one replicate those conditions back on land? Is a hoax hostage situation a good way to make friends? Or maybe a shared bee attack? Only one way to find out!

Saying goodbye is the worst, but reconnecting with our friends and family at home is what we’re looking forward to the most. We belong on land now Tom Petty, in a house on the land. Among the… houseplants.

It would be thematically convenient if we had some land friends whose last name was Houseplant.

Teach, your children well…

Ok Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. You’ve touched on a sensitive topic. Homeschooling was our biggest challenge of the past three years, even bearing in mind that we once had to flee violent political insurrection.

We did our best with homeschool. We hope the life experiences will make up for the shortcomings in the hometeachers. If nothing else our kids have learned where to find the tastiest snacks in 19 different countries.

They seem adaptable. I think they’ll be ok.

Everybody’s workin’ for the weekend…

Jeeze Loverboy, thanks for the reminder. Sarah and I will definitely need jobs, but who knows, maybe we’ll have weekends off.

This is yet another big unknown swirling in the black hole of unknowns looming ahead.

What will we do for income? Is it time to launch my online pant-extension e-commerce empire?

If you’ve ever been tall in Japan, you’ll know that long legged people in short pant environments have a desperate need for clip on pant-extenders. Nobody is offering this product.

Maybe you business tycoons will suggest that the laws of supply and demand are already providing the correct pant lengths to a given population. To the haters I say:

“Now available in corduroy!”

I’m sure we’ll figure something out.

Skip.

And I still, haven’t found, what I’m looking for…

For twenty years Sarah and I have been combing the beaches looking for one of those glass fishing floats from Japan, the Holy Grail of west coast beachcombing culture.

We eventually had two kids in order to expand our search capabilities, and then, in desperation, we went to Japan.

We did finally find one in Japan, but if I’m being honest the experience didn’t feel 100% organic.

We thought all hope was lost, but then, just one week from home on the rugged coast of Vancouver Island… West looked down amongst some driftwood logs and something caught the light.

There it was.

We have now found exactly what we’ve been looking for Bono, we can no longer relate to your song.

Skip.

Whoa, oh, oh, sweet child o’ mine

Wow Axl. Don’t make me cry.

We’ve been so lucky to spend this time with our kids, and it’s sorta ending. Presumably I’ll still have kids in September, but we won’t be packed into 200 square feet together 24/7, having adventures and fighting over the best spots on the settee.

When we get home I guess I could lock us all in the bathroom periodically, but it doesn’t seem the same.

So thank you Nyah and West, for coming on this journey, even if you technically had no choice.

The times they are a changing

Yes, that’s pretty obvious Bob D.

Every little thing, ‘sgonna be alright

I know Bob M, I know.

It’s the final countdown!

It really is! Next stop: Salt Spring Island!??

A few photos…