A year later (how much life changes in a year)

March 28, 2014
Poultney, VT

Most people can look back a year or more and not much has changed. They probable have the same job, same people in their lives, their view of the world is the same and if they were lucky they might have gotten to see a new part of this magnificent planet. I’m not most people in fact, that life scares the hell out of me.  Yet, even  I have to admit that some years are far more exciting than others and I recently stumbled upon a video I shot March 20th 2013.  Come with me as I look back a year.

It was a cool Spring Day as I left my temporary home in Poultney Vermont. Having sold my businesses in New York and  moving to my parents Vacation Home on Lake St. Catherine, I was excited to begin my new journey. I had already spent months looking at sail boats in the 40′ to 45′ range all over New England, New York and New Jersey. I was spending even more time looking at sail boats all over the world. My goal was simple, yet difficult to execute. Find the smallest boat capable of single handed sailing, enough room to live aboard that could also sail the East Coast from  The Gulf of St. Lawrence to South America and eventually East to Europe where I would then sail from Norway to Portugal  then Spain, Italy and Greece. Keep in mind that I’ve never sailed a boat this size and I’ve never been outside North America, yet this is the vehicle of choice for me. (told you I am not like most)

Most of the snow had melted in Vermont by now and I was headed to a slightly warmer region. A sharp contrast to this year where we still have over a foot of snow on the ground and a Winter Nor’ Easter just hit the coastline again this week. I was both excited and nervous and Lexie and I traveled the highway some 6 hours making stops in Rhode Island to look at a couple of other boats before reaching my final stop in Groton, Ct to look at my favorite boat – Kindred Spirit.

I arrived just before dark and had about an hour to go through her. She was a 1987 Morgan 43 Center Cockpit that had been customized heavily with the addition of a Sugar Scoop transom which brought her out to 44′ , Hard Stainless Steel Bimini Top,  and the off center berth removed and  turned into a Center Berth with Queen Size bed. It was a tight fit in the shower, but outside of that, I just fit everywhere else and she’d be comfortable as a Live Aboard at anchor and yet still capable of sailing though the most challenging would be the eventual cross ocean passage, but with no timeline I could wait for a good window and put together a group to make the journey with me. I had been working with a few friends all across the US who were familiar with boats of this caliber and had even hired a Boat Consultant from the West Coast. Therefore, I would shoot pictures and video of ever boat I would look at that they would all weight in on it. The consensus kept coming back to Kindred Spirit, but the only problem was the valuation the owner had put on her. It was too high to get insured and everyone agreed it was over valued. Everyone but the owner that is and after pulling the trigger and putting down a deposit with my offer, the deal quickly spun out of control and by April there were hurt feelings all the way around. I walked away, the broker walked away and the owner sailed the boat south where it is still for sale and they are still enjoying it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tut7gS72dSg

I, on the other hand, continued to look for a new boat. Nothing ever struck my fancy as Kindred Spirit did, but something else happened. I began to like living in Vermont. Poultney Vermont, a town I first came to know at the young age of 14. A town I would visit throughout the year. Where I would ski, sail, swim, bike, hike, ride my motorcycle through the mountains, yet I didn’t know anything about this town or even the lake. Here I was stuck in this town now with no place to go….and I was happy!.

By June I purchased a kayak for my future boat. An Ocean Kayak Trident Ultra 4.7 . I began to teach myself how to kayak and soon I was kayaking 10-14 miles a day in the lake. I customized it with a Crows Nest so Lexie would be safe, secure and comfortable on my excursions which began to grow from kayaking around Lake St. Catherine to exploring other bodies of water. Seneca Lake, NY, river kayaking in New Hampshire , kayaking off the beach on Fire Island, NY and exploring the great Swamp in Putnam County, NY. I was having a blast but I was spending a lot of time sleeping in my car.

Filling up with gas one day I had a chance encounter with a VW Vanagon Syncro pulling two dirt bikes. I spoke to the guy for just a minute. Meanwhile, my hair which I was growing out for Locks of Love was causing people to send me images of “Hippy Buses” because as you may know, Hippies, Buses and Vermont go hand in hand. I didn’t know this, but oh well. The bug bit and with no sail boat in sight, my motorcycle which carried Lexie and I all over the country now sold and gone I was desperate not to become someone who was stationary (living in one place) The bug grew and grew and by July I decided to make Vermont my home and buy an old bus to travel with.  By October, I was no longer looking at sail boats, but now scouring the world for a Bay Window VW Bus that was in pretty good shape. I wanted to travel, not restore it.

Well that brings us all the way up to the start of this blog I call Life with Larry(now Wonder of Wander) and our very first post here: https://wonderofwander.com/iboughtabus/

I’ve now been to all 50 States, Ridden through 39 and Driven to 9 of them plus Victoria, BC and Ontario. I am in the process of opening a Real Estate and Property Management Brokerage on Lake St. Catherine, teaching myself Massage Therapy and will soon be unveiling a completely new opportunity for me. Something that I have become very passionate about over the last few years and have decided to take it to the next level. I’ll be making that announcement in early April right here on Life with Larry.

So all in all, looking back on a year. It was awesome and I’m glad how things turned out. I’m happy the owners of Kindred Spirit are now enjoying their retirement on her in Warm Waters and I’m glad to be here in Vermont exploring the country once again via Bus and Kayak and making so many new friends while hanging onto my old friends who stick by me with all my craziness. I’m looking forward to getting the kayak up on top of the bus and hitting the road soon so we can begin to meet all these people who have been helping us out through this new adventure.

Thank for reading and be sure to subscribe if you like following along. Who knows, we might just be in your town next and we’d love to meet you too.

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