We've been sailing since the 60's. In the 70's we began reading about Chichester, the Pardee's, Solcum and other great adventures. We too dreamed about sailing around the world. In the 80's we got more realistic and though only about crossing the Atlantic. In the 90's we shrunk our ambitions again and decided we'd be happy with coastal cruising. Part of that came about as a result of our cruising vacations where we realized we liked anchoring out and exploring small towns.
During that time we sailed first on Lake St. Clair near Detroit, then for 20 years we cruised Lake Ontario. After 20 years of raising our kids Cindy and Jeff in the Rochester, NY area we managed a transfer to the Milwaukee, WI area. As we moved we bought a small house and a bigger boat, our 36' sailboat, Tranquility.
We enjoyed exploring Lake Michigan for 5 years before retirement. During that time we lived aboard each summer. I'd leave Tranquility each morning and head for work. Ruth would head back to our home and take care of daily chores. Each night we'd meet back at Tranquility.
Our living aboard practice convinced us that we'd enjoy living aboard full time without a fall back to land. As we approached retirement, we sold the house, gave the kids any of our stuff they wanted, and got rid of the rest. By the time our retirement date came, all our stuff was gone. I left work at noon and by 6PM we were leaving the Milwaukee harbor to begin living aboard full time and exploring. Our journal tells the rest.