dream it | do it | inspire - travel with kids | write + read | live with purpose
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Sailing S/V Dakota
  • Travel with Kids
    • Asia
    • Canada
    • Central America
    • Mexico
    • Western Europe
  • Book Babe
    • 2018: Year in Books
    • 2017 Year in Books
    • 2019: Year in Books
Home
About Us
Sailing S/V Dakota
Travel with Kids
    Asia
    Canada
    Central America
    Mexico
    Western Europe
Book Babe
    2018: Year in Books
    2017 Year in Books
    2019: Year in Books
dream it | do it | inspire - travel with kids | write + read | live with purpose
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Sailing S/V Dakota
  • Travel with Kids
    • Asia
    • Canada
    • Central America
    • Mexico
    • Western Europe
  • Book Babe
    • 2018: Year in Books
    • 2017 Year in Books
    • 2019: Year in Books
Lessons Learned•Organization•Travel With Kids

Top 5 Tips for Packing Like a Boss

After living on a sailboat, several international trips, and backpacking around Europe for 8 weeks with the kids, we’ve learned a thing or two about packing.  Plus, as airline employee travelers, we’ve had to become pros at packing carry-ons only, since we never really know if we are going to get on the flight we are hoping for. Even if you do plan to check bags (which I rarely recommend unless you’re bogged down with infant car seats, strollers, etc. and even then I’d consider gate-checking those to avoid the luggage carousel), good packing prior to departure is key for success in getting to your destination with fewer snags (and stress) than necessary. Hopefully you can rip a page from our playbook and learn how we successfully pack for long and short-haul trips, carrying everything we need through security and on-board.

So, here’s how you can pack like a boss (especially when traveling with kids!):

Continue reading
Lessons Learned•Life Afloat•Minimalism•Organization•Sailing•Travel With Kids

The Nitty Gritty

Ask and you shall receive!

More than a few of the folks who are keeping up with our preparations have asked some really good questions:  How will you take showers? How will you educate the boys? Will you have wifi while you’re gone?   Be assured, we are quite comfortable on Dakota and have been living on her full-time for over a month.  That said, because we have not yet thrown off the dock lines permanently, we have had the luxury of a personal vehicle to take us anywhere we’d like to go on land (including to visit family and friends, do free laundry while we can and run a multitude of pre-departure errands). We’ve had free and relatively uninterrupted US-quality wifi access as well as unlimited (that being a relative term as we are Californians) clean potable water for our daily needs.  We have plenty of electricity (AC and DC when we are on shore power) and are truly lacking nothing but a freezer, as compared to our land-based life, and that is purely by choice. (As it turns out, our freezer, when not turned on, is the perfect temperature for fresh produce, beer, wine and bread–our much preferred amenities to frozen foods!)

For now, we are quite happy on Dakota as we make final preparations for our departure. Pray tell, one might ask, what on earth is taking so long to depart?? Well…..my first lesson in cruising preparations is this: The list of shit to do is everlasting and looonnnggg and every single project takes gads too long to complete because it is a boat.  Remember when you got married? Or had a baby? (or threw a baby shower?)  And you thought, “damn, they are charging me to the moon and back because it’s a “wedding” or a “baby.””  Same thing with a boat.  Anything “marine” or “waterproof” or on a boat is ridiculously cumbersome and expensive.  What exactly do I mean?  Let me provide a colorful example:

See this bad boy?

20160914_191253

It’s our new Viking 6-man life raft (self-righting, no less! Ain’t no one got time to flip a capsized life raft under life-or-death circumstances!) Well, I suppose you can’t see much, because 2 major things, sorry 3 major things, have happened to make this simple, innocuous object appear, as if by magic, on our deck:

  1. We had to buy the thing.  Sounds simple, right?  But have you not met my husband? This poor soul must research, like a beaten rug, the begeezus out of every possible life raft.  And then simmer each and every option because the thought of parting with that much cash (regardless of the fact that it is for something that will save our lives) is inordinately difficult for him. This goes on FOR MONTHS.  I shit you not, we began discussions on our life raft when we were still living in our land-based home. Like in the winter of 2015/16 and shit yo.   Fast forward to 3 weeks ago, in walks yours truly with said husband, to the warehouse in Alameda where we are to buy our dinghy/inflatable (more on that later) and our life raft,  after much pre-visit discussion about what we agreed to buy, and over many last-minute objections, I throw down the Amex and MAKE this purchase.  Cuz like seriously, my sweet husband is eeeeiinnng and awwwiinnng over spending the extra $500 for the self-righting life raft. Serrriiioouusslllyy.  I can’t take it. I’m like “Babe, I love you and I totally respect your experience and research on this, but I gotta make the call.  When the shit hits the fan, if we HAVE to pull the rip cord on this life raft and conditions suck balls, aren’t you gonna wish we sprang for the extra $500 life raft that rights itself?! Cuz I sure as shit, with 2 scared kids screaming and sopping wet after being dumped from a capsized life raft, in what I have to assume is a horrible storm of some sort, am gonna want that.”  God help him, he obliges.
  2.  We had to install the life raft on our boat.  As I come to find out, there are 2 options here: mount it on the rails (my husband’s preferred method) or mount it on the deck.  Also, we have to make this decision blindly when we buy it because we kiinnnda didn’t think that part through, ya know, when we were eeeing and awwwing our options–we kinda didn’t remember to look at our set up and measure to see what option would work on our boat.  As one would expect, we bought all the extra parts for the rail mount, but afterwards discover (after we sail to Alameda and have it hauled on board, then sail back to our temporary slip) that a rail mount won’t work with our set up and we have to deck mount it. Aaannnddd, the only place it’ll work is right beneath the point where the mast meets the deck (I’m sure there is an official, nautical term for this space, but I don’t know it yet)… and that piece has to be, for all intents and purposes, surgically removed in order to install it.  AWESOME.   This little side project takes two days to finish, and let me assure you, involved its fair share of choice words, bloody knuckles, acetone-destroyed digits and plenty of bruises.  It also required middle-of-the-night work because after an entire day of keeping the family hostage on board with hammering, drilling and scraping, we/he decided that the best way to button this up was to finish it after the kids had gone to bed (Coyote Point’s punishing winds be damned!).
  3. We have to get canvas covering made for it and installed.  Again, sounds simple right?  Sure, we went straight to the canvas-maker’s office right after we purchased it weeks ago, made the canvas selections, gave him the dimensions of the units and gave him the deposit he needed to get it started.  But, as with all things boat, it required much additional customization and thus additional appointments to get it made. First, Mr. Canvas-Maker needs to know where we are going to install it, i.e., a rail mount or a deck mount? This is apparently game-changing information. The first time he comes out, we don’t know yet. (oops!) We thought it was the rail, but after he told us he, like, *needed* to know in order to draft the canvas, we found ourselves with another middle-of-the-night project (needing placement decisions for the life raft and recalibrating the dinghy because he is making the canvas cover for the dinghy too. I know, sounds luxurious, but it’s actually a necessity in case we take a huge wave, so it doesn’t sink us, rip off our dinghy davits, or cause other damage!) Second, Mr. Canvas Maker needs us to sail back to Alameda (because it takes some time to sew all these canvas coverings!) for a fitting to make sure everything is as it needs to be.  Easy enough.  (Today’s appointment).  Finally (I hope), tomorrow he is set to come back to actually install all the canvas coverings we had him make (dinghy cover, life raft cover and a thingy for the boys’ shower–there’s no good way to explain it, but basically a thing that stops shit from falling when we are underway).

See what I mean? That gray boxy-looking thing on our deck was PAINSTAKINGLY purchased, installed and covered… and that little project was just completed today (after we sailed/motored to Alameda yet again).

That’s the kind of nitty-gritty shit that’s been taking up our time as of late.  As I’ve come to learn, it takes quite awhile to actually leave the dock, especially when we are fully entrenched in homeschooling (which means we gotta, like feed our kids, watch over them, be present of mind and be in charge of their general well-being, 24-7 with no school and no childcare, at the same time).

That said, we are very near the end of our preparations!! As much as we have all LOVED Alameda and particularly Encinal Yacht Club (we may have to join after this adventure!)… we truly *hope* that this is our last sail to Alameda for installations. And with the anticipated arrival of some important packages soon, we hope to be So-Cal bound sooner rather than later.

Until then, I take comfort in the fact that Dakota is looking more like a cruising vessel!  (try to forget that the mainsail is currently not installed, that’s our middle-of-the-night project for tonight!)

20160914_192032

And one more for the road, because it’s too damn cute not to . . .

img_3377

[Elliott (8) reading Finley (almost-4) a pre-nap book]

About Us

Hello, we are the Dixon Family! We are adventure seekers, travel bugs, and a cruising family. We just returned from a year of living and sailing our home, S/V Dakota + globetrotting by land and air with our two school-aged boys, whom we boat/worldschooled along the way.

We are advocates of dreaming big and living with intention and purpose to realize those dreams. Hopefully we can inspire you to dream it and do it! We always have more travels and adventures abroad to come, so follow us and come along on the journey!

Subscribe!
Be the first to get updates on travel with kids!

Follow us!

Recent Posts

You Think You’re Up for an Adventure?

You Think You’re Up for an Adventure?

April 15, 2019
Daughter of Molokai by Alan Brennert

Daughter of Molokai by Alan Brennert

February 19, 2019
Golden Child by Claire Adam

Golden Child by Claire Adam

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

February 6, 2019

Categories

  • 2017 Year in Books
  • 2018 Year in Books
  • 2019 Year in Books
  • Adulting
  • Adventures Ashore
  • ARC Reviews
  • Asia
  • Book Babe
  • Books
  • Canada
  • Central America
  • Land Based Life
  • Lessons Learned
  • Life Afloat
  • Mexico
  • Minimalism
  • Organization
  • Passages
  • Running
  • Sailing
  • Travel With Kids
  • Western Europe

Tags

2018 books 2019 books adventures adventures ashore adventure travel anchorage anchoring arc reader arcreviews back to reality beach book babe books bookworm canada cruising with cruising with kids eiffel tower ensenada february reads international travel with kids kincardine lake ontario land based life leaving the dock lessons learned life afloat mexico netgalley ocean cruising organization paris passages preparing to depart reflection reflections running sailing sailor problems sunsets svdakota tenacatita tips + tricks tour eiffel travel with kids

Popular Posts

Thailand

March 6, 2006

Japan

February 6, 2016
Preparing for the adventure

Preparing for the adventure

June 9, 2016
23 days . . .

23 days . . .

July 2, 2016

Collaborate with Us

Facebook Page

Follow us on Facebook!

Instagram Feed

dreamitdoitinspire

| fb: @dreamitdoitinspire | tw: @dream_doinspire |Travelling w/kids 🌍✈️| Netgalley Reader| goodreads.com/dreamdoinspire | PP Ambassador: CHRISTINAD10

Christina Dixon
2020 New Year's -->2021 New Year's #goinginto2021 2020 New Year's -->2021 New Year's

#goinginto2021withhope
#visualizingthedream
#wewilltravelagain 
#letsbeliketheKiwis
#thefamilythattravelstogether
#dreamitdoit
#havepassportswilltravel
We found our family sport! #thefamilythatskiesto We found our family sport! 

#thefamilythatskiestogether
I'm thrilled to announce Aecus Law's Grand Opening I'm thrilled to announce Aecus Law's Grand Opening!! 

We'll be hosting a virtual open house in January (stay tuned for details!). In the meantime, learn more about us at aecuslaw.com or connect with us on socials! 

tw: @aecuslaw 
ig: @aecuslaw 
LinkedIn: Aecus Law
Here to spread some good news! 📣 🎉Tomorrow Here to spread some good news! 📣 

🎉Tomorrow is launch day for Aecus Law! 🎉🥳

Thank you to the early adopters, clients, followers, cheerleaders, fellow founders, supporters, question takers, advice givers, and my boys, my tribe.♥️ 💯 

Your support has meant everything and has encouraged me to aim higher, think more creatively, stretch farther and go for gold 🌟 We got this! 💪👊
Founder life means being all the things... Tech su Founder life means being all the things... Tech support, marketing, finance and ya know, actually practicing law. 
Phew! 

Almost there... !!
Since we can't go to Salzburg anytime soon, we'll Since we can't go to Salzburg anytime soon, we'll have to settle for this creature comfort and holiday classic ♥️

#thesoundofmusic 
#holidaytraditions 
#salzburgaustria 
#rogerandhammerstein 
#we♥️musicals 
#thefamilythattravelstogether 
#wemisstravelling
Challenge accepted 🌟👊 @goodreads #2020readin Challenge accepted 🌟👊 @goodreads #2020readingchallenge ! 

3 books/week to hit my goal is a tall order, even for me. (especially when one of them is Obama's new tome, "A Promised Land" --29 hours on audible!)
 
Fingers crossed that the forthcoming new release by @authormariebenedict
hits my inbox as inspo to #finish2020strong ♥️📚
#readorbleed #latenightreads #bookstagram #goodreadschallenge2020
Me: "Ok guys, we'll do one silly shot and one good Me: "Ok guys, we'll do one silly shot and one good shot."

Boys: "ok!"

*Maybe I need to clarify what "good" means to Mom* 😉🙄🦃

Hope you and yours enjoyed {American} Thanksgiving (🇨🇦) - - the good + the silly! 

#latergram
#thanksgiving2020 
#homefortheholidays
#luggagestowedfornow
#thetravelitchisreal
Follow us Instagram!
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: There is no connected account for the user 213695159 Feed will not update.

Search

© 2017 somniatus group // All rights reserved