We have travelled 7250 miles!

OK, Code has traveled that far, but the kids and I have done over 3,000 miles.  THat is a lot of miles to log to get to Turkey for the winter.. and guess what?  We are spending the winter in Leisureworld!.  We were expecting to find mostly retired people who winter over, but it is different when, in our 40's, we are decades younger than nearly all the other cruisers here.  That said, these cruisers are hardly your average retiree as most have sailed the far corners of the planet and have faced more storms, more repairs, and faced down more fears than Code and I together.  We are hoping that we'll see some other cruisers who have kids, but for us, age is just a number. And, at least we did not have to qualify by age to get in (although for me that is unbelievably just 10 years away!)

There is only one other kids at the marina right now, but he wont be here after next week.  He is a 9 year old boy, by coincidence, but he and Graeme hit it off in many more ways than with Aethan.  Aethan is a bit more reserved with making new friends and doesnt put himself out there unless he is totally engaged in an activity with the other kid.  Graeme and Bertaud (totally killing his name) on the other hand, love to hang out.  They are a both a bit bossy, and Graeme certainly doesnt back down where Aethan might.

It is hilarious to observe the two of them. Graeme and Bertaud listening to Rihanna, Beyonce, and Michael (as in MJ) mangleing the lyrics with Bertaud, showing eachother their scootering 'moves', and playing videos on the iPad.  Actually it is Bertaud who is playing, and Graeme is standing over his shoulder coaching (read: yelling at) him to do this and that.   Picture an overtall half-algerian French kid with grown out dreads and Graeme, who has become scrawny and always long haired, playing this stockcar derby video with the hill-billy hee-haw music of 'Dixie' as the game theme-music in the background. I suppose it can only happen in Turkey.

Aethan took the opportunity to go to town (Marmaris) with Code today to try to buy some used mountain bikes.  Marmaris is about 6 miles away and there is a mini bus that runs every 1/2 hour.  We are out in the sticks a bit, but there is a grocery, a laundry ($2.50 per pound for wash, dry, and folding - same day service...and my concern was laundry?  I am in domestic bliss), post office, a restaurant, bar, and even a workers cafeteria (where the brave can get lunch for about $1.50) and marine shops of all sorts.  Code is in heaven.  My heaven is more like being on a yoga farm for a month or skiing in the Alps...or even just being underway on the boat. 

There is something not quite right about wintering.  I guess you have to do it: haul out the boat for painting, scrubbing, replacing parts, general repairs, etc and taking a rest from the nomadic life during the cold and rainy season.  Frankly, I prefer to not stop; every day we are here in a yacht marina that holds, get this: 1,300 other boats, we are not somewhere else like Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, or Egypt--and those are places I would like to see if they are politically settled.  While we are Marmaris, we will be traveling in Turkey and beyond, too.  I hope to spend several weeks skiing in Turkey, too, as I hear it is really good.  Nevertheless, I will be enjoying steady wifi, clean laundry, and abundant water and electricity until we hit the water again!