tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1244530039567004222026-01-31T22:37:48.759-05:00dispatches from a 50+ adventuretammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.comBlogger452125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-11015247061848361592015-06-29T19:13:00.000-04:002015-06-29T19:13:04.300-04:00

If you are here to dream a little dream of sailing, then I'm here to help! That is, after all, how my dream came to life: Imagine :: Visualize :: Realize This blog started with our launch, October 24, 2010, and sails along with us for three years. Since this is a blog, the sailing posts are scattered a bit willy nilly -- and in reverse order, so I've gathered them

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-23768564147721993052014-12-06T19:31:00.004-05:002014-12-06T19:32:28.377-05:00

St. Helena, CA Christmas is a great opportunity to put some serious jolly into our little cottage, but with our commitment to staying small and living clutter-free, we wanted to get just enough to be merry and bright without accumulating a bunch of stuff that had to be stored for 11/12 of the time. The solution: Get small. Here's how the whole show -- on a placemat: Three boxes of

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-89477093144210281902014-11-27T19:36:00.000-05:002014-12-06T19:46:45.599-05:00

St. Helena, CA Every holiday calls for its own festive decor, but that decor doesn't have to come from a store. In the interest of living small and shrinking our footprint, we made tracks -- and collected our own centerpiece. I threw the turkey in the oven and off we went to meander the streets of St. Helena, enjoying the crisp fall day and foraging for flowers, leaves and berries. Put it

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-12489361531092856052014-10-10T14:31:00.000-04:002014-10-10T14:46:33.174-04:00

St. Helena, CA After living for four years onboard our beautiful Cara Mia, with all her warm teak and built-in furniture, setting up camp on land has been more challenging than I anticipated. Our tiny, 512-square-foot house seems so cavernous, echo-y and stark white. We don't want to own a lot of stuff, but we want to be comfortable. When we moved in, we made a commitment to living small,

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-80130902061568718932014-10-08T15:00:00.003-04:002014-10-08T15:00:41.437-04:00

St. Helena, CA Those who have been with us (suffered with us?) since the early days will remember our extreme downsizing effort. In 2008, our challenge was to liquidate a four-bedroom house, two cars, a thriving wine shop and the ridiculous amount of stuff that filled them all up. By October 2010, we had ridded ourselves of the whole kit and the caboodle too, sailing away with what fit in a

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-73405464939775875562014-08-30T14:23:00.003-04:002014-08-30T15:22:49.434-04:00

St. Helena, CA Unless you've had your head somewhere unmentionable, you probably know we had a significant earthquake in Napa Valley last weekend. At 3:20 a.m. on August 24, a strong 6.0 quake rolled through, the California equivalent of hazing for new residents. Welcome to our state, where living on land sometimes simulates living on a boat. We were fine here in St. Helena, just over 20

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-35386745780189530522014-08-27T17:30:00.001-04:002014-08-27T17:33:22.474-04:00

St. Helena, CA We're back on land, but you wouldn't know by looking at Cruising World. My article about Safe Havens in the Exumas came out in the September issue! It's my first national magazine spread and with my own photos to boot. Unfortunately, it isn't available online, but I captured it here. BONUS: That's our daughter Casey and her boyfriend Rémi on the upper right. For the

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-15693180469607812732014-08-23T23:54:00.000-04:002014-08-23T23:54:44.112-04:00

St. Helena, CA Sunset and St. Helena. As the sun dropped behind the Mayacamas Mountains, I headed southeast from my house, walking along the railroad tracks. In the late August dusk, the grapes hang heavy on the vines, the deep purple of the world's worst bruise. I take a sample, plump and dark, the grape threatening to burst under its own goodness. It erupts in my mouth, ripe juice,

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-12229972190622756342014-08-21T21:21:00.000-04:002014-08-21T21:22:15.487-04:00

Oakville, CA The French Laundry: A glass of Gaston Chiquet Blanc de Blancs d'Aÿ, Grand Cru MV Every special occasion begins with a glass of bubbly, but not every special occasion includes a 17-course meal at The French Laundry. There was just this one, teetering at the pinnacle of eating. Chef Thomas Keller's welcoming tidbit for every visitor to The French Laundry or Per Se (his New York

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-78464642730247888692014-07-23T17:04:00.001-04:002014-07-23T17:04:23.912-04:00

St. Helena, CA "Willie's garden was a collection of common driftwood he had found on his own property... He was simply the seer, who looked into the washed-up bones of trees and saw their essence, a guide for those of us who lacked such vision." A limestone Bahamian island, windswept and arid, might be the last place you'd expect to find the Garden of Eden, but that's what the locals told

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-45433560755255040612014-06-30T23:30:00.000-04:002014-06-30T23:30:37.073-04:00

St. Helena, CA A new phase is upon us here in Napa, "verasion," when the grapes ripen enough to blush (or turn yellow in the case of "white" grapes). If you look closely above, you'll see the tiniest hint of pink. We went searching for it, because according to the scuttlebutt in Napa, verasion is early this year, as opposed to late July like last year. This bunch is on a super-old vine, but

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-89764085086947332342014-06-15T20:25:00.000-04:002014-06-15T20:30:03.540-04:00

St. Helena, CA Chip says he wants to change the world, with a "we can DO this" sort of earnestness that would seem misguided if you didn't know him. What he doesn't realize is that he already has changed the world. He is part of a new brotherhood of fathers who have decided to get in the game. And they didn't just run out onto the field. They built a new stadium. With some mysterious

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-1606742105309789982014-06-09T23:16:00.001-04:002014-06-09T23:16:25.332-04:00

St. Helena, CA Our culture has some collective soft spot for bicycles. I guess it brings back all those warm memories from childhood, that first little burst of freedom and independence. Walking through Walmart pushing that little blue beauty felt like being in a Huffy ad. People were smiling, nodding, giving me the thumbs up. "See you on the road," one guy called as I was wheeling it out.

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-83376058737646454692014-06-01T16:10:00.003-04:002014-06-01T16:10:49.846-04:00

St. Helena, CA Ted Talk by Graham Hill. Can less stuff mean more happiness? I know it's absolutely true for me. The fewer things I own, the happier I am, and the freer I am to enjoy life on my own terms. Downsizing and living small are common themes around here, but now here's someone else saying it. This is a Ted Talk by Graham Hill with tips for simplifying and enriching

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-22042165631313932452014-05-18T19:26:00.000-04:002014-05-18T19:26:23.677-04:00

Did you miss Phase One? It's right here: SAILING AWAY: Year One, Phase One Finally our long-dreamed-of day arrived. We set out from Miami with a waypoint on Bimini. It was our first time to head east into the Atlantic, our first time to cross the storied Gulf Stream and our first time to sail to another country. What lay ahead? We couldn't think to dream…  Miami

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-12466665259285137702014-05-17T15:49:00.000-04:002015-06-23T18:39:02.109-04:00

If you are here to dream a little dream of sailing, then I'm here to help! That is, after all, how my dream came to life: Imagine :: Visualize :: Realize This blog started with our launch, October 24, 2010, and sails along with us for three years. Since this is a blog, the sailing posts are scattered a bit willy nilly -- and in reverse order, so I've gathered them here in

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-28459521923795909712014-05-15T11:47:00.001-04:002014-05-15T11:47:54.281-04:00

St. Helena, CA All this time, I've thought I was looking at tiny grape clusters. Wrong. I might have flunked Botany, but I didn't even take it, so I've got some catching up to do. Grapes are hermaphroditic (who knew?), having both male and female sex organs, discreetly covered by those green caps, the grapevine's version of a fig leaf. So small, a ladybug can't even hide under them. At

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-7499942959146301372014-05-13T19:25:00.002-04:002014-05-13T19:25:57.618-04:00

St. Helena, CA Our just enough bathroom is now complete. For a minute there it wasn't, but now it is. We bought your basic bathroom supplies, a short list: 1 shower curtain 2 bath towels 1 hand towel 1 bathmat Then, I was showering yesterday, bending over to get my Dr. Bronner's soap for the fourth time, when I thought, "I should buy one of those soap dispensers that stick to the wall,

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-9594490725187480002014-05-08T19:35:00.000-04:002014-05-17T21:00:01.730-04:00

LivFun magazine, Spring 2014 Is there really such a thing as the adventurous spirit? If so, are adventurers born that way, or do we learn it somewhere along the way? And how does the adventurous spirit manifest as we age? When I accepted this assignment from LivFun magazine, I didn't know the answer to any of these questions, an adventure in itself -- and, as it turns out, the answers I

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-11140603799336298832014-05-07T19:21:00.001-04:002014-05-07T19:25:24.853-04:00

St. Helena, CA The Napa Valley, only 30 miles long, lies in the embrace of the Mayacamas Mountains to the west, and the Vaca Mountains to the east. At its southernmost tip, just above Vallejo, the valley is five miles wide, large enough to contain the city of Napa with a population of almost 77,000. As the valley meanders northwest, the mountains begin to crowd in, and the valley narrows.

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-70576274854093688112014-05-05T14:13:00.000-04:002014-05-05T14:19:36.921-04:00

St. Helena, CA Our walk home from the grocery store. In a mass-production world, it's easy to forget that the wine in my glass comes from an agricultural product that bears fruit only once a year. Wine is a finite resource, a fact brought home to me when I look at a map of world wine regions showing just how few places on the globe are grape-friendly. Grapevines are finicky things,

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-58159410813250831522014-05-03T16:40:00.000-04:002014-05-04T22:42:42.405-04:00

St. Helena, CA I didn't buy this! After the excruciating process of liquidating a house full of stuff, I came away with a different perspective about owning things. They weigh me down, limit my mobility and sap my energy. If I own something, I have to make space for it in my daily world, clean it and care for it. Eventually, I will have to transport it, which is a burden for me, find a new

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-1505273315384903242014-05-02T13:06:00.001-04:002014-05-03T21:42:01.931-04:00

St. Helena, CA How do you get rid of a house full of stuff? When we started back in 2008, we seriously had no idea. Our 5-year plan to sell everything and go sailing was 2 years from fruition, and 1400-square-feet of stuff stood between us and the water. My problem was that I didn't know anyone who had gone sailing or who planned to go sailing. Back then, there were very few blogs, and the

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-6493695474734568952014-04-30T13:54:00.000-04:002014-05-08T12:34:57.710-04:00

St. Helena, CA Our beautiful quilt from Target. Our wee cottage in wine country came unfurnished, so in anticipation of move-in day, we made a preemptive trip to Napa (the city) to make our first land bound purchase: a bed. After four years of living on a rough-and-tumble boat and four months of road-tripping, my kid-before-Christmas anticipation of having a comfy bed was certifiably

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124453003956700422.post-12299820717122350352014-04-29T18:34:00.001-04:002014-05-03T13:39:17.399-04:00

St. Helena, CA When we started plotting our escape from land life, one of the toughest challenges was ink on paper. We had to dispose of piles of books and miles of files. Then we had to dodge, stop and divert shocking amounts of junk mail, a task that we tilted at for more than two years (read about it here). Now that we're back on land, I'm trying to arrest a new flow of paper into my

tammy kennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13283333078596193368noreply@blogger.com2