The countdown begins

Kellie's Comments--What's that white fluffy thing in the sky? I guess I've been away from the Northwest too long. We're having a bit of an overcast spell, which is actually nice since it keeps the air a bit cooler. Never thought I'd say that.

My parents have left and now we're in full swing preparing for the month at sea. As Pete's mom said, "You just fill up with water, food, do the laundry and go." Well Pete is filling up the water tanks as we speak. We're planning for our 400 gallons to last us up to two months. That's less than 7 gallons per day if it lasts 60 days. Imagine using only a gallon or two per person per day. I took a long hot shower this morning and savored every minute, knowing it will be my last for a long time. Since we don't know what to expect as far as food and water in the Marquesas, we're stocking up to last until Tahiti. Next time you do laundry or take a shower, think of us.

My grocery list is huge. I began stocking up on staples in Puerto Vallarta and have done more here. How much toilet paper will 5 people use in 2 months and will there be some to buy in Tahiti? One can only hope for the best. Now I have to go search for hard to find items like raisins, baked beans, powdered sugar and granola bars. Then it's off to the market to buy 50 apples, 30 tomatoes, cheese, milk, bread etc. I've done quite a bit of research on how long produce will last at different temperatures and am estimating how much 5 of us will eat of each item in the time it lasts. By the time we get there I anticipate being out of fresh produce except for cabbage, potatoes and apples. Canned goods and sprouts will have to fill in the rest.

We've met up with some friends here that we haven't seen since Los Frailes. It's great to have some familiar faces around. We've been lonely for our cruising friends. Jesse & Catherine are a young couple that are crewing on another boat. We really enjoy their company and they are great with the kids. What more can you ask in a friend? Unfortunately, as is so often true with cruisers, they are heading in a different direction. However, they are from Washington, so we hope our friendship will continue after the trip. They are coming over for games tonight, and we'll share Easter together tomorrow. They've even offered to kid sit on Monday as we run around doing last minute errands.

Our stay in the marina is over, so we're planning to sail around to Zihuat this afternoon. It's closer to shopping and government offices that we need for checking out of Mexico.

We'll check our imaginecruising e-mail one more time before leaving, so please write.