6/23/25 - Steve

It’s 9:11 on Monday, 6/23 (Happy 52nd anniversary, Mom and Dad!). We just got back home to Layla in St. Augustine, FL yesterday evening.  It’s currently 81 degrees but Accuweather says it feels like 93.  Not to me, though.  I’m in the shade in the cockpit and there is a breeze.  I’m not hot……..….yet. 

 Friends, the last time I wrote, we were in Port Canaveral, FL. Since that post, we drove all the way up to Massachusetts and stopped at several cool places along the way.  More on that later.

 Right now, I just want to update you that today we will begin our plan of “Pack-Clean-Fix” and ultimately selling Layla. We will be here for three days and then we’ll stop in St. Louis for a few days to organize ourselves before heading back to Massachusetts and then ultimately back to St. Louis in time for the kids to have a traditional school year with their friends. 

 When we came back onboard yesterday evening, Layla smelled like “boat”—not a candle I would buy—but she was completely dry and not moldy.  Yes!  Steve and I are always a bit nervous after we leave her for a period of time.  Especially since we left her during an absolute downpour. I actually had to towel up all of the water that had come in through the companionway from the rain when we were hauling our luggage off of the boat to go on our trip.  We had turned the dehumidifier on and strategically placed four brand new “Damp-Rids” hoping that would be enough to dry her out.  Thankfully, it did. 

*sigh* She’s a good, solid boat.

When we got back and stepped onboard, it felt like we were home.  Yes, Layla feels like home to me.  And yet, now we are leaving her.  It’s very surreal and bittersweet.  But, all four of us are aligned (thank goodness) and we are at peace with selling the boat.  For the record, I’m the saddest one to leave her.  Everyone else is very much ready to go and get back to normal life, especially after the last few weeks on land.    

So now here I am with my cup of instant decaf coffee and powdered hazelnut creamer (which probably sounds disgusting to many of you with your more refined coffee palates but it tastes like heaven to me) and I’m enjoying a peaceful moment before all of the chaos really begins.   

I wanted to do a quick check in to tell you that my family is doing well.  A friend of mine told me a few weeks ago that “everyone is very clear on how you’re doing, Holly, and we’re pretty sure the kids are okay, but how is Steve?  Everyone is wondering about Steve.” 

Steve is good, much better than he was a few weeks ago.  I thought it would be fun to interview him, but if you know my husband, you’ll know that he directly answered all of my questions and while it was funny to me because he was being so awkward, it did not make for a good blog post.

Steve on a zipline platform in Hawley, MA on June 9th (Happy birthday, Adam!)

But…because I want to assure you that he’s okay (he even gave himself a haircut and a beard trim last night) I will paste my June 1st interview with him here, just so all of you know that he’s still very much himself (or at least he was on June 1st).  I suppose that will be the focus of this post...?

June 1st Interview with Steve:

Me: So, Steve, how are you doing?

Steve: Doin’ okay.

Me: Can you give me a little bit more?

Steve: Like what?

Me: On a scale of 1-10, with “10” being “I’m living my best life” and “1” being “I’m on a ledge and I’m about to jump,” where are you?

Steve: 7.5/8.

Me: (shocked) Really??!?! 7.5/8?

Steve: Well, how about 7/7.5.

Me: Really???! 

Steve: Well, bearing in mind that your “1” is “I’m standing on a ledge.”

Steve with his protest sign (Side A) in Worthington, MA on June 13th.

Me: In that case, what were you a few weeks ago?

Steve: 5 or 6.

Me: What has changed?

Steve: Um, the ease of our living. 

Me: Can you tell me more?

Steve: Things are not breaking as much, we’re not hot all the time, we’re not trying to put the dinghy down and go ashore, etc.  All of the little things got easier.  Also, there’s been some pressure removed now that we’ve gotten to the Bahamas and back.  There’s no “oh, you have to do this” anymore.

Me: Do you feel any relief since we’ve decided to sell the boat?

Steve: Yeah, probably.

Steve working and enjoying a bagel in Hoboken, NJ on June 17th.

Me: Are you enjoying this interview?

Steve: (deadpan) It’s my favorite interview.

Me: What should I be asking you right now?

Steve: I don’t know. I don’t know what people want from me that they aren’t already getting from your well-written and sophisticated posts.

Me: What was your favorite part about the Bahamas?

Steve: Hanging out with the SV Pintail people was fun.  Our little explorations around the Green Turtle Island.  That night at Mangrove Cay was fun.

Me: What did we do there?

Steve: We went swimming.  That was our second place in the Bahamas, but the first time we anchored near an uninhabited island. 

Me: Are you looking forward to our break?

Steve: I am. I’m even looking forward to the drive during the break. 

Me: How come?

Steve: ‘Cause I like travelling around. 

Me: What do you like most about it?

Steve: I like looking out the window.

Me: This interview is boring.

Steve: Well, I did say that people don’t want to hear from me.  And you’re asking the questions.

Me: Omelette or pancakes?

Steve: Omelette.

Me: Ocean or mountains?

Steve: Increasingly mountains.

Me: Cats or dogs?

Steve: Dogs.

Me: Sweet or savory?

Steve: Savory.

Me: What do you want to tell people?

Steve: What do I want to tell people?  I don’t have anything to tell people.  I have people for that.

Steve in NYC enjoying key lime cheesecake before seeing “Operation Mincemeat” on Broadway. PS - GO SEE THAT SHOW!

And that’s when I ended the interview, my friends.  And let me tell you, he’s feeling very, VERY salty (giddy?) this morning.  His dry (and when I say “dry” we’re talking Atacama Desert dry”) sense of humor is already very much in play.  At this exact moment, he’s throwing life jackets at me, perhaps in a passive-aggressive “uh, are we packing or are we blogging today, Holl?” kind of motion.  I guess I’ll find out when he proofreads this.

Friends…I promise you that he’s alive and well.  And very much still “Steve.”

 He just asked Sid to hand him the lifejackets with an over-dramatic “because Mom’s VERY busy.”

Time to start packing. 

Yes, I’m well aware that this “proof of life” photo should have a newspaper with the date. I didn’t have one. This will have to do.