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The night before leaving for our 7-day Alaskan cruise we packed up about half of our house to bring along with us. While most trips have us packing light, a cruise is a license to over pack. Especially cruising to an area with cold weather. Not only did we need to bring our regular clothing to wear, we also had to bring clothing for “smart casual” dining most nights and formal clothing for two formal dinners. And then there were the sweaters, jackets, assortment of footwear, books, games, toys, cameras, netbook, iPOD and iPOD external speakers, and anything else we could cram into our suitcases. Fortunately, Holland America does not have a limit on the amount of luggage you can bring and we would be driving to the cruise ship terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia, so there would be no airline baggage fees to worry about. When we go on our round-the-World trip, we plan to have one rolling duffle bag each, which will also include Sydney’s homeschooling books and supplies. That should be interesting!

Our drive to Vancouver was uneventful, other than the typical traffic delays in Seattle and Vancouver, and once there we checked into our hotel a couple of miles from where we would be catching our boat the next morning. The Quality Hotel Downtown was one of the cheapest we could find in the area and we were really surprised at how nice it was. The rooms were small, but clean, there was a swimming pool, and it was in the heart of downtown Vancouver. This cruise was not only a vacation; it was also a family reunion for Kerri’s family which was great since everyone lived in different states and it would be nice to see everyone. We met up with the family, who were also staying at the hotel, and we all ventured down the street in search of food. We noticed a shop that had t-shirts in the window that said “Gay for a day.” We were a little puzzled what that meant, until we noticed a sign advertising the Vancouver Pride Parade and Festival that had happened a couple of days prior to us arriving. That would explain the t-shirts. It also turned out we were staying near a “Gayborhood,” which is a gay village. A term that I had never heard of before, but it would explain why the parade went through that area. I am sure the parade would have been really entertaining to watch.

The next morning we checked out of our hotel and made our way to Cruisepark, a place where we could park our vehicle during the cruise, for a nominal fee of course. After dropping off the car we loaded into the shuttle and were delivered to the terminal entrance. The last time we took a cruise it had taken many hours to get through all the formalities before we could actually board the ship. It was a real nightmare. But this time we were on the boat in less than 30 minutes and made our way to our room. Wow! Kudos go out to Holland America and the customs and immigration at that terminal.  We found our room, which was about what we had expected, and then made our way up for lunch. One problem with a cruise is too much good food. At least they had a gym. Since the ship did not leave until 5pm, we had many hours to explore the ship and relax.

After one of history’s deadliest maritime disasters, the Titanic, one would think that passenger ships would want to avoid going near icebergs. But nearly 100 years after the sinking of the Titanic people actually pay money to go to areas with icebergs. Why would anyone want to go where it is cold, dreary, and there exists a potential for sinking? Whatever the reasons, we are about to find out. Tomorrow morning we drive to Vancouver British Columbia to go on a 7-day Alaskan Cruise.

Most of our trips have us heading south, in search of sun and warm beaches. But this time we are heading north, in search of icebergs, or something. In 2003 BC (before child) Kerri and I went on a 7-day Caribbean cruise and had a great time. Our lodging, transportation, and food was provided, so all we had to do was sit back, relax, and hop off the boat at each of the ports to buy cheesy souvenirs and postcards. You don’t get a lot of time at each port, but it is long enough to get a feel for the place and do some local activities. This Alaskan cruise should be much the same, in regards to the all-inclusiveness, and will take us to Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan. We really don’t know much about those places except that they are cold and in Alaska. We considered getting an Alaskan guidebook, but that would have taken the mystery out of it. So, off we go, blindly, into the land of the midnight sun. And hopefully we are not eaten by grizzlies or giant mosquitoes. Wish us luck!

On a recent trip to the public library we saw a man bathing, out in the open, with alcohol based hand sanitizer. He would take large handfuls and rub it under his shirt and pants. While this was an odd sight to witness at the library and would repulse many, it made me realize that he was just fulfilling one of the three basic human needs; food, shelter, and sanitation. These are the same basic needs of travelers, as well, but where do you draw the line at homeless or adventurer? What would you call a family that has no home, no job, and wanders around from place to place? While many would call this family homeless, others could see them as a family of adventurers out exploring the world. When we travel on our around the world adventure, I hope people see us as the latter.

One of the big questions we have asked ourselves in planning for our round the world adventure is, “What do we do with our house?” We could rent out our house while we are gone, but we live in an area where the money we would get for renting out our house would not even cover our mortgage, let alone the insurance, taxes, and maintenance costs. The other option is to sell our house. While many prefer to keep their houses and move back in after they are done travelling, we have decided to sell ours. We will be able to travel more freely with no worries about our house, or having to arrange repairs and payments. This will also give us the option of resettling anywhere that we like after we are done travelling. But, this will also leave us without a home and we will be true vagabonds. I think that many people refuse to sell their homes before they go traveling on a round the world trip so they will still feel attached to something tangible and real. Most people find it hard to have no place to call home. But how can you really see and experience the world if you are tied to your house? It’s like trying to sail around the world without ever pulling up their anchor. It’s hard to let go!

So back to my question of where do you draw the line at being homeless or being an adventurer. I think a lot of it has to do with your state of mind. Years ago I met a group of punk rockers that traveled up and down the west coast. In the winter they were in warm Southern California or Arizona. During the summer, they were in the Pacific Northwest where summers are near perfect. They traveled with the weather as migratory birds do. They had no place to call home, no jobs, panhandled on the streets for their money to buy cigarettes and alcohol, ate their meals at soup kitchens, and seemed happy. They were out seeking adventure. I have also met a lot of hippies that traveled around the country following the Grateful Dead. Many lived in much the same way as the punk rockers, and were happy. But many of the homeless you see on the streets and in the homeless shelters are very unhappy. So why would one group of “homeless” people be happier than another group of “homeless” people? I think it has to do with travel. Travel is adventure. You never know what is around the corner and what wonders you might find and it gives you something to look forward to; a goal in life. I feel that it is not lack of a home that makes someone “homeless.” It is the lack of travel and adventure. But I am not saying we can solve homelessness by buying a person living on the streets an airline ticket somewhere, I am just saying we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Some of those “homeless people” might be traveling on the cheap and having the time of their lives.

Now when we sell our house and head off into the big unknown, we are going to be doing things a bit differently than the punks and dead heads, or so we hope. We will not be sleeping under bridges or Volkswagen vans, nor begging for food or money. But we will hopefully experience the same awe and wonder that anyone who travels should feel. Sure we won’t have a house, but we will have a world in which we can explore.

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I am not sure if it was the Cops episode with the meth dealers and prostitutes, the Hawaii Five-O episode with the murderous hillbilly cannibals (the strangest Hawaii Five-O ever!), or watching the morning news on the other Hawaiian islands that showed Honolulu’s 6-lane freeways with bumper to bumper rush hour traffic. All I knew was that I had no desire to take a trip to Honolulu and Kerri agreed.

But after visiting the Big Island of Hawaii twice, Maui once, and we were planning a trip to stay a week on Kauai that would have us change planes in Honolulu, we figured we might as check the island of Oahu off the list too. After all, we were already going there to change planes. The plan was to stay 3 nights in Waikiki and visit Pearl Harbor, the North Shore, and any other must-see touristy thing we can find. We were not planning on coming back to Oahu for a visit, so we might as well do everything on this trip before heading over to Kauai.

Waikiki Beach

After landing at the busy Honolulu International Airport we picked up our rental car and made our way to the heart of tourist hell, Waikiki Beach! Since our time was limited we decided to splurge a little and stay right in the heart of everything at the Outrigger Waikiki hotel. After checking into the hotel we made our way down to enjoy the famous stretch of sand of Waikiki Beach. We were shocked to see how crowded the beach was. We had to walk about 100 yards before we found a spot big enough to lay down 3 beach towels. It was crowded! But the sand was soft, the water warm, and everyone had a smile on their faces. I can easily see why people flock here. We enjoyed our first day playing in the ocean and talking to the other families that had their beach towels just inches away from ours.

View of the busy streets of Waikiki from our hotel room

Our room was on the 23^rd floor and we had an amazing view of the busy Kalakaua Avenue below. And if we leaned out far enough off the balcony, we could see the beach. The Kalakaua Avenue was a sea of people from all over the World. One thing that we really noticed that was different from the other Hawaiian Islands was all the tour groups from Japan.  We were told that Hawaii is about as close to Japan as it is to Mainland USA, so the Japanese love to travel there for vacations, plus they have a lot of history related to the islands, as well. We saw one girl wearing a trucker style hat that read, “I (heart) boy.”

We decided to go down and join the crowds of people and enjoy the warm tropical evening air. I had noticed a Ferrari and Rolex shop as we drove down the street earlier in the day, and I wanted to check them out. I mean, it’s not every day you see those kinds of stores, nor will we ever own one of their products, so we might as well go window shopping. The Ferrari store just sold overpriced clothing, key chains, and such with the Ferrari brand name on it. As we entered the Rolex store I noticed that there were no price tags on the 100’s of Rolex watches in the display cases. I asked the sales women, “What are the starting prices for a men’s Rolex?”

The sales women replied, “three to four.”

“Three to four hundred,” I asked.

“Three to four THOUSAND,” she replied.

I knew Rolex watches were expensive, but that was ridiculous. But, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked, “So, which of these watches would be in that price range?”

She looked through the assortment of watches in the display case and then pointed to the smallest and most basic looking of all the watches. “That one.”

I think I will stick to using the clock on my cell phone.

The next morning we got up early and made our way up the freeway to Pearl Harbor. This was the biggest reason for coming to Oahu as Kerri’s great uncle is entombed on the USS Arizona and we felt we should pay our respects and learn a bit more about the history of Pearl Harbor.  Upon arriving we soon found that due to increased security you cannot bring any bags into the visitor center, not even a purse or camera bag. So after a quick trip back to the rental car, we made our way inside and were given a timed ticket for our boat ride out to the memorial. We were surprised that the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, Museum, and USS Arizona Memorial did not charge admission. We were also surprised at how small the museum was. As we strolled through the visitor center we noticed that everyone spoke in hushed tones. It was a very solemn place and not what we had expected for such a popular place for tourists. We were especially thankful that Sydney was well behaved. As our time approached we got in line and were led into a small movie theatre where we were shown a short movie on the history of Pearl Harbor and were informed of the proper protocol for going out to the memorial. Basically, don’t talk and show respect. We loaded onto the transport boat and US Navy personnel motored us out to the memorial, which is built directly over the wreck of the USS Arizona. The wreck still contains the remains of the sailors who died when she sank during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. The memorial is a VERY solemn place with a wall listing the names of all the Americans who died in the attack. Looking down into the water you can see oil still coming to the surface. It was very quiet.

Inside the USS Arizona Memorial

After leaving Pearl Harbor we headed north to check out the famous North Shore with its big surf. Along the way we found the Dole Pineapple Plantation, an attraction that someone had recommended. So, we stopped and took the train ride around the plantation and toured the gardens. It was cheesy, but we can now say we have been there. Back on the highway we continued north and came to Oahu’s North Shore. We had imagined it to be extremely developed and commercialized, but it was far from it.We noticed that there were shrimp wagons selling shrimp plates. And since it was lunch time we stopped at a nice looking one and had some of the best shrimp we have ever had. As we drove down the road that follows the beach we saw the signs for all the famous beaches, such as Bonzai Pipeline and Sunset Beach. We stopped at one of the beaches and went to check out the massive waves pounding the sandy beach and let Sydney play in the sand. We were impressed to see surfers out trying to surf the frothing ocean. We continued along the road enjoying the rugged beauty of Oahu’s North Shore. We had considered stopping at the Polynesian Cultural Center, but with the limited time we had and their prices, we decided to skip it. After circling the island we finally got back to our hotel and hit the beach.

North Shore of Oahu

The next morning we decided to climb Diamond Head. We were not sure how well Sydney would do, but we were willing to give it a try. We brought along lots of water and headlamps and started up the trail. After hiking up the ¾ mile hike and climbing numerous stairs and going through a long dark tunnel, we made it to the top. We were surprised to find an old World War II bunker at the top. The views of the valley below with Honolulu and the Pacific Ocean were amazing and we took lots of photos. We hiked back down and enjoyed Hawaiian shaved ice in the parking lot.

View of Waikiki from the top of Diamond Head

After driving back to the hotel we played on the beach until sunset and then enjoyed our final night on Oahu exploring the shops and eateries of Waikiki.

While we were expecting our trip to Oahu to not be a good one, we were really surprised that it was a lot of fun. I especially liked Waikiki and if we were ever to move to Hawaii, I would want to live right in the middle of Waikiki. It is close to a great beach, a great park with a zoo, Diamond Head, shopping, it’s very clean, the locals are very friendly, and it has a great vibe to the place.  Sure it has a lot of tourists, but so do a lot of other places. The prices are high, but the weather is perfect and the activities are plentiful. It could be a great place to live after we are done traveling the world.

Recently on a travel forum, somebody asked the question in regards to going on a round the world trip, “How long do you stay in any one place?” The answers were 3-5 days average. For us, that sounds exhausting!  We consider the day you arrive and the day you leave as travel days as they rarely give you enough time to explore and you are usually busy focusing on other things to enjoy a place. So that would leave 1-3 days on average to explore. Not nearly enough time to really get to know a place. That little amount of time would be okay for vacations, but doing that for a whole year would be crazy!

A few years ago we travelled to England and Scotland. In 9 days time we drove 1500 miles and tried to see everything. It was exciting to just keep moving and try to take it all in. But, it was also exhausting and we were left feeling like we did not get to experience the places as we would have if we had stayed in one place for the entire time. We saw most of England through a windshield.  I can easily see the addiction to just keep moving; the rush of traveling. I think for some people, the journey is more important than the destination. But when you are traveling with a young child, you need stability.

For our round the world trip we are planning to stay at least a month in each location to really get to know the place and to keep expenses down. Transportation and housing costs are going to be the most expensive part of the trip, so by traveling less, and getting discounts for long stay rentals, we can travel longer.

It will also be important to have a schedule in which to homeschool Sydney. Homeschooling would be really difficult if you are always on the run. The other benefit of staying longer in one place is that it gives Sydney a chance to make local friends, which we feel is very important for a child. I mean, who would want to be stuck with their parents for a year or two without anyone their own age to play with?

In looking through our different options of traveling the world, it finally occurred to us that to get the most out of this trip we should keep it as simple as possible. Our one focus should be on the experience and leave the stress behind. The one method of traveling that we were very experienced in and have always had a great time doing was by just being a tourist. Most hardcore travelers cringe at being called a “tourist.” But, unless you have taken up residence in a different country (expat), or you are there for a working assignment, we are all tourists when we travel. Most people prefer a more dignified title, such as backpacker, adventure traveler, cruiser, sabbatical, safari, etc, but we are all tourists. So, why not embrace it and become permanent tourists! We don’t need a boat, or a residency permit, or a fancy title, or added stress. We just need to be allowed into different countries and enough time to explore them.

Having a US passport is like having a key to the world. For most countries, you just show up at their border or airport, show the government officials your US passport, and they stamp it with a tourist visa letting you stay for 3 to 6 months. You don’t need to worry about paying income taxes to that country, nor worry about following all the stringent guidelines that you would for a residency permit. Traveling the world on tourist visas is the way to go. Or, so we hope!

The one downside to traveling on a tourist visa is the Schengen states. Most of Western Europe is part of the Schengen agreement, which only allows a visitor on a tourist visa to stay 90 days within those countries. After the 90 days they must be outside the Schengen states for 90 days before another 90-day tourist visa can be issued. We really wanted to spend our first year traveling Europe, but we would need to be outside the Western European countries for 6 out of the 12 months we had hoped to be there. But fortunately, Great Britain gives US passport holders a 6-month tourist visa and is not part of the Schengen states. So, traveling on a tourist visa would work great for us, with a little planning.

It was time to think outside the box. I had been focusing too much on traveling by boat and had finally come to the conclusion that by traveling by boat, you become a slave to that boat. Everything in your life revolves around maintaining the boat. The main focus of our trip should be on the experience of travel. Experiencing new countries, new cultures, new foods, and not trying to find new boat parts. I would rather spend my free time inside a museum rather than inside the workings of a marine toilet.

The simplest form of travel is to just go somewhere. So, maybe we should just move a new country for a year or two and use that as a home base to explore the neighboring countries. This would let us fully immerse into the new culture and give us plenty of time to explore. But which country should we move to?

France was still fresh in my mind after looking into living on a barge. It offered plenty of culture, museums, historical sites, excellent skiing, and really good food and wine. It was also centrally located in Western Europe and would be an excellent location in which to visit the other European countries. The only downside was trying to convince France to give us a titre de sejour residency permit, which would allow us to live in France as a resident, or apply for a carte de sejour temporaire temporary one year residency permit. The application process looked long and difficult and then you would be at the mercy of the French government to grant you the permit. Once granted, you would need to pay French taxes for any income you earn, even if it is just interest in a US savings account.

Spain was also a good option as it offered warmer weather and cheaper prices. But from researching Spain, homeschooling was actually considered illegal (grey area) and parents have actually been placed in jail for it. Having Sydney attend a public or private school would not let us explore the museums, historical sites, and other countries that we hoped to do as a family.

The other European countries offered much the same. Long application processes and lots of rules and regulations, all of which were in a foreign language. This could cause problems if we misread something. It would be worth it if we were trying to permanently relocate to a new country, or planning to retire there. But it seemed like a lot of trouble for just a year or two. It was then that I saw the light and figured out the best way for us to travel the world. It was so simple that I wondered why I had not thought of it before. We could become permanent tourists!

After spending a couple of years planning to go cruising on a sailboat, we were left feeling a little empty after throwing that idea away. We still had the desire to take a one or two year sabbatical and see the world, but now our future was blank. No plans. No goals. Only desires.

As I was driving home from work one day, I flipped through the radio channels and came across Rick Steves on OPB. He was interviewing a couple from California that sold everything and bought a converted barge in Europe and cruised through the French canals in it. It turns out that France has around 5000 miles of inland navigable waterways that were setup to move cargo around the country by barge. Now, many of these cargo barges have been converted to living space and many people travel around France and Europe on their barges. Inspiration!

I looked into this “barging” thing and it looked like a fun and easy way to see France. I bought all of the books that had been written on it, which is not many, and read many of the online articles about this lifestyle. It seemed simple; you motor for awhile going through locks about every mile and when you came to a town or you wanted to stop for the night, you pull over and tie off to the bank. Travel was slow, but that would give you time to savor the experience. I talked to Kerri about it and she agreed that it could be what we were looking for. Even though we swore off sailboats, living aboard a boat while you traveled offered a lot of convenience. Transportation and a place to live, all in one.

The more I researched this option, though, the more I saw the negative aspects of living this lifestyle. Barges are expensive and boatyards are not cheap if the barge needs work. Travel is really slow through the French canals and the locks can take awhile to navigate.  During the winter, many of the canals are drained, which would force us to moor the boat for the winter. And, to be in France longer than 90 days would require us to get a residency visa, which can be a long and difficult process.

Although it would be a lot of fun to go barging in France, it did not seem like it would offer the full travel experience we were looking for. It would be fun for awhile, but we would be limited to France and we wanted to see more than just France. It is still on our list as things we want to try, but it was not the solution we were looking for.

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Even though we were not up to crossing oceans on a sailboat, the cruising life was still appealing. We came up with an alternate plan that sounded very reasonable. We would spend a year or two sailing around the Caribbean. With this approach, we would not have to buy a sailboat that was capable of offshore sailing. We could manage this feat in a sailboat that was designed for only coastal cruising, which would save us a lot of money and would have more comfortable accommodations compared to an equal sized “offshore” sailboat. The Caribbean would offer us easy sailing, beautiful islands, diverse cultures, and of course, frequent hurricanes. Due to these frequent hurricanes, most insurance companies offering boat coverage require boat owners to be outside the “hurricane box” from June 1 to November 30. A full six months! The “hurricane box” is basically the entire Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. To be outside this box you would need to head back to the US or go to Venezuela. But even with these limitations, we figured it would be a fun adventure and we could manage it.

If we were to become “real cruisers,” we would need to be better sailors. Since Sydney was a small baby at this time, we did not have a lot of chances to take out our own boat, a 1969 Westerly Centaur that had turned into a major project boat (aka money pit). I had read that one of the best ways to improve your sailing skills is through racing. So, I checked Craigslist and sure enough, someone was looking for crew. I met up with the local Ranger 20 fleet and got a position on a boat for the Thursday evening races. I started racing once a week and quickly built up my sailing skills. But river sailing and offshore sailing are in completely different leagues and I felt I needed to gain offshore experience. So, through a bit of networking, I got offered a crew position on a 36-foot sailboat and did the Swiftsure race out of Victoria, British Columbia, as well as several local races.

I was quickly gaining the skills we needed to go cruising and the only thing we were lacking was our own proper cruising boat. So, we sold our project Westerly and bought a 1988 Pearson 27 sailboat that was to be our family friendly cruising boat. Instead of working on a project boat during our free time, we could be out cruising and gaining additional experience. This was not to be the boat we would cruise on for sailing around the Caribbean, but it was the right sized boat for our local waters and was very comfortable. We named our new boat “Ollie” after one of Sydney’s favorite books about a gosling that did not want to hatch and come out of its shell.

On a warm summer day we were out cruising with friends on our new boat in 12 knot winds. Kerri and Sydney (2 years old at that time) were down in the cabin when the unexpected happened. The aluminum mast bent in half and came crashing down with all of the rigging and sails. Luckily, no one was hurt and after some assistance from nearby boaters, we got the broken mast, sails, and rigging stowed on deck and motored back to our marina. That evening I called our insurance company and made a claim. Insurance would take care of everything, right?

We had purchased the boat from two guys that started a business fixing up boats and reselling them. They had purchased this boat without a mast and purchased a new aluminum mast and boom and assembled it and installed it with all new rigging. But according to the marine surveyor that the insurance company hired, they had assembled it wrong. Our insurance policy stated that they would not cover the cost of damage caused by improperly assembled parts. So, the insurance company screwed us! The boatyard charged us about what we had paid for the full price of the boat to do the repairs. We ended up taking the guys that we bought the boat from to court. We won, but the judge screwed us on the amount of money we received. After spending over a year dealing with insurance companies, boatyards, idiots that did not know how to build a mast, and the court system, I never wanted to see another sailboat ever again! We put the boat up for sale as soon as we got it back from the boatyard and I quit racing. I needed a break.

This experience helped me realized that if something broke while cruising, the costs would be expensive, repairs would always take longer than you would think it would take, and insurance companies will avoid paying any way they can. They say cruising is just fixing your boat in exotic places, and I can easily see that that is probably a good definition. During this time I also realized that the sailing dream was my dream and not necessarily Kerri’s dream. We both wanted to see the world, but not necessarily by cruising on a sailboat. Traveling should be fun and we were not having fun anymore with sailboats. I firmly believe that if your life is full of roadblocks, then maybe you are going the wrong direction. It was time for us to look at other options.

My favorite television show when I was a kid was Gilligan’s Island. I thought the castaways were the luckiest people in the world to live in such a beautiful place. Ever since then, I had dreamed of sailing off across the horizon and making landfall at a tropical island paradise.

When I finally had a chance to buy a small sailboat as an adult, I jumped at it. But before buying I figured it would probably be smart to learn how to sail first. So, Kerri and I took sailing lessons from an ASA certified sailing school on the Columbia River. We had a lot of fun sailing the school’s boats, and afterwards, we purchased a used San Juan 21 sailboat. It was a great little boat and we had a lot of fun sailing her. Then Kerri became pregnant with Sydney and we decided we should buy a bigger and “safer” boat, commonly referred to as 3-footitus. So, we bought a 26 foot Westerly Centaur. A classic English built twin keeled sailboat that had crossed oceans.

At that time I was reading a lot of books by Hal Roth and other sailors who had sailed around the world. I had also stumbled upon many websites of cruisers that were in the process of sailing around the world and were writing online log entries about their experiences. It all looked like a great adventure and I wished we could be out there doing what they were doing. Kerri and I discussed doing such a cruise, but Kerri has a small problem that would prevent her from ever crossing oceans. She gets seriously seasick! But there was also the option of crossing oceans with a different crew and Kerri could meet me at the next port. It sounded good, but was probably not a very practical solution. The other downside to sailing around the world is that it can take a lot of money to buy an ocean worthy boat and then a lot more money to equip the boat with all of the latest gadgets and systems to make cruising and living aboard a sailboat as safe and comfortable as possible. Many people have sailed around the world on small basic boats, including a Westerly Centaur just like what we owned. But, that would be uncomfortable and cramped. Many people had sailed around the World on shoestring budgets, but that did not sound like a lot of fun. Sailing around the world is a good option for some people, but it was not going to work for us. So, sailing around the world was out!