Thanks for sticking with us during #theadventurebeforetheadventure! And the process to #sellthehousebuyaboat is still underway. Meanwhile at this point we have begun to really decide what kind of vessel is going to be a good fit for us and our goals.
Tank’s senior season of football and the tradition of Friday Night Lights is partially highlighted here. Give him a cheer, won’t you?
Lastly, we think we’re getting the swing of the new digital media editing and hope that our quality is getting better and hopefully the episodes will come faster and faster now. We’re slowly investing in new equipment to help make the sharing of this journey– the good and the bad– even better for you, our loyal followers. If there’s something you’d like us to cover in our process of going #fromlandtoseaandallaroundtheworld, leave us a comment and we’ll be happy to put something together.
In the meantime, send @gregor_the_red some love on Instagram because his partner @mamacasz just crushed his first sailboat love.
As always we ask that you like, comment, share, and subscribe! Ring the bell and you won’t miss our next episode!
Chapter Two: Splashing into Sailing! Proteus Rising – Book One
“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” ~Ralph Marston
We’re doing a lot to improve all our tomorrows, especially when they include sailing. Wow! Sailing is such an incredible buzz. We are starting to wonder why more people don’t do this. Here’s hoping that as you watch us go through this, you’re emboldened to take that leap of faith towards your dream — whatever that may be. For us, it’s to live a more simply beautiful life and travel this wonderful Mother Earth.
In this episode you’ll see us get our hands wet and wrung sailing, fishing, crabbing, and generally getting splashed into this live aboard life. We get some help from Seattle Sailing Club and the gorgeousness that is the Pacific Northwest. We look at our first serious contender as a sailboat purchase for us, and start to purge all that will not fit on the boat. It’s a lot of stuff and we don’t get it all done in these few short moments of this chapter. So stay tuned.
Speaking of stuff, we want to share with you, if it hasn’t been clear in our other communications, that we are far from complaining about the life we currently have. It’s been a blessing to raise our children in a sleepy little Cascade Foothill town; but, when we looked to our next chapter of life, there was something not right about all of this. We, like many American (dare we say Westerners) have been caught up in the trap of abundant consumerism. For many, it seems to provide contentment and happiness. For us, that wasn’t the case. We are blessed and highly privileged. We get that. We plan to use it all for good. And our daily lives now, after the dawn of Proteus Rising, are even more firmly centered on a life of discovery juxtaposed with service. As we go through this process, you will see us give more than sell, and discover key themes and lessons in life through service to those who need us. We worked hard; but, we’re not ignorant to those who paid it forward to help us get here — and the list of those folks is long, from parents and extended family, friends, mentors, and even strangers on a ferry who gave the children of a weary mother ice cream cones because witnessing our family outing reminded them of times gone by in their own life. People shape our lives. Our fervent hope is that by witnessing our adventure, we can somehow positively shape yours, albeit virtually, as well.
One cautionary word: this video contains lots of giddiness over being on the water. But you can handle that, right?
Also, Greg is steeling himself for all the comments about his silly sunglasses. When this episode was filmed he was between prescription sunglasses. Our captain needs to see well when adventuring, aye?
One administrative note: Casz is slowly getting this video editing work into crush status, so hopefully we’ll get to that every-other “Thors-day” release very soon. Thanks for sticking with us.
Feel free to share this crazy adventure of going from land to sea and all around the world with your friends. And if you’re feeling generous and we’d love to have you subscribe to our YouTube channel — it really helps motivate us to keep making this content. You’re also welcomed to please leave a comment here. We want to connect with you, because that’s what this entire adventure story is about: connection. Connection to the world at large, and more intimately, connection to you. We’ll answer as many questions as we can! Enjoy!
“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” ~ Jesse Owens
Chasing a dream is a lot of hurry up and wait. But the waiting lets you think, plan, asses, change tactics, and determine the next right step. We’ve been doing a lot of chasing in these past months. We’ve also had lots of stalled moments, where the waiting has been an exercise in patience and determination. We’ve also been learning everything we can about the life we’re headed towards. Deep discussions in early morning light or after midnight darkness keeps us fueled for the next leg of this journey. And bit by bit we are getting it done. We can see the pot at the end of the rainbow. Now we just have to navigate this new life.
That navigation has been a challenge. With every challenge there are victories and failures. Both teach us lots. Casz says a lot lately: “Partial Victory is Mine!” Every accomplishment, no matter how small is worth celebrating. But we’re saving the champagne for the boat when we get her. In the meantime we work. And work it has been. It took us a bit to get this next chapter/video out. Our apologies for the delay. Bet you thought we got cold feet and decided not to do it. Quite the opposite. We’re all in. However, we didn’t want to slap a chapter (episode) together. As it was, poor Casz was just about done with this episode and lost it all…and had to start all over again. That learning curve is still there — it’s not as steep now, and we’re really beginning to enjoy creating these little video books for you.
We have to tell you, though, this whole process of going from land to sea and all around the world is coming at us like a speed boat and some days we are at anchor trying to react (by the way, don’t be like the driver of that motor boat). Regardless, it’s here and we’re feeling more natural about recording our lives — because that takes some getting used to naturally. You need to be honest. You need to allow yourself to be vulnerable. In the big wide world that can seem very scary. Without those things the stories we share won’t have any real meaning to those who follow our adventure. So we’re determined to be real with our stories. We promise you that.
It was a whirlwind summer and you get a peak into all we did to cross off the list so we can sell the house, buy a boat, and sail around the world.
One word about lists. They seem to multiply. We have our big category lists for this, but we also have smaller task lists. There are daily lists (what did you purge today?); and there are weekend lists; and there are dream lists. The lists go on and on. It’s overwhelming and we can totally see why that would be a game stopper for anyone considering this kind of alternative living — especially if they are like us and have 30-plus years of family life to simplify. There’s no other way to describe it but this: Hot Mess. Our garage looks like a disaster zone as we categorize things to sell, things to keep, things to give away or throw away.
Click the photo and you’ll see this chapter in our Proteus Rising adventure. We’d love it if you gave it a thumbs up, subscribed, and left us a comment! You can also find Proteus Rising on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Come hang with us there, too.
Next time we’re really getting into purging, enjoying our son’s senior football season, and sailboat shopping. Yep, we’re starting to shop now. So, stay tuned. We hope to get on an every-other week release for the time being. We’re shooting for 5 p.m. every “Thorsday”…the Viking (@gregor.the.red on Instagram) would have it no other way.
“I intend to live life, not just exist.”~ George Takei
Launch! Is finally here. It’s been an epic summer of changes and fall is raging outside and the the transition from dirt dwellers to blue-water cruisers continues. We haven’t stopped working towards our dream. And our first episode is hitting the interwebs! Woohoo! Feels so good.
It took us a bit — the learning curve for editing even a 15-minute film is very steep. Casz hasn’t done video production in about a decade. Lots has changed and she feels like a complete noob doing it. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. She always tells her writing students that to be a writer you have to write. You want to do episodic documentaries distributed via YouTube? You have to just do it.
We’re hoping to have the next video in a couple of weeks. New episodes initially will probably be bi-monthly. We are committed to being consistent.
In this video we talk a bit about how we got here, the hows and whys, a bit about who we are, and our goals for our Proteus Rising adventure, one we hope you’ll join us on, at least remotely.
Feel free in the comments here or on YouTube to ask us questions, provide positive constructive feedback, and join us in our goal to go from Land to Sea and All Around the World.
Your “From Land to Sea and All Around the World” tour guides, Casz & Greg.
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” –C.S. Lewis
There’s so much to do in order to realize our dreams. If you stumbled onto our page because you found us out in the world of social media or talked to us out along the water’s edge while we salivate over different boats we’d like to call home, welcome! If you’re here and confused, let us take a moment to explain what’s going on.
We are a married couple on the verge of having an “empty nest” after raising five children. Our youngest will graduate high school in June of 2018. At that point we hope to sell our home and purchase what will be our new home — a blue-water cruising sail boat.
Our hope is to document the entire process — not just when we get the boat, but how we get to that land-freeing vessel. We’re inviting you’ll come along on the whole journey from land to sea and all around the world.
As of this post, we’ve only just begun. We invite you to like Proteus Rising on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. YouTube is forthcoming (Casz is editing furiously). Additionally, we’ll have a Patreon page soon.
So come along for the ride, and maybe even one day you’ll sail with us. In the meantime, we’ve got some worldly possessions to sell.
Watch two Gen-Xers leave the chains of the corporate lifestyle, say goodbye to their mortgage and golden handcuffs jobs, and buy a sailing vessel to see the world.
Thanks for sticking with us during #theadventurebeforetheadventure! And the process to #sellthehousebuyaboat is still underway. Meanwhile at this point we have begun to really decide what kind of vessel is going to be a good fit for us and our goals.
