After dinner and two hours of sleep we pulled the anchor up off the rocks and got underway again. The kids slept through all the noise of us getting moving. There was no wind but the seas were just a lumpy mess with swell running all over the place—the main swell coming in just a boat length apart causing us to bounce terribly. It wasn’t long before Ouest woke up.

“Are you sick?” I asked.

“No. Me want to go outside and get some fresh air.”

Crap. She’s sick. Despite being medicated the disgusting movement of the boat had gotten to her. She sat on my lap outside in the cool air and tried to get over it, but finally succumbed. After throwing up she looked up at the sky and smiled. “Moon Papa. Stars too.” Nothing seems to faze her. And despite everything it really was a beautiful night—the moon so bright it appeared to be just a few miles away, on the horizon.

We slogged through the night with Ouest sleeping in our bed, Ali curled into a ball in the corner of it calming kids as they came and went from sleep. I patrolled the night, keeping watch, battling fatigue for no real reason as there wasn’t a thing out there to hit.

In the morning we all looked beaten. One measly night at sea and we were wiped. I don’t even want to think about the shape we’d be in if we got ourselves into a storm instead of a sloppy calm motor. Cruising with toddlers is not an easy gig.

Somehow we kept the kids entertained throughout the morning and by noon we were rolling in to the marina, dancing in gallon after gallon of sweet fresh water.

Today we just hung out, ate out, washed, and got laundry done. The cruising life.

On a kid note, Ouest and Lowe have been like best friends lately. It’s truly amazing how sudden the shift in their behavior was. Actually the shift was with Ouest. She used to just turn up her nose to Lowe regarding anything and everything—and then just a couple weeks ago her attitude towards him did a one-eighty. Now they hold hands, they explore together, they try and play games together, she says, “Oops, sorry Lowe,” when she bumps into him, and without any prodding they give each other a kiss goodnight. There hasn’t been any meanness between them. It’s crazy, and oh-my-god, so very welcome.