Hello Friends & Family!
By now, I'm sure most of you know that I am taking off on the adventure of a lifetime! For those of you who do not, let me begin at the perverbial beginning, March 22, 1978- Birth! Kidding. I won't bore you with the details of how I was the sweetest little angel ever born in Birmingham, AL or how I was the perfect Southern Debutante dripping with gentility. I won't bore you with the ultimate beginning because, as most of you know, that is a load cow pie.
After growing up with green hair, braces, hairy legs (thanks to the very cool sport of swimming), and a case of shyness to rival that of the turtle, I became a very successful and adept individual at the art reinvention. Fortunately, I have been successful in many careers only to eventually get bored with them or decide I didn't like them anymore.
Coaching was the first of those careers, but even with a Division 1 National Title, Olympians, and World Champs under my belt, the call of adventure lured me to Idaho. The funny thing is that I thought I would NEVER live out West again after my 2 year stint at the University of Wyoming. I hated it. However, every action has a reaction and because I swam at UWYO, I met one of my best friends to date who's family lived in Sun Valley, Idaho. After visiting Sun Valley a few times, I was sold on the skiing, the Sawtooths, Redfish Lake, and smokin' hot mountain dudes! Had I not gone to Wyoming, chances are, I would not have moved to Idaho and thus, not be embarking on this journey.
Coaching was the first of those careers, but even with a Division 1 National Title, Olympians, and World Champs under my belt, the call of adventure lured me to Idaho. The funny thing is that I thought I would NEVER live out West again after my 2 year stint at the University of Wyoming. I hated it. However, every action has a reaction and because I swam at UWYO, I met one of my best friends to date who's family lived in Sun Valley, Idaho. After visiting Sun Valley a few times, I was sold on the skiing, the Sawtooths, Redfish Lake, and smokin' hot mountain dudes! Had I not gone to Wyoming, chances are, I would not have moved to Idaho and thus, not be embarking on this journey.
While in Idaho, I have been a Technical Recruiter, a Property Manager/Luxury Vacation Rental Sales, the Snowboard (no, I do not snowboard) Director for the Special Olympics World Games, Property Manager, etc....again, a Smoothie Maker (a true highpoint for me), Spa Coordinator, Waitress, and currently, an Interior Designer. Impressive, right? I quit updating my resume a while ago because it became too arduous and time consuming. In between all of these things, I have spent the rest of my time scaling mountains and skiing down them, running ridiculous rivers in rubber boats, dangling off moutain faces, and trying to master all the challenges Idaho has to offer. (Let it be noted that Mountain Biking mastered me and it's a stupid sport that I hate.)
As far as the smokin' hot mountain dudes are concerned, it turns out that most of them suffer greatly from a Peter Pan complex, have no morals, are giant babies, and for lack of more worthy term, they suck. That would be why there are so many single "dudes" out here...single for a reason.
On the contrary, I have managed, after many wrong turns, to find a fabulous person that I love. His name is Fred and low and behold, he had been my next door neighbor 2 years before we had any knowledge of each other. Wonders never cease and after discovering that Fred was and I both swam on the same Masters team, shared best friends in common, and lived next door to each other...well, the rest is history, present, and God willing, future.
In addition to meeting Fred, Angie & Jeff(to be introduced shortly), and my very good buddy Johnny C(Fred's roommate and best friend), I was dubbed the name Big Snack. As you may have wonder from the title of this blog, Big Snack is my nickname. I can eat as much or more than any of the above folks and I love football! Big Snack is also the nickname for the Nose Tackle of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The reason I had not really met Fred before I did is that he and his crew, Jeff and Angie Kollmer, had been sailing around the world. In fact, when Fred and I started seeing each other, the 3 of them recently returned from the first portion of their journey. In 2008, they departed from Anacortes, Washington enroute to Auckland, New Zealand. After a 25 day passage from San Francisco to the Marquesas and a few other stops in the South Pacific, they landed in Auckland, fully intact aboard Fred's boat, the 40ft. Swan, the S.S. Godspede.
Last November I accompanied Fred to Auckland where they left the boat in the Westhaven Marina. We did some work on the boat and toured the North and South Islands in a minivan that they had purchased upon arriving in Auckland. The minivan has some multi-colored panels, a delicate driver's door, a sad radio/cd player and most importantly, it had "God's Soldier" emblazoned on the windshield. Obviously, this was the vehicle for Fred and crew given the boat's name. The Soldier was perfect for camping all over NZed in the "Holiday Parks."
Fred and I, apart from spending many hours attempting to pull the mast and thousands of screws from the deck, had some great adventures in NZ. We visited the Marlborough Wine Country via the Cook Straight, drank coffee on the shores of a very angry Tasman Sea, and visited an extremely stinky Rotorua. While in Rotorua, we ran the Kaituna River, home to the highest river falls run commercially in the world! While at the outpost, next the Gates of Hell thermal park, it was a serious challenge not to succumb to the dry heaves that the smell was trying to induce. Fortunately, for me, I had a sinus infection and could not smell, but Fred...well, he was rather delicate that day.
Lastly and certainly not least, we both competed in the Auckland Harbor Crossing, a near 2 mile swim across the Auckland Harbor. We expected a few hundred people to race, but I should have expected much more! Fred told me that Auckland was packed with "full-ons," the Kiwi name for triathletes and serious full-on athletes. After taking the ferry to the start, we noticed that there were 1500 swimmers competing in this race, many of them Olympians, World Champs, and Commonwealth Champs! We were in the midst of some serious competitors where we thought we were in for a Masters-type swim! Through 4 foot swells and a serious tide, both of us finished, felt awesome about our performance and proceeded to eat (alot)at the only American-style burger joint in Auckland.
We returned home after a couple of weeks and then Fred and crew were scheduled to return to NZed in January for some travel and eventually sailing. The crew of the Godspede were gone for about 7 months. They took the mighty vessel from Auckland to Opua, Tonga (a very scary ride), and finally to Fiji. The boat is currently in Fiji and this brings us to the present....
As you can imagine, 7 months is a long time to be away from the person that you love. Obviously, I was thrilled when Fred asked me to join the crew on the coming departure. I had a ton of decisions to make and many things to weigh. Considering the last year and half have been...well, disappointing- save Fred- I knew that I wanted to go.
In the last week, I have sold all that was not a neccessity or important to me. Currently, I cannot raise either of my arms above my head because of the 4 vaccinations that I received yesterday. My house is in a state of disarray as I am packing it up for storage and preparing for a life at sea aboard the S.S. Godspede.
I managed to take a leave of absence from work for 2 months. My commitment is 2 months at sea to see if I can deal, the crew can deal with me, and whether or not I want to continue. Hopefully, I will.
As it stands today, I will leave Ketchum, ID for Birmingham, AL on October 5th to visit family. (I hope to see everyone!) On October 10th, the crew and I leave for Musket Cove, Fiji. We intend to be there for 2 weeks, in which, I will get my diving certification and do some practice sails. Upon leaving Fiji, we will have a 4-5 day crossing to the island group of Vanuatu for an unspecified amount of time. Depending on weather, we will either head to the Solomon Islands or up to Micronesian. Planning for a sailing adventure is imperfect and thus, I will keep you all posted on my adventures and plans.
Waiting is the hardest part! With 2 weeks to go, I am currently showing up to work, but that is all I can say about that... I'm ready. I'm excited. I'm nervous and I know that this is no walk in the park that I have volunteered for. What I do know is that this is the trip of a lifetime! Most people never get the opportunity to take this chance and the risk is great. It's a risk I am eager to take.
In closing, my great love to all and hopefully your love will follow me. I will do my best to update the blog, call when possible, and certainly email. My advice is to live. Live to the fullest and do the best you can by all you love and even those you do not know. I promise exciting things to report soon and again, my great love to all.
Kindly,
Ashley (Big Snack)
On the contrary, I have managed, after many wrong turns, to find a fabulous person that I love. His name is Fred and low and behold, he had been my next door neighbor 2 years before we had any knowledge of each other. Wonders never cease and after discovering that Fred was and I both swam on the same Masters team, shared best friends in common, and lived next door to each other...well, the rest is history, present, and God willing, future.
In addition to meeting Fred, Angie & Jeff(to be introduced shortly), and my very good buddy Johnny C(Fred's roommate and best friend), I was dubbed the name Big Snack. As you may have wonder from the title of this blog, Big Snack is my nickname. I can eat as much or more than any of the above folks and I love football! Big Snack is also the nickname for the Nose Tackle of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The reason I had not really met Fred before I did is that he and his crew, Jeff and Angie Kollmer, had been sailing around the world. In fact, when Fred and I started seeing each other, the 3 of them recently returned from the first portion of their journey. In 2008, they departed from Anacortes, Washington enroute to Auckland, New Zealand. After a 25 day passage from San Francisco to the Marquesas and a few other stops in the South Pacific, they landed in Auckland, fully intact aboard Fred's boat, the 40ft. Swan, the S.S. Godspede.
Last November I accompanied Fred to Auckland where they left the boat in the Westhaven Marina. We did some work on the boat and toured the North and South Islands in a minivan that they had purchased upon arriving in Auckland. The minivan has some multi-colored panels, a delicate driver's door, a sad radio/cd player and most importantly, it had "God's Soldier" emblazoned on the windshield. Obviously, this was the vehicle for Fred and crew given the boat's name. The Soldier was perfect for camping all over NZed in the "Holiday Parks."
Fred and I, apart from spending many hours attempting to pull the mast and thousands of screws from the deck, had some great adventures in NZ. We visited the Marlborough Wine Country via the Cook Straight, drank coffee on the shores of a very angry Tasman Sea, and visited an extremely stinky Rotorua. While in Rotorua, we ran the Kaituna River, home to the highest river falls run commercially in the world! While at the outpost, next the Gates of Hell thermal park, it was a serious challenge not to succumb to the dry heaves that the smell was trying to induce. Fortunately, for me, I had a sinus infection and could not smell, but Fred...well, he was rather delicate that day.
Lastly and certainly not least, we both competed in the Auckland Harbor Crossing, a near 2 mile swim across the Auckland Harbor. We expected a few hundred people to race, but I should have expected much more! Fred told me that Auckland was packed with "full-ons," the Kiwi name for triathletes and serious full-on athletes. After taking the ferry to the start, we noticed that there were 1500 swimmers competing in this race, many of them Olympians, World Champs, and Commonwealth Champs! We were in the midst of some serious competitors where we thought we were in for a Masters-type swim! Through 4 foot swells and a serious tide, both of us finished, felt awesome about our performance and proceeded to eat (alot)at the only American-style burger joint in Auckland.
We returned home after a couple of weeks and then Fred and crew were scheduled to return to NZed in January for some travel and eventually sailing. The crew of the Godspede were gone for about 7 months. They took the mighty vessel from Auckland to Opua, Tonga (a very scary ride), and finally to Fiji. The boat is currently in Fiji and this brings us to the present....
As you can imagine, 7 months is a long time to be away from the person that you love. Obviously, I was thrilled when Fred asked me to join the crew on the coming departure. I had a ton of decisions to make and many things to weigh. Considering the last year and half have been...well, disappointing- save Fred- I knew that I wanted to go.
In the last week, I have sold all that was not a neccessity or important to me. Currently, I cannot raise either of my arms above my head because of the 4 vaccinations that I received yesterday. My house is in a state of disarray as I am packing it up for storage and preparing for a life at sea aboard the S.S. Godspede.
I managed to take a leave of absence from work for 2 months. My commitment is 2 months at sea to see if I can deal, the crew can deal with me, and whether or not I want to continue. Hopefully, I will.
As it stands today, I will leave Ketchum, ID for Birmingham, AL on October 5th to visit family. (I hope to see everyone!) On October 10th, the crew and I leave for Musket Cove, Fiji. We intend to be there for 2 weeks, in which, I will get my diving certification and do some practice sails. Upon leaving Fiji, we will have a 4-5 day crossing to the island group of Vanuatu for an unspecified amount of time. Depending on weather, we will either head to the Solomon Islands or up to Micronesian. Planning for a sailing adventure is imperfect and thus, I will keep you all posted on my adventures and plans.
Waiting is the hardest part! With 2 weeks to go, I am currently showing up to work, but that is all I can say about that... I'm ready. I'm excited. I'm nervous and I know that this is no walk in the park that I have volunteered for. What I do know is that this is the trip of a lifetime! Most people never get the opportunity to take this chance and the risk is great. It's a risk I am eager to take.
In closing, my great love to all and hopefully your love will follow me. I will do my best to update the blog, call when possible, and certainly email. My advice is to live. Live to the fullest and do the best you can by all you love and even those you do not know. I promise exciting things to report soon and again, my great love to all.
Kindly,
Ashley (Big Snack)
