Well, hello! We practically skipped the latter half of 2022 and the whole of 2023 in the storyline of this blog. Time evaded me with other priorities: (sailing + work). I also find that the longer you leave a blog fallow, the harder it is to pick up where you left off. I’m lost in my own story. Do I try to back-track and catch up? I thought about backtracking and catching up everything I missed from Namibia forward, but this feels downright impossible! Maybe later, but not now.

If there is one thing I have learned while sailing, it is the importance of starting where ever you are. And so! In my re-committment to write SOMETHING for 2024, I shall start exactly where we are today: aboard Sonrisa, tied to a dock in Luperon, Dominican Republic.

A Couple Catch-Up Plot Points

There are a few key plot points that you really must know in order to take this story from here. The bullet point summary is as follows:

We did not teleport to the Dominican Republic, we did actually sail. Namibia --> St. Helena --> Natal, Brazil --> Grenada (the Caribbean Island) --> Puerto Rico --> Dominican Republic.

We bought a 2018 Ram Promaster, built it into a camper van, and spent the Caribbean hurricane season visiting family, road tripping, camping and mountain biking.

Our ship cat, Katherine Hepburn, came along with us for our hurricane season shore leave. Upon getting a taste of Wyoming land-mouse decided to go on an independent soujourn in Wyoming. She has not returned to port, yet. (This is a long story that I may detail at some point in the future.)

We knew Sonrisa would be beside herself if we returned from hurricane season shore-leave without a ship’s cat, and so we adopted a kitten from the Utah Humane Society and named her Poppet Peabody. She spent October - December in Ship Cat Training School to prepare herself for life as an Oddgodfrey.

I continue to work full time for Hone Law, wearing two hats: Director of Litigation Operations and Attorney handling strategic tracking work for Eric Hone’s case list. I quite enjoy the work, and it keeps Sonrisa decked with the shiny boat-bling and Poppet eating the good kibble.

Re-Entry Into the Sailing Life

Our plane touched down in the Dominican Republic on January 5. It had been a relatively smooth route. My parents dropped us off at the airport around noon on January 4. Andrew’s parents came to see us through the check-in line and wave us off. Poppet’s paperwork passed muster, and she rode through security on my shoulder like a parrot. TSA confiscated her litter for reasons unknown and this gave Andrew something to do for the remainder of our route to Miami: find litter. We touched down in Miami at 10 p.m. local time and sent Andrew in a Uber to CVS to acquire litter.

Poppet is deeply grateful upon Andrew’s return. I then go to acquire the Oddgodfrey team sandwiches from the only restaurant in the Miami Airport open that late, Subway. I stand in a line that could form a human land bridge to the Dominican Republic if we all held hands. We sleep over in the Miami Airport Hotel to give Poppet a break from her confines. Friday morning, we finished our leg from Miami to the Dominican Republic.

Entry through immigration, customs and pet import goes smoothly, and merengue drums echo the hallways as we move toward our exits. Everyone is cheerful to be back in paradise, especially when we consider our narrow escape from a blizzard settling in upon Utah just as the tropical sunshine hits our faces.

We part a sea of taxi drivers offering their services to find our friend Nino from Luperon. He takes our luggage and we duck into the same Hyundai, Elantra we took last July for our departure. I feel odd thinkng upon Katherine’s presence on my lap the last time I was in this car; I feel Poppet’s different weight upon my lap.

We reverse our course weaving through tight Dominican neighborhoods and even tighter Dominican traffic. The sound of motorcycles wizzing past the car grows and receeds every few seconds as they dart past us. Poppet considered coming out of her crate, being tucked in for about 4 hours now, but upon looking out the window to see unfamiliar chaos, she recedes back into her crate and curls her tail around her toes.

“We warned you, little cat.”

When we first met Poppet, Andrew peeked into her sterile, white cubby at the Humane Society and said “Would you like to come with us?” He gave her his hand to sniff. She neither nuzzled it, nor backed away. She was in one word: unfazed. “Would you like to come? If you would like to come with us, you will need to be a brave kitten. Are you a brave little cat?”

Again, Poppet made no move. Neither for, nor against.

This made me wonder whether it’s a good idea. I’ve been told cats pick you. And, my only experience of cat ownership has been Katherine Hepburn - who definitely, undeniably, not only picked us but specifically requested to come along aboard Sonrisa. With her, I never had doubts.

But... “I have a good feeling you are a brave little cat,” Andrew said, totally disregarding the Humane Society’s warning that she is quite shy, afraid of people, and likely to hide. Andrew exited the meeting room and informed the Humane Society that this little creature would be his cat.

You have thirty days to return a new adoption to the Humane Society, but within 24 hours we were sure Poppet would indeed be a brave little cat. And so, here we are in the Dominican Republic, driving through wild traffic with Poppet Peabody.

Back Aboard Sonrisa

Arriving back to “Kat’s Dock,” the smell of tropical flowers and the perfect winter season breeze pairs perfectly with warm sun. We walk the “Dominican-Style” steps down hillside toward Sonrisa’s dock - each a different size and shape, none the size or shape your feet expect. Sonrisa looks well. She is a bit “green” on the outside from moss taking up residence in the last two weeks of tropical rain. Inside, however, she is just as we left her.

“Welcome home,” She says to me as I hug her around the mast.

“I’ve missed you, Sonrisa!” I say, and I mean it. Sonrisa is home. While I’ve loved every minute of time with our families and land exploration, recently I was getting a little homesick for Sonrisa. All I want to do now is take a nap in my own bed.

Unfortunately, the ghost of Katherine Hepburn is darting around everywhere, and both Sonrisa and I are feeling a bit mournful. So, I leash Poppet and give her a tour to take our mind off our sadness.

“Enjoy Poppet’s firsts!” Andrew tells me as he sees the sadness welling up. “You can miss Katherine later.” And he’s right. We want Poppet’s homecoming to be positive and happy.

And it is. She spends a few minutes testing out a few cubby hole options. She was weaving her way through stacks of luggage yet to be put away when, suddenly, she notices the climbing mast. She looks at it for a moment, looks at me for permission. I scratch the ropes with my fingernails and she takes a great flying leap up to the top! She scrambles around right and left, then pushes off with all fours to land on the salon bench on the other side of the room. She roars at me in her tiny, baby Kitten Roar as if to say: “NO WAY! THIS IS AWESOME!”

She leaps across the void again, and I grab a feather toy for her to chase in her vertical-world.

Cats love boats.

Boats love cats.

I think Poppet and Sonrisa will be just fine together.