FatChanceRow Update July 4

Well, here we are, it's the4th of July. I hope all of you are are basking in the sun, swimming in lakes and feeling nostalgic as you watch fireworks overhead, maybe thinking about earlier years and how wonderful it is to enjoy the summer. One year my brother and I watched the fireworks from the graveyard on the back side of Dublin Lake, one of the most prime spots to watch from. Bugs were eating us alive but it was one of the best fourths I've had- I can't say why though. On the way back down to the road we decided to scare some of the local kids, we were in a graveyard after all. So we hid behind some grave stones and jumped out screaming when they reached us, then they had their turn screaming :).earlier In he day we had driven my grandmother to her favorite ice cream store, where they make all the ice cream from scratch. She was incredibly happy and excited to have that ice cream with us, and went on and on about how 'swell' and 'wonderful' it was. I love that people can get such enjoyment out of small treats like that. Again I'm thinking about how ironic it is that I'm out here on the pacific doing this sort of endeavor to raise awareness about the dangers of sugar, when clearly, many of my favorite times and memories involve ice cream, pie and carrot cake. I reconcile my two minds by supporting Mark Hyman's suggested relationship with sugar- treat it like a recreational drug. I can get behind that. It's morning but I'm in the cabin. I have a particularly difficult time getting out on the oars after rough days, that inevitably turn into rough nights. In the cabin you literally can't lie still, the waves move the boat to the extent that you are forced to roll and lean this way and that. I've taken to lying on my stomach with one arm bracing on either side of my body so that I move the least amount possible, but it's still a lot. And the sounds of the water on the boat! Not relaxing, but big bangs and crashes, gurgling and spraying. Not a quiet moment. The seas are constantly changing, which I would have never guessed from all of me pacific experience (going to the beach a couple of times). One minute they are calm, then moments later a wave the size of a house is crashing over you. Yesterday the seas were changing, but most steadily for the worse throughout the day. By night time we had been soaked to the skin for several hours and I think we both were fairly anxious about being out there. Every time a feel anxiety and the pull of wishing I were elsewhere, I tell myself "settle in", something Matt Dixon used to tell us as we went into particularly long intervals on the bike and that I've been using in these types of moments ever since. We've made progress though, somehow we are able to talk through the big waves, where in the first several days it was mostly silence. Yesterday, though we spent some time creating plans for what we each need to do when the boat capsizes- where to put our bodies, who closes the air vents, etc., we also were able to share our 'daily life' in one, two and 7 years. That was fun, both of our days started with Teddy and coffee :). Wish for some sun for us please! Breaks are now being used to pump water with our manual desalination pump, which turns fresh water out at a ridiculously slow pace. We are barely getting any charge in the batteries during the days, I guess it's a good thing we've already mourned the loss of our electronics, it would be nice to have some tunes again though! For those of you advising on pain management, im up to 2000 mg of ibuprofen daily (with food) and Billy is oscillating between getting better and becoming some sort of blister/volcano. I did try putting the sudocreme on it last night. Today he's more like a volcano! I continue getting days of sea sickness when the waves are high, is that normal after 16 days? Can I become addicted to the sea sickness medication? Last, I've got to say, Sami is a champ! Now that he has a goal, he's like a machine! What a parter to have doing this! Divorcometer, zero. In fact, I was really far off in my thinking that we reallocate old get a divorce from this trip. It's been kind of awesome to do it with him!