Shortly after returning from vacation this summer I received a letter from Christian Theological Seminary.  These are the people who oversee the grants for the Lilly sabbatical endowment.  I was almost afraid to open it.  I had waited so long for this moment, and when I read it and learned that our application had been approved there was a part of me that simply couldn't believe it.  I must have read it five times, making sure I understood it correctly.  What a joy!

In the weeks that have followed, it has been a lot of fun beginning to put our plans in place: sending in deposits for the courses; putting a deposit down for a charter boat in the British Virgin Islands; making the plane reservations for the kids and their spouses.  Even now there is a part of me that just can't quite believe that this is really happening.

A huge piece of the sabbatical plan, of course, is finding the right boat.  Can you imagine how much fun it is to actually begin looking at boats?  A lot of internet searching.  Reading everything I can find about different hull designs and some specific brands.  Lots of talks with Bonnie.  We aren't planning on crossing any oceans in this boat, but we would like something that can safely handle a rough sea.  It has to be big enough for the two of us, but manageable enough for me to single-hand.  We would prefer something that is able to comfortably berth four people so that friends can join me during those times when Bonnie has to work.  We are thinking it is going to be a moderate displacement boat -- a compromise between high performance and sea-worthiness -- with a draft of approximately five feet for sailing in the Chesapeake.  And finally, the ideal boat would be old enough to be affordable, but in good enough shape to be safe.  So the search continues...