I am determined to be better at updating this blog so make sure you don't give up on us yet. We spent the last few days playing with Tom and Tim's family. We were able to get them out in the sea for a few days of snorkeling, fishing, shell collecting and just generally having fun in the sea. It was nice to shove the memories of the "trip from hell" out of the way and fill them with new memories. Everything went smoothly and the boat behaved so we could all relax. we are now planning on finishing some much need work and then getting ready for hurricane season. We already have a tropical depression which is threatening Mazatlan. This is really early in the season for this kind of storm and we are all hoping it is not foreshadowing of what we can expect in the next few months. We DO NOT want a hurricane here, especially when I am back in the states and no where around to help. Yikes! As far our school program we are spending the down time of summer working with the teacher in San Evaristo to create a short curriculum having to do with the stars and planets. We were able to get a telescope donated last year and are excited about putting it to use. We are also planning a, still to happen, pirate party and possible day sail where all the kids will be crew. We have also donated Vltava to the sea scout group, which has been newly formed here is La Paz. We are hoping to meet with the teachers sometime in the next few weeks to discuss their ideas of what they would like to accomplish with the sea scouts. It is a very exciting time for us as people are finally realizing we are here and willing to work with any group. We were even recognized north of La Paz so the word is really getting out. Our biggest need right now is money. The boat needs to get a haul out and that alone will be pricey. We have been collecting things for a haul out and are amazed daily at the support we get from the community of cruisers down here. I am going to include pictures of our trip with "the family", as I called them, and remind everyone that we are here and big and in a beautiful spot so for the time being, if you can handle camping without the dirt think of coming to Baja and exploring the Sea of Cortez on Vltava. We could offer you a great price for the trip and can sleep up to 10 comfortably. Thanks, Allison

Well, It has been awhile since I wrote and a lot has been going on. We did our trip to Conception but never actually made it there. We tried twice and the farthest we got was 10 miles away. Very frustrating to say the least. We had a few major things go wrong but managed to overcome the problems and finally got the boat home after about 2 1/2 weeks. Let's just say we titled the trip" The Trip From Hell" and I'll just leave it at that. Enough said. We had great crew in Sam and Isabelle and Olaf and Samira. Everyone was a trouper and the going was tough most of the time. Samira and Olaf ended up heading out after our second attempt at trying to reach Conception. They were some of the best crew we have ever had and, even though they were new to the whole experience, Have earned a permanent crew position on Vltava! I have included pictures of both of them working on the boat, steering and Samira trying to catch the "big one." We never made it to dinner with the NoLS group but ran into friends who were camping on the beach when we returned to San Janico. We were able to connect with some of the groups in the Loreto area who work with kids and schools and some with whole communities. We even had some people hand over donations to our program. It was a great time to share ideas and listen to some of the people instrumental in creating worthwhile projects that not only help a community but also create great friendships. They were so far ahead of where we are but the sharing of ideas helped me to focus more clearly not only on what is lacking for the kids in some of these small fishing and ranching communities but also the adults. As their prime source of income and even their culture are dying out, due to lack of fish or the remoteness of the community, their need for new skills, so that they can compete in the changing times, is great. There are so many ways to help it is inspiring. Since we have been back from our trip we have spent the time cleaning and finishing projects we have let sit for too long. It is starting to get hot down here and it is hard to want to move much in the middle of the day. We learn to work early then siesta and then finish late. We have Tim and Tom's family here for a week and we are heading out to the islands for a few days. I can't wait to snorkle and kayak myself. The kids are doing well in school even though we were a little lax in watching our time for school and have been involved in so many different things this year that we find they are going to have to do school most of the summer. We are counting this as a learning experience and next year plan on being done early! Will arrived home yesterday and it is great to see him. He has made the varsity archery team and will get a cool leather "letter" jacket and a pin. he has also been chosen to be in the advanced creative writing program next year and has decided to build a boat for his senior project. He is very busy but also very happy. Isabelle has plans of jet setting around California, Oaklahoma, and the east coast, while finally ending up in Washington visiting Aunt Joanne and Uncle Bob. PHEW! Will has some friends we are hoping will make it to La Paz this summer to play in the sea on the schooner and Sam has plans to spend as much time with his good buddy Josh, on Theopholis, as he can. We will all be on the east coast starting on the 7th of August and are REALLY excited about having 2 weeks in the Poconos with Nonnie. Sam will be looking at boarding schools this year which should be a lot of fun. Not much else right now. I'll write more once Tim and Tom's family leave. Allison

Here are a few more pictures of some of the work that is getting done. Half the interior is painted and it makes it so much brighter. All the gouges in the wood around the portholes and winches, that had been stolen off of the boat, have been repaired and painted so, in places, it really looks like a new boat. The picture of the bow is Tom's repair. It meant getting rid of all the old rot, replacing it with new wood, and then making frames to cover all that. It looks brand new and perfect! This Sunday we are having one of our infamous potlucks with a movie and we are starting the party off with a swap meet. We will have everything we want to trade/sell up on deck and people can come by and check it our. Kind-of like a garage sale with out the garage. We are hoping to make some money to help us get up in the Sea to deliver our school supplies. Not much else for now. Allison

We have been working at a pretty good pace for the past few weeks, trying to get some much needed projects done before our next big trip in March. I will tell you about that in a bit. We have had a lot of help from a lot of cruisers in the past few weeks. We have Mike on Tehani showing up almost daily to varnish anything we throw at him. He is a really laid back guy with a great sense of humor so it is easy to spend time with him. The kids come over when school and other activities allow and help do anything that needs to be done. Here are some pictures of Isabelle sanding down below and Sam and his friend, Josh, outside sanding the rail. We had a work party last week and had the crew of "Outcast" and Max off of "Sin Fin" helping with everything from sanding to helping Tom replace planks in the bow. It is inspiring to have all these people putting in so much time and effort to help us out. The projects we are completing are replacing parts of the cabin top that had rot and was soft. Tim has been a one man show on this job. He's not a bad carpenter especially since he's the engineer. I have been mainly focusing on sanding and painting down below. We are almost done the main living areas and what a difference it all makes!!!!! Tom has focused all his energy on the rotten area in the bow, above the water line. He has gotten rid of all the rot and has replaced all the wood and planks and it looks amazing! I couldn't get the picture to load this time but I will keep trying. All in all, the boat is taking on an amazing transformation and she is loving all the good strokes. We have taken on a new crew member, Derek, who is 24 and off on an adventure. We have him doing all the jobs we hate and he keeps smiling so we keep piling on more!!!!! He's great and is planning on heading north with us when we go. We are planning on leaving sometime after the 10th of March. We are going as far north as Conception Bay(get a map-look it up)to meet up with a group who may be interested in using the schooner in some of their programs. We will play around there, and show off, a little, and then slowly make our way down the coast, introducing ourselves to new schools and kids. We will end the trip with a big "pirate" party in San Evaristo on the schooner with a movie on the big screen and a small astronomy class using the telescope we found for them last year. We are really looking forward to this next trip, especially with the boat looking so good! I will try to send more pictures when the signal is better. Allison