Intermezzo is safely on her mooring in Keyport Harbor, and the Gaver Family is safely back on Terra Firma. There are lots of mixed feelings from all of us. All you have to do is look to the kids to have all those feelings transparently displayed… The best example was how the kids couldn’t wait to sleep in their own rooms – this was a constant conversation during the last week… They have spent a few nights at home and are both sleeping together in Natalie’s bed : ). Can’t wait for the space, but not quite ready to give up being so close – it is so tough to describe.

Our last week was packed with fun and excitement. We left Intermezzo at Block Island and took a ferry to Newport to meet our friends, the Polings. We also got the chance to meet friends from our time in the Bahamas who were working their way up the coast for their summer in Portland, ME. Good food, mansion tours, and good times as we were mentally preparing for our “re-entry,” as it’s called.

Savy and Tali staged this photo… getting creative with a camera these days.

Mom and her girls enjoying the shade at Rough Point – Doris Duke’s summer home in Newport. Lots of weird photography restrictions inside the homes, but we had the chance to see Rough Point, and then took the servant’s tour at the Elms. I’m sure we have seen both extremes of American Lifestyle.

I know, we missed our obligatory beach shot, but crazy kids doing handstands still included on the lawn of the Springhouse Hotel on Block Island.

Penultimate sunset – Block Island, RI

We left Block Island and had our last stop in Port Jefferson, NY, where we saw friends of Becky’s parents, who have since evolved into our friends too. We rafted up next to them, broke out the wine and champagne and had some great laughs about our journey. Departure the next morning, brought the familiar trip going through the Long Island Sound, East River, Lower Hudson Bay, Raritan Bay, and then Keyport Harbor. We picked up the mooring, but just like any club, it didn’t take long for people to see that we were back… we had folks on the boat until the launch stopped at 11:00PM.

The final sunset on our journey – Port Jefferson, NY… The sunsets did not disappoint!

Girls enjoying the last few miles of our sail into Keyport Harbor.

“Re-entry” is definitely a process that takes time… while we wanted to let everyone know that we were back safe, an epilogue, of sorts, a few weeks from now, is definitely required to close out the blog. To be honest, at this point in time, the adjustment to land life, is far more difficult to adjusting to living aboard. It may be more about having a clearer purpose aboard, and recognizing that living a purpose-filled life ashore is a little more complicated; but having that awareness, alone, will surely set us on a different course.

We can’t thank you all enough for your support throughout this voyage. The simple fact that folks were following us and staying connected meant the world and gave us the strength to get through the tough spots. We can’t wait to see you all over the coming weeks and months.

Enjoy the summer and we’ll be sure to get a closing post with our plans.