Welcome, gentlereaders.

Welcome aboard!

First, you must meet the ships compliment:

Mr. and Mrs. Smyth, Captain and first mate respectively.
Bos'n Blayde and Bos'ns Mates Valin and Drake.

We are a family of five, embarking on an open ended journey upon the great rolling heap. Much preparation is necessary for a venture of this type, and in fact, most of it has now been completed. We will cast off in the spring of 2007, finally trading our ties with the comforting yet constraining grip of the land for the great wild oceans of the earth, unchanged to the sailor since the dawn of seafaring man. In doing so, we invite dangers, joys, sorrows, and triumphs, facing not only the vastness of the sea, but -perhaps yet greater- the vastness of the soul, of what it means to be alive.

Many will be critical of our choice, saying that it is irresponsible to expose oneself and ones family to the perils of the deep. May they prove to be wrong. We all face perils, the possibility of unavoidable, irrevocable demise. Whether by automobile, catastrophe, ill health, or old age, we will all face this final, uncrestable summit. To keep perspective, I submit that driving an automobile is yet more perilous than a well planned voyage on a well found craft. Certainly, there is the unforeseen circumstance, but at least in the case of the sailor there is often the time and resources to counter this challenge. The driver enjoys no such luxury, as he encounters hundreds of opportunities to greet certain demise in every hour spent on the highways, and like the weather, many of these are beyond controlling. Unlike the vessel at sea, no preparation or planning can mitigate the impact of a wayward automobile - one can only react, and hope that in those precious moments, one has chosen wisely.

Many will be joyful, glad to see us carry out our dream. May they not be misguided. To those that wish to follow their own dreams, but have yet to take those first, tentative steps, I submit that you must act now. There is no better time to begin. In fact, there is no time at all, other than the moment in which we live. Yet, there is an eternity to wait, to wish, to regret. Take the first step. Each one will come easier as your focus shifts from the mire you are in to the knoll which you seek. The mountains will melt to hills, and though they may take time to climb, the toil finds its reward in the view from the other side. In the end, you will regret more the moments that you did not live than those which you did, so step boldly, place each step firmly in front of the other, and raise your eyes to the prize. One will never arrive without first setting forth.

Welcome to our story....