Today was a real milestone for our adventure.

Bye bye!

The last big thing we had tying us to land is now no longer ours.  Today our good friend John came up from Vancouver to pick up our Dodge Neon.

We’ve had this car for over 11 years now.  Not only does it feel really strange to see the car going somewhere without us, it is also really weird to think that we don’t have a car any more!

From this point forward we are either on foot, on our boat, or using public transportation.  This is going to take some getting used to.

No more quick trips to the store.  No more late night snack runs.

Nope, all of our trips will have to be planned out now, and will happen at the mercy of someone else’s schedule.  Hmm, not really sure I like that.

But then again, all I have to do is remind myself of the freedom that this allows us, to be able to sail our boat where the wind takes us, and it all seems okay again.

Tomorrow we cast off our dock lines in Everett for the final time.  We are becoming aquatic nomads.  Pirates in the sense of living life on our terms, not someone else’s.

As I peak my head out of the hatch, I see that the stars are shining above and the weather is forecast to be clear and in the 80’s tomorrow.  Perfect weather to start our trip on.

I will admit that seeing the car leave feels a bit like we are burning a bridge.  Somewhere in the back of my mind there was this quiet little thought that if things don’t work out we can always just do something else.

Yet when the car left, that little thought evaporated into the night.  There is no other option now but to pursue the path that we have chosen.

Much like the scene in The Dark Knight Rises, when the prisoners are trying to escape their underground prison, they all failed to make the leap to freedom.  Until one person tried it without the safety rope.  Only then were they able to go from prisoner to escapee.

Letting go of the car is me untying the safety rope.  It is totally committing to the goal and letting go of what has kept us here.

This is a big, physical example of having to let go of what you have so that you can have what you want.  How many of us face smaller, more subtle versions of this dilema each day?  We cling to what we have out of fear of loss, yet that which we cling to is what is keeping us from what we dream of.

Yes, it is scary.  Yes, there is a chance that I could be headed in the wrong direction and could fail. However, it is only when we try that we find out what is possible.

How will this all turn out?  I have no idea, stick with us and find out for tomorrow the adventure begins!

Mike