About
Hi! I’m Julie. Thanks for stopping by. Whether pursuing our dream to go sailing, navigating international adoptions, renovating an old house, or facing a health crisis, I try to view every day as a new adventure; an opportunity to learn and grow. Terrapin Trails is where I share stories, reflections, and tips from my experiences in hopes it will inspire you to explore more and look at life’s ups and downs as an adventure.
Every day is a new adventure. Let’s enjoy the journey!
Sailing through the seasons of life:
literally and figuratively
How It Began:
“Can I help you with that?” I offered as Tony was putting the dock in the water at Camp St. Croix, summer 1979. For the first few days of camp staff training, he kept calling me Judy, but eventually learned my name was Julie. We became close friends over the summer. During our breaks from campers, you could find us sailing on Lake St Croix.
…And we’ve been sailing through the seasons of life together ever since, literally and figuratively!
Family Sailing
We always dreamed of going sailing as a family, articles in sailing magazines and books fueling that dream, and somehow our casual conversations morphed into a plan. “The plan” was adjusted along the way, but it was heading in the right direction to go sailing as a family. We lived frugally to save for a boat (with a detour for adoption expenses), we learned all we could about the cruising life, and we decided to go with a small, good old boat.
Our goals weren’t to become proficient in the mechanics of sailing or about certain places we wanted to visit. Those were pieces of the puzzle, but our focus was on prioritizing family time and the life lessons learned when adventuring together, in this case by sailboat.
Boats, Locations, Fun!
Swimming, snorkeling, building sand castles, flying a kite, fly swatting, hiking, exploring small towns, reading books, getting boarded by coastguard, drawing, learning yo-yo tricks, playing string games, tying knots, having long conversations, observing nature, making new friends…oh yeah, and sailing….
…while on these boats in these locations:
| Cool Running, 1980 Neptune 24′, family of 6, Leech Lake and Mille Lacs Lake, MN | Bon Air, 1964 Columbia 33’, family of 8, east and west coasts of FL, FL Keys, and Bahamas! | Sabea, 1980 Bristol 27.7’, revolving crew of young adult children, in-loves, and grandchildren, Apostle Islands, Lake Superior, WI | Sparrow, 1983 Union 32’, revolving crew of young adult children, in-loves, and grandchildren, northern half of Lake Michigan, WI and MI |
Sailing Into Retirement
When we purchased Terrapin, a Westsail 32, it was to prepare for our next season of sailing adventures. Tony always wanted a Westsail because of its reputation as a seaworthy boat. Before Tony retired from teaching, we spent as much time as possible in FL to take Terrapin on shakedown cruises, make repairs, and tend to maintenance tasks. Now with retirement a reality, we have more flexibility on when we sail, how far, and where. And then the pandemic came…stay tuned!
Other Adventures
While Sailing is the main thread of adventure in our family life,
it’s certainly not the only “adventurous” experience that has impacted our lives.
- Adopting older children from Haiti
- Road trips MN to FL in a rusty old passenger van
- Multiple house moves and major renovations
- Major health crisis
- Church conflict
- Children grow up, weddings, grandchildren, empty nest
- Every season of life is an adventure!
- Dad with Alzheimer’s
- Selling our “dream house”
- Sailing trips with our grandchildren
It’s been an adventurous few years, to say the least!
Your life’s adventures look different, but one thing is the same:
How we respond to each circumstance will influence and impact who we are and who we become.
What dreams are you pursuing?
What challenges or adversity are you facing?
I’m encouraging you to view your goals, dreams, hardships and conflicts all as an adventure.
Every experience, planned or circumstantial, presents a unique opportunity for learning and growing.
Let’s strive to thrive through them, not just survive.
Life Is An Adventure!
Happy trails to you,
Julie