10 Perfect Tropical Islands and Beach Towns For Digital Nomads

It has never been easier to work online and live on an inexpensive tropical island or in a laid back beach town. This is a guide to some of the best options for digital nomads, backpackers and expats.

Read more here: http://www.diygenius.com/10-tropical-islands-and-beach-towns-for-digital-nomads/

Installing Solar Panels on a Sailboat

One of our many projects: Installing Solar Panels

We do all of the boat maintenance ourselves even electrical and solar installations!

See some pics below

Sweet Picks at the Daytona Beach Farmers Market!

Hello all! Today, I spent my Saturday morning at 

the Daytona Beach Farmer's Market at City Island.

The farmer's market is open every Saturday from 7a-1p sometimes they close early so beat the rush and get there early!!

I love visiting the local farmer's market! Great finds for liveaboards and cruisers. Healthy foods, fruits and veggies plus toiletries and even local art, and it is close to the marina, within walking distance!

I went today with only $20 bucks in my pocket.

I gotta stay within my budget these days!

This is my LOT I came home with!

Sweet Pickins' today!

I found many things that are unique such as the biggest sweet potatoes I have ever seen!

A local artist that does some incredible wood carvings into tikis

 "We Scare Off Bad Mojo"

David, a local Daytona Beach artist 

The "sweetest peaches in Florida" says the bbq master himself

And last but not least, the sweet aroma was killing me all the way down the row until I reached

the Herbert's Bakery (located in Port Orange). I snatched up 3 of the most delish cinnamon rolls!

I took all of them! :)

It sure was a sweet morning! 

Thanks to everyone for taking their time in sharing some of their items  with me!

Come on by and support our local artisans and vendors!

---

This post is brought to you by:
Love with Food - Get Healthier Snacks for just $6. Yummy, All-Natural Snacks at LoveWithFood.com! For every box you receive, a meal is donated to food banks all across US. Subscribe Now!

Sea Dragon is 1 Yr Old!

Well, that time finally came! We have owned SV SeaDragon for one year. We actually moved aboard in September 2014 but signed the paperwork and took over ownership in July 2014. This is an exciting time! I have never been more happy to own a boat and call it home. I imagine us cruising for years to come making passages to islands and exploring many places I could only once dream about before. I feel so tied down, forgive the pun but it is true, we are still tied up here at the dock. It is a struggle right now with our finances trying to catch up on previous debts and  new ones that keep growing. I do want to  have a goal of cruising within 1 year. At least make it down to the Florida Keys by next Spring. There are lots of things we want to do but money is the issue right now. I know we can do this and we will continue trying! We made it thus far without killing each other! :)


We both are trying to find steady work here locally but it  has been taking some time to find something. I enjoy blogging and writing about our lives but that is not enough until the traffic to the sites increase. Our advertisers will only hold out for so long before they will suspend the relationship. Please let me know what you would like to see on this blog. Would you like to see more posts on saving money, cooking, nature, or maintenance on the boat? I try to include a little bit of everything each week!


I am going to start a meal and budget planning guide soon and will post it here on the blog when it is completed. Also the boys are finishing up on their classes and will have more free time to go out on some more adventures and field trips.

....

Ebooks while Cruising: Win a $100 Gift Coupon!

There are hundreds of great ebooks by ebooks.com to enjoy while cruising. Ebooks are a great way to save space, and less chance of the book getting water damage! eBooks.com has tons of genres of books to choose from. 

Look below for details on the contest and search on the homepage for ebooks you might enjoy reading.

Share, RT, Like to pass this on to your friends a chance to win too! 

LovewithFood Delivers | Healthy Snacks for Liveaboards

 I just found a great company that is US based and delivers healthy snacks!  LoveWithFood.com!  They are a monthly snack box subscription service that helps you discover the best organic or all-natural snacks delivered to your door for only $10/month. 
For every box sent, a meal is donated to feed hungry children in America. To date, they've donated more than 400,000 meals.
This is a great idea for live-aboards! I am always searching for quick and easy ways to feed my family healthy snacks. 
   
  With two growing teenage boys,  our galley constantly needs replenishing but we are on a  very small budget and cannot stock up for many weeks at a time yet.  We are constantly making runs off the dock the night before or early in the morning and grabbing drinks and snacks off of some local convenient store shelf. It gets frustrating with so little choices in healthy items and also expensive! I usually grab some quick protein such as trail mix or beef jerky but that really gets old too.
   
Sometimes you are too tired from working on the boat or sailing all day to make something. It is nice to get this delivered right to our mailbox and we are also making a difference in other lives as well! No one should go hungry in this country!

 ******
Love with Food - Get 40% off on Healthier Snacks. Find a fun and convenient way to discover all-natural or organic surprise snacks delivered to your home(or Boat!) or office for FREE. Subscribe Now at LoveWithFood.com! 
For every box you receive, a meal is donated to food banks all across US. 

Click the link below for more information and get a special discount by using our link ( +SV SeaDragon will get a portion of the sale for every sign up) 
Get 40% off on Healthier Snacks. Find a fun and convenient way to discover all-natural or organic surprise snacks delivered to your home or office for FREE. Subscribe Now at LoveWithFood.com!

What a great way to keep healthy snacks on board for those spur of the moment trips!

One Head Four People...

 What has 8 legs, 8 eyes, needs lots cleaning, smells a lot, holds four tooth brushes and has only one head? OUR SeaDragon head! It is tiny yet fierce!

 Many people ask us what it is like living in such a small space.
 I think for the most part it is a totally positive experience. 

It is a little rough sharing a head (bathroom) with three other people especially males! 

I love the fact that living aboard our small space helps us simplify life. 

The head itself is small but also has a lot of features that you would not expect.  If you look at the top left corner  of the door you will see a hook/ eye latch, we use this on a regular basis for two reasons. 

1. To help with air circulation and
2. When out on the water and the boat is moving back and forth it keeps the door from swinging open.

  I have been adding about a cup of vinegar and sprinkle in some baking soda to keep the smells away and keep the water stains clean in the bowl.

All in all it makes for an easy to use and clean space!

Boat Kids!

Our boys have adapted so well in the ten (Yes I said TEN can you believe it??) months we have been living here. 

I love the fact they can be close to each other but still give each other room for privacy if they need it.

 I'm truly thankful for such mature and well adjusted boys that have grown into young men while living aboard.

In the Galley Tonight

Tonight on the menu:

Boneless Country Style BBQ Pork Ribs

With Roasted Potatoes and

 Tossed Salad.

I love using my Nesco 5qt roaster/slow cooker while we are here at the dock. It is great for one pot meals , takes up not so much space , and does not heat up the galley too much.

Also, you can cook practically all day long and have dinner ready and waiting while we are doing other things! 

This is a simple dish to prepare and only a few key ingredients.  Most of the ingredients for this recipe you can find already in your pantry/cupboards. 

Aunties Junk Drawer| Galley Tips

This site has tons of tips on food storage and and how long each shelf life is.
Take a look around and find some great info!

Big Dum Boat: Aunties Junk Drawer

Now This is HomeSchool

Now THIS is homeschooling!!
My youngest Mate has surpassed all of his goals for the year and has completed all but one class. He should be done with the last class in a couple of weeks which is still remarkable considering our kids started all of their classes about 6 weeks later than all of the public schools around since we were in the middle of moving to Fl from CT in Sept.
This kid takes his lessons very serious but as in life you must do your work where you are most comfortable and you will most likely succeed.
  He can explore and learn about the environment and so many things right here and eventually everywhere we may go.
  Education is key in our family. I believe if you are not learning something new everyday you are not growing and willing to broaden your horizons and open your mind about who you are and the world you live in.

Connecting the Dots: A Chance Meeting

One of the best things of living a board an sailing is getting to know fellow sailors with the same passion as you.

Their catamaran Connecting Dots is featured in the photos.

This couple is awesome!
They bought a boat "SV Connecting Dots" in the Fl Keys and started on an adventure of a lifetime getting it back home to their home state NY.
We have had a great time swapping stories and getting to know each other. 

Abigail the Sailor Cat- Video

Abigail the Sailor Cat

A little video of Abby

Exploring all around SV SeaDragon!!

EBook Arrow

  A friend of mine uses this service and says she loves it.
I think it would be great for us liveaboard types as it saves space! Plus it is free to sign up!

eBookArrow - Your source for free and bargain Kindle books!

Post a comment below if you have tried this service or if you know of other e-book sources!

http://www.ebookarrow.com/index.html

This week on SV SeaDragon

This week on SV SeaDragon
Click here

Big Bird with Swagger

Big bird with lots of swagger!

First mate and I just saw this huge bird walking down the dock. 

Blayne says "He's walking down the dock like he owns the place, that bird has swagger!"

Check out the video and the photo essay to follow our experience...

What do Ducks Eat?

Have you ever found yourself at the park with a pond or lake and seen people feeding the ducks?

 Did you slyly raise your hand?

Fitness Afloat: The Value Of High-Intensity Training | | PassageMaker

Check out this great fitness routine!

A great way to stay strong, healthy, and easy to do in small spaces, all done while living aboard!



   Follow Jay and Karen Campbell in their featured column in Fitness Afloat in PassageMaker magazine

When age and ailments finally got us thinking about exercise on the boat, our skills in the gym were useless. Boat life is the art of doing without, especially without the space for weights and treadmills. So we found a different routine: High-Intensity Circuit Training (HICT)—full-body exercises performed in a seven- to 10-minute circuit with little rest in between. HICT is sound science, easily done within a boat-friendly footprint of 2 by 6 feet.

Read more ........

 Fitness Afloat: The Value Of High-Intensity Training | | PassageMaker

---

Black Mountain Ultimate Resistance Band Set with Starter Guide - BMP-7M

Message in a bottle found 40 years later!

(CNN) - Susan Cordell says it was 1975 when she and a friend were bored, put a message in a bottle and tossed it into the ocean. Both of them forgot about it until Cordell got a call decades later.

Watch the story below.

Here is the link to the story on Facebook WESH: Message in a Bottle

People of Daytona: Beach Day

A little side project I am working on.

A travel/destination blog! I love all the sites and sounds and especially the People of Daytona!

Check out this post.....People of Daytona: Beach Day