We Are Not Alone!

Hop on over to Hop-O-Nose!

Misery loves company, right?  Isn't that what they say?

I think that is a little on the negative side...but there is a lot of truth to it.  We are social creatures...we need each other, to laugh, to cry, to celebrate, to mourn...that is why we as humans have congregated into vast societies across the globe.

You know what I have learned though?  We are all the same.  We all have the same needs, the same desires - we all laugh, we all cry.  We all long for love and acceptance.  Everything becomes so much more simple and clear when you understand that.

So here we are, in this little nook along the Hudson River called "Hop-o-Nose".  It's a gem.  Tucked just off the Hudson river in Catskill, NY - it's one of those places you imagine Jimmy Buffet writing a song about.  It's a little riverside marina - full of characters and full of charm.  Oh yeah, and there is a bar not 100 feet from where I type, so perhaps I'm biased.

Our "local" bar.  Lots of fun in this place.

Anyway...

Last night we ran into another cruising couple, Jill and Bud, off the boat S/V Earendil.  We met them on the dock as we were en-route to the showers (BONUS!!!) and got to talking.  I think we ended up chatting with them for 30 minutes before we left.  Having been the only cruisers we have met thus far, we had a lot to talk about - and a LOT in common.  Turns out, we're not the only ones on the water who have only the slightest clue what we are doing!  Who knew?!

We invited them to have dinner and drinks with us (at said bar) and they joined.  Throughout dinner we just laughed to and fro as we went back and forth with our tales of tribulation and woe.

People - we are not alone!

It was such a relief to meet another couple of cruisers who are in the same boat as we are (metaphorically speaking).  Misery loves company.  And when misery has company, it's not really misery anymore at all.  It's just...normal.

Scott wondering if we are the only ones.  Nope, we're not!

In addition to Bud and Judy, we also met back up with our friend Stefan (the German guy who helped us out in Buffalo) and his lovely fiance Galinda.  We had only met him for a short afternoon over a two weeks ago, and I had never met Galinda - but when we "reunited" it was like a meeting of old friends.  Hugs and hearty handshakes all around....Stefan asked about our engine and then he said,

"Oh, you have not heard OUR stories"....

Music to my ears.

He went on about engine issues, turning around in the locks and all sorts of little hiccups they've had along the way.  Then, Galinda and I sat in Rasmus drinking hot tea and just laughing at how nice it is to meet others who are sharing very similar experiences.  It was like we had known each other for years.  Bonds are made that fast.  It's awesome.

NEWSFLASH:  We are not idiots!  We are not doomed!  We are just like everyone else!

Seriously, this was an epiphany.

Sure, some people have more knowledge than others, some people have more experience, some boats are newer, some are older, some are bigger, some smaller - but everything evens out in the end.  It's the nature of this beast we call 'cruising'.

Maybe that's why misery loves company - not to share in the gloom of it all, but to feel "normal" and realize, "You know what, it's not that bad".

Love,

Brittany (& Scott)