Leaving the Real World Far Behind

January 2005 - April 2008

It took three years for the Conger family prepared to leave behind a very typical suburban life and embark on something completely new and different.

This journey started in when DrC and I went on a brief trip without the children -- a first in nearly 3 years. There we discovered to our mutual dismay that neither of us was particularly happy with our picture perfect suburban life. My husband owned a solo ophthalmology practice where he was going slowly mad from the twin demands of the U.S. medical system and running a business. I was miserable watching the steady deterioration under new management of a company I felt I had helped build. Our children were being raised by highly qualified nannies and teachers. We spent weekends on house chores and weeknights doing paperwork. In short, we were missing it.

From the moment the idea entered our heads, we began to prepare for our life as a cruising family. We bought a boat, gradually shed ourselves of all our things, quit work, began to homeschool, and started to live in each other’s pockets. The most challenging piece was selling DrC’s business which made the whole endeavor take an extra year.

Our first journey ended nearly three years after it began with a grand party to celebrate our departure for Vancouver Island. We had already begun a transformation from Type A, highly successful couple with three over achieving children to scruffy, layabout cruisers. We were, however, still essentially clean.