Right now, life aboard is as busy as we want it to be or as relaxed as we'd like it to be. We're strong believers in moderation and, for the past week, it's been a combination of both – busy and relaxed. Like the old saying goes, all work and no play....

We started off strong when we first got back to Washington last week. My area of expertise lies below decks in organizing things, so I was in charge of unpacking the truck-load of junk we'd brought with us for the trip. David, on the other hand, is the master of the topsides and spent a few days cleaning the decks and taking down our boat cover. Poor sod forgot that we'd just bought a pair of gumboots and spent the first afternoon barefoot while he washed things down. Jeff and Karry must have taken pity on him because they invited us upfor drinks when he was finished, and he was able to dry off in front of the fire. Through their intervention, he managed to avoid frostbite and hypothermia, but just barely. And thanks to the boots, the second day went much better.

The downside to all of this work, as we quickly learned, is that we're no longer boat-fit. It took a month and a half for our bodies to recover from the five months we spent at anchor last year and, now that they're healed, we're paying the price – everything from achy backs to sore knees to cramped hands – so we decided to take a few days off (and a few more after that).

On Monday, we went to the Seattle Boat Show with Jeff and Karry stopping off at the Chittenden Locks. The salmon aren't running this time of year, but we did get to see a few boats come through the locks giving us a good idea of the procedures should we ever decide to go through. After that, we went to Lake Union for the Boats Afloat Show. There were literally hundreds of boats to view and we spent a good part of the day boarding sailboats along with a 143-foot ship. The $6 million price tag was a little out of our reach, so we just admired the vessel rather than put an offer in. After a late lunch, we went to Qwest Stadium (home of the Seattle Seahawks) to check out the exhibits. The Seattle Boat Show is by far and away the best one we've been to and, even though we were disappointed only find one insurance company represented and no information on solar panels (the things we were interested in), it well worth the time and effort.

Other days this past week have been punctuated more subtly with dog walks on the beach, fixing computers, visiting with friends, and watching the weather. That's the amazing thing about living on a boat –there's always something to do and someone to share it with.