Rosa Linda Román (00:28): All right. Hello and welcome to New Mexi-Castaways. I'm Rosa Linda Román and I am recording this in a hotel in West Palm Beach called Homewood Suites by Hilton. And it's a rather beautiful room and it's the kind of room that we stay in as a family. And that was actually the situation. This room was booked when I was going to be here with my whole family or at the very least, with my kids, but it didn't work out that way. So, let me back up a minute and tell you that I'm Rosa Linda Román. And this is my show that I like to call New Mexi-Castaways because we've been living for the past year and a half on a sailing catamaran called the Dawn Treader, but we've actually been off that boat now for, let's see, we left January 10th and it is now March 3rd. So, almost two months we've been off the boat traveling and staying in hotels and VRBO, HomeAway, Airbnb rental houses. And it's been an interesting couple of months. Rosa Linda Román (01:43): We were on the boat planning to sail to Puerto Rico when we had a bit of a side, everything changed because of an insurance issue that came up as we were about to sail to Puerto Rico. We ended up flying to Puerto Rico. The reason we were going to Puerto Rico in the first place was my daughter Ahava's bat mitzvah, which was scheduled January 20th in San Juan. Turned out everything changed after the hurricane. And that was Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico terribly. And my husband and I went there, Nathan and I went there and we found a place there on the west coast of the island in Rincon that we really fell in love with, Villa Cofresi. And we decided to do her bat mitzvah there. Rosa Linda Román (02:36): So, we were going to sail the boat over to Puerto Rico. That was the plan, everything was set, and then, we ran into insurance issues, which incidentally also were a result of the hurricanes, not just Maria, but Irma, and probably Matthew as well. And that is that a lot of boats were totally destroyed during those hurricanes and the insurance companies were very skittish about trying anything, doing anything, taking any risks. And so, they basically made it, you just have to go through a bit more of a process and make sure you're covered, with your insurance will cover you. Well, they didn't want to cover us to go to Puerto Rico at least on a holiday weekend when we had this beautiful weather window New Year's weekend. So, we ended up not being able to sail, and we flew there, and we left the boat and the dog, Nala, in Georgetown. That was not our intention. Rosa Linda Román (03:40): We were all going the whole boat, including Miss Lauren, our then live aboard nanny, and my three kids, Ahava, Ziva, and Samuel, my husband, Nala are almost two-year-old German shepherd, and myself. We were all going to sail to Puerto Rico, be in Puerto Rico, and then, continue sailing from there. But so many things were going on. We missed that weather window because of the insurance issue and had to scramble so that we could still get there in time for Ahava's bat mitzvah. So, because of that, that made it so we were not able to bring the boat with us. And as we were prepping to leave the boat, there were a number of extenuating circumstances that happened that made it… the good thing is, it gave us a place to leave the boat safely. And it had to do with a medical issue that a nearby person had who lives on the island there in The Bahamas, in Georgetown area. Rosa Linda Román (04:45): And Nathan, my husband being a doctor, he was able to help a gentleman get to some much-needed medical attention. And we became friends with the family and they happened to have a mooring field. And so, they wonderfully allowed us to keep our boat on their mooring field, in a protected harbor. And at the same time, my daughter Ahava, she has always wanted to babysit, and she became mother's helper for this family. They have two young sons. And so, she was going over there every day, leading up to our departure from Georgetown. She was going to help take care of these two little boys. And when we would take her over there, a lot of times we had Nala with us, and Nala started becoming very friendly with their family, and the mother of the house said she was happy to have Nala there because she had just lost her beloved dog. So, it worked out that Nala and the boat both stayed in the care of a family there in Georgetown. Rosa Linda Román (05:49): Well, it ended up being a lot longer than we expected it to be. We stayed in Puerto Rico for a full month and that was not the original intention. I mean, I certainly wanted to. I wanted to be in Puerto Rico for six months or more, but at that moment that wasn't really the plan because we didn't have our dog and we didn't have our boat. And we were, basically, just living, I mean, there were a few nights that I slept on, you know, relative's couches and the kids were crashing on cushions on the floor, which, you know, we roll with it. But, you know, it's been a lot of coming and going, and things were not… we didn't pack, when we left the boat we didn't pack thinking, "Oh, we're going to be gone for a month. Rosa Linda Román (06:38): We packed just for the trip for the bat mitzvah thinking we'd come right back. So, now, we fast forward to where we are at this point. There came a point where we realized Nala couldn't stay with the family anymore, that she had been staying with. And we started trying to figure out how to get her. And we were not getting a lot of clear answers about, like, what was going on with her. And it turned out that she had gone missing for a couple days and trying to figure out what was going on with Nala and make sure that she was taken care of while we were still traveling in Puerto Rico, and, you know, just doing the usual stuff. And Ahava who is a competitive gymnast was starting to train at a gym in Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, Nathan's work really kicked back up again. Rosa Linda Román (07:35): He had taken three weeks off in December so that he could be with us and sail in The Bahamas. But once we were in Puerto Rico, he was pretty much working full-time. And we were hosting 70 people for our daughter's bat mitzvah. And so, once our guests left and we settled into the routine in Puerto Rico, we were able to kind of regroup, see what was going on, and that's when we finally really started to get the sense that maybe we needed to go get Nala. So, we made the inquiries, finally figured out that she was totally fine, but she was being taken care of by a nearby resort. She had run away from the family that she had been staying with, not because she didn't like them, but because she is a free spirit. She's a wanderer, that's Nala. And in her decision to run to this nearby resort she befriended them and they had been taken care of her. Rosa Linda Román (08:37): They fed her, they feed her twice a day, they gave her a bed to sleep at at night. And so, she went from the Kevalli House, which is the house the family that was taking care of her to St. Francis Resort, and Jill and George that own that resort have been caring for Nala. So, I finally figured that all out and got in touch with Jill and George, and or Jill, at least. And it was an interesting thing because I think she thought that Nala had been abandoned. And then, she took her in and to her, she's their dog now. And meanwhile, all of this was going on while I had been posting in a group called Women Who Sail, which is an amazing group of women, asking for help, if anyone in Georgetown might be able to look after our dog, maybe check on our boat, check on our dog, that kind of thing. Rosa Linda Román (09:39): So, all of this was kind of happening simultaneously. When I finally got to the bottom of it and figured out that Nala was being cared for, and she was with this couple and I called, it took a while before anyone finally got back to us. And part of that was we had the wrong number. The other part was, I think that they weren't sure that they wanted, I know they're not sure they want to give her back because she has said that several times now, and knowing that she's not really wanting to give her back, I was at first, like, "What do you mean you're not going to give back our dog?" But I also then had to, like, think, and this is a woman who just wants the best for Nala. She has come to fall in love with this dog. And I have been seeing posts from other boats, friends of friends, who have posted what a friendly ambassador to this stocking island Nala has become. And she plays with all the kids and everybody loves her. Rosa Linda Román (10:35): And so, Nathan is kind of, like, "Well, what if she's totally thrilled and happy, and she's got unlimited beach, and coconuts, and then she's got a family that loves her, and they're taking care of her. Is it really fair for us, a traveling family, to pull her away from that and bring her with us?" So, that's what we've been struggling with. So, that's one thing. Then the other question that we've been having over and over again is what to do about the boat? Nathan has basically decided completely he's done with it. He's ready to sell it. He does not want the burden of the boat anymore. I envisioned that we were going to have more time on the boat and we were going to sail as a family once again, and then, eventually, come to the decision that we would, you know, sell it over months or, you know, maybe a year or so, but he was already, as I described to the kids, we were talking at breakfast this morning, and I said, "You know, he's basically 10 feet out the door already." Rosa Linda Román (11:46): And Ahava or Ziva, one of them said, "Well, that means he's in the water if he's 10 feet out the door." I said, "Yeah, well, he's walking on water, moving on beyond the boat. And mentally, he's way past that." And so, we were talking originally about getting someone, a captain to bring the boat back to Florida so that they could, so he could sell it. And it's already on the market. The Dawn Treader is officially for sale and she is on the market. And so, he was saying the best way to sell it is to get it back to Florida. Of course, I was dragging my feet on that, because I didn't want to do that because it meant giving up on that dream completely. But over the past two months I have just started to really try to shift myself and think, okay, is it the boat that I most want? Or is it something else? You know, do I really want a boat if it means my husband is always miserable about it, and you know, he's working, you know, so much more because he feels like he can't ever stop because financially a boat is a huge commitment. Rosa Linda Román (12:33): No, I want him healthy. I want us happy. And maybe the better way of looking at it is we're a traveling family and I'll get into that idea later. But right now, continuing with the kind of where we are now and what brought us to where we are. I had those conversations about Nala and came to realize that they weren't sure they wanted to give her up. Then we were also trying to figure out what to do about the boat. To hire a captain, it was going to be about $10,000 to, you know, pay for a captain to bring the boat back to us. Rosa Linda Román (13:30): And we really didn't want to pay that, obviously. And we were also not convinced we wanted to do it. By the way, I'm going to start making noises because I want to work while I talk. What I'm doing is rearranging and reKonMaring, if you remember the system I use to downsize to move onto the boat. I've been reKonMaring things and trying to organize. So, now that my kids have all gone and my husband has gone, I am alone with a bunch of stuff in a hotel room that's too big for me. And it's great because I'm spreading things out and I just poured myself a glass of wine. You can hear it. And I'm going to sit here with my stuff and sort, sort, sort, mostly paperwork, and stuff that I have been carrying from one hotel to the next, to the next, that I kind of shoved in there at the last minute and need to sort through because I only want to bring what we need, want, and adore rather than dragging it from place to place. Rosa Linda Román (14:37): Okay, so $10,000 for the captains. Let me have a sip of that wine, which is not my favorite. It's a white Zinfandel that I'm shocked that Nathan bought, but it's okay, it'll do. So, here I am. We're on the captain issue. We didn't want to do that. So, I said, "Why don't we find a way to get to the boat and just take a sail back as a family?" So, we tried every which way to do that, every which way. But Nathan is the only captain. He's the only one that knows how to sail the boat, is legally able to. I know how to drive the boat, but as far as like doing everything myself, I definitely don't feel comfortable with that. Rosa Linda Román (15:21): On a side note, now that I've become a part of this awesome group called Women Who Sail. I am definitely realizing what a mistake it was not to insist that I learn, and get certified, and meet the requirements to be able to sail the boat completely on my own because now I'm in this quandary where I feel I still love the boat and want to have that connection. And I would definitely sail more. But my partner, the one who knows how to do that, isn't on board, pun intended. So anyway, that's the reality. I can't change that at this point, but it definitely makes me think about how I will approach things moving forward. So, we didn't want to pay the money to hire a captain. But I had put out there on this Women Who Sail group about Nala, and about the boat, and just kind of, generally, like, what the heck is the situation. In fact, let me see if I can find that post. I'm going to pause and I'm going to be right back where I can read to you the post that I wrote if I can get there. Rosa Linda Román (16:38): All right, I'm back, and I found the posting. And it was written in Boquerón, Puerto Rico. So, that's where we were on January 31st when I was trying to figure all of this out. It says, "Thanks for the ad ladies. I wanted to join this group on the recommendation of a woman named Suki, who I met while she was dog-sitting in Georgetown, Bahamas. Now, I'm in need of similar help. Here's our story. Our boat s/v Dawn Treader, which is sailing vessel, in case you don't know, and our dog, our both in Georgetown right now while our family is in Puerto Rico. We have a wonderful family watching her on land there, but our trip ended up being longer than expected and we need to either find a way to pick her up and get her back to Florida or get someone to take her and keep her there in Georgetown for about a month. Rosa Linda Román (17:29): Nala is a one-and-a-half-year-old German shepherd who has lived on board with our family, including three kids, her whole life. She is a joyous, loving dog with tons of energy. She was professionally trained, sit, stay, come, heel, down, et cetera, which by the way was done by my friend, Betsy Alvarez, who is awesome and is well behaved, but also, is very big and would need someone who could get her to land daily. She swims like a fish and loves to run on the beach and chase coconuts. On Dawn Treader she goes potty only in the designated spot. I am also trying to figure out what to do about the boat. DH wants to get her back to Florida…" Her, meaning the boat. DH can stand for dear husband or some other moniker depending on the day and the group describing their husbands. Rosa Linda Román (18:21): So, "DH wants to get her, the boat, back to Florida, but the kids and I aren't ready to give up the dream. Ideally, I would like to keep Nala and Dawn Treader safely in Georgetown so that we could return for the cruiser's Regatta, March 1st through 15th. I am open to creative ideas, thanks for reading." And then, there's a picture of our family with Nala and a bunch of cute Nala pictures. And there were a bunch of comments from people offering their services, suggesting their friends who are captains that might want to bring her back. What else? A lot of people saying she's a beauty, asking what kind of boat it is? Here someone said, "What kind of boat do you have? Would it be available to sail? Experienced sailor." So, this is someone who was talking about sailing the boat back with the dog. Rosa Linda Román (19:09): So, these are the kinds of things we've been toying with and it opened up other possibilities. Here's someone who suggested a world schooler exchange, where you have someone move on to your boat in exchange you move on into their house or wherever they're from. And they, I think, were from Scotland, maybe something like that. So yeah, from Scotland. So, you know, that would be really cool. And to be honest, that's the kind of thing that I would be very comfortable with and excited about. And my husband really doesn't like the idea. And these are those challenges of things that you face when you're in a couple, and especially, well, it's probably the case, no matter what kind of couple you are. But for me, the challenge is we have different levels of comfort. In some ways, everybody knows Nathan as the adventurer and you know, he does things differently. He always has. He sees the world differently. Rosa Linda Román (20:07): And so, I think they think that a lot of our crazy family adventures are really pushed forward by him. And in some ways, that's true, but it's more that he sees things differently. So, he sees different possibilities about getting the same job done. He's very MacGyver-ish in some ways. Like, he can see a problem and he'll see it differently, and come up with a completely different solution than most people will think of. And that to me is his special power, his superpower. He definitely is an asset to any organization that he works for. You know, there's so many positives from his way of seeing things, but when it comes to the adventuring, I actually think I'm in some ways more, no, maybe not adventurous is the right word. I want to push it more. I don't want to just settle down. I definitely am more of a nomad and more gypsy-like in my heart. Rosa Linda Román (21:18): But when it comes to the logistics of it and pulling it off, that's Nathan. Like, he's definitely the one that figures out, you know, when we are staying in these HomeAways or these different places, he's the one who's helping figure out the logistics of it, making sure we have the rental car, making sure we have, you know, he just handles things really, really well and really, really differently than I do. Whereas I'm really good at making… with the kids, you know, people are like, "Well, where's your home?" And, like, Ziva's comment early on was, "Home is where my family is." And that is, I will take credit for that because even when Nathan's been traveling, he's traveled for work their whole lives. Rosa Linda Román (22:00): He's never worked in the same city that we've lived in except for one year when we were in Gallup together. And even that we were commuting between Albuquerque and Gallup. So, you know, keeping that stability and making… even though we're traveling and we're coming and going, the stability part of it, I think is my strength, and the logistics part of it tends to be Nathan's strength. And that's true when we're in agreement. Like we're both… the goal is the same. We both have the same goal. It works really, really well, I think. But we're kind of at this crossroads where our goals are very different. He is really ramping up and excited because he's up for this huge promotion at work. And he just had a massive presentation on Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, and he's hoping to get this huge big promotion. Rosa Linda Román (23:02): So, his focus is really on work right now. And I am not feeling that. I'm feeling like I want us to continue the extra family time where we're exploring the world together, not exploring new work opportunities, but exploring new opportunities as a family together, right? So, because we've been having this, you know, impasse, it makes the planning and the logistics harder, because we're not on the same page all the time. So, I finally started… I had a girlfriend, a dear friend, Mika, who said to me, "Listen, you know, if it was that you…" What did she say? That if he was being unreasonable, because he's basically asking me to move off the boat, sell the boat, and you know, basically, settle down is what it felt like, which of course, to me felt like death, you know? If he was being unreasonable she would tell me, and she'd say, "You know, he just needs to get over himself." Rosa Linda Román (24:10): But she said, "You know, maybe you need to get over yourself." And that's a real friend that can tell you that, right? Because normally, friends are like, "No, no, he's crazy." But in this case, at this stage, he's got this really great opportunity. And if we are doing the crazy big dreams that I want to do right now, then the opportunity for him is going to pass. And he's 11 years older than I am, right? That's number one. I'm going to drink some wine on that point. And it's an opportunity that really is only going to come once because, I mean, there's only maybe a handful of people in the whole country that have the position that he is going after within a corporation this size, right? So, what she said to me, and what she's saying, and what I've been trying to embrace is that maybe this is the time to let him, you know, do that and focus on the thing that he most wants to pursue. Rosa Linda Román (25:13): So, with that in mind, I am starting to try to accept that we are selling the boat and we are going to move into a totally different chapter, but that still leaves the logistics of, okay, so if we are going to sell the boat, how do we get the boat back here, first of all? And second of all, what about the dog? Those are two major things. Okay, we can talk about the boat. So, with that Women Who Sail post that I just read to you, I got a great note from someone named, and I'm sure I'm going to butcher her name, Farina, I believe is her name. And she and her husband are captains. And hopefully, she won't be offended that I'm going to read this to you. She said, "Hi Rosa." Because she didn't know me, didn't know I go by Rosa Linda, "Did you get your situation with your dog and boat figured out? My husband and I are both 100-ton licensed captains and work making charts and cruising when we are not working, making charts and cruising when we're not working. We have been looking at lagoons to buy as our next boat." Rosa Linda Román (26:25): Which, of course, the boat that we have is a lagoon. "Any interest in having us deliver your boat to Florida, we would pay for all of our expenses, of course. So, you can get to know us a bit by taking a look at our blog." And their blog is pacificsailors.com. "Thanks, Farina." So, I thought about it a lot. I communicated with her via Messenger, and then, I talked to Nathan, and I said, "Well, what do you think of this?" You know, it's kind of out of left field. I know Nathan is not generally comfortable with the thought of anybody else driving the boat, period. That's part of the reason why I never really learned because it wasn't something… He always has said, "Well, I'm the only one that can drive the boat." Rosa Linda Román (27:13): And I think that's been a source of pride for him. And he likes that he's the one that drives the boat, but we are now in a situation where he can't even get two days off in a row some weeks. And he certainly can't find five days or whatever he's going to need to sail it from Georgetown to another island where he could potentially fly out of. And I'm not surprised, because frankly, March of last year, he was only able to be with us for three days of that whole month. So, it's a busy season for him, and finding the time for him to be able to go and get the boat, ideally, with us and actually sail as a family, that's just not going to happen, not right now. Rosa Linda Román (28:00): So, we called the couple and had a good conversation with them, further investigated, got to know them, talked to them. And I finally got Nathan to agree that we were going to have this couple go and get the dog and get the boat. And that's what we were going to do. So, then I kind of went back to my plan. I still wanted to go to the boat because part of the problem is when we left the boat I never thought, "Oh, we're leaving the boat. Like, this is it. We're moving off the boat." So, we did not leave the boat thinking we were leaving, right? We left the boat thinking this was just temporary and then we're going to come back and sail again. So, we didn't take most of our most precious things off the boat. It is still as we left it. And we have been traveling with the clothes that we needed for the bat mitzvah. Rosa Linda Román (28:53): And we've been traveling with, you know, the things that we needed for traveling to Puerto Rico, but not the things we need for long term. So, with that in mind, now, I realized one of the things as I sat and did some soul searching and talking with Nathan is I said, "Listen, the problem is you want to sell the boat? I get that. I'm trying to embrace that. But I feel like that chapter is not closed for me yet. I'm not ready to say, yeah, we're done. And we're, you know, everything's off the boat. We can just go move on to the next thing. I need to go and be in the space of the boat that I have, you know, designed with love to be our living space and I need to go through it, and I need to sort through things, and I need to kind of leave it in my way." Rosa Linda Román (29:42): And so, I decided I am going to Georgetown and I was going to go with the kids until we had some family conversations. And I came to realize the kids, yes, they want to go to the boat. They like that thought, but more, and when I say the kids, specifically, it was Ziva and Samuel really wanted to get to Chicago to see their cousins and spend time with my family. And I kept saying, "Okay, well I guess the kids could go to Chicago, and Nathan and I could go to the boat and we could, you know, sort through things, and we'll go check on Nala." And the plan was to go to the boat and, you know, get Nala, bring her to the boat, and then have the couple sail the boat back with Nala on board. Rosa Linda Román (30:33): Well, we ran into some challenges just a few days ago. They already bought their tickets. I bought my ticket, but now the plan has changed. Nathan has his clinical work in New Mexico. He just left today. And the kids, all three of them flew to Chicago with my sister who came from Chicago. She works for United and she came, and picked them up, and flew them back today to Chicago. So, right now that's why I'm alone in this hotel room because the kids are in Chicago, Nathan is in New Mexico. And now I am going tomorrow to Georgetown. The insurance issue that we ran into is that we submitted the couple's names and CV, which is curriculum vitae, I think is called, their resumes to say that they're, you know, qualified to captain our boat and they're going to bring our boat back for us. And our insurance company denied them, denied adding them to our insurance. Rosa Linda Román (31:36): Which is the exact thing they did. They denied us when we wanted to go sail to Puerto Rico. So, the insurance thing is maddening. And now we're in a situation where I'm going to Georgetown tomorrow. We still don't know if the insurance company is going to approve them to sail the boat back to Florida. So, I'm going either way. And so, I got in touch with the people who have been watching Nala. Now, mind you I've been calling for several days, but they didn't return my call, but finally, she did answer and I know they're busy, they're running a resort, but I think it's more that they don't really want to deal with the thought that I'm going to take Nala. And I'm going to take a break, and when I come back, I'll wrap it up with just kind of where we are at this point Rosa Linda Román (32:30): All right, I'm back. And let me just kind of wrap things up here. So basically, I am going tomorrow to Georgetown, and I finally got in touch with the folks that have Nala, and she is a sweetheart, the woman that loves her. And that makes it much more difficult actually for me, not really because I'm grateful and I know that Nala's okay, but when I said, "I'm going to be coming in, you know, I'll check on her and see what the situation is." She said, "Well, you know if she sees you, she's going to want to come with you. And if you don't take her, then she's going to be looking for you." And so, I had only said I wasn't going to take her because the lady didn't want me to take her. So, I was just trying to kind of make it, you know, easy on her, because she obviously has been loving our dog, and taking care of our dog, and I don't want to make her feel like I don't appreciate her contribution, but it's a very delicate dance because she now thinks, well, maybe I shouldn't come see her at all. Rosa Linda Román (33:44): I'm going, "Wait a second, wait a second." The problem is, you know, I have a little bit of mixed emotion, right? Because if she is joyously happy there, and I love my dog, and I want her to be happy. And the part that I didn't get into yet is the realization as a family that we maybe are a full-time traveling family. We were talking, we were going to move to Phoenix, and that was going to be right away because of my husband's job. But he came to realize we really don't need to be in one set place for at least four to six months because other than the gymnastics factor, which by the way, that's why Ahava went with them to Chicago. She trained in Puerto Rico, and then, she trained at her gym here in West Palm Beach, but only for really, all told, she had like a month to train, and then, she had her competitions, and she did not get enough points to qualify for the state meet. Rosa Linda Román (34:42): She kicked butt, and she was amazing, and it's an incredible comeback already, but it wasn't enough to qualify for the state meet at the end of the month, which meant that she didn't need to stay and train like she would've had to if she had made the state meet. So, they're in Chicago, and now I'm going to Georgetown and Nathan's doing his clinicals. So, when I talk to this lady, I'm going, okay, so do I go there and get Nala right away, bring her to the boat with me, and stay on the boat with her, and just see how she does. And then if she wants to stay with me so much, just take her, and bring her back on the flight a week later, I'm there in Georgetown for a week, bring her back as a service dog back into our lives. Rosa Linda Román (35:33): Or do I, assuming the insurance issue is going to work out, fingers crossed, with the two captains, do I have Nala stay on the boat with them, sail her back with them, and then, we reunite with her when the boat and the dog return to Florida? Or the third question, the third option is leave Nala where she is, with the lady that seems to really love her and care for her. Now, that would be probably a no-brainer, right? Except that some of my friends who are on other boats have said that when they and their kids went to the beach, Nala came up to them, and there were no people with her. She basically is a freely roaming dog most of the time with a place to sleep at night, and a place to go for meals where they love her. So, when my friends who have kids that played with my kids right before we left Georgetown when they were playing with her, and they went to leave, she started whimpering and wanting to go get in their boat and wanting to go with them. Rosa Linda Román (36:43): So, part of me thinks that, you know, it's kind of like with kids, kids want total freedom, and total unchecked, you know, no limitations, but they really need discipline, right? And they really need structure of some kind. I feel like my gut is saying, I know it's going to be hard to take her away from this sweet woman who loves her, but she's a family dog. And she grew up with our kids and she knows us. And she will be happy with us as we travel. So, the next chapter is going to involve a lot of travel. Well probably, the theory is, and this is something I'll talk about it in a future podcast, we've been kind of buying what we need to prepare and having the right suitcases and stuff like that. But basically, the thought is we will go to a place for a month or two, let Ahava go train at the gym, the local gym, wherever that is, and be there, you know, for that amount of time. And before we move on to explore another place and do the same thing. Rosa Linda Román (37:46): So, if we did that, we can do that with Nala. It's more difficult, more challenging, because not every place accepts a dog, but it is doable. And I feel safer because I'm alone a lot with the kids a lot. And it's a lot easier for me to be in a place alone with kids, without my husband when I know I have a German shepherd keeping an ear on things and keeping a watch on things. So, part of it is for totally selfish reasons. I want to go get Nala and have her back in our lives. She's a well-trained dog. You know, she knows what's expected and she's our family dog. So, what would you do? By the time you listen to this, it will already be done and resolved, but I'm curious, what would you have done if you were in my situation? Would you go and get Nala and bring her right back? Would you let her stay with the people who give her free reign, feed her and give her a loving place to sleep at night? Or would you have her come back to the boat and sail back with the boat and the captains? Rosa Linda Román (38:50): I think that's enough talking. I'm going to get back to work and try to organize some of this stuff and enjoy the silence that I have for the next 24 hours. Thank you so much for listening to New Mexi-Castaways. If you like this podcast, please give it a review, let people know about it, spread the word and you can always join my private Facebook group, which is where I share more of the videos and behind-the-scenes stuff, that is New Mexicast on Facebook. It's facebook.com/newmexicast. And look for the Join Us… I think it's Join Us button or Sign Up maybe is what it's called. Sign up and then join the New Mexi-Castaways crew. Thanks again. Take care. I'm Rosa Linda Román.