TAMMY :: THE HIGHLIGHTS


How did a skinny kid born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico, (yes, THAT Roswell) end up on a sailboat in the wide open ocean? And what happened after that?



LIVING :: Plodding across land
My 50+ year route from desert to ocean to wine country led from New Mexico through Texas, Iowa, Virginia, D.C., Maryland, New York and finally, the Outer Banks of North Carolina. From there my husband Chip and I set off on our sailing phase, blowing around the East Coast and the Bahamas for four years. Then we bought a car for our road trip phase, eventually settling in Napa Valley where we are having our wine country phase, living small while living large.

SAILING :: Riding the wind
As kid, I played Swiss Family Robinson in the willow tree out back -- yes, in the middle of New Mexico. Talk about shipwrecked! My play was more about the ship and less about the wreck, and I sailed through gales in my willowy cockpit, and conquered tropical islands that to the unimaginative probably looked like a bumpy stretch of Bermuda grass with a clothesline strung across it.

I started dabbling in actual sailing that involved more water than a garden hose could provide when I lived in Austin in the '80s. But I didn't really start learning until Chip and I got together in 1997, first on a Balboa 26' named Bella Luna and then a Downeast 32' named Isabella.

In 2010, after 13 years of daysailing, we set out for good on Cara Mia, our Island Packet 380. We sailed her for four years along the East Coast, the Keys and the Bahamas. 

WORKING :: Plodding through employment :: My professional page
My circuitous career path (more of a career maze) included, among other things, technical secretary, conference coordinator, art broker, public information officer, production designer, travel guide editor and nine years of editorial positions at washingtonpost.com. Eventually, I created a job for myself that, rather than driving me to drink, instead encouraged me to do so. We opened Chip's Wine & Beer Market in Kill Devil Hills where I became a beer specialist. We sold the wine shop to fund our travels. 

Commissioning Cara Mia
WRITING & PHOTOGRAPHY :: My creative outlets
Except for the beer specialist side trip, every job I've had since I turned 30 has had something to do with writing or publishing. I now write about my own experiences. You can find links to my published writing on my professional page or this Pinterest board.

The photography came when Chip bought me a Canon40D for my birthday in 2008. I was a little annoyed at first that he didn't get me a point and shoot, but over time, I've grown to love the power it gives me to capture my own visual perspective on the amazing sights I see as we plod through paradise. My photo essays are linked on Pinterest.

With Chip @ the Louvre.
Taking pictures in my homeland.

Hanging out in Warderick Wells, Exumas.
If you want to know more (really?), here's 25 Random Things About Me from our old blog.