Unexcused Absences

We have a new addition to the family! She is 8.8 meters long and weighs 7 tons. Yes, we have just purchased a small canal boat. In southern France. And before you ask, yes, we have lost our minds.

Comet 6, sister ship to our Comet 13

Some of you know that I recently made a secret trip to France. A few of you know why I went. For everyone else, I took the trip to finalize the purchase of our boat, Comet 13 (don’t worry, we will rename her). With this purchase, we’ve now locked down Phase II of our Unexcused Absence.

This whole silliness started in the fall of 2009; Suzanne, Karen, Heather and I were sitting on the deck of our rented canal boat in western Burgundy, France, enjoying a lunch of baguette, Époisses de Bourgogne cheese, and a Grand Cru Chablis that we bought from a lockkeeper, when I looked up at a passing barge and saw, flying from the foredeck, the Colorado flag. This registered one of those “hmm, you don’t see a Colorado flag cruising through rural France every day,” looks among the four of us. We resolved to track them down and learn their story.

Eric and Sudi's "Oldtimer"

Later that day, farther down the canal, Heather was out for a jog and saw the boat parked for the night along the canal. Turns out the boat (Oldtimer) was a converted Dutch cargo barge from 1927, and was owned by Eric and Sudi, retirees from Vail (of all places!) who were on their fourth straight year living on the canals of central France. Out came the happy hour supplies, and we spent a lovely evening in rapt attention, learning about the fascinating world of living full-time on the inland waterways of Europe.

Who knew that France has over 8,800 kilometers of navigable canals and rivers? Who knew that there is an entire ex-pat community of people, mostly from the UK, Netherlands and Germany, who live full- or part-time on the canals? Who knew you could get from central France through Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany all the way to Prague, Czech Republic, entirely on canals and rivers? That evening was certainly an eye-opener.

And the most amazing part, to us, was the cost, or lack thereof, of their adventure. Eric and Sudi kindly shared with us details about their annual budget, as well as the current state of the market price for used canal boats. Shockingly, the total costs were very manageable, even for two semi-employed, decidedly un-wealthy people like us! A little post-vacation research showed us we could own a small canal boat in France for less than $4k per year, including mooring fees, fuel, waterways license, registration, insurance, and regular maintenance.

Vineyards below Sancerre

So the seed was firmly planted by late 2009; we just had to create our own canal boat adventure! By mid-2010, preparations were in full swing. We had cut our expenses to the bone (see Suzanne’s guest post on that topic), had held a big garage sale to purge our house of unneeded possessions, and had lined up a boat-finding excursion to France for the fall.

We began our trip courtesy of Eric and Sudi with a short stay on Oldtimer, moored on the Loire Canal at the village of Sancerre (wine lovers, pay attention), then drove over to St. Jean-de-Losne, the “boating capital” of central France, to look at a number of used boats, most of which were rather disappointing. They were either well used, in terrible shape, or overpriced.

Not in our price range

Definitely in our price range

Not in our price range

Definitely in our price range

More than a little discouraged, we took a train to the Canal du Midi (in the south) to charter a boat that was for sale from Le Boat, the big European waterways charter boat company. Happily the boat, Comet 13, was perfect, as much as a 20-year-old charter boat can be perfect. But the price was right! Le Boat agreed to make some repairs over the winter, and I set up my secret trip to France, just completed, to inspect the repairs and finalize the purchase.

The small-boat harbor in Beaucaire

The folks in St. Gilles (where the boat spent the winter) did a fantastic job of fixing up the boat and preparing it for our purchase. I spent 3 days making carpentry and electrical modifications, and purchasing all those things you need when you get a new place to live (trash cans, mops, etc.), then took the boat out for a 2-day shakedown cruise to Beaucaire, about 4 hours up the canal from St. Gilles. Heather remained in Beaver Creek. After all, one of us has to work!

Marseille, France

I finished my secret France trip with an overnight stay in Marseille, then set off at 6am on the 27-hour journey back to Beaver Creek. The commute home started with a long walk through Marseille to catch a bus ride to the airport, then flights to Munich, Philadelphia, and Denver, followed by a Colorado Mountain Express van to our door in Avon.

We head back to the south of France in early May to begin our summer boating adventure with a 500 km cruise along the Canal du Midi and Canal de Garonne. Phase II of our Unexcused Absence starts in less than 4 weeks!

Saint Vincent-de-Paul

Marseille waterfront at night

[The following is a guest post from our dear friend and vacation lifestyle confidant/conspirator, Suzanne.]

I was recently in Beaver Creek enjoying the hospitality of Dr. and Mrs. Vacation.   As a long time friend, neighbor and traveling companion, I happily celebrate their adventure and achievement.  However, blog readers need to know that their journey to this point was anything but glamorous.  Once the Agreement to take time off was signed (read about it here), Kent and Heather (K/H) went into savings overdrive with a focus on managing expenses.  In retrospect, those actions impacted their lives in many ways.

Pre agreement, K/H would often meet friends over dinner at various restaurants and clubs.  Post agreement, all restaurant meals disappeared from their social calendar.  In fact, everything about meals changed. When K/H issued a dinner invitation, meat generally became a condiment rather than a focus of the meal.  A solid piece of meat or chicken was ground up or shredded in order to stretch it.   Individual bottles of wine disappeared and were replaced by a box or liter format containers. Meal portions were carefully rationed to provide subsequent meals. Leftover bratwurst purchased for a client appreciation or community party became the basis for an evening celebration with friends.

Additionally, K/H controlled electricity costs of their 1950s home with a vengeance.  In the winter, I went to visit knowing the house would be chilly…well, cold.  Kent would typically greet visitors dressed as Nanook of the North.  Heather admitted that she worked at the computer wearing heavy socks, sweater, slippers — plus a blanket.  Summer had the opposite effect.  Gatherings on sweltering summer DC evening were held outside —  because it was still cooler than being inside the fan-only cooled house!

And while on the topic of the house, in preparing for the year off, K/H renovated their home to make it more appealing to the market — doing much of the work themselves — and living in it during construction.  Then they heavily edited their belongings — often at great emotional cost.  Their home is now rented to generate income — and save expenses.

Clothing purchases can have a significant impact on a budget, and that was addressed as well.  During the heady days of telecom employment, I remember Kent purchasing a lovely designer suit to wear at a series of black tie events.   Now he shops at Target and Wal-Mart.  Heather has been spotted shopping at Goodwill on more than one occasion, and I doubt she’ll ever again purchase a Tommy Bahama swimsuit.

I reveal these insights not to ridicule or demean, but to illustrate that achieving a dream typically comes with a price tag.  From my perspective as an investment advisor, unless you are Bill Gates, one has limited assets — so one must set priorities to determine which desires will be fulfilled and which will go by the wayside.  Kent and Heather did exactly that — primarily by cost cutting decisions that others might find unpalatable.  I also note that the decision to remain child-free contributed significantly toward their ability to take a year off.  Luck has also played into their story; both Kent and Heather are very healthy, physically strong individuals — and their family responsibilities are minimal.

So I raise my glass to celebrate not only Kent and Heather’s year off but the journey as well:  Cheers to the fruits of frugality!  I love it when a plan comes together!