Tucker took 10,035 photos during our eight month voyage across the Pacific but what I hope I always remember cannot be captured with the camera.

The excitement of checking out of Mexico and watching the shore disappear in the east

The perfect sapphire blue of the ocean, hundreds of miles out, in the morning sun

Looking up and seeing the Southern Cross for the first time

The feeling of arrival when the latitude ticked down to zero

The sight and smell of land after 24 nights at sea

The taste of a perfect pamplemousse

The discovery of foamy sprouted coconuts

The eeriness of Fatu Hiva

The satisfaction of reaching a waterfall or a view spot after a challenging hike

The anticipation I felt while sitting on the table as Fati drew my tattoo on my arm

The amazing water clarity in the Tuomotos

The apprehension of seeing sharks in the water but slipping in for a swim anyway

The pride of seeing both of my kids swim for the first time

The mad chase for the nearest ice cream after each landfall

The awe of swimming with a humpback mama and calf

The anticipation and joy of searching for the treasure our friends Krister and Amanda buried for us in Tonga

Making closer and closer radio contact with Krister until we switched from SSB to VHF to finally talking in person

The happiness that washed over all us whenever we anchored and explored an uninhabited island

The sight of more stars than I ever imagined

The beauty of the sun rise behind us and the moon rise ahead of us over Moorea

The sound of the woosh woosh boom and skittering of lava rocks at the Mt. Yassur volcano

The stunning solar eclipse on our last passage

The sweet taste of every water coconut given to us by a local person

The way we hugged and jumped for joy as we approached the channel markers at the end of our crossing

I hope that as time passes and we look back at our 10,035 photos we’ve collected over the last eight months that we don’t forget the magic and wonder that this ocean has brought us.