Sailing with Cats & Dog!
My Travel Story
-GABRIELLE BERNSTEIN
I was born and raised in Connecticut. I grew up in Hamden with my mother and stepfather. In 2001 my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. That same year my stepfather met a woman, in an MS support group meeting we had attended as a family, and apparently fell in love with her. This woman had also been diagnosed with MS and was already in a wheelchair and had two children of her own. My mother and stepfather sat me down one night, after a pizza dinner, and told me they would be separating. My mother was selling the house and she and I would be relocating to Roseboro, NC. leaving everything I knew, all of my family, aside from mom, and all of my friends behind. Doctors suggested the climate in NC would be more "moderate" and could help to limit my mother's MS exacerbations. The doctor's were wrong. In the summer of 2004, after numerous falls, not to mention the several motor vehicle accidents, we relocated to Oakboro, NC. to be closer to other family members in town and close by in Charlotte. My mother and I moving, this time, would mean that I would still be able go to school and others would be available to take care of my mother while I was in school. In 2005 my mother's MS left her wheelchair bound. At this point she also needed assistance in order to use the restroom. My mother was no longer able to perform her normal daily routine, like doing the laundry, or even packing my lunch for school, without assistance. At the age of 16 my mother was sent to Brookhaven Nursing home in Albemarle, NC. and I was sent to live with my half sister in Charlotte. In November of 2005 my mother passed away at Brookhaven due to complications with MS. She had a heart attack in her sleep and never woke up. Since my mother's passing I've struggled financially, mentally, emotionally, even physically. I did not seek proper counselling after my mother's passing, which left me pretty unstable going into adulthood. I struggle today with PTSD, non-service related, obviously. Every single day is a constant battle for sanity at this point. As much as my sister was available to me after my mother's passing, I do believe that I mentally blocked myself from being able to rationalize what was happening in a way that was conducive to me becoming a strong, secure, somewhat normal, individual. Instead of becoming the person that would make a break from tragedy and overcome all the bad and eventually become a true badass... I, on the other hand, totally lost my shit. After a series of troubling relationships, and friendships, mind crippling self medicating instances, aka substance abuse, and after catching the wrath of fate after some terrible fucking decision making on my part, I have reached 29 years old and have realized that the way that I am living is just not sustainable. I have very true feelings that if something doesn't give, if I can not, if I do not make a significant change in my life and strive towards finding my happy place, I just may not be able make it very much longer. In a grand effort to be in a better place, not only geographically, but most importantly, mentally, I am looking to get out of this concrete jungle, this banker city, Charlotte, NC. that I currently reside in, and have for the last 6 consecutive years. It is time to pick myself up and pack up my three kitties and my dog named Ham, and find ourselves a new home. I am hoping to make my way, with the pet babies, 866 miles south, to the beautiful island of Key West, FL. the Southernmost City in the Continental US. My father, who resides on Little Torch Key, rode out Hurricane Irma this past September on the islands. My father has been a contractor on the islands for the last 29+ years. He's built, repaired, and flipped houses, and businesses, all over the keys. If anyone had any idea which structures would withstand a CAT 5 Hurricane, it was my dad. Still the fear for his safety did choke me up, quite a bit too. During the storm I used social media in order to keep up with two separate FB Live Feeds from individuals riding ou the storm on the islands. One feed was of the boys aboard the S/V Andromeda. Look them up! The other feed was of a resident on Key West in an apartment complex up towards Stock Island. These Live Feeds were the only source of true information I had in regards to the conditions of the islands just before Irmas eyewall knocked out those connections as well. Although I did not own property on the islands, nor do I frequent every winter, although I had a great feeling my father was in a safe place and would be fine, sitting and waiting for communications to come back up, sitting and waiting to see my new FB friends that I had kept in contact with for hours on end were OK, sitting and waiting to KNOW, for sure, that my father was OK... well, the sitting and waiting snapped a few of my heart strings... and left me with a broken heart for that week with no contact. Now disasters are, apparently, all that I've been able to think about since the first pictures I saw of animals being rescued from Hurricane Harvey, just a week prior to Irma. At this point, I would rather sit through the next 20 hurricanes than EVER feel so completely, and utterly, helpless ever again. So, since September 2017 I have joined the American Red Cross as a volunteer, I also became a member of Team Rubicon, a non-government affiliated disaster relief, response and recovery organization. I have acquired numerous certificates from TR, RC, and FEMA, for disaster preparedness, emergency management, etc. I also became a Field Investigations and Response Team Member with the ASPCA and have acquired numerous certificates from them in regards to animals in disasters, emergency preparedness, etc. In September I also started my very own LLC called Peace Love Co. It's a multi-faceted sole propietorship, so it'sjust me, doing as much as I can, when I can! I offer Pet Services to my neighborhood, such as boarding, sitting, walking, drop in visits and training. I also provide Photography Services for pets and people! I also offer free resources, inspiration and recipes for individuals who are looking to lead a more Plant Based Lifestyle. I hope to be able to set up a home base in Key West and, from there, travel to areas that are prone to disasters, such as other islands of the keys, and beyond, and help to spread the knowledge that I have obtained over the last 7 months. I hope to be able to teach people how to prepare for future disasterous events. I'd also really like to volunteer my time and do some free workshops about pet safety in disasters and visit some shelters to lend a helping hand, and perhaps even help to rebuild a home, or ten! Starting a business of your own is no joke. Staying motivated to continue to build my business is no joke. It's becoming harder and harder, and Charlotte, not being prone to many disasters other than bars closing, has left me in a state of helplessness, yet again. There is only so much that I can do here. I feel like I need to expand. I need to become more hands on. I need to be travelling to areas where people need help. I need to find those individuals seeking the knowledge of how to prepare themselves and their pet companions in the case of an emergency. I need to be down in the Keys helping all of those individuals still trying to recover from Irma. But, how? How am I going to manage this? Travelling is so expensive! Well after over 2 years of acquiring books, watching hundreds of hours of documentaries, I have my heart set on how I am going to be able to do this. I am looking to establish a home for my pets and I on a 35-40 ft. ocean ready sailboat.
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$ 20,000
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$ 1,000
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$ 1,300
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$ 300
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$ 480
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$ 300
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