We're keeping a blog hoping to share our adventure with you, as well as having this log to refer to in the years to come - - long after we have crossed our wake! Enjoy!
The blue line shows how far we've traveled so far!
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December 2, 2024 update: Today was the last day of our trip to Brunswick Landing Marina, in Brunswick, GA. It was a cold night and cold morning and we're happy to be heading south. We had hoped to get to Brunswick by November 15, when our contract started, but the boat yard work in Cape Charles and Mother Nature had us arriving today. Better late than never!
Capt. Bob and Gordy pulling up the anchor!
We pulled anchor and got underway before 8 a.m. for our last stretch. We came by a fishing vessel that was going in circles and 2 crew where on the side boom trying to release whatever was giving them a headache. They did not call for help, so we let them be! Other than that, it was an uneventful day on the water.
We arrived at the marina a little after 2. Our assigned slip, 12E, is on the north side of the marina, close to shore where the bath house and the yacht club are. As we got closer, Bob and I wondered if they knew the size of our boat. The dock looked very narrow! And as we were coming in, the winds picked up! Fortunately, we had a very capable Dock Master helping us with the lines and she knew exactly what to do. Bob was able to back us into our slip in on our second try without crashing into anyone! Yay! We heard that a boat that came in before us had much harder time and crashed into the dock and bounced to the other side! Ouch!
Our friends, Jen and Gerry, were waiting for us as we tied our lines! What a welcome! After securing the boat, I started preparing a dish to share at the happy hour while Bob and the boys went to bring our many packages that were delivered here ahead of our arrival. Among them were my birthday present from Bob (a new mahjong set), a case for my new phone, as well as a compact Christmas tree we had found on Amazon!
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| Our first Christmas decoration on Imzadi |
Today, the marina is hosting happy hour (as they do every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) and they had Christmas tree lighting ceremony in the yacht club. This afternoon, I had reached out to other Loopers in the marina and made contact with 2 boats! One boat crew is in Kansas City for the holidays and the other couple (Gold Loopers) are currently here and we made plans to meet at the party.
Tomorrow, we will start cleaning and organizing Imzadi, before putting up more Christmas decorations. Stay tuned for pictures!
BTW - we have a new mailing address until end of April!
Asea & Bob Renning / Imzadi
Brunswick Landing Marina
One Torras Landing
Brunswick, GA 31520
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December 1, 2024 update: We timed our departure this morning with the slack tide. We also asked the dock hand to help us with the lines as the lines from the sailboat behind us were overlapping over our swim platform. The dock hand has the authority to rearrange lines (and we don't!). All precautions taken, Capt. Bob got us off the dock smoothly as you please!
We spotted two container ships travelling in and out of the Savannah harbor and held place to let the big boys pass. And then we crossed the border from South Carolina to Georgia!
Later, a fast boat I had spotted on AIS coming from behind at almost twice our speed called and asked for a slow pass. As he cruised by, we noticed the boat was from Florida and commented how courteous he was (contrary to our experience with most Florida boaters!). As soon as he got in front of us, he had to back out from under the bridge as he came face-to-face with a barge! Oops! We of course had seen the barge on AIS and Bob had contacted the barge captain to make sure we were OK where we were!
We usually eat breakfast, a mid-day snack and lunch on the way. I am glad that our provisions have lasted just long enough for our travels from Norfolk to Brunswick. We are not going to starve by any means, but the fresh produce supply is dwindling. Fortunately, we will arrive at our "new home" tomorrow and I'll be able to reprovision. I think either Aldi or Walmart delivers groceries to the marina. We will be without wheels until Bob flies to Norfolk next week to drive our car to Brunswick.
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| Sample of one of our mid-day snacks |
After our 7-hour cruise, we arrived at our anchorage. Most of the way, we were followed by flocks of seagulls. I was so tempted to feed them but thought better of it! After the boat was secure, we sat on our aft deck with adult beverages as the dolphins swam by and birds sang in the distance. It's so peaceful here and as I type this blog, there is an orange hue to the west. All is well aboard Imzadi.
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November 30, 2024 update: Even though we had a short travel day, we were up and ready to pull up our anchor by 8:15. This was a beautiful and calm anchorage. Bob heard a barge cruise by in the middle of the night, but we hardly felt any wake.
Around the bend by Beaufort, SC, we came behind 2 tugs and a dredger that were travelling very slow between 2 bridges. We called them on the radio and asked for a pass after the bridge! If you look at the Nebo log for the day, you'll see the green line (indicating slow speed) for quite a long time!
The rest of our short trip was uneventful. And since it was a sunny day, we were nice and toasty in the pilothouse. We arrived at our marina and were happy to get a face dock (usually it's easier docking) until we saw the slip they wanted us to dock. It was barely longer than our boat and add the tides to it, it was not as easy and graceful as we had hoped for! The tide shoved us against the dock and our swim platform bumped the sailboat behind us! Oops! Fortunately, the captain was very nice about it. The dock master took the captain on a boat to check for damages and it was only a bit of scuff and of course take care of having the scuff marks buffed out. Not exactly how we had hoped it would go!
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After our nerves were calmed down, Bob went to the office and brought my replacement phone and for the next hour, he set up my phone and we're back in business.
Bob also took a bottle of wine and our boat card to the sailboat captain so they have our contact info.
We went back to Carolina Crab Company for dinner. Last time we were here, we had visited this restaurant with Charlie and Gordy, and they were a hit with all the customers and servers! This time, we opted to sit inside (it was a bit chillier than last July!)
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November 29, 2024 update: We were ready to start the day early to take advantage of the tides. One challenge was a boat parked directly behind us and the other was the port side engine starter giving us grief! It takes precision repair (banging on it with a hammer) to get it going and Bob uses a special hammer for this delicate task! After a few banging and promises of a new starter when we get to Brunswick, he got the engines started.
As we were getting ready to untie the lines, the marina manager showed up (an hour earlier than expected) and helped move the boat behind us further back to give Bob more room. Also, our fellow Looper, Patrick, who had messaged me late last night to ask if we needed a hand with our lines braved the cold morning to see us off. Between the two gentlemen helping us with the lines and none of our own fenders being used, my work this cold morning was easier than usual! Yay!
And then the sun came up!
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It was mostly cloudy on our nearly 7-hour cruise, with some light rain. It was a chilly enough ride that we run the generator to get some heat in the boat. Yesterday, we had to run the AC and today the heat! It's a good thing we're moving south!
Along the way, we momentarily talked about pushing all the way to Hilton Head, but realized with sun setting so early, that may not be a wise choice. So, we continued with our planned anchorage (Pleasant Point) just about Beaufort, SC. Tomorrow we will have a short ride to Hilton Head.
The clouds moved (mostly) away to give use a beautiful sunset at our anchorage.
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November 28, 2024 update: HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!
Even though the winds were not as bad as predicted, it was still windy, and we opted to stay an extra day. After our planning session, we've picked an anchorage north of Beaufort, SC before getting to Palmetto Bay (Hilton Head) where my new phone awaits me.
Fortunately, both the current marina and Palmetto Bay accommodated our change of plans.
Today we had a video call with Bob's family: Bob's mom, sister and BIL in Iowa, his brother and SIL in Vermont. Bob's mom, Diane, had a birthday 2 days ago and the siblings presented her with a joint gift of a very special bird feeder.
This morning, a fellow Looper (Patrick) stopped by our boat to see if we needed anything. He and his wife are living on their boat at the marina. He said that after crossing their wake, they stayed in the area to be close to their children.
I then started prepping our Thanksgiving feast.
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| Starter: Peanut Soup |
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| Main course: Turkey Tenderloin, Potatoes in a Creamy Sauce, Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce |
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| Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce are my favorites. What are yours? |
We remembered spending last Thanksgiving with our friends, Lin and JT in VA. And the previous year in Panama City, FL. Even the year we had a drive-by Thanksgiving during COVID, when Alex and Bobby drove by (separately, of course) and picked up their packed turkey and trimmings.
After lunch, we took the boys for a walk around the marina and then came back and tackled a remodeling project in our main cabin. One of the A/C units had sprung a leak a couple of months ago, and the wall bellow it (in our bedroom and bathroom) was water damaged.
It will be an early night for us. We plan on leaving Charleston around 7 to take advantage of the slack tide (when the water is relatively calm).
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November 27, 2024 update: This morning, we got up at 5a.m. I actually got out of bed before Bob (a rare event by itself!). The great news is that overnight my phone seems to have recovered and now I do have access to my boating apps! What a great start to our day! Yay!
We pulled the anchor up and were on our way before 7 a.m. We then secured a spot at St Johns Yacht Harbor south of Charleston for the night and passed our planned anchorage. They are predicting some high winds in the area that we are trying to stay safe from.
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| Not a bad view if you have to get up early! |
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| The sun was rising as we were cruising down the ICW |
It was cloudy most of the day, and the Coast Guard announced the Charleston Harbor had dense fog! Fortunately, my phone and AIS system is operational. AIS is sort of like a radar where you can identify other vessels, their type (sail, pleasure craft, tug, containership, etc.), their position on compas, their distance from you and how fast they are going. Of course, not all ships are equipped with AIS, but when they are, I am able to alert Bob of vessels close to us.
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| We had a scenic view, despite the cloudy skies |
There were no bridges we had to worry about, but there was a stretch of
the waterway where the water was very shallow. At one point, when I was
at the helm, there was 1.2 ft under the keel! Gulp!
Bob crossed the Charleston shipping channel with no issues. The fog had lifted, and our AIS was working! We worked our way to our marina a little after two. REALLY nice dock hands and dock master here, and once again, Bob docked us smoothly in high tides, easy peasy! He really liked the big pillow fenders at the dock when we got in sideways and then we realized we didn't need our own fenders after all! Sweet! It makes my job easier when we leave!
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| Unfortunately, these boats were victims of the recent storms, but I teased Bob not to park our boat the same way! |
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| The boys resting after a long day of cruising |
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November 26, 2024 update: We have a short
travel day of 50 miles to our anchorage north of Georgetown, SC. Despite
of that, we had another early start after Bob filled out water tanks for the
days ahead. We travelled slowly and took it easy today. No big,
open waters or problematic bridges today, just a few miles down a stretch of the ICW (Inter Coastal Waterways) known as the Rock Pile due to many jagged rocks that line up along the narrow channel.
We arrived at our planned anchorage around 2:30 and dropped
anchor. A bit later, a sailboat that was behind us most of the way
(Waterfall II) joined us here.
On a not so much fun topic, yesterday, my phone had started acting up. I was not able to operate the volume buttons on the side. I didn't know if it was my phone or the protective case. As it turned out, it was my phone and after trying to trouble shoot the volume problem, my phone got stuck in a Safe Mode, so I'm not able to use any of my downloaded apps (including the multiple boating apps!) We have filed a claim, and a new phone is being sent to our next marina in Hilton Head (Friday arrival)
The sky is grey and overcast, but it hasn't started raining yet. The winds are calm though, which is nice.
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November 25, 2024 update: This morning, a little after 8 a.m., the infamous Captain Bob peeled us off the dock where we were sandwiched between a big fishing boat to our bow and our new friend's dinghy on the channel side behind us. Easy peasy!
While Bob captains the boat, I monitor AIS and call out boat names and distances, etc. when I'm not acting as a dog bed! It's a tough job, but someone has got to do it!
We also crossed into South Carolina today. We have 6 more travel days to Brunswick, GA, ahead of us. I googled it and it's about a 5-hour car ride! LOL!
We arrived at Myrtle Beach Yacht Club around 3:30 and headed to the fuel dock. We have 3 straight nights of anchoring the next 3 nights, so we wanted to fill the fuel tank and empty the black water tank (the glamourous side of boating!). When the fuel dock attendant came back with a bill over $2,300, I first had a minor heart attack, before looking at the itemized receipt and realized he charged us for both diesel AND gas! I love it when the operator blames it on the computer! LOL! Any way, we got it straightened out and I'm supposed to see the credit in the morning!
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| Dang it, boating is expensive! |
Captain Bob then walked this big girl (the boat, not me) sideways away from the dock as there were, once again, boats in front and behind him and brought us stern into our dock for the night! Once again, Easy, peasy!
Since we will be on the hook (at anchor) for the next 3 nights, I'm asking Bob to take me out to dinner!
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November 24, 2024 update: We peeled off the dock before 7:30 this morning, heading south on our 78-mile trip. We had a bit of excitement when slowly cruising by a dredger, we hit some shallows, but we made all the bridges in our route right on time, including the Onslow Beach Bridge that is under construction and was staying open this weekend only.
Our final destination, the Bridge Tender Marina, was right after the Wrightsville Bridge that we had to meet on top of the hour. We had 3 nice dock hands ready to grab us.
Shortly after that, another cruiser came by, and we started talking and ... we're going out to dinner with him (Hal) and his wife, Andrea who's driving here! This quick comradery is one of the things I love about boating. As I type this blog, the two captains are talking shop! LOL!
P.S. We had a lovely dinner with our new friends! The food and libations were delicious, but the conversations were even better.
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November 23, 2024 update: Today, we were rewarded for our patience by a beautiful sunset AND the a pod of dolphins swimming right by our dock! Gordy was so excited, he almost jumped off the boat and I had to grab him by the scuff of his neck!
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November 22, 2024 update: There are Gale Warnings and Small Craft Advisories iup n our neighbor, so we asked the marina if we could stick around a couple of days and they said sure! It looks like Sunday would be a good travel day which is the last day we can catch the Onslow Beach Bridge which is under construction! Fingers and toes crossed.
We have caught up with a bunch of chores. Bob is working on the VIP Cabin portholes that have water damage and rotted wood. He is also cleaning all air intakes and installing HEPA filters to keep us all safe.
We braved the cold wind and walked over to a couple marine hardware stores and picked up some supplies. The owner at Almost Southern Marine was a fountain of information about the issues Bob is dealing with and gave us good referrals. Nice guy!
We then walked to a local brewery I had read about: Tight Lines Pub & Brewing Company and enjoyed a couple of their brews and some hot soup before returning to the boat. A very interesting looking boat is docked next to us now and later, in high winds and tide, a government boat (we think possibly NOAA) docked in close to us with high difficulty. I guess even the pros have to fight these waters!
We touched up on our plans going forward and made a reservation for our next stop. Tomorrow will be more projects around the boat as we rock and roll in our slip, waiting for calmer seas.
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November 21, 2024 update: They had predicated high winds through Saturday, so I planned on sleeping in. As it turned out, it looked like a beautiful day and we wondered if we should have pushed forward. We used the "down day" to catch up with some paperwork and route planning, etc. We were anticipating winds gusts of up to 45K, so Bob doubled up on our lines before we went to a nearby restaurant (Southern Salt) for dinner. The food was surprisingly unique, and the service was very friendly and prompt. And we both had leftovers for the next day. Upon our return, I noticed someone was shining a flashlight by our boat! When we got closer, we noticed two police officers. Come to find out, someone had called the authorities of a fishing boat tied close to our boat who had come in 2 nights in a row with netted flounder (off season) and had alerted the authorities.
During the night we were rocked more by fast fishing boats who ignored the no wake zone and zoomed around the marina and mooring field! We did lose a big fender ball overnight though! Bummer!
This morning it looked calm and beautiful, and we decided to move on south. We had a couple of tall bridges and then there is the Onslow bridge with a 12-foot clearance that opens on the hour. As we headed south, I called to book a slip for the night, only to be alerted that the Onslow Bridge was under construction and would be closed until Friday morning! Ooops! We couldn't find any marinas or anchorages in Swansboro (before the bridge) so we turned around and came back to Morehead City, but picked a different marina that was easier to get in.
Funny story: After we docked our boat, another big boat came in next to us. The boat is registered in TX. The captain and crew were dressed in winter gear (like you would see in a Dr. Zhivago movie!), meanwhile, here I am, in a t-shirt! I guess I still have some MN blood running in my veins! LOL!
Lesson learned from today's adventure: Pay attention to the Waterway Guide's alerts! I guess my skills became rusty sitting still for so long!
We will continue to monitor the weather to see if we should stay put or head south and clear the Onslow Bridge before it closes. Stay tuned!
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November 19, 2024 update: Oh, what a day! I woke up to Bob scrambling around trying to figure out why we didn't have heat! We have water flowing out of the starboard (right) side of the boat, but not the port (left) side! We were tied on starboard, so he couldn't do anything to fix it on the port side. We opted to move ahead to a marina instead of anchoring, as we had originally planned. I was able to secure a slip in Morehead City, NC and after rummaging through for our stowed away heaters (Eureka), we left the marina around 8.
We are aware of a weather system coming our way, but thus far, it's slightly overcast and hardly any wind.
Before reaching Pamlico sound (which was pretty smooth unlike our last trips), we run into a bunch of fishing boats that were in the middle of the waterway and not moving out of the way!!! Geez!
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| We dodged many of these little boats scattered in the waterway! |
So far, the only unpleasant thing we've encountered is a lot of flies! There are so many of them on the boat and we haven't been able to get rid of them all!
The dock master at Morehead City Transient Dock was very helpful and alerted Bob of high tides. We also received small craft advisory alert on our phone! The dock master brough extra people to help us with the lines. Our initial hope was to back into the slip so Bob could work on the port side, but the current was very strong, and Bob opted to go bow in first. After a few tries and an unpleasant encounter with a cement pilling, they were able to tie out boat down. The severe weather system had started half an hour earlier, to add to the strong currents! In the process of docking, our starboard rub rail did its job and unfortunately gave its life in the line of duty! RIP, rub rail!
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| Looks like we weren't the first one hitting the post! |
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| Thank you for your service dear rub rail! |
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| Mother nature has her own agenda! |
After the current became calmer, Bob moved the boat to the port side of the slip and did his magic and we now have heat again! Yay!
As of now, we are going to stay put for at least another day and see what this nasty weather has in store for us. Fortunately, we have made some headways so far!
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| Trip summary from Dowry Creek Marina to Morehead CityTransient Docks |
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November 18, 2024 update: Yesterday, we left Norfolk Naval Station Marina, our home
for the last year and half, and headed south for warmer weather. We left the dock shortly after 8 am with a
warm send off from our friends. Even the
kiddos woke up early to say goodbye! We
will sure miss the gang.
We had a bunch of bridges to go through and fortunately
traffic on this Sunday morning was light and we made it to the Great Bridge Lock
a bit before their 11:20 opening. While
waiting for the lock to open, a big boat (from Florida) cut in front of us in
the line. This boat the next day waked a
couple of boats ahead of us without slowing down or calling on the radio. Ugh! Other than that, our day was uneventful. We arrived at Coinjock a little after 4. The marina was packed! After decompressing from the long day cruising,
we had an early dinner at the restaurant and this time we ordered only 1 prime
rib which we couldn’t finish (16 oz) and Bob has some leftover prime rib for
lunch!
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| Trip summary from Norfolk, VA to Coinjock, NC |
Last night, I was able to get a good night’s sleep which I am
very excited about. My insomnia has been
very bad lately. It feels great to be
rested.
Many boats started leaving earlier than us. We peeled off the dock before 8 a.m. and
headed toward the Albemarle Sound and Alligator River. The Sound was a bit choppier than we
anticipated and the dogs were not happy.
We joked about them leaving the captain a 1-star review on Yelp!
We’ve made great timing so far and are pushing forward to Belhaven instead of anchoring at the bottom of the Alligator River. We need to make time for a possible weather delay. Fortunately, Imzadi provides a much more comfortable ride, and Bob has figured out the autopilot which makes his job easier while the boys and I lounge on the diva couch 😊
We arrived at Dowry Creek Marina a little after 3:30 and were rewarded with the most serene and beautiful view from our aft cockpit. As we were enjoying the view and finalizing our route for tomorrow (pushing a bit further than previously planned) a couple of boaters walked by, first interested in meeting Gordy and then the conversation turned to our boat name. As it turned out, they are Gold Loopers AND avid Trekies! We chatted for a while about various Star Trek episodes and characters before they left. We had a simple dinner at the restaurant which is a treat for me not to cook on those long travel days.
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| Trip summary from Coinjock to Belhaven, NC |
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November 14, 2024 update: Tonight, we're going to celebrate my birthday with our new friends, Terry and Brian. They are the newest Loopers in the marina, and we met them when we came back from Cape Charles last weekend. But I'm getting ahead of myself! I'll do my best to remember what has happened in the last 3 weeks!
While Imzadi was on the hard in Cape Charles, Bob made many trips over there to work on the boat. Our estimated 1 week out of the water ended up being 1.5 MONTHS! Ugh! He fixed the portholes in our master cabin (again, lots of rotten wood due to neglected water damage)!
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| A piece of the rotted wood bob cut out |
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| New facing - 80% completed project |
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| 99% completed! Needs another coat of paint! |
The boat itself turned out pretty good! It has 3 coats of epoxy paint, all "blisters" on the bottom fixed, cracks on the stern fixed, new underwater lights installed, a new transducer for Bob's new Garmin chart plotter, etc. All an all a HUGE bill was paid to get her back in the water!
Back in Norfolk, we had a movie night on the dock. Fran and Chuck used a projector and their sail as a screen, and we watched Beattle Juice and had popcorn and hot chocolate! It was fun!
On November 3rd, we had a good weather window and took Imzadi-2 to Cape Charles. The marina positioned our boats close together to make it easier for us to move from Imzadi-2 to Imzadi. And the, with tearful eyes, we took Imzadi-2 out of water where she awaits a lucky new owner. And on Sunday, November 3rd, we left Cape Charles onboard Imzadi. We have about 2 weeks to get ready to head south.
We're behind schedule by at least 2 weeks now. Our contract at Brunswick starts tomorrow and when we leave on Sunday, we have 2 weeks (excluding any weather delays) to make it to Brunswick. Fall has arrived in Norfolk. As I write this, it's in the low 50's and raining. Brunswick is experiencing 80 degrees now! I can't wait to get down there!
Our VIP cabin is getting booked quickly! If you would like to join us in Brunswick, please make your reservations soon! 😁
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October 20, 2024 update: I had ended my last blog commenting on Hurricane Milton heading toward Florida as a category 5 storm. Milton was second-most intense hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico. Once again, in less than 2 weeks, my relatives were in direct path of the hurricane, and fortunately they were safe.
On Saturday, October 12th, we headed to DC to visit with Ariana before heading south for the winter. Our trip was long due to multi-car accident, with 2 car fires! Fortunately, as we were waiting (over an hour), we only saw a fire truck and no ambulances. Hopefully everyone was safe.
We found the most dog-friendly hotel (Madera) for our stay. It was a beautiful hotel, with very friendly staff who catered to dogs! Charlie and Gordy each received a gift bag with toys and dog treats, and they were more than welcomed in the bar and restaurant! The room was spacious and clean, and there were many restaurants within walking distance. We tried a pizza joint and a Persian restaurant the first day!
Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day and after brunch, we visited the gardens at Washington National Cathedral and later enjoyed a little break at a tapas restaurant (Barcelona), before dropping Ariana off at her apartment and heading back to Norfolk.
On Tuesday morning, we took another road trip, this time to Kilmarnock, visiting our friends, Lin and JT. I was lucky to be able to play one last Mah Jongg game with Lin and Cassie. I really enjoy playing the game and need to polish up my knowledge of the rules (and there are so many!)
Meanwhile, we found out the soda-blasting was completed on the boat but were disappointed that not only they had not started on any of our other projects, but that they would not be painting the bottom until the following week! Ugh!
We returned to Imzadi-2 late Thursday and on Friday, we drove to Cape Charles and climbed onboard Imzadi. Bob installed the peel-and-stick tiles around the pilothouse door and one side of the salon door. Since we realized matching the color of the existing wood was near impossible, we opted to use these tiles and add an accent wall (or two!)
Bob is back in Cape Charles today with a couple of child-laborers from our friend's boat to get more work done on the boat. Oh, I forgot to mention that we heard the travel boat lift at the marina in Cape Charles is broken and they don't have an ETA as to when it will be fixed! We're both anxious to get the boat ready to cruise south before it gets too cold.
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October 6, 2024 update: We had a wonderful day for our cruise to Cape Charles on Thursday. Our boat neighbors, Beth and Sarah joined us for the voyage. After we docked at the marina in Cape Charles, Beth said she was impressed by how Bob and I handle the boat. Beth and family live on a sailboat and manning a sailboat is definitely more work than a motorboat.
The marina had a golf cart for us to use. We went to The Shanty for lunch and then cruised around the downtown area and did some shopping before going back to the boat. Beth's husband, Jake, picked us up at the boat and we tried a different restaurant before driving back to Norfolk.
On Friday, we drove back to Cape Charles to drive Imzadi to the well so they can take her out of the water, power wash it and block it so they can soda blast and paint the bottom. Frankly, it didn't look as bad as we though she would look. Evidently, some of the barnacles had been washed away on our cruise. We had taken Sarah with us to see a boat coming out of the water; a first for her.
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| Imzadi getting a power wash |
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| These used to be underwater lights! We have new ones onboard to replace them |
Our stern thursters were caked in barnacles. Hopefully they'll work better once cleaned.
Before heading back to Norfolk, we stopped at a cute place called Edibles by Picaso! Bob and Sarah had a tasty panini, while I enjoyed a tuna poke bowl. We also visited an olive oil/vinegar store and purchased a variety of oils and vinegars to try! Cape Charles is really a cool little town!
The morning before we left, we had to move the Sea Ray to a smaller slip on the K dock so two neighboring boats can dock where Imzadi-2 was for some dock repair. We have moved a few things to Imzadi-2 where we will be staying at while Imzadi is out of water. The plan is to take Imzadi-2 to Cape Charles and leave her there on dry storage as she waits to be sold, and bring Imzadi back to Norfolk, get provisioned and drive south. Hopefully by then, the hurricane season would be over. Unfortunately, another hurricane (Milton) is predicted to hit the Florida's west coast mid-week. Ugh!
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September 30, 2024 update: Helene hit the U.S. hard at Cat 4. Florida's Gulf Coast, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are all grappling with the damage left on her path of destruction. The death toll has risen over 100 with many still unaccounted for! Our thoughts are with all the families and business who have been affected by this historical hurricane. Close to home, here in Norfolk, we dodged 3 tornado warnings to our west. I'm happy to share that except for rain and wind, we were safe. They are still assessing the damage to the inland waterways, but many marinas and locks are dealing with the aftermath of Helene. Had we left to complete the Loop as planned in early June, we would have surely been stuck somewhere with the other Loopers who are heading south. Also, finding a marina in the Gulf would have been though. They do say things happen for a reason; right?
Two other changes since the last post: First, Seth rescheduled our dinner to Saturday night, and it was worth the wait. We enjoyed Lobster Risotto, and roasted Brussel Sprouts and of course, good company!
Second change of plan was taking Imzadi to Cape Charles. The marina told us that the soonest we can get the bottom soda-blasted is on Friday; so as of now, we plan on cruising over Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the weather.
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September 26, 2024 update: As I write this blog, a category 3 hurricane named Helene is heading toward Florida! We wish everyone on its path stay safe. Last I heard, the winds were at 104 MPH! (UPDATE: Helene hit land as a Cat 4 Hurricane Thursday evening, with winds of 140 MPH! They are expecting storm surge of up to 20 ft!)
This past week, Bob tackled the pilothouse door. The amount of wood rot was unbelievable. There are still a few more details to work out, but we no longer have a blue tarp as a door. This is the door the dogs use to go out to do their business and they had to maneuver around the tarp, and they were not happy about it! LOL!
The Volvo mechanic showed up yesterday and diagnosed our issue as a faulty Feed Pump (it transfers fuel from the tank to the engine). He believes this also caused the fuel leak from our port engine. A new part was ordered, and he installed it today and after a bit of sputtering, our port engine is running smoothly again! Yay! We're planning on taking the boat to Cape Charles on Monday, weather permitting.
Bob is also working with an engineer from the inverter company who is trouble shooting our inverter problem (it trips the power when we plug to shore power!). In the meantime, we've ordered a new inverter (different company) so Bob can install it if the current one can't get fixed!
It hasn't been all work and no fun for us! We have enjoyed visiting with our marina friends and playing dominos with Fran and Chuck. Tomorrow, we're having another dinner party here, courtesy of Seth who's going to make us Lobster Bisque or Lobster Risotto (stay tuned!)
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September 19, 2024 update: We had a great weekend of visiting with friends! One of our dock mates made us amazing Lobster Rolls with freshly caught lobsters from Main. Yum! Our other friend, Beth, made homemade Mac & Cheese and Brownie and my contribution to the feast was a Seafood Stew. It's so nice to have an actual working, roomy galley to entertain! To top it all, our friends JT & Lin drove down to stay with us for a few days, along with their dog, Suzie! And on Monday, Penny and Eddie drove down from Richmond and we all went to Water's Edge for a lovely meal before everyone headed home.
We were supposed to take Imzadi to Cape Charles on Tuesday for bottom paint; however, the weather was not cooperating due to high winds, so we postponed it until yesterday (Wednesday)! On Tuesday (and part of Wednesday morning), we moved our stuff (clothes, dog stuff, all the food from the fridge and freezer) to Imzadi with the intention of living on Imzadi-2, while Imzadi-1 is out of the water. It seems like only a couple of days ago we moved from Imzadi-2 to Imzadi and there we were, moving back in!
On Monday and Tuesday, our weather apps predicted favorable winds on Wednesday; however, when we woke up, it was rainy and foggy so we waited and waited ... and finally when the weather got a bit nicer for Captain Bob to give us the "we're going to leave" nod, the port engine would not start! Dang! One more major fail on the boat! Ugh! We're now waiting for a technician (whom we had to pay ahead of time) to come and fix it. Hopefully, he'll be able to fix the fuel leak on the same engine. In the meantime, half of our stuff is on Imzadi-2 and we keep walking back and forth for various items! LOL!
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September 12, 2024 update: We (mostly Bob) have been working on Imzadi - fixing one thing after another! We have come to the conclusion that the marine surveys are done to please the banks and insurance companies! We had 2 surveys done and Bob was comfortable he could tackle the items listed easily. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case!!! We've learned that the boat was not as "turnkey" as advertised, more so, the term "pig with lipstick" comes to mind! We are both anxious to get past this "fixer-upper" stage so we can enjoy all her beauty and conveniences!
After wrestling with the VacuFlush systems (not Bob's favorite!), we ordered 2 electric heads which Bob and Jacob installed, and he is now a happy camper! No more VacuFlush rebuilding projects for him; it was a "shitty" job (pardon the pun!) We sold the old units on Facebook Marketplace to another boater who drove 4 hours from North Carolia and was giddy about his purchase! I learned there are 2 types of boaters: 1) Those who absolutely hate VacuFlush and, 2) those who absolutely love them! LOL!
Even though the survey did not mention this, there was evidence of water leak around the aft sliding doors. Bob thought it was going to be as simple as changing the weather stripping and rollers! But, oh no! He discovered MAJOR water damage that had rotted the wood, and he had to rebuild a new door frame! Fortunately, our friends from MN, Jacob and Jill Marti drove here to give Bob a hand with some of the projects he was tackling.
I will post pictures of the final project when complete. We're still waiting for parts! Fortunately, the doors are back in and we no longer live like hill-billys! We even installed a temporary walk-through screen - "As Seen on TV!!!")
Another project was a "small" leak from the forward hatch. That project needed to be moved to the top when Jacob and Jill got rained on in bed!!! At first inspection, it looked like the glass was broken and the previous owner had taped "the HE double L" out of it. Bob found a glass panel on eBay and I placed an order for one. Bob then went to clean the track and "re-bed" the hatch. When he removed the first screw, he yelled at me to cancel the order!!! Evidently, the water damage had rotted more of the balsa wood! So my Bob the Builder went to work cleaning the old, rotted wood, cleaned the mold, and rebuilt the frame so we could install a new hatch!
Next, Bob is rebuilding the exhaust covers that were barely hanging on the boat with fiber glass.
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| Bob used the less damaged part as a model to rebuild the broken pieces on the other one |
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| These parts were black! This is the result of hours of sanding! |
The above were the largest projects (that I remember). He has also replaced all sink and shower fixtures from the old, rusted plumbing to new fixtures. Even that proved to be more challenging as they used the metric system and finding screws and pipes to change the plumbing was not as easy as it could have been!
Bob also replaced my electric cooktop with an induction cooktop as the old one just didn't warm up enough! If you know anything about cooking Persian rice, you'll know how precise the process is. Well, I had my rice sit in luke-warm water and turn into mush! Ugh!
We hope to get a break from all this work next week when we take the boat out of water for soda-blasting and bottom paint! That project also turned out to be more difficult and costly than we expected! But after getting quotes in the $17-$18K range we finally found a place (a 3 hour cruise from here) that is doing it for about $13K AND the best part is they can take us in next week so the boat would be ready for her drive south for the winter. Since Imzadi-2 is still here at the marina (waiting for her next owner), we will be able to live on her for the week or so that Imzadi will be in the boat yard.
Enough complaining for now! Let's go back to our friend's visit!
Jacob and Jill were amazing! They both stepped in and helped where needed; especially when I was stuck in bed with a bad back for a few days. We wish we would have more fun times (and less work) or could go for a cruise.... but the weather gods were not cooperating! We were successful in getting in a beach day and a few outings to our favorite watering holes as well as a trip to Colonial Williamsburg before they left. Jill and I also made it to the local outlet mall for a few hours.
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| Kings Arms Tavern, Williamsburg |
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| Willoughby Fish House |
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| Men and beasts worn out |
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| Jill and her fan club (Gordy, Milla, Diamond and Charlie) |
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August 17, 2024 - the Renaming Ceremony!!!
Once we knew we were buying a new boat, we started thinking of a new name that was special to us! And the winning name (drum roll, please!) ... we picked IMZADI! Surprise!!!
The first step is to purge the name from Poseidon's ledger! I have a link to the ceremony, if you would like to read about it. Boat Renaming Ceremony - PDF
"According to legend, renaming a vessel without following time-honored traditions can incur the wrath of Poseidon, the god of the sea. Poseidon holds the name of every vessel ever launched recorded in the Ledger of the Deep. Therefore, if you want the vessel to carry a new name, you must purge it not just from the ledger, but also from Poseidon’s consciousness."
Purging the old name - Click here for a partial video
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| Throwing an ingot with the "old name" to expunge its name from Poseidon's Ledger |
Only then, the new name is revealed to Poseidon and the four wind gods, asking for safe passage!
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| The new name was covered up until the renaming ceremony |
Introducing M.Y. Imzadi!
A shout out to our friends who joined us during the ceremony: Fran and Chuck Schoening, Seth (Doc) Vandewater, and Jacob & Beth Galbreath and their children (Sarah, William, Olivia, Emery and Aveline). As I was writing this blog, I realized I was too busy to take pictures of our guests!!! And of course, to Ari, who travelled from DC to be with us.
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August 16, 2024 Update: We do like the view from our new spot at the marina and are settling in nicely. Bob keeps tackling the projects on the boat, while I pack and move a few boxes from Imzaid-2 to the new boat. It was inconvenient to have our boats in two different docks, so after a few days, the marina let us bring Imzadi-2 to the J Dock (where the new boat is parked). We had to get creative with shore power as there is no power available on the side we tied up the boat. Marina talked to another boat owner who allowed us to split power from his pedestal. In addition to needing AC, we didn't want the batteries to die!
Back on the new boat, we sold the humongous TV that was in the salon and was blocking half of the view on the port side (left side). Bob brought the TV his mom gave us a couple of months ago from Imzadi-2 and installed it in the cabinet below. Next, we will be selling the coffee table that came with the boat. Little-by-little, the new boat is feeling more like home.
You may have noticed that I refer to our new home as "the new boat!" The reason for that is we will be renaming the boat on 8/17/2024, and according to legends, it is bad luck to mention the "old name" ever again! We removed the "old name" from the back of the boat, buffed all traces off and applied the new name - but kept it covered for the renaming ceremony. We have also gone through documents on the boat and crossed the name off any paperwork.
We're excited that Ariana is going to join us for the renaming ceremony, as well as our local friends.
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| View from my kitchen sink! |
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| 2-3 boxes moved each time and placed on the new boat |
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| The VIP cabin is ready! |
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| Another beautiful view from my kitchen sink! |
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August 7, 2024 Update: Today, we will be crossing into Virginia. Yay! The last leg of our trip will have a number of bridges and one lock to go through. We used a combination of the material the Coinjock Marina provided and a spreadsheet our friend Jim had shared with us and were ready to go!
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| Note the speed of 18.8 MPH. We usually travel at about 9 MPH!!! |
We had to wait 40 minutes for one bridge before we could go through the lock and about 20 minutes for a train bridge over Elizabeth River (with no trains coming!), other than that, Bob again pushed as fast as he could to get us to our marina in Norfolk before the storms caught up with us.
We have been driving from the pilothouse, using our generator to run a couple of ACs, since it's been hot and humid. However, today, our generator stopped working on route! Ugh!
After maneuvering through the commercial traffic around Norfolk shipyard and port, we turned the corner and entered Willougby Bay and caught our first glimpse of the Norfolk Sailing Center and Marina. We were supposed to be at the T-Head of the same dock Imzadi-2 is tied up, but when we arrived (in the rain), we found another boat tied up there with very little space left for us! So, we ended up going to a different T-Head!
It was great to be greeted by our friends as we arrived. Unfortunately, once again we had the issue of not being able to connect to shore power. On top of that, we couldn't run the generator either! So, once tied up, Bob went to work on the generator!
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| Christmas in August? |
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| We like the new bar stools! |
Bob has been researching this issue with the Navigator owners Facebook group with various ideas that haven't worked for us yet. We found a marine electrician who could not come to us and wanted us to take the boat across the bay to him; however, with the coming storms that was not an option. He was nice enough, though, to talk Bob through the steps to bypass the inverter (the known source of the problem) and Bob was finally able to connect us to shore power and turn on the ACs.
Our friends, Fran, Chuck and Charlie had us over at their boat for dinner which was absolutely awesome - food as well as company.
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August 6, 2024 Update: Today, we're heading to Coinjock Marina, our last stop before Norfolk. Last year, we chose a route through the Dismal Swamp to Norfolk. The "Swamp" was definitely worth doing once, but our new boat draws more water, plus we need to go fast, and you can't speed on that route. We headed north on the Alligator River. The bridge tender was very nice and efficient and had the bridge open when we got there. We fueled at Alligator River Marina - which is the oddest "marina" we had seen! There were no other boats there and the fuel dock was self-serve! On the other hand, fuel was relatively inexpensive, and we got a discount for fueling over 200 gallons.
Bob then proceeded to use up the fuel we just purchased to speed through Albemarle Sound to stay ahead of the storms. That's one of the things we like about the new boat - it can go fast when needed.
We arrived at Coinjock and the 2 dock hands grabbed our lines as it started to pour. Good timing, Capt. Bob!
We walked in the rain to the restaurant on site. The hostess promptly handed us towels to try ourselves as we walked to our table! After lunch, we walked to the ship store and picked up a few essentials before going back to the boat to work our route for the next day.
The restaurant at the marina is known for its prime rib, so we went back to try it. It was sooo good and tender that it just melted in our mouth. We could have easily shared one meal, but leftovers will be just as good!
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| View from our anchorage on the Alligator River |
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| Had to take a picture of this sign for our friend, Ron King, who has 2 wiener dogs! |
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| Prime rib was as good as advertised! |
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August 5, 2024 Update: Our destination for tonight is an anchorage at the bottom of the Alligator River. We have one more stop after tonight before reaching Norfolk. We have been travelling long and hard and are both physically and mentally exhausted.
The anchorage was perfect and calm, and we were the only boat there! Bob and I have started a "punch list" for all the little (and big) things that we need to do for the boat. I took advantage of some down time and tackled one of those items and cleaned the storage on the aft cockpit.
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August 4, 2024 Update: We keep changing our travel plans depending on the weather conditions and a desire to get back to Norfolk and out of the hurricane zone quickly (and safely). Bob found a safe marina (Dunes River Marina) for the day so if we have to wait out the weather, we would at least be safe.
Today started out cloudy, foggy and rainy. I guess Debbie is getting closer to us! On the positive side, the weather kept the weekend boaters away! We arrived at Dunes River in the rain, but the sky cleared shortly after that.
As it turned out, this marina is one of the nicest places we had stayed at. It was a pity that we could not stay longer. The staff is top notch, the grounds and surroundings beautiful. There's a ship store with your basic travel needs. The main restaurant was closed on Sunday, but there was a casual dining option available and after dinner, we went to the pool bar and had great conversation with the bartenders. We will be stopping back here for a few days on our way down south for the winter.
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| Sunrise at Mile Hammock with Blue Phoenix |
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| Clouds rolling in |
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| Fog rolls in |
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| Poor boys did not like the thunderstorm |
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| The cabanas by the pool |
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| A Beautiful Sunset at Dunes River Marina |
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August 3, 2024 Update: We dropped anchor after a long and stressful cruising day. We typically don't like traveling on weekends. The weekend boaters on ICW are a breed of their own with very little common courtesy or common sense! I ended up sitting on the stairs to the pilot house, looking backwards, to be Bob's eyes on the back of the boat as fast boats, pontoons and jet skis passed us left and right. There was even a boat pulling a tube with kids and at one time, they decided to change people on the tube right in the middle of the channel.
We arrived at Mile Hammock Anchorage to find another boat had already anchored where Bob wanted to drop our anchor. We found a safe distance away from them and dropped anchor. As it happens, the other boat (Blue Phoenix) is also on the Loop and I contacted them through our Nebo app and we planned our departure in the morning so we could make a couple of bridges in a timely manner.
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| Busy water ways |
The tubers!
Peace and quiet at the anchorage
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| A fellow Looper (Blue Phoenix) at Mile Hammock anchorage |
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August 2, 2024 Update: We officially had our longest cruising day - 90.9 miles! We had planned an anchorage, but after checking out 2 different anchorages, we pushed ahead and found a marina we could tuck in for the night. We have been trying to stay ahead of hurricane Debbie and the winds are concerning. Bob, always being a cautious captain, wanted to keep us safe in case we had to find shelter. We arrived at St. James Marina in Southport, NC late in day and tired. In fact, too tired to even walk to the onsite restaurant. On top of that, we are still experiencing issues plugging to upgraded shore power with GIF (?) and tripping the shore power. So, we run the generator to be able to run our air conditioners as it is very hot and humid (heat index in triple digits).
A shout out to our friends Donna and Jim (Sand Dollars) who have been monitoring us when we travel. Donna texted me soon after we went by our anchorage, wondering if everything was OK! We told her of the change of plans once we had secured a marina.
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| Dinner after a long travel day, when you're too tired to go out! |
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| A celebratory glass of wine after docking |
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| We left South Carolina and entered North Carolina |
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| Charlie likes to look out from his perch |
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August 1, 2024 Update: Today's almost 53 miles cruise took us to Georgetown, SC. Last year when we stayed here, I had hurt my leg/foot and stayed on the boat while Bob went to town and brought food back. This time, I was able to walk to town (a couple of blocks from the marina) and we enjoyed a nice dinner. On the way back, we stopped at outside bar right by the marina.
My biggest challenge today while cruising was ordering groceries to be delivered to the marina. We've used Walmart, Target and even Aldi's delivery services in the past. However, this time, Walmart kept cancelling my order telling me I may have been hacked. I reset my password and re-ordered a 2nd and 3rd time. Finally called them and they said they cleared the alert, and I would be able to order after 8 hours! Irritated, I searched for other options and found Piggly Wiggly used Instacart. So, I place a 4th order with them, only to have it cancelled. This time, I had to send them a copy of my DL and credit card, and they released the hold, and I was able to get an order placed.
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| The outdoor bar next to the marina |
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July 31, 2024 Update: We had a quiet night at anchor and started cruising toward Charleston by 8:45. It was a hot day (felt like 105 degrees at 3 pm!), so we enjoyed cruising with the AC running!
Today, we encountered a barge in a narrow portion of the ICW, saw a tall sailing ship enter the Charlston port, cruised by Fort Sumter, and headed to our planned anchorage. Cruising the ICW at idle, we also spotted some fun sights! 
The anchorage we had picked for today was occupied by another sailboat and lots of crab pots, so I jumped on the Waterway Guide and found us an anchorage 6 miles further north, and Capt. Bob routed us to it.
Tomorrow, we will stay at Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown, SC, so we can reprovision (I've already started shopping at Walmart and will have them deliver to the marina.) We've already planned the next two anchorages and have reservations at Swansboro, NC. We're getting closer to Norfolk every day!
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July 30, 2024 Update: Today's travels took us 6 hours and 57 miles to an anchorage called Raccoon River! I had an "off" day, so with the exceptions of 2 short breaks, Bob did all the driving today and even dropped anchor by himself! It was a pretty and quiet spot, and I stayed up long enough to take a sunset picture before going to bed!
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July 28, 2024 Update: It took us 7 hours to cruise 64 miles to Palmetto Bay Marina in Hilton Head. Our route took us past Thunderbolt Marina where we stayed a few nights last year. Captain Bob had to maneuver a few cargo ships around Savanah while I monitored them on AIS. And after dodging those big ship, we left Georgia and entered South Carolina.
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| The green arrows are container ships, and the blue ones are tugboats guiding the cargo ships. |
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| My view of one of the cargo ships from my comfy diva couch :-) |
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| Crossing into South Carolina |
The temps were in the 80's and we drove with the hatches open and enjoyed the fresh air. We arrived at the marina around 3:30. Tied up, cleaned up and headed to one of the restaurants at the marina that is pet friendly (Carolina Crab Company). We had barely sat down, when our server shows up with a bowl of ice water for the pups! Now, that's a pet friendly restaurant! And she also took great care of us too! Charlie and Gordy were a hit at the restaurant, and we had many adults and kids stopping by to pet them.
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| We were tied on the outside of a very long dock |
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| This catamaran behind us was more than twice as wide as our 15' beam! |
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We (mostly Bob) had a restless night with our CO alarms going off on our new alarms! The last time they went off in Brunswick, we found out they had expired and replaced them. This time, Bob did more research and realized they were reacting to Hydrogen gas coming out of our old batteries! So in the morning, he went to the Boat House at the marina and was told they only work on small boats! He then went to the harbor master's office and recruited 2 young lads to help him pull the batteries out of the engine room so he could take them to Napa for replacement. The staff here really went above and beyond, and they even drove Bob to Napa for the new batteries.
Bob was able to replace the batteries in time before our Looper friends, Louise and Dick stopped by. Louise and Dick are Harbor Hosts for the Great Loop Association. We first met them in September 2022 in Davenport. We then met them again in 2023 on our way to Norfolk and celebrated Easter with them. Louise had seen my post about cooking without my spices and brought me a bag full of various spices! How sweet is that?
We had dinner at a German Restuarant on the island called Alfred's. The meal and company were excellent. We parted ways with an invitation to join them for Christmas!
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July 27, 2024 Update: We left Brunswick Landing Marina (BLM) after filling up our fuel tanks. The staff at this marina is amazing and very dog friendly. We have signed a contract to winter at this marina this year. Norfolk was a bit too cold for us last year!
We cruised for about 6 hours / 62 miles to our anchorage. It is very quiet and not much around us!
On our way here, we realized I had mixed up our days and booked our slip at Palmetto Bay Marina (Hilton Head) a day too late. Since we had made plans with our friends for Monday night ... and have Amazon packages arriving on Monday, we opted to stay there 2 nights in a row. We'll just make the time moving north as I don't think we're going to meet anyone else on our way to Norfolk.
The weather was much cooler and we cruised with the doors and windows open for most of our travel. However, sitting still at the anchorage, it got a bit too muggy, and we ran the generator and ACs for a bit.
I also finally gave Gordy a much-needed trim inside his ears, his paws, tail and the private parts :-p
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July 26, 2024 Update: We left our anchorage at Cumberland Island a little after 8 and drove nearly 38 miles (one of our shorter days) to Brunswick Landing Marina. We were met by 2 of the marina staff (one with a goodie bag!) and 2 of our Looper friends, Jen and Gerry (on board Vamonos). We travelled a couple of weeks together before parting ways in Norfolk last June.
Brunswick Landing Marina (BLM) is a "happening" place. They have a very active social community. Thursday was Bingo night, and I won the 1st and 3rd game. Jen won the 2nd game! The theme was "Christmas in July", and they had gifts in addition to the cash prizes and the winners could pick a "new" gift or swap with an opened gift! It was a very fun evening!
The next day (Friday), we had a lovely lunch with Jen and Gerry, before Gerry played the role of our personal Uber driver and drove us around Brunswick so we could get groceries, booze, and stuff Bob needed for the boat.
The Marina has hosted happy hours (they provide beer and wine) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In the spirit of the Olympics, they had fun competitions and our friend, Jen, was the flame carrier! A really fun evening hanging out with other boaters,
Side note: Looks like we may winter here this year. It will be a bit warmer than Norfolk. More on this later.
Tomorrow, we're heading toward Hilton Head to meet with another Looper couple, Louise and Dick. We initially met them in Dubuque, IA (when we realized we were taking in water!) and later when we stopped at Hilton Head, on our way north, over the Easter weekend. They are Harbor Hosts for the Great Loop Association and very generous and kind.
We'll be anchoring halfway there. Being "on the hook" is so much easier (and cheaper) than staying at marinas. We think we would push around 60 miles a day and every 3 anchors, stay at a marina to fill up the water tank, empty the trash and perhaps fuel up and pick up some provisions. We need to get to Norfolk soon! Cruising is certainly different in this boat, vs the Sea Ray.
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July 23, 2024 Update: Well, today didn't go quite as planned! We needed to go under a swing railroad bridge (Kinglsey) to get to our anchorage. We knew the bridge was not working properly. Yesterday, per Coast Guard, it was stuck in open position and today it was stuck in closed position! Coast Guard informed us that it would open at 4 pm. So, early afternoon, we dropped anchor 8 miles or so before the bridge, had lunch and used the time to take care of some chores. We pulled anchor and started toward the bridge, but we still had to kill some time, so we hovered around until the bridge opened.
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| Our track on Nebo! |
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| Our morning track! |
Next, we couldn't anchor as our planned anchorage. Waterway Guides showed an anchorage in Fernandina, but when we trying to anchor, the marina called us to say the anchorage was no longer available as their mooring fields had expanded. That meant we were cruising without a planned route! Not fun!
Any way, we moved forward and finally dropped anchor at Cumberland, Georgia! We have officially left Florida! We had anchored here last year on our way up north with a bunch of other Loopers! This time, it is just us!
We enjoyed a couple of adult beverages when we finally set our anchor for the night. I was very tired, but I had thawed out some salmon filets that needed to be cooked. So I made salmon and roasted potatoes however, all my seasoning and spices are still on board Imzadi-2! I had to improvise with 2 to-go packets of soy sauce, a bit of honey and a lemon wedge from Bob's drink from a couple of days ago. I think we were both too tired to care!
We are expecting thunderstorms again tonight. Hoping for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, we're heading to Brunswick Landing Marina for a couple of days. We are going to meet up with some Looper friends of ours, fuel up and buy groceries while there.
Final Destination!
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July 23, 2024 Update: We had a peaceful anchorage last night (minus the big fishing boat that waked us in a no-wake zone early this morning!) I had missed the incredible scenery at anchorages.
We had one of our longest travel days today: Almost 75 days and over 8 hours! When we anchor, I drive the boat to and away from the anchorage, while Bob handles the anchoring stuff! Early in the morning while I was still at the helm, around Daytona, we came across a lot of fishing boats hanging around and crossing the navigable channel! Bob, ever vigilant, took the helm and had to actually honk at them to make way for us! Unbelievable!
Cursing on this boat is so much more comfortable than Imzadi-2. On hot days, we drive from the pilot house with the AC running! The pups seem to like hanging out on the dinette couch with mom and dad and don't have to keep their life jackets on.
After our long voyage, we have anchored off of Tolomato River (north of St. Augustine and south of Jacksonville, FL). It's very quiet and there is nothing but marshes around us. In the evening, we watched a lightening show in the distance which was very cool.
We had initially reserved a slip at Palm Cove in Jacksonville where we had stayed last year, but after further mulling our travel time and fuel prices, we've cancelled that reservation and are pushing further up to an anchorage in Fernandina Beach and from there to Brunswick Landing Marina in GA for a couple of days.
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July 22, 2024 Update: We had an easy
40-mile ride to our anchorage today. The highlight of the day was Gordy
finally seeing his old friends - the dolphins. You can tell by the smile
on his face how happy he was!
After a quick rest, Bob played with the dinghy and the davit system. Unfortunately, the motor was not acting reliably, so we opted not to take it out. But it was good working through the launch and retrieval exercise.
Tomorrow, we have a longer day and another anchorage. We're trying to get back to Norfolk ASAP. We'll have plenty of opportunities to explore on our way up and down the coast.
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July 19, 2024 Update: Our anchor held well during the night and once Bob started the generator and the air conditioner, we both got a good night's sleep.
I drove us out of the anchorage while Bob took care of the anchor and we cruised to Titusville. We had stayed here last year on our way up north. Bob backed the boat into the slip like a pro and joked that I didn't have to yell at him this time! LOL!
We docked the boat and walked to Pier 220 for lunch. Last year we used our scooters, and the weather was much cooler!
We then took an Uber to pick up our rental car and drove to Clearwater to visit family. The normally 2-hour drive was over 3 hours with lots of slowdowns and a thunderstorm! We stayed at a hotel within a mile of my aunt's. The Microsoft technical glitch had their computers down, and we had to do the check-in the old-fashioned way: filling out a paper form! On top of that, their elevators didn't work either and we had to hike to 3rd floor, lugging our bags. It was hard to complain as they had upgraded us to a suite! After a quick shower and change, we headed to my aunt's. It was so good to see my aunt, uncle and cousin! We had to leave the dogs at their house to go out to dinner as the hotel rules prohibited us from leaving them in the room alone! We enjoyed a nice dinner at Fish Bone, a regular hang out of my aunt and uncle before going back to their house for a night cap and more catching up.
On Saturday, we regrouped over breakfast and then joined my cousin at their business, Rug Bazaar, to retrieve my Persian rug we had left there 1.5 years ago for repairs. This rug is a treasured heirloom from Iran that my mom had shipped from Iran over 40 years ago. Unfortunately, one of our foster dogs had chewed a corner off of it a few years back. Luckily, my gifted cousin Guita was able to repair it for us. The plan is to have it in the salon in our new boat!
This was a short, but sweet, visit. It was great to catch up with the family, talk about the past, present and future plans. Bob was entertained with my conversations with my aunt (mostly in Farsi)! Lots of laughs, hugs and kisses as we said goodbye with a promise to visit soon.
The next morning, we left the hotel around 8 a.m. and drove back to Titusville after a quick re-provisioning stop. We'll need to route plan and put the boat back together for the cruise tomorrow.
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July 18, 2024 Update: Today's leg will take us to an anchorage in Melbourne, FL. Last spring, we were able to dock at a military marina (Patrick AFB), but they can not accommodate a vessel over 40ft! So, this will give us a chance to try the anchor on the new boat!
We took advantage of low diesel fuel prices and filled up the boat and emptied the black water. We needed to wait for Billy to stop by with a part that we also needed for the power cord project. Bob realized it after we had returned from West Marine and asked Billy if he could help us out and Billy agreed!
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| Fueling this boat is so much easier than the Sea Ray. We were reminded of Bob fueling Imzadi-2 on his belly in the rain at Bobby's Fish Camp! |
We headed north toward our anchorage, once again driving from the comfort of the air-conditioned pilot house! Storms are expected for the area, so we plan on being anchored before the weather turns on us.
To Gordy and my disappointment, we only saw a couple of dolphin fins from far away, and no real encounter. Gordy really loves seeing them.
We watched as the clouds kept rolling inland. We had storms to our west and sunshine to our east. As we dropped anchor, we could see lightening to the west.
Bob worked on the shore power cord and then went to turn the anchor light on .... no go!!! This is a safety (and Coast Guard requirement) and was supposed to have been fixed per the survey! We called the broker who told us there was a spare light on the boat! We had to unzip the canvas on the flybridge, and Bob climbed up and replaced the light in the rain. Evidently, they had not fixed the light correctly.
We also noticed that our water pump was not working. From climbing on the top of the boat, Bob now had to crawl to the belly of the beast! He discovered the existing pump burnt and smoking. Mind you, it's very hot and humid and we are both sweating profusely! I was thinking of a dive in the water if Bob couldn't fix this one issue too! Fortunately, he had a spare pump on board! The problem was where the water pump was located! Bob asked that I join him in the cramped and hot engine room as he wedged himself sideways and behind the engine and I passed him the tools he needed. That was the least I could do!
I am so grateful for Bob's mechanical, electrical and engineering skills! He has always been my hero, and today more than ever! That cold shower sure felt good after all of the breakdowns in the hot, humid Florida summer we experienced today!
Hopefully we will be able to get a good night's sleep! We're off to Titusville tomorrow where we plan on renting a car and driving to Clearwater to visit my relatives.
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July 17, 2024 Update: Today I tried our washing machine and dryer! The first load went without glitch, the 2nd load had a water draining issue, but we figured out how to fix it.
We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at a restaurant by the marina and met a couple who knew our boat and her previous owners!!! Talking about a very small world! They told us we had pulled in next to them when we arrived and wondered why we moved! Bob explained our power issue. It was reassuring to hear them compliment us on how we pulled in!
The mechanic, Billy, who has been working on our boat drove to Ft. Pierce with some parts that had arrived and connected Bob to his electrician friend about the shore power. The electrician gave Bob some ideas as to how to trouble shoot which meant a trip to a nearby West Marine. The store happened to be across the street from an Aldi's, so we did a quick re-provisioning before heading back to the marina.
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July 16, 2024 Update: Today's destination is Ft. Pierce. We will be meeting our boat mechanic who needs to finish a few projects he had started but could not finish due to parts availability. We had stayed at Ft. Pierce City Marina last year for one night and had enjoyed our stay. It proved to be a great decision. We had another 50+ mile day and a later than planned departure, but Bob managed to get us to Ft. Pierce around 3:30.
This time, there were 2 dock hands waiting for us at the dock and the docking went MUCH BETTER than the day before. However, when they plugged us in, we tripped the power to the entire dock! Oops! Fortunately, they had a t-head spot on an older dock that could handle our power cord with its problems while we figure out how to fix it before our next stop. Bob was able to find a fix which forwarded to our mechanic and hopefully (toes and fingers crossed) they can fix tomorrow.
We enjoyed dinner at a nearby restaurant with the pups and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. And upon our return to the boat, we enjoyed cool air and a good night's sleep.
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July 15, 2024 Update: Early wake up (5:00 am) to start our travels aboard our new boat! Bob has hired a Captain to back us out of the tight spot we were docked at and then a quick course on driving this boat.
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| It took many tries to catch the cleat behind pier, next to a dock box and with other lines attached to it! |
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| After finally catching the cleat on starboard, I moved to port and gave us trying to catch this cleat! |
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| This big a$$ fender ball, kept the boat far from the finger, so getting on and off was not easy for a 5'6" crew! |
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| Getting off the boat from the stern was not an option for me either! |
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| Our resident Mr. Fix-It could not solve our power problem :-( |
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| Poor puppies could not stop panting! |
We spent the night drenched in sweat (heat index was 100 degrees at 7:30)! Fortunately, we will head out tomorrow and will be able to get power, fingers crossed!
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July 11, 2024 Update: I had a chance to drive to Miami to meet up with a dear friend (Hoda). In a few short hours, we caught up with a couple of years since our last visit! Hoda has a hectic schedule, so having a free morning when we were both in close proximity of each other was a true gift!
After getting back, I joined Bob in working on the boat. The plan is to leave Monday morning (after the weekend marine traffic). In the meantime, Bob installed a new kitchen faucet for me (the old one was broken and mis-matched colors). I also sold the pair of barrel seats in the salon and added step threads for the steps going to the bridge. Bob also added netting to the boat railing to keep the boys from accidentally falling off the boat.
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| That's our dishwasher under his leg :-p |
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July 10, 2024 Update: After a day of cleaning and scrubbing, we took time to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary with a sushi dinner.
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July 9, 2024 Update: We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale early afternoon, and I had my first look at our new boat! It will be fun making her truly ours! In the meantime, Charlie is content having his bed and blanket!
And of course, the coffee bar is set up! First things first!
Our boat broker arranged for us to stay on the boat at the private slip while we got her ready to travel. He also brough Bob a fancy bottle of Burbon. We will need to clean, organize and stock the boat in the next few days, not to mention getting to know where everything is.
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July 3, 2024 Update: Well, we officially are the new owners of a gorgeous vessel, a Navigator 5300 Classic! We had a few bumps in the road, including last minute wire transfer troubles, but we got it done!
We had driven to our friends, JT & Lin's for a few days and had some R&R before going back to Norfolk to pack up a minivan with Bob's tools and a few essentials for cruising the new boat back to Norfolk.
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June 25, 2024 Update: One thing about boating is that you'll need to be flexible! Our plan was to return from MN and my niece's wedding and continue on the Loop! Well ... that plan went out the window and SURPRISE!!! .... we are now looking at purchasing a bigger boat (gulp) and continue on the Loop in 2025! Oh, well! As two retired boaters, we're all good with that.
We hit an early snag when our current insurance company (State Farm) didn't like insuring a boat in Florida during hurricane season. Then after getting some astronomically high premiums, we found a Florida State Farm agent who took care of us. Upon returning from MN, Bob flew to Ft. Lauderdale for the hull and mechanical survey, as well as a sea trial. And this evening, we have a verbal agreement for the repairs we requested based on the surveys.
Before Bob got to Florida, a couple we have been following on YouTube was down at the boat and did a Video of the new boat (p.s. She didn't realize there's a dishwasher under the sink!!!).
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Our plan is to drive down to Ft. Lauderdale with the pups, get the boat ready for her maiden cruise to Norfolk where we will move our stuff from Imzadi-2 to the new IMZADI (we decided to keep the name of our first boat together!) So, Imzadi-2 will is up for sale! If you know anyone who is looking for a turnkey Loop boat, please let them know of our boat! 1987 Sea Ray 360 Aft Cabin.
The proposed closing date is July 5th. Stay tuned for updates!
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June12, 2024 Update: Before leaving for MN to attend Asea's niece's wedding, we had a chance to have a lovely dinner with Asea's former co-workers from 40 years ago when she was living and working in Virginia. Thanks to the power of social media, she had found them online and kept in touch with them. Working at Central Fidelity Bank must have been quite something that carried these friendships through so many decades!
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| Debbie and Ted Grell |
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| Roy and Linda Stallings |
We left Norfolk toward Minnesota (by way of Iowa) on the 14th and stopped in West Virginia for the night. The next day, after driving almost 500 miles through West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, we stopped for the night in Peoria, IL.
The next day, we drove to Clarksville, IA to visit Bob's family for a few days before returning to MN. The scenery and weather were constantly changing.
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| From right to left: Diane, Dina, Darla, Dee and the odd name out: Bob 😁 |
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| Diane reading to Darla's great grandson, James (2 YO) |
We left Iowa for MN on Sunday and arrived at Elliott & Greg's early afternoon. They generously took us in for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I picked up a bug in Iowa and by Monday, I was in bed for 2-3 days. Fortunately, it was a short-term bug and soon we were able to run our various errands (including a change of address and new driver licenses).
I had mentioned that our car had a brake fluid leak on the way to DC when Alex was visiting over Easter. We had taken the car to Mercedes Benz of Richmond. Almost 2 weeks later, we got the car back with more issues than before! We had taken the car to another MB dealer in Virginia Beach who claimed there was nothing wrong with the car, even though we had alerts for ABS, ESC system, no cruise control and tire pressure monitoring ... and the air suspension bag that Richmond had installed to replace the one they damaged was leaking and back of the car was sitting on its rear tires! We had such great service from Feldman MB in MN that we drove the car to MN with fingers crossed all the way and left the car with Feldman for almost two weeks we were in MN. And... they gave us a 2024 MB with lots of bells and whistles to get around in! True to form, Feldman took great care of us, did some work free of charge and cautioned us against taking our car to any of the MB dealerships in VA. Evidently, they had put parts in incorrectly and hap-hazardly. A shut-gun problem solving approach that didn't work! On the plus side, the car has almost a completely new rear-end system!
We met the bride and groom, Lily and Grant, as well as Elli (mother of the bride) for brunch on Memorial Day and I had the pleasure of passing on an heirloom from my mother to Lily (Lily was mom's first grandchild). It's a turquoise ring from Iran.
The following weekend, our dear friends, MJ & Mark Blair and Jill and Jacob Marti threw us a big party at our old home marina (Twin City Marina) and we got to visit with many groups of our friends whom we hadn't seen in a long time! We felt so blessed to have so many amazing friends.
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| Boating friends: the Blairs, the Martis and the Duerres. |
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| A group of our military friends: The Kesslers and the Bayers |
Shawn and Melissa, friends from our days at Landmark Education.
We had a chance to enjoy a lovely dinner with Bob's daughter, Kristie, her husband Aaron (he officiated our wedding) and the youngest of their two daughters, Reagan. Natalie was out of town with her boyfriend Owen. Sweethearts from high school. As it turned out the reason Owen had taken her away was to propose to her! Congratulations Natalie and Owen!
My relatives from Canada (Uncle Behrouz, Joan, Behjan, Travis, Hannah and Hunter) arrived Thursday afternoon and Anoush hosted us at Tavern Grill in Arden Hills and had a chance to catch up. The last time they were in MN was for Bob and my wedding!
We had been joking about the Wedding of the Century for months and we were not joking! It was truly a fairytale wedding. Lily and Grant (and of course their parents) planned an amazing weekend of celebration. I'll try to cover the highlights here!
Friday was the rehearsal and welcome dinner. Ariana was a bride's made (one of 9) and Alex was an usher. The Welcome Dinner was at one of Anoush's newest ventures, Venue 983.
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| The family from Canada (sans Uncle Behrouz) |
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| Hunter with his signature pose! Lol! |
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| Ariana and the bride, Lily! |
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| Bitter-sweet time for Anoush, giving Lily away! |
Saturday - the big event! I was fortunate that an old friend of Elliott and I, Teague, was also staying at Elliott & Greg's. He happens to be, among many of his talents, a make-up artist for Chanel. He offered to apply my make up for the day. And Elliott came out of retirement to fix my hair! The wedding ceremony was beautiful and adding a bit of a Persian wedding ceremony gave it a special touch.
At the reception, we had a chance to visit with many more of our friends we had missed. I'll be adding more pictures in the days to come, but in the meantime, here are a few to start!
We left the young ones on the dance floor after the First Dance and Father-Daughter Dance. (Reflection: After living on the boat, just the two of us, with an occasional 1 or 2 couple in the mix, we were a bit overwhelmed!)
And wait! There is more! The next day was the After-Party-Party! Full brunch, including a mimosa and Bloody Mary bar!
Amid all the running around, Bob helped Greg and Elliott with a few emergency plumbing needs that came up! Evidently, it was a messy job! LOL!
We had planned on leaving on Tuesday, but we were exhausted and decided to delay our departure by a day, which worked out good as Bob came down with the flu (and later passed it on to me!). We travelled back to VA with loads of medication! On our way back to Virginia, we stopped in Byron and visited Bob's daughter, Kathie and our 4 grandchildren: Matthias, Asher, McKenna and Abram, and did a quick catch up on what they have been up to.
We stayed in Madison, WI the first night. A nice, clean hotel. Unfortunately, our next stop in Columbus, OH was a disaster! The hotel I made reservations at had 5 stars, with 3 very recent reviews that I have to call B.S. on!
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| The broken smoke alarm |
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| As tired and achy as I was, I could not bring myself to take a bath in this! |
This place won the title of the worst place I have ever stayed at award!
By the time we got back to Norfolk and "boat-sweet-home," I felt really sick, but fortunately, Bob was getting better (so he could take care of me the next few days!).
I like to add that the boys were great travel companions! They slept most of the way and were good at their rest breaks.
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April 26, 2024 Update: The past month was a whir wheel of activities and visitors! Alex visited us over the Easter weekend. We took him to Virginia Beach and Williamsburg before driving to Washington, DC to see Ariana.
There are more pictures of our visit on my Facebook page! Check them out!
We then headed toward Washington, DC. Somewhere outside of Richmond, our car (which was recently serviced and checked by Mercedes Benz of Hampton), started losing brake fluid. We called a tow truck and had the car towed to Mercedes Benz of Richmond. Fortunately, we were able to ride in the tow truck to the dealership. Unfortunately, they did not have a loaner car and we were not able to find a rental car at the 1st three places we tried. Thank God the shuttle service driver stayed with us throughout the search until finally at Enterprise we were able to rent a Jaguar (yes, a Jaguar with only 10 miles on it and a price to match!!!). We were desperate to continue on our road trip and get to DC to meet up with Ariana for dinner at the Rumi Kitchen for a fabulous Persian dinner. I forgot to mention that the "shuttle" ride from MB was a 2024 MB electric vehicle....gorgeous car, BTW!
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| Car on the tow truck |
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| Shuttle service in search of a rental car |
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| The only car available ... a brand new Jaguar!!! |
We checked into our Airbnb apartment, changed clothes and met Ari at Rumi's.
The next day was rainy, so we did a driving tour of DC before picking up Ariana for lunch. She wanted to go to The Hamilton for sushi! But first, we stopped at the White House Welcome Center and we bought a 2024 Christmas Ornament (you'll need to wait until Christmas to see it! :-p)
After lunch, we stopped at Ariana's place. She is renting a studio apartment in a renovated historic building (the picture of the 3 of us was taken in her lobby). She had done a wonderful job of decorating it and it suits her perfectly. Plus, she's half a block from the metro, so her commute to work is easy.
We had dinner at Nando's, Alex's choice!
The next day, we dropped Alex off at the train station so he could continue his trip up the coast to NYC. The rain stopped long enough for us to explore Arlington National Cemetery during our last day and witness both moving ceremonies: The changing Of Guards and Schools paying homage at the tomb of the unknown soldier. I took too many pictures and videos. Please see my Facebook page to see them all.
After this somber experience, we headed to Old Alexandria for lunch, before we said goodbye to Ariana at the train station and heading to Patuxent Naval Base to visit our friends, Jim and Donna (our Looper friends) for a couple of days.
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| Sandy was very happy to see us and run up the dock to greet us! |
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| We visited the Solomon Island and enjoyed a tasty lunch at the Light House! |
A couple of days later, on April 8th, there was a total solar eclipse. We were not able to locate eclipse glasses ourselves, but I had a short opportunity to look through a welding shield Lense our boat neighbors had to watch it for myself; otherwise, the online photos were amazing. Some boat neighbors were horsing around with tin foil hats which gave us a chuckle!
Our next visitor was Bobby who arrived on the 10th. Bob and Bobby toured the battleship Wisconsin, and we went back to the Colonial Williamsburg before touring the Yorktown battlefield.
WILLIAMSBURG
YORKTOWN
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| Lunch and wine tasting at the Water's Edge |
Their visit was way too short, and after 3 days, the drove back to Florida so Nancy could fly back to MN to take care of her father.
We had another visitor from MN on the 23rd! Micki Duerre was in Norfolk on a business trip, and I had a chance to catch up with her at Press 626 Wine Bar for dinner.
In the meantime, we're getting the boat ready for the next part of the Loop. We obtained our FCC radio operator license, MMSI # and call sign and Bob took an online boating course (needed for a couple of upcoming segments of the Loop).
We're also getting ready to drive to MN for my niece's wedding on June 1st. Our plan is to leave mid-May so we will have some time to catch up with friends and family in Minnesota. Our friends, Elliott and Greg our hosting us while we're in town. It would be so great to see everyone! After the wedding, we'll drive back and head up the east coast toward Canada.
In the meantime, we're still dealing with our car. The MB in Richmond fixed one thing (brake line) and broke other things (air suspension and multiple sensors)! It has been a frustrating experience. We've realized that Feldman MB in MN has been spoiling us for the last 7 years and that not all MB dealerships/service departments are not the same.
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March 21, 2024 Update: The past month was very windy for us with many gale warnings and lots of rocking and rolling aboard Imzadi-2. Bob kept busy with PM (preventative maintenance), as well as making two plexiglass doors for our aft deck area (still in process).
Bob has also been keeping on top of the pesty mold by constantly cleaning all areas that could cause problems for the First Mate! Asea's brother, Anoush, sent us an amazing air purifier machine that is effective on 99.98% of air borne viruses. Thankfully, I keep getting better and recovering from my health scare and I was able to enjoy the Iranian New Year (first day of spring). This year, my small haft-seen table became a travelling one as we drove to Richmond for Penny's birthday on March 17, and Norouz on March 19, before returning to Norfolk.
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| Our Haft-Seen on the boat |
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| Celebrating Penny's birthday |
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| The birthday girl! |
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| The travelling Haft-Seen table made its way to Penny & Eddie's |
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February 19, 2024 Update: The best news is that after months of being under the weather as a result of Mold Toxicity, I am finally starting to feel better... no thanks to the pulmonologist who insisted on me taking steroids for a year! For the past few months, I kept feeling worse and worse! I did not feel like myself! I was out of breath, with coughing fits, extremely sensitive to noise which had me hid in the bedroom most of the day and eventually totally lost my voice! I finally reached out to my homeopath who has been working with me for nearly 20 years (Beth Chalmers) and she sent me a few remedies. And just like that, I am feeling like my old self again, one day at a time! As I write this blog, I am thankful for feeling better and for having Beth in my life! Who knew steroids were soooo bad for me!
The weather has been cold and windy! It is very tiresome! I can't wait to start cruising again; but first, my niece's wedding in MN on June 1st! In the meantime, the cold weather has instigated the water to be shut off to the dock (hopefully they'll turn it back on tomorrow!)
In the meantime, Bob worked on a remodeling project in our bathroom! And now, he's designing a major remodel on the boat! (More to come in future blogs).
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| Before |
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| After |
I feel so lucky to have Bob to do "cosmetic projects" as well as trouble shooting various breakdowns around the boat! Hey, it keeps him out of trouble, right?
Now that I am finally feeling better, it's time to have guests on the boat! Who's next? Let us know if you can join us here in Norfolk!
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February 3, 2024 Update: We spent a few days back on the boat after returning from Richmond and then packed up and headed to Lin & JT's for NYE and a successful fishing trip for Bob & JT.
Meanwhile, Lin and I struggled over the impossible jigsaw puzzle she received as a Christmas gift from her brother. We also drove to town and were lucky to get a sound healing bath from a local Reiki practitioner.
Bob learned to shuck oysters on New Year Eve's Day. And I'm happy to report there was no blood sacrifice involved! JT, Bob and I then enjoyed a few of the oysters in a shooter, before JT fried the rest.
Penny and Andrew joined us for the day and immediately attempted to solve the Imposible puzzle!
The next day, JT & Lin shared their New Year's tradition of German sausage, Kraut, Pork and Mashed Potato. Yum!
Soon after returning to Imzadi, our microwave died on us. Bob was able to find a combination microwave, convection oven and air fryer. The replacement unit is so much better than the old one which had 2 settings for convection mode: G1 and G2 (and we never figured out what each one meant!)
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| Gordy admiring the new microwave! |
Our next adventure was a trip to Cancun (Jan 13-20) with our friends from MN, MJ and Mark. Ariana was able to arrange to work from home for the week and took the train from DC to watch the pups while we were in Cancun. We were able to get her a visitor's pass to be able have access to the base. Unfortunately for her, the weather was less than ideal, and they had to shut the water; however, Bob had anticipated the water shut off and filled the boat before we left.
We arrived before MJ and Mark and at a different terminal. Asea (Iranian Mafia) managed to talk down a $45 cab ride to $20 for a quick transfer to Terminal 4 where we waited for our friends at the Welcome Bar!
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| Robert Downey Jr Look Alike at Cancun Airport! |
We had an amazing week at our timeshare, Sunset Royal, where they treated us like royalties. We had a gorgeous suit overlooking the Caribbean Sea and white sandy beach where we had access to a private beach and pool-side area. On Thursday, we signed up for a catamaran cruise to Isla Mujeres and met up with another MN marina friend, Sheila. The cruise was a total blast and we had a fun time catching up with Sheila.
When we were not lounging at the beach or by the pool, we joined in the activities the resort provided (learning to make guacamole, playing bingo, water aerobics, etc.) We ate well and drank plenty and had a fabulous time reconnecting with MJ & Mark.
December 27, 2023 Update: We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and Santa was good to you!
We spent most of December continuing to figure out the cause of Asea's shortness of breath and finding relief. After a couple of virtual visits and more tests, it looks like the culprit is an environmental induced asthma! The prescriptions for this seem to finally give Asea some relief.
When we were not being blown away by gale force winds, we enjoyed the preparation and festivities of the season. We even got a few Christmas gifts shipped to the grandkids and mailed out a Christmas letter to friends and family.
Ariana paid us a quick visit on her way to Minnesota for Christmas. We met up with our friends in Colonial Williamsburg and experienced a traditional meal at King's Arms Tavern.
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| Left to right: Eddie, JT, Lin, Asea, Bob, Penny, Ariana, Ron, Andrew (Penny's brother who's visiting from England) |
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| Duck Stew ((Martha Washington Cookbook...origin prior to 1759) |
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| Stewed Beef (The London Art of Cookery, John Farley, 1787) |
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| Snow Egg (James Hemings, Chef d' Cuisine to Thomas Jefferson, 1787-1794) |
After taking Ariana to the airport early the next morning, we hit the road again, this time to Richmond, for a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at Ron's. We were able to find a dog-friendly apartment nearby on Airbnb for a couple of nights. The pups enjoyed the fenced backyard, while Bob and I each enjoyed a soak in the tub - a luxury when you live on a boat!
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December 3, 2023 Update: Imzadi-2 is decked out for the holidays! There is a contest at the marina for the lights and decorations! We have one more decoration that's supposed to arrive this week! Stay tuned!
November 29, 2023 Update: The past couple of months have been very busy and I finally am catching up with our blog! Let's go back to Oct 9-12 and Jim and Donna's visit to Norfolk! We had a great time catching up and showing Jim & Donna around. We went to one our favorite winery (Water's Edge) and to Ocean Eddie's seafood restaurant on a fishing pier in Virginia Beach.
Jim and Donna's post-Loop adventure is travelling by an RV. We accompanied them on a trip to Camping World and looked at a few RVs. After walking through a few of them, I saw a 5th Wheel RV than I quite liked for when we "possibly" follow Jim and Donna on this new adventure!
Unfortunately, Ron (and his girls) were not able to join us due to a family emergency :-(
On a beautiful, sunny day, we took a road trip across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel to Cape Charles. A quaint, small town on the bay.
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| We've been enjoying LOCAL raw oysters whenever possible! |
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| Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Info on Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel |
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| Info on Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel |
I have been feeling so winded and short of breath that at a scheduled session, my physical therapist had to take my vitals to make sure I was OK to proceed. My blood pressure and oxygen levels were OK, but my PT was worried enough and that canceled my appointments for the week and suggested I seek medical help. Not having a care team in VA, I returned to the urgent care that had helped me with my back. After testing me for COVID and Flu (both negative), they finally started an examination which was cut short when I answered affirmative to "do you have a history of blood clots?" They then stopped the exam and told me to go to the ER! I went back to the boat and picked up Bob and headed to the Norfolk General Hospital! OMG ... What a zoo!!! It's alarming when you have to walk through a metal detector (monitored by two fully armed police officers) to enter the ER (Bob had to part with his pocketknife during our visit!). If Bob wasn't with me, I would have turned around and left! Ugh! The reception area was fully packed and was being used as a triage area. The nurses and doctors would come into the reception area and talk to patients in front of everyone else in the area! (So much for patient privacy!) A nurse was walking around with a blood pressure gizmo and randomly took blood pressures. At one point, a nurse announced that they were out of wheelchairs and vacated a patient, hooked up to an ivy bag and took her wheelchair away. As if this wasn't bad enough, there was a gentleman in handcuffs, escorted by two officers who was yelling for a diet coke, or he was going to call 911!!!! Anyway, after a chest x-ray and an ECG and many blood tests, the doctors determined that I was not going to die on them and was discharged and told to go see my regular doctor!
The next day, I arranged for an E-Visit with my clinic back in MN and the doctor said she couldn't do much from MN and that I should go back to the Urgent Care and have the local doctor order more tests and find out what's going on with me. I ended up with referrals for a CT of my abdomen and pelvis (to rule out ovarian cancer) and an echo gram. The CT was scheduled quickly and fortunately, no major issues were found.
In the meantime, Bob had an in-patient procedure where they opened up his sinus cavities by inserting a balloon up his nose and opening up the inflamed passages. This procedure is not a cure for his chronic sinusitis but should provide relief from constant sinus pressure. Whatever drugs gave him made him goofy, LOL!
3. His "relaxing" meds have started to work, hence the goofy pose
4. Good thing they rolled him out on a wheelchair! I had the hardest time walking him from the parking lot to the boat! Fortunately, a boat neighbor was on his boat and helped get Bob up the ladder and on the boat! Phew!
5. When we got on the boat, he wanted to use the bathroom. Then he came out saying his hat got stuck to the glass! I had no idea what he was talking about until I saw the last picture! 🤣🤣🤣 Evidently, he had leaned into the sticky fly tape on the mirror!!!
Bob could not remember any of the events of that day, but fortunately, I had an eyewitness!!!
By Saturday, October 28, he was feeling well enough to drive the boat up north to Deltaville. It was a long travel day, but the Chesapeake Bay was calm and provided us with a smooth cruise. In the 1st 20 minutes, we saw dolphins (Gordy was happy) and a submarine heading to the base (Bob was happy). A Navy police patrol boat made sure we stayed well clear, monitoring our boat, pointing its bow at us the whole time!
We made it to Chesapeake Cove Marina late afternoon and tied down and started packing for our 2-week stay at JT and Lin's. We spent a peaceful night at our slip! No helicopters or waves slapping against the hull!
While the various doctors are puzzled at my medical drama, our friend, Penny, may have found the culprit! Mold! Bob had recently taken care of some mold on the boat, but he dug in more and discovered a faulty part on the AC unit he had installed this summer, was leaking and there was a puddle of moldy, yucky water where the forward AC (our bedroom) was pushing all that mold into our bedroom! He spent a day cleaning the mold and repairing the failing part and did some engineering to avoid a repeat of water collection. We also purchased a HEPA air purifier and HEPA filters for the boat (and we can really feel the difference in the air we breathe!) We also hoped that spending a couple of weeks off the boat will improve my condition. In the meantime, Imzadi-2 was pulled out of water and cleaned and painted and tuned up.
BEFORE PICTURES!
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| Barnicle growth where the metal was not painted! |
AFTER PICTURES!
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| All cleaned up, painted, buffed and waxed and ready to go back in the water! |
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| Rudder post was repaired (finally) |
Bob was extremely pleased with the work done at Chesapeake Cove Marina. We heard from so many people that this IS the place to go to for motorboats. The work was complete in less than 2 weeks but unfortunately, we could not stay there when the boat was put back in the water. We found another marina in the area (Yankee Point Marina) and Bob and JT drove the boat to its new location while we watched for a weather window to travel back to Norfolk.
JT & Lin were super hosts! I washed loads and loads of clothes and bedding to get rid of the mold. Evidently with my compromised auto-immune system, I was more effected than Bob by this mold toxicity. My shortness of breath has been so bad that I would be panting short of breath after folding a load of laundry, changing clothes, or even talking!
While I refreshed my skills at Mah Jong with Lin and her friends, Bob and JT crossed off some of Lin's "Honey-Do List!" We enjoyed great company, gorgeous views of sunset off their deck, and played lots of games. One day I made a Persian meal which everyone enjoyed.
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| The Persian Tah-Chin was as good as it looked, if I say so myself! |
On November 2, we drove back to Norfolk for my echogram and Bob's post-op visit. I was waiting for the echogram technician, when the cardiologist popped his head in to say "Hi" to a new patient and upon observing how short of breath I was, he told me to stay put after my echogram so he could examine me (even though I did not have an appointment with him!). After my echogram, he along with his assistant walked in with my medical records which they obtained during my echogram. I finally found a doctor who cared enough to listen to me and figure out what's causing my shortness of breath! He basically made 2 lists of "what it could be" and "what it definitely was not!". He even walked me around 2 laps outside the building to monitor my breathing and oxygen level! Wow!!!! In summary, my echogram was good, but he ordered a cat scan of my heart and referred me to a pulmonologist.
Two weeks after we travelled to the "Northern Neck" we moved back to the boat which took most of the day! On our last night, we went out to dinner with Lin (JT was out of town on a track meet). The restaurant is in a Bed & Breakfast and each dining area is decorated uniquely.
We had barely made it back to Norfolk when we packed up again and drove to our Airbnb "cabin" in the Shenandoah. We had a 5 bedroom (with ensuites and king size beds), a hot tub, a fire ring, fireplace inside and a gorgeous view of the valley below. Unfortunately, a nearby forest fire made the air smokey (not fun for me!) This is where I celebrated my 65th turn around the sun! I don't know when I got to be this age! In my mind, I still feel like I'm in my early 20's, but my body is telling me: "Hold my beer!" 😜 Lin and JT surprised me with a box of delicious cupcakes and sparkly candles💓
Each couple was charged with one breakfast and one dinner during our 3-day stay, and everyone helped with cleaning up! I made a Persian celery stew and basmati rice when it was my turn to cook and a breakfast egg bake for breakfast for our last day before we left the "cabin!"
Time spent with this group of friends is ALWAYS fun! We played lots of games (cards, dice, Mah Jong and a jigsaw puzzle), including a game Penny and Eddie introduced at our last evening (kind of like a Pictionary or charade!) There were hikes, soaks in the hot tub, and evenings around the fire pit, and pool games to pass the time. We also visited a nearby winery. I personally enjoyed the signs more than the wine, but oh well!
After we got back, I was able to have a virtual visit with a pulmonary doctor who prescribed a nebulizer, and a puffer and ordered yet another CT of my lungs! We had to deal with an insurance issue before getting my RX which was another hoop we had to jump through! Evidently, the system did not have my Medicare information in the system!
JT & Lin had invited us to join them for Thanksgiving and as it worked out, my daughter, Ariana, was able to join us too. Ari has accepted a job offer in Washington, D.C. and had flown to D.C. to look for a place to stay. She took the train to Fredericksburg and Bob drove 1.5 hours each way to pick her up on Thanksgiving Day. JT & Lin cooked up a delicious turkey with all the trimmings which were just as good the next day! After lunch we drove back to Norfolk so Ari could do some shopping before leaving for D.C. VERY EARLY the next day! I'm happy she's going to be relatively close to us until we leave Virginia and expect to see more of her as she settles in.
Today, we tried a "farm to table" restaurant called Commune. Bob wasn't so sure about the menu as the first item on the menu was a "pea burger" but he went outside his comfort zone and tried a ham sandwich was great. He even enjoyed the Beet Catchup with his potatoes!
October 3, 2023 Update: The last couple of weeks have been rather uneventful, but lots of doctor and vet visits.
- Gordy had his annual ultrasound, monitoring his heart issue. The good news is that his little ticker is no worse than last year (and that's good news for us) and even though his heart chamber is enlarged, his body is handling it well enough that he does not need any medication at this time.
- Both Charlie and Gordy had their bi-annual wellness checkup, and all is good in that front.
- Asea is getting physical therapy 3x a week for her back and shoulder.
- Bob finally got to see a dermatologist for a wound on the back of his neck that just didn't heal. The doc did a biopsy. making a dime size scab to a quarter size angry looking wound. (I will NOT post pictures; you are welcome!)
- Bob is also scheduled for an outpatient procedure to open up his sinus cavities later in the month.
We have scheduled our boat to get a bottom paint in Deltaville at the end of October and will be staying with JT & Lin while the boat is out of the water. (Much gratitude for their hospitality!) We've also found a local guy to buff and wax the boat (Yeah!) The work is too hard and grueling for two retirees 😝
We're looking forward to having friends visit us in October before we head up north: Next week, Jim and Donna (Sand Dollars) are driving down from MD to spend a few days with us. We have not seen them since Boca Chica (Key West). The week after that, our friend Ron is coming from Richmond with his two puppies for a few days (Alert: Cute puppy pics to come!)
In November, we are joining our friends in a cabin in the Shanandoah Valley. I will be celebrating my 65th birthday there! How fun! And....JT & Lin have invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them (did I say our dance cards were getting full?)
And... as the last item, we have booked our flights to Cancun for January! MJ and Mark are joining us at our timeshare for a week of sunshine, sand and surf! We can't wait for this trip either! Life is good!
September 23, 2023 Update: We survived another tropical storm last night (Ophelia)! Yay! But let's go back to about 2 weeks ago before we share our experience of the 2nd tropical storm of the season!
Ariana arrived at midnight of September 7, after a long travel day; however, the next morning, she was up to a cruise. It was a hot, sunny day as we headed up to Williamsburg (Kingsmill Marina). By the time we arrived at the gas pump, the winds had picked up. After fueling up, we went to our VERY EXPENSIVE slip! The Waterway Guide information was outdated and instead of $100 flat fee, we paid $185 which for our 36-foot boat equals to $5/ft. We have never paid this much for a so-so slip! The protective fender on the pilings by the slip was ripped off (photo below) but Captain Bob was able to maneuver around it. He then had to hose off the dock of bird poop so we could walk on it! Needless to say, we won't be going back!
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| The hazardous slip we were assigned to! |
Ariana was finishing up her thesis, so she opted to stay on the boat and work on her paper while Bob and I hitched a ride to the pool/lazy river to cool down. We did enjoy a nice dinner on the deck of the restaurant on site, before the storms arrived.
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| Enjoyed dinner at James Landing before the storms arrived! |
The next day, we had a longer trip up the James River to Rockets Landing Marina which is 2 blocks away from Penny and Eddy's condo. Penny and Eddie met us at the dock as we pulled in and helped us tie down in time for another round of storms to roll in. Side note: my auto-inflating life vest must have gotten wet during the rains/storms as it had inflated! Ooops!
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| At least we know it works if I ever fall in the water! |
Our friends, Lin and JT joined us on the 11th (when Ariana flew back to MN) and they stayed the rest of the week on the boat with us (I guess we didn't scare them off the last time! 😏). We spent the week visiting and playing lots of games (dice, cards, dominos) with Penny, Eddie, Lin, JT and Ron.
We took a couple of cruises on the James River: an afternoon cruise to Lily Pad restaurant with JT, Lin, Penny and Eddie where we tied up and had a lovely dinner on the patio/dock, right next to our boat! And a second cruise with Penny, Eddie and Ron.
Jimmy Dean's estate on James River
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| Captain Eddie at the helm, with Lin and JT |
Bob went to an Octoberfest with everyone, while I stayed behind for some rest. So, I don't have any pictures to add!
Our marina was convenient to Penny & Eddie's place and many restaurants. The dock master was very friendly and helpful and provided us with extra bungee cords to secure our power cord to the dock and even a longer hose so we could have water for the boat. And we only paid $108 for the whole week (compared to $185 for one night!)
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| Rockets Landing, James River |
Thursday evening, we went to Emma (my Goddaughter) and Joey's place for some Ollie time! Oliver, their son, turned 1 years old on Saturday. We also got to meet their Cavalier, Dudley!
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| Joey and Ollie (Oliver0 |
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| Penny and Ollie |
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| Emma & Eddie |
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| Dudley |
We were able to find a different marina for our return trip: Surrey Seafood Company Marina. This was a "self-service" marina! LOL! We (Bob) fueled up using a card reader, pumped out and we picked a T-head to tie up to. After we tied down, we went to the restaurant on site for an early dinner and refreshments. I surprised Bob with a round of Oyster Shooters! Yum!
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| Surrey Seafood Company |
The next morning, we left early; the fog had barely lifted, and the tide was out, making Bob nervous travelling in shallow waters. But after maneuvering around various Ferries, barges and shipping containers, we finally got back to our Norfolk marina and our new and larger slip on the K-Dock. Hurray! We are now set up for the winter.
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| Cruising in the fog! |
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| Finally, the fog lifted. |
The week after we returned was busy with doctor appointments: Bob met with the ENT surgeon who is going to do a procedure to help him with his chronic sinus issues; Gordy was seen for his annual ultrasound of his heart (no change = good news!) He still has a funky heart valve and enlarged heart chambers which he is being monitored for. He may need medication for his heart later on, but for now, he is good-to-go! And I started PT for my back and neck pain.
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| Our "highly motivated security force" :-p |
And this brings us to date to Tropical Storm Ophelia! Bob, as always, did a great job of securing the boat and battened down the hatches. We experienced winds gusting to 70 mph and at one point we lost power. Evidently, our 50-amp power splitter was full of rainwater and shorted the circuit! Our friends Cameron and Matthew from our last dock stopped by to check on us (and other boats) and tied down another un-attended boat that had come loose. Later, our other friends Chuck and Charlie did the same and they tried to help with our power outage, but eventually, Bob opted to wait until daylight to address that issue (which he did). Before going to bed, he run the generator to charge up the batteries just in case. He also got up multiple times to make sure we were safe. Meanwhile, I took my sleeping gummy and wore my ear plugs and slept through it all!
***
September 7, 2023 Update: We tore up the wall covering in the aft cabin and replaced it with new material that our friend, Paul (Black Dog Canvas) helped us purchase and shipped to the marina. Going back to when purchased the boat, the seller disclosed that the windows were leaking, but he wasn't sure where. Last year, Bob and our friend Mark, replace all the casing around the windows and we assumed that took care of our windows! However, after the last storm that was just before our remodeling project, we discovered we were still getting water in the aft cabin. So, as part of the remodel, Bob fixed the windows. Unfortunately, in the process, we broke the stern window (oops!). Of course, this was during the Labor Day Weekend and no plexiglass shops were open. I made a post on a Sea Ray Parts on Facebook, hoping for recommendations. A "top contributor" reached out to me saying he had the same boat as us and was parting it out! Sweet! Well ... it could have been!!! As it turned out, he was a scammer and the Venmo account we sent $ to was frozen, and he kept giving us different accounts to Venmo money too! We started getting uneasy feeling about it, even though he sent us a picture of his Wisconsin DL and even SS card. The last straw was when I said I was going to mail him a check to the address on his DL and he said I needed to send it to an address in Michigan! We told him we were not interested anymore, and he tried to put us on a guilt trip! Whatever!!! Bob has contacted a local shop that will cut a piece for us next week.
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| Aft cabin remodeling process. The hardest part was the preparation. |
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I waited as long as I could, but I finally had to say goodbye to my trusty and favorite boat gloves that protected my hands over 3800 miles+ of the Loop. All the black parts used to be green |
Our other brush with law breakers was two nights ago. After a hard day of work for both Bob and I, I suggested we go for a walk with the dogs! We walked to the other side of the marina where I took sunset pictures, and we looked through long range binoculars at the marine traffic. On the way back to the boat, we noticed many Navy Police cars in the parking lot. When the last car pulled in and the Navy cop jumped out with his long gun (M4) I knew something serious was going down! They stopped us from going back to our dock and asked us to step to the side. One of our friends a sailing instructor at the Marina and she lives on her sailboat. I texted her to see if she knew what was going on. Long story short, she came out and found out a new boat had pulled into her dock; and after tying up the lines, the captain of that boat pulled a firearm on his first mate and asked him to "get the F* of his boat!" Mind you, having a firearm on a military base is strictly forbidden and threatening an un-armed person is not looked upon kindly!!! We heard the first mate flagged a police car and reported him and that's when all the police power showed up. I am not sure if a firearm was discharged or not, but there was a talk of it and that's perhaps why the cops wanted to keep us away and safe!
As I type this update, we're anxiously awaiting Ariana's arrival. Our plan is to cruise to Williamsburg tomorrow and then up to Richmond. Tomorrow marks our 1-year anniversary of departing Twin City Marina and start of our Great Loop Adventure.
Our friend, Cameron, is a navy rescue swimmer and a diver and he offered to check our boat for any growing barnacles, etc., before we leave for Richmond.
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| Cameron doing a pre-trip check on our boat, under Gordy's supervision, of course! |
September 2, 2023 Update: Well, we've lots to catch you up on! So, here we go!
We're still looking at our options for this coming fall and winter! Our current dock will not be ideal for the winter as they shut the water off to the dock at first freeze until late spring, and that will mean we'd have to use the public bath house for bathroom and showers and haul water to the boat for washing dishes, etc.! Not ideal situation at all. We're still in communication with the marina for option to moving to K Dock where the other live-aboard boaters are.
We had planned on going to Richmond to visit our friend Ron mid-August, but Bob came down with a bad summer cold and we postponed our trip to Aug 22-24. Ron is a gracious host, and we enjoyed our time with him and his 2 dachshunds, Ava and Lena, who are about 14-15 months old and super cute. Here is a picture of all 4 dogs (note how their coloring matches our dogs!)
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| It wasn't easy to get all 4 dogs in one shot! |
Ron took us to Maymont Mansion on our first full day. The grounds were absolutely gorgeous, and the weather was perfect. We saw many animals, raptures, a Japanese and an Italian garden.
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| Left: Bison Right: Stag |
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Captured photos of an Eagle, an Owl, a Hawk and a Vulture |
We enjoyed Ron's cooking but had to make a stop at Stella's Greek Restuarant to wrap our short visit.
***
The hurricane season officially
started June 1. The first one to hit the U.S. was Hurricane Hilary which was a large, potent Category 4 Pacific hurricane in August 2023 and brought torrential rainfall and gusty winds to
the Pacific Coast of
Mexico, the Baja California
Peninsula and the Southwestern United
States, resulting in widespread flooding and numerous mudslides.
Hilary broke records in four U.S. states for wettest tropical cyclone or its remnants.
The second major hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic
hurricane season, Idalia formed from a low-pressure area
that crossed Central America from the eastern Pacific Ocean. Gradual development ensued as it meandered in the western
part of the Caribbean Sea; the system was upgraded to a tropical depression on August
26, 2023, and strengthened into a tropical storm a day later, receiving the name Idalia. It traversed the Gulf of Mexico where it underwent rapid intensification, briefly becoming a Category 4 hurricane prior to making landfall in
the Big Bend region of Florida at Category 3 strength on August 30. It remained a hurricane as it
crossed into Southeast Georgia, then pushed into the Carolinas as a tropical storm. On August 31, Idalia emerged into
the Atlantic, where it transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone that same day;
later, it passed south of Bermuda.
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| The clouds breaking up after the storm passed was a welcome sight! |
***
In preparation of the aft cabin for Ari's arrival, we ordered new "headliner" (wall covering) for the aft cabin. When we purchased the boat 3 years ago, the seller told us the windows were leaking, hence the stains on the wall! Last year, Bob (with the help of our friend Mark) replaced all the gaskets around the aft cabin windows, and we assumed the problem was solved. However, when we started moving things around and tearing off the old wall coverings, Bob discovered where the windows were leaking! Ugh! So, as he's tearing the old stuff out, he's also fixing the windows. It's a messy work tearing the old covering and the foam behind it. I have been working on the trim pieces while Bob is working below, taking off the old staples that have rusted and prepping them for Bob to cover with the new material.
We will add" before and after" pictures later! But before finishing this post, we want to give a shout out to our friend, Paul Duerre (Black Dog Canvas) for hooking us up with the material for the project and having them shipped directly to the marina. Paul is the "artist" responsible for all our canvas on the boat.
August 9, 2023 Update: It's been almost a month since our last post! I'll try to recap the last month here!
Bob and I are still at the Norfolk Naval Base. We toured a few local marinas (military and civilian) and we found our current situation is better than any other so far. We are still on a waiting list to move to another dock which will give us better protection and allow us to hang out with the other liveaboards in the marina. They, we have heard, will string up hoses once a week and fill up the boats with water once the marina shuts the water to the docks in the winter. For now, we're staying put!
The weather has been either too hot or too stormy to do many outings and sightseeing. But we have seen lots of gorgeous sunsets from the aft deck.
Our friends, JT and Lin, came down for a few days to stay on the boat with us. Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal for any short cruises; but we enjoyed playing lots of games from the safety of our boat! One of our outings was to the Virginia Beach Winery, which did not meet our expectations! Most of the tables were taken for "arts and crafts" and the flight of wines were delivered in tiny plastic cups! Oh well, we played games and made the best of it.
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| Lin & I tried flights of cocktails! |
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| Best part of the Va Beach Winery was the company and the games! |
Bob has been dealing with his sinuses for a long time and he finally saw a specialist who drove a camera up his nose and diagnosed him with chronic sinusitis. Tomorrow, he's getting a c-scan. We hope he gets relief soon!
Last weekend some Looper friends of us came to the marina and we had a chance to spend some time with them. We had met Tia and Glen, aboard Child of the Sun back on the river systems, and then they joined us at Boca Chica before going to the Bahamas. They are on the way to New York where they will "cross their wake!" and complete the Loop. Unfortunately, we were too busy to take any group pictures while they were here! But I have a picture of their beautiful boat! LOL!
Today, we toured Esmeralda, a Chilian Navy Ship in Norfolk (thanks to our friend Donna who alerted us of it!).
We're planning on taking a few day trips in August. September will be kind of busy with Ari visiting us for a few days on her way back from Spain and a trip to Richmond to meet up with Penny & Eddie and help celebrate Ollie's birthday (Ollie is my god-daughter's baby). If the weather cooperates, we will cruise up to Richmond (a 2-day trip), otherwise, we will be driving (1.5-hour trip!).
We're also checking around for marinas to pull the boat out in the fall or spring for regular maintenance. Lin & JT have invited us to stay with them when we are out of the water.
On a bitter-sweet note ... we sold our first boat together (Imzadi) with the help of our friends Jill & Jacob Marti. I think the perfect owner finally showed up! They are a young couple and had a slip next to our friends Zach and Shelby. We had met when we first bought Imzadi and they were our boating buddies for many years! It's funny how the boat is now by them!
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| Imzadi under new ownership! Photo curtesy of Zach! |
As for the new air-conditioning on the boat ... thankfully, they both work great! Actually, too great! I often sit with a jacket and a blanket on my legs while Bob claims he's very comfortable! I sometimes think he starts sweating with Alexa tell him the weather forecast for the day 😜
July 12, 2023 Update: I returned from Spain a week ago and got settled in and caught up with sleep and paperwork. In my absence, Bob had fully installed two A/Cs on the boat. To say the boat is not far being a meat locker is no joke! I often wear a jacket and sit under a blanket I steal from Charlie!!! Meanwhile, Bob is enjoying the fruit of his labor sitting in front of the air exchanger, with an added fan! LOL!
Back to my trip! Ariana had planned a wonderful, fun itinerary for our travels. The trip was a graduation gift from Bob and I, but she did all the planning!
The day I arrived Barcelona, Ari moved out of her apartment into a really nice hotel she had reserved for us. The room included breakfast in the morning! Boy, they really know how to set up breakfast!
Ari showed me around Barcelona for a couple of days and I totally fell in love with the city. One couldn't but help seeing pooping sculptures of all sizes! Here is the story of El Caganer, the "pooping man!" Read the history behind this Christmas tradition below (yes, Christmas)!
As it turned out, I was the only parent of any of the American students in the program! I was so proud to be there for Ariana as she received her master's degree in international security.
We also went to a Flamenco show (on my bucket list) and to Segrada Familia. As I stepped inside, I had to catch my breath. The beauty of this place brought tears to my eyes. OK, both Ariana and I were very emotional as we had just heard of her grandmother's passing 😪 Another reason I was grateful to be there for Ari.
On Wednesday, we picked up our MINI rental car and drove south of Barcelona. It was quite an adventure driving this little car, manual, up and down 2 lane mountain roads with lots of switchbacks! And that's if you were not stuck behind a cyclist who was peddling for dear life and if there were no incoming cars around a bend! By some miracle we made it to our destination and spent the day on the beach and sightseeing before we picked up Lars (Ari's boyfriend) at the airport. Then there were more of the same driving, except by now it was dark! Fortunately, Lars was helping me with giving me heads up on turns and all the roundabout exits! By the time we arrived at Tassa del Mar and checked in to our Airbnb apartment, I was ready for a drink! As Ari and Lars went to park the car and bring our luggage back, I found a small, neighborhood bar and scored a glass of wine before they closed!
Ari and Lars were the perfect travel companions and took great care of me. Lars would wake up early to go to the market for fresh bread and would make us breakfast. With my good fortune, he is a physial therapist and wrapped my left food with the most recently broken toe so I could walk around. We spent a day at the beach and planned on visiting the castle on the side of mountain the next day.
After 3 days, we left Tassa del Mar and drove to Girona and spent half a day exploring Girona before we said goodbye to Lars and headed north to Cadaques, another beautiful coastal town. I have a link to my photos from this trip if you're interested!
On the last day, we drove from Cadaques to Barcelona airport and I sadly had to say goodbye to my amazing daughter. Ari was heading to Malaga to spend the summer with Lars as she finishes her decertation for her degree and looks for future employment.
June 19, 2023 Update: Last Thursday, we drove to Lancaster, VA (Lin & JT's house) and Penny & Eddie joined us. We have taken a number of memorable vacations with Penny, Eddie, Lin, JT and we always have a great time together, and this trip was no exception. Lin & JT have a lovely house on the river close to the Chesapeake Bay with a pool and hot tub which we all enjoyed. We played lots of games, enjoyed great food and lots of adult beverages. Our first meal was crabs! There's a trick to opening their shells and it takes a lot of work to get to the meat, but it's all worth it!
On the way to Richmond (and Penny & Eddie's condo), we met up with Emma (my goddaughter) and her husband, Joey, and their 9 month old son, Oliver (Ollie). He is absolutely adorable, and I was excited to finally meet him.
Penny and Eddie have bought a beautiful condo in Richmond so they would have a place to stay at when visiting Emma, Joey and Ollie. It's located a block off James River and they have done a beautiful job decorating it. We made a short trip to see Ron (another friend and travelling partner) and met his mom, Linda, and their two Dotsons (Ava & Lena) who just turned 1. I'm glad to say our boys and these cutie pies got along nicely! Yeay!
The We spent two nights there before coming back to the boat. On Sunday, we did a short river cruise and on our last night, we enjoyed a celebration for Juneteenth, including music and fireworks which we watched from the balcony and rooftop at the condo (p.s. the puppies were not a fan of the fireworks!)
We had a great time reuniting with friends, but it's always good to be "home"! As soon as we arrived, Bob grabbed the A/C parts we were waiting for and got the aft A/C working! Hurray for Bob!
The next few days, I'll be prepping for my trip to Spain for Ariana's graduation. I will be posting the next segment upon my return.
June 12, 2023 Update: Bob returned from Minnesota (after a short stop at Clarksville) in time to meet our friend, Mickie who was in Norfolk on a business trip.
I took a big leap and had my hair cut very short!
Currently, not only the aft (main cabin) A/C is not working, but also the forward A/C and that's after he recharged the forward A/C with Jacob's help (via a phone call). We ended up buying a portable A/C off of Facebook Marketplace yesterday.
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| Bob working on the forward A/C |
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| A band aid to our broken A/Cs |
We're finally able to do a few docktails with our dock neighbors which makes me happy.
Our dinghy is officially off the swim platform and Bob is talking about selling it on Marketplace.
We went sailing with our boat neighbors yesterday! My first time on a sailboat! As I keep saying, a day on the water is always a good day!
Bob got a chance to take over the helm!
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| Bob minding the lines with Chuck at the helm. |
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| View from the back of the boat. Hazy sky from the fires in Canada. |
We're looking forward to spending some time with our friends later this week;
June 4, 2023 Update: Bob is in Minnesota, attending our Natalie's graduation. I think he's going to start heading home tomorrow, after a stop in Clarksville, IA to see family. Our Looper friends have taken advantage of a break in the weather and are travelling north. The dock we're tied up to only has one other live-aboarder and they work full time, so we hardly ever see them! It feels strange being on the boat by myself (and the puppies)! The weather continues to be unusually cold and windy, meanwhile Bob is enjoying warm, sunny weather in Minnesota!
Tidewater Yacht & Marina to Norfolk Sailing Center & Marina
Wednesday, May 23, 2023 (Day 259)
The small vessel advisory was lifted at 9:00 and after checking wind and wave forecast give us a small window to travel the last 11 miles to our destination and push pause on our Loop adventure. We've enjoyed every day on the Loop, but after over 3800 miles under the keel, we're looking forward to getting settled in for a while. Plus, Bob is going to fly to Minnesota for our granddaughter, Natalie's graduation from Highschool. He will then bring our last remaining car, so we will have a car to get around while we're staying here in Norfolk.
Our ride out of the marina was smooth enough with 1ft waves. Soon we came across commercial traffic and fast boats. One of the fast boats even cut in front of a huge container ship and 2 tugboats and we wondered if he was the same captain who had cut across the barge the day before!!! The same boat waked all the boats he passed and the tugboat captain came on the radio stating his wake was bigger than the ship's!
As soon as we turned into Willoughby Bay (entrance to the
marina), things got really bumpy! Fortunately, it was a short distance,
and we soon entered the protected sea wall of the base. Two marina staff
met us at the pier to help us tie down and checked IDs! We're going to
rent a car until Bob comes back with our car. For the next few days, we
will work on getting settled in.
Imzadi-2 at her new (temporary) home at MWR Norfolk Naval Sailing Center & Marina |
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The marina is next to a helipad
and Bob is in heaven watching all the choppers! |
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| Bob is like a kid in a candy store with all the ships around him! |
The weather has not been ideal for cruising, so there are many Loopers docked safely in Norfolk & Portsmouth which gave us a chance to hang out with our friends on Vamonos (Gerry & Jen) and Senza Fine (Mike & Kelly).
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| Mike & Kelly (left) Jen & Gerry (center) |
Dismal Swamp
Visitor's Welcome Center, NC to Tidewater Yacht & Marina, VA
Tuesday, May 22, 2023
(Day 258)
We travelled slowly toward the 2nd lock, following Senza
Fine'. Today we did hit a couple of "bumps" under the keel, but
hopefully no damage was done to the prop. We also had to skirt various
tree stumps along the way. Our lock today had a 8' drop. Today's
lockage was a bit tougher due to high winds. On our way to Norfolk, we
were held back for about an hour for a train bridge to open up. As we
were trying to hold station in the wind, a large group of boaters came speeding
up to us and passed us to wait for the bridge!!! No courtesy! To
make the matters worse, a barge was coming toward us when the bridge opened and
he asked for the pleasure boats to wait for him to pass. We all obliged,
except one fast boat that did not listen and cruised high speed in front of the
barge which earned him a few long horns from the barge captain!
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Trailing all the fast boats,
sailboats and Senza Fine after the bridge opend up |
By this time, the winds had really picked up and there was a
small vessel advisory for the last part of our journey toward the Naval Base,
so we tried to get a slip where our friends on Vamonos and Senza Fine were
staying at. Unfortunately, they were full (lots of boaters were seeking
shelter) but were lucky enough to get a slip at a marina across the waterway
(Tidewater Yacht Marina).
By the time we docked and tied up the boat, we were both exhausted and hungry. After a couple of long showers, we went to the restaurant at the marina for dinner. Across from the table, I spotted World Trade Center when I used to work at 40 years ago! I am still in touch with some of my former co-workers and we plan to have a reunion after we get settled in at the naval base.
Bellies full, but still tired, we returned to boat.
The only thing we could do was to wait for the small vessel advisory to expire
to see if we could move on. Otherwise, we would have to stay here for
quite a few more days. We are anxious to arrive at the base and stay put
for a few months, get settled in, visit friends and explore the area.
Lamb's Maraina to
Dismal Swamp Visitor's Welcome Center, NC
Monday, May 21, 2023
(Day 257)
We left Lamb's Marina at 6:00, just before sunrise and run into a bit of fog toward the Dismal Swamp! There is a lot of history there and it's gorgeous (from what we've learned). The draw backs are: (a) it's a very narrow channel, (b) you'll need to go very slow and (c) there is a chance that your boat's props may hit something under the water! After weighing our options and pros and cons, we've updated to take this route. We followed 2 boats out of the marina, Wave Stepper (not a Looper), Vamonos and were followed by the Looper boat we saw yesterday and a sailboat.
There is a lock at the beginning of the channel, followed by a bridge. This is our first lock since we left the river systems back in November. We had an 8' ascend to the channel, while Gordy kept an eye on me!
Our plan is to stop at the visitor's center which offers a
"free wall" to tie up to, but no power or water. This area is a
roadside rest stop and offers a bit of story and breathtaking views.
Actually, it's odd to be travelling through this narrow channel, with the birds
chirping, roosters crowing, and .... highway traffic on the other side of the
trees! The water looks black because of all the tannin in the
water.
The other boats chose not to stop here and moved on. We tied up and walked to the visitor center to get sign in and for Bob to get a "I survived the Dismal Swamp" t-shirt 😁
Since I had not slept well last night, I took a nap while Bob went discovering the area. When I got up from a restful nap, I realized a sailboat and another Looper had tied up to the wall. We ended up spending a really fun evening with Mike & Kelly aboard their boat (Senza Fine') along with Dale & Cori (Hi Flite). It's absolutely amazing how easily we are making friends with other Loopers and the good fun and conversations never stop!
Senza Fine' and Imzadi-2 planned on a 7:00 am departure to make the 11:00 bridge and lock. SV Hi Flite opted to spend another day there.
Belhaven to Lamb's Maraina, NC
Saturday, May 20, 2023 (Day 255)
After our weather delay here at Belhaven (mind you, not a bad place to get stuck), we took advantage of a short weather window and headed out toward Alligator River and Alligator River Marina. We were planning to leave early in the morning in anticipation of our long 54-mile trip but had to wait for the fog to clear and finally left around 8:30. Our friends on Vamonos left at 6 o'clock (fog was not as heavy where they were) and became our scouts for the day!
We watched the weather apps closely as we were cruising and realized we could push further than Alligator Marina (our planned stop) and cross the Albermarle Sound (a large, exposed body of water) with only little chop. They were predicting 2 ft waves for the next few days and we did not want to get stuck at Alligator Marina, waiting to cross. We also changed our destination to a small marina past Elizabeth City to get closer to the Dismal Swamp and be in a protected area. Elizabeth City's City Wall, even though was going to be free, did not have power or water and if we were to be delayed, we would rather pay to have those amenities. As it turned out, Lamb's Marina only charged a $35/day flat fee. And the people were super friendly and helpful. Our friends, Jen and Gerry (Vamonos) changed their plans for anchoring and arrived at Lamb's Marina ahead of us. It was good to see them when we arrived after our nearly 90-mile travel day!
I had made a big batch of goulash before we left Belhaven in anticipation of a long day! We quickly warmed up dinner and met Jen and Gerry for docktails and compared our day's travels before going to bed.
What a day! We had one of our longest travel days to date and broke our self-imposed rule of no travelling on weekends but felt really good about our progress and where we ended the day.
The next day, we picked up a few items from the store across the road from the marina and they let us use their truck so we could safely cross the high traffic road. Remember, I'm still dealing with broken toes!
Jen and Gerry invited us to join them to go to Elizabeth City and check our their Potato Festival and a brewery. As tired as we were, we thought that would be lots of fun (and it was). There were lots of food vendors and various artists tents. After a quick lunch we tried out the brewery and met a couple who had attended the Great Loop Association's recent rendezvous and were planning on starting their loop adventure next year.
In the evening, Jen & Gerry joined us on our boat for steak nachos and cocktails before we called it a night. Tomorrow's departure toward the Dismal Swamp is scheduled at 6:00 am so we can catch the first lock at 8:30.
Oriental to Belhaven, NC
Tuesday, May16, 2023 (Day 251)
As planned, we left early in the morning ahead of the incoming storms. It was overcast and we had a few sprinkles, but otherwise a smooth cruising day.
We encountered a large number of sailboats when we first entered Neuse River, but after a couple of hours, we overtook them.
We arrived at Belhaven Town Docks at Wynne's Cut ahead of the weather and decided to stay for at least 2 nights to look for a weather opening. The marina (sort of) is small but is much nicer than I had pictured it. There is a nice span of grass right across the boat with lounge chairs, a gazebo with hammocks, and a mini bar (beer and wine) and very friendly service.
A Looper couple we had met back in Thunderbolt Marina (Savanah) found us on Nebo while we were on the way. Gerry and Jen (Vamonos) are at a different marina in Belhaven and they, too, are waiting out the storms in Belhaven. We may meet up for dinner or lunch if they can get a ride here.
Tuesday afternoon and night were rough with the winds slamming our boat against the dock. Bob had all of our fenders, plus the ones from the marina stuffed around the boat!
Fortunately, Wednesday was a nicer day and I even managed to walk a few blocks without my crutches or fancy boot! Even though I was walking slowly, I was excited to be walking and getting off the boat! We met Gerry and Jen for lunch at Fish Hook (notice fancy menu below!).
After consulting many weather apps, we have confirmed best travel dates are Saturday and Sunday. If we are to be stuck somewhere due to weather, this is a pretty cool spot.
Thursday was pretty windy, and Bob decided to make us a couple of fender boards .... basically, two 2"x6"x6' boards where we can keep between our boat and the piers to protect the boat.
Before
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| After |
Beaufort to Oriental, NC
Monday, May15, 2023 (Day 250)
I piloted us out of the slip and Bob drove us first to the gas dock and then over to the pump out pier (why they are not in the same place is beyond me!). And ... if we were taking in diesel instead of gas, we could have fueled up at the dock! The staff was great about helping us with the lines, given my "handicapped status!" In the middle of us fueling, the dock hands had to run off to help a boat come in and another boat that got grounded outside the channel. After a bit of delay, we got going toward Oriental. It was smooth sailing for most of part until we reached Neuse River where it got bumpy as we crossed the wide river until we arrived at Oriental.
The slips here are fixed docks with very short fingers = as much as Bob tried, we could not get to the short side finger for me to get off the boat! Sigh! Fortunately, we are backed in to a nice spot and it feels like I'm on our own private dock. The marina offered to move us to a slip with a longer finger after we had tied up, and we opted not to bother for an overnight spot. In the meantime. Bob is my
Guy Friday and does the running around (brings me freshly made Tucan Margaritas from the onsite restaurant/grill)!
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| My view from the back deck |
Our plan is to leave early tomorrow for our long cruise to Belhaven and to take advantage of calmer weather while we are in relatively open waters. We will review our future travel options once in Belhaven.
Swansboro to Beaufort, NC
Friday, May12, 2023 (Day 247)
I'll start by saying: "Ooops, I did it again!" I booked us for a marina different than what the route was planned for, but fortunately, we discovered the oopsie in time and rerouted ourselves on the fly!
But let's back up to the earlier on the day! We had an early morning departure to take advantage of slack tide. We worked out plans for me pulling out of the slip if Bob couldn't find anyone to help us with the lines. My toes hurt quite a bit this morning and I would not have been much help on the bow! Luckily, Bob recruited a deck hand who handled the last line as Bob pulled us out of the slip.
It was a nice sunny day and after our last minute hick up, we found our way to Town Dock Marina. This is a VERY nice spot and I don't believe I've ever seen a unanimous 5 stars rating for any other marina! We were greeted by a very nice young man who helped us (Bob) with the lines, power and water. The young man even brought us a nice set of stairs for us to get off the boat!
We're half a mile or so from downtown Beaufort (pronounced: Bow-fort) with many shops and restaurants. There's a restaurant and tiki bar on site and they have a courtesy car for us to get around. We have plans to stay here through Monday before heading north to Oriental, NC - weather permitting.
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| Town Creek Marina |
On Saturday, we made reservations to go to the fancy restaurant on site for an early Mother's Day dinner. Dinner and service were great. Of course, I had to use the very special elevator to go up to thee second level. I'm really tired of the crutches, but still need them to get around.
On Sunday, we had the courtesy car (a Ford Escape, nostalgic for both Bob & I). We drove to the downtown area. Even though it was a Sunday and overcast day, there were no parking options. After driving a bit, we found an old pub off the main road AND a parking spot! It was an interesting spot, to say the least, but there was a live band playing outside so we sat outside to listen to a few songs before the rain forced the band go upstairs and play indoors; we left at that point and after a quick grocery stop at Piggly Wiggly, we went back to the boat.
Our plan for the next day is to go to the fuel pump, pump out and head to Oriental, NC at 8:30 tomorrow morning.
Gottschalk Marina (Camp Lejeune) to Swansboro, NC
Thursday, May11, 2023 (Day 246)
Once again, I piloted the boat out of the marina as Bob tended to the lines and fenders. We had about an hour on the New River before reaching the ICW. As we were getting close to the ICW, we came about a few Coast Guard boats that were practicing small boat intercepts which included automatic weapons fire. One boat was hot rodding our way and the bow gunner lit up the "bad guy" with blanks (we hoped) across the bow. Bob chopped throttles back just in case it was meant for us. Meanwhile the Marine artillery was still outgoing!
Besides the military action, we saw a few pleasure crafts, fishing boats and jet skies enjoying this beautiful day. Even the dolphins were out playing and Gordy finally got to see his "friends"! He was so happy! Unfortunately, I was not able to take pictures of the dolphins due to my limited mobility!
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| A jet ski and a "go fast" boat beached to enjoy the day. At this part of the ICW, the Atlantic Ocean can be seen beyond the sandy beach! |
We arrived at the dock, fighting a strong current. For the first time EVER we encountered a group of boaters on the dock who did NOT offer a hand with the lines! I can usually lasso the cleat easily, but today while trying to keep my balance and against the wind, I kept missing! Fortunately, a fellow Looper on a sail boat next to us came out of her boat (while others were just ignoring us!) and helped us with the line.
There are a few restaurants and shops within walking distance (even for me). The first place we tried (Baked, bottle & Brew) only served beer and wine, but they also had a cute gift shop. The next place was a restaurant on a second floor (Saltwater Grill), but we were able to use the elevator for the handicapped 😛 The food and libations were tasty and we returned to the boat happy (and tired). We will have an early morning toward our next destination, catching the tidal action just right. We've a short day (28 miles or so) and we'll be staying put for the weekend as we keep an eye on the weather.
Bridge Tender Marina to Gottschalk Marina (Camp Lejeune) NC
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 (Day 231)
A fast departure for us this morning to make the 8:00 bridge opening. I got us out of the slip as Bob did my deck hand duties: coiling the lines and stowing the fenders. He was very proud of me to be able to get the boat out against a heavy current and off a tight spot. We had a fellow Looper whom we had travelled with a couple of days ago following us most of the way.
Today was a much smoother ride and we managed to get to the Gottschalk marina (Camp Lejeune) and tie up the boat before the expected rain. Our plan is to stay here a couple of weeks or more. After a little rest and something to eat, we (Bob) will start exploring our surroundings.
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| Charlie was much happier on today's ride |
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| The expected storm approaching |
First Week: A lot has happened since we docked here at Gottschalk! First of all, we were able to dock in a somewhat safe harbor before the winds started. Bob has 9 lines and 4 fenders on our port side, with one line that needed to be replaced yesterday due to wearing out. The boat has been very wobbly for me to walk comfortably with my broken toes and poor balance! Speaking of which, Bob was able to rent a wheelchair to facilitate moving me from the boat to the parking lot. With the winds, the floating dock is like moving on a moonwalk; no way for me to be able to make it on crutches!
We were able to make a follow up appointment for Charlie at Banfield. The vet at the last appointment in Savanah, GA, showed concern about his annal glands and highly encouraged us to have him checked within a month. This had me worried for the last month! Fortunately, this visit confirmed he is in good health in that department! However, he had also developed a cough at bedtime and early in the morning and .... he run under the wheelchair on our first outing and was limping😔 Luckily, he responded quickly to the pain relief medicine and Benadryl pills and I'm happy to report he is back to being his old self! Meanwhile, Gordy had a much-needed spa day next door at Pet Smart and looks very handsome!
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| Gordy is truly a Daddy's boy! |
Charlie turned 10 on 4/28. To celebrate, we went to a pet friendly restaurant, and the only water view restaurant in Jacksonville, NC! The appearance of the place was not inviting, but the food was good and we were able to order the boys some food off the Doggy Menu (a first for us)!
We've met a few liveaboards here at the marina. They are very welcoming and have regular gatherings (I missed the first one due to foot pain), but Bob got to hang out with some current and former Marines and came back to the boat vowing not to drink with the Marines again! 😁
Camp Lejeune is HUGE! It even has its own highway going through it! The Commissary and Marine Exchange are the best we have seen. There are lots of eating and entertainment options on the base too. We may consider wintering here this year... TBD
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| Sunset view from our boat |
We had noticed there's even a computer repair service on the base and wanted to have our laptop checked to see if they could make it faster; unfortunately, we found out the hard drive was about to go! We were able to find a nice HP laptop at the Exchange and Bob transferred my info from the old laptop to the new one! I am beyond thankful and blessed for having Bob in my life. He has been so good about taking care of me, the dogs and the boat while I recover from 2 broken toes.
One day, on a walk about the marina, Bob spotted a "Skate"! Skate is similar to a stingray and the quickest way you can tell the difference is that stingrays typically have long, whip-like tails whereas skates have shorter, thick and fleshy tails.
Second week: We returned the wheelchair and rental car; bought provisions and are watching the weather for a travel window. Before returning the car, we went to a Carolina Ale House and tried some local beer. Our favorite thing is ordering a flight to share, tasting different beers, and if we like a beer enough, we order a full glass!
Bob is running out of projects around the boat, while I've been sitting around with my feet propped up (doctor's orders!). Bob recently thought me how to plan routes on Navionics and I had a fun and challenging time planning our route all the way to Norfolk, including finding marinas to stay at and I finally felt like I was doing something useful!
Bob and I have been on the move so much that we're getting antsy staying put for this long! We've a tentative itinerary for our trip up to Norfolk, looking for a weather window to travel. There have been many small craft advisories for unfavorable weather conditions. We are very conservative about choosing travel days and for a good reason. We learned (on Facebook) that the Coast Guard had to rescue a Looper boat (2 passengers and a dog) when they started to take in water, travelling in the open water with high winds. We don't know much more at this point, but every day we've been here, we tell each other we are so glad we are not travelling in this weather. The waves and winds, though, beat against the hull and make it sound (I would imagine) like the inside of a washing machine! Ugh!
This long break has been a perfect opportunity for me to heal and for Bob to take care of miscellaneous projects around the boat.
Later in the week, as I gained more mobility, I was able to use my crutches and walk to the make-shift club (one end of the kayak rental structure) once for a potluck farewell party for a club member, and a second time for docktails on our last night at the marina!
After watching the weather closely, we decided to get moving on Thursday. We've been here 15 days and even though my toe(s) can use more rest, we're ready to go!!! Even mother nature is giving us a sign!
After watching the weather closely, we decided to get moving on Thursday. We've been here 15 days and even though my toe(s) can use more rest, we're ready to go!!! Even mother nature is giving us a sign!
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| Red skies at night, sailors' delight! |
South Harbor Village to Bridge Tender Marina, NC
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 (Day 230)
We had a short 28 mile day ahead of us today and the next marina told us to get there around 2:00, so we had a leisurely morning and with the help of our fabulous dock hands, Bob got us out of the marina and piloted us to the gas docks at Bridge Tender Marina. We had an hour or so of "bumpy" ride and were grateful when it stopped as the pups and I were hanging on to each other on the diva couch!
Once again we were docked on the channel side, but unlike our stay at Osprey Marina, we were not waked at all. We were just by the bridge that opens on the hour, each hour (an obvious no wake zone area!).
There are two restaurants within walking distance and Bob was able to scooter to a hardware store to pick up some bits he needed. I opted to stay on the boat, so we did take out from the seafood restaurant which we had for dinner and an extra meal saved for tomorrow's long trip.
Ocean Isle to South Harbor, NC
Monday, April 24, 2023 (Day 229)
Bob and I switched rolls this morning! I piloted the boat out of the marina while Bob took care of the lines and fenders. Traffic was much lighter than yesterday and we only were waked once!
When planning our days, Bob and I look at multiple resources to find suitable marinas. Sometimes the marinas have similar names. Well, when booking our marina for today, after going back forth between different apps, I managed to make our reservations at a different marina than we had planned to go to! Ooops! We ended up at Safe Harbor South Harbour Village instead of Deep Point South Port. Fortunately, I found this out minutes before we reached the marina we had reservations at (and had paid for!) A quick jump to action by the Captain, we got ready to dock and called in our arrival. Earlier in the day, I had contacted them to let them know I would be on crutches and asked for a "handicapped slip!" LOL! When we arrived, the dock hands took the lines from me and Bob parallel parked us by the dock office like a pro that he is!
On the plus side, there are 2 restaurants on site. After being locked up on the boat for a few days, I was anxious to leave the boat. As it turned out, it took a lot of effort to hobble on crutches with 2 bad feet! But we finally made it to the restaurant and enjoyed a nice meal. Now that I got that out of my system, I will be happy to stay put on the boat for a few more days and let Bob do all the walking!
Our next (planned) stop had not confirmed our reservations. We finally got a hold of them after lunch and they said they are full and put us on a waiting list. Bob and I went to work and finally secured a slip for tomorrow. This change is making the next leg a bit longer, but that's OK since we will be staying at Camp LeJeune (Gottschalk Marina) for a couple of weeks, giving my feet/toes a chance to heal.
Myrtle Beach, SC to Ocean Isle, NC
Sunday, April 23, 2023 (Day 228)
The excellent staff at Osprey Marina helped us at the gas docks (fuel was at least $1 cheaper than our next stop!) and I drove the boat out of the marina as Bob resumed my deck hand responsibilities and took care of the lines and fender.
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| Cruising out of Osprey Marina |
We had a stressful cruise as there were many uncourteous boaters on the water. I kept eyes on the back of the boat to alert Bob of coming traffic that waked us from right or left side. We also had a bunch of bridges on our path and had to call on 2 swing bridges for passage.
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| Rush Hour / Sunday driver on ICW |
Almost 38 miles later, we arrived at Ocean Isle Marina, North Carolina!
We were given a spot on the outside wall. There were a lot of great reviews about this marina, but we have a totally opposite experience. Not only it's shallow (2.5 feet under the keel at low tide) and nobody came to help us with the line (except for a boater in front of us), we have been waked so often that I'm afraid to stand up fearing another fall! It's customary for boaters to slow down when cruising by marinas, but we found a lot of boaters who have no common curtesy. If it wasn't so late, I would have asked Bob to move to another marina. Ugh! Bob has put 5-6 fenders out and has doubled the lines to keep us in place. As I write this, I'm hoping all the Sunday boaters are home now and we will have a quiet night sleeping!
Georgetown to Myrtle Beach, SC
Friday, April 21, 2023 (Day 226)
I called the Osprey Marina in Myrtle Beach in the morning to find out if they had a courtesy car we could use to get me to an Urgent Care and to see if we could be docked close to shore! They said no courtesy car, but that not to worry, they'll take care of us. And take care of us they did. We had 3 dockhands waiting for us and before we were fully tied down, an Uber was waiting to take me to a hospital. Is that awesome or what? As it turned out, the driver lives on his boat at the same marina and he said we could settle his fee later!
It was the first time ever I had to log myself into an emergency room! There was no one there (I couldn't even see anyone in the triage room!) I was finally called in and was seen by a triage nurse and a NP? And they said they didn't have a room available and I had to go back to the waiting area. A few minutes later, someone took me to the X-Ray area. I was back in the waiting room and kind of acting as a concierge for the incoming patients who didn't know how to self-check! LOL! A bit later, the triage nurse came out and asked (again) how tall I was!!! Then he said, oh, yeh, you have a broken toe and we're giving you crutches; do you know how to use them???? This was a far cry from the service I received in Brunswick Georgia!!!
The nice Uber driver had stopped by the boat and given Bob his number so we could call him when I was ready for a ride back!
We knew storms were coming and had already planned on staying here for two nights, but the marina told us we could stay longer if I needed time to recover. The staff here has been nothing short of excellent which easily offsets the lack of amenities. The marina is far from any stores or restaurants, but we were able to get some delicious Greek and Italian food delivered to us which we ate for a couple of days!
Our second day here was a planned down day; I stayed in bed all day with my feet up and Bob took great care of me (and the boat). He bought some cleaning solution that would make the boat less slippery (always looking out for me).
I could probably use more time to recover from an ALMOST healed broken toe on my right foot and a broken big toe on my left toe, but I'm anxious to get going, so off we'll go tomorrow.
Isle of Palms to Georgetown, SC
Thursday, April 20, 2023 (Day 225)
My right foot started to feel better, so I felt "cocky" and attempted to resume my duties and rinsed the front of the boat, even though we usually don't do it close to departure. I was moving the ladder to the opposite side of the boat to stow away, and I slipped, fell and dropped the ladder on my foot! OUCH! By the time we arrived at Harbor Walk Marina (Georgetown), I was in a lot of pain. Fortunately, there were plenty of dockhands to grab the lines, and Bob had to pick up my duties again! He then scootered to a nearby restaurant and picked up dinner for us! Our next stop is Myrtle Beach and I may need to find an urgent care to go get checked out!
Charleston to Isle of Palms, SC
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 (Day 224)
When we made our reservations at Cooper River Marina, we were told we could only stay until Wednesday morning. We had returned from our drive from Greenville yesterday late in the afternoon, too tired to return the rental car. So, early in the morning, I returned the car. Then had to wait half an hour for an Uber ride and he got lost taking me back to the marina (I think he was watching something on his phone!). Any way, by the time I got back, Bob was ready to leave. Our only problem was that we had not been able to secure a marina for the night. First time we pulled out of a marina toward destination: Unknown!!!
We stopped at Toler's Cove Marina for fuel (11 miles away). They had not called us back yesterday when we called to see if they had an available slip and as we were fueling, we were told they had no transient slip available. We headed north on the ICW and I was able to get a slip at Isle of Palms (they had previously told us they were booked today!) This marina is right off the ICW (total 14.3 miles from Cooper River Marina) but sets up nicely for our long day tomorrow to Georgetown, SC (54 miles).
We passed by 2 interesting/unusual boats on our short drive here.
The captain of the boat directly in front of us came and chatted with us as we were securing our lines; we will be going to the same marina tomorrow! He has 4 huge outboards on the back of his boat, so I'm sure he'll get there much faster than us! 😜
We were able to route our path toward Camp Lejeune where we plan on staying a bit longer; reserved a slip for the next 2 marinas and are waiting for response from the rest. Bob has temporarily installed a new battery charger until he gets to a hardware store for parts. This should help with our start issues after a night on anchor.
There is a seafood restaurant here calling our names! Early dinner and early to bed for us!
West of Watts anchorage to Charleston, SC
Thursday, April 13, 2023 (Day 218)
There is an old saying: Red sky at night = sailor's delight; red sky in the morning = sailors take warning!!!
Rain and storms are forecasted starting at 1:00 for our area. We left as soon as the sun was up for our near 6 hour cruise to Charleston. Today we crossed 3,300 miles since we started this journey last September! Woot Woot!
We arrived at Cooper River Marina in high winds; Fortunately, there were 3 gentlemen (in uniform) waiting to catch our lines. We had to double up our lines in anticipating of the upcoming storm! We are docked between two sailboats and the cling and clangs of their lines, masts and wind generators have made quite a raucous!
The marina staff is going to give us a ride to Enterprise tomorrow so we can rent a car to run errands, see sights and drive to Greenville to visit with Uncle Kaz on Sunday (through Tuesday). We are looking forward to seeing him and meeting his wife, Soheila. In the meantime, we are rolling this way and that docked at the marina! Oy Vey!
On the other hand, we had a wonderful horse carriage ride of the historic Charleston and walked around a bit.
Here is a link to a Facebook post with lots of pictures! Make sure you read the comments with the photos! Charleston Tour
The visit to Greenville (Kaz & Soheila) was even more enjoyable that we had even imagined. We had a great visit and the boys were truly spoiled by Soheila. Monday morning Kaz drove us to Ceasar's Head where, at 3000 feet, we had an amazing view (not water view!!!!)
During the last couple of days, Soheila prepared us with great food and we even had the chance to enjoy a delicious meal at a Persian Restaurant. Yummmmmmm! We had lots of Amazon packages delivered to Kaz's, so we came back with more than we took! In addition to our packages, Kaz and Soheila sent us off with more treats (how could we say no to tasty food?)
We need to leave this marina in the morning, and as of now, we have not been able to secure a slip for our next stop! We can always drop anchor ... we'll see.
Beaufort to West of Watts anchorage, SC
Wednesday, April 12, 2023 (Day 217)
We left Beaufort after our short stay toward Charleston. It's too long for a day cruise so Bob picked West of Watts for us to drop anchor. It was a nice cruise day, with the exception of one uncourteous boater who zoomed by us and rocked us so hard that Bob had to slow way down and turn into his wake to stabilize the boat. We watched him to do the same thing to the boat in front of us. It is proper to call the boat you are passing, establish communication with the captain and figure our which side you'll pass them by and slow down as to not wake the boat you are overtaking too badly. Well, this guy had no manners!!!!
There was a short cut to our anchorage, but there was a cable dredge working in that "cut". The way those barges work is that they have cables on both sides of the waterway and move side to side by lowering the cables on one side or the other. We learned on our Facebook Looper page that a Looper got tangled in the cable and made major damage to his boat! Bob opted to take a longer route and stay safe from any possible "mishaps!"
We arrived at our wonderful anchorage and dropped anchor. I was looking forward to taking beautiful sunset and sunrise pictures. It was a peaceful anchorage, minus another "fast boat" who decided to do water donuts around the boat and nearly took our anchor ball! Boys and their fast boats!
Hilton Head to Beaufort, SC (Safe Harbor)
Tuesday, April 11, 2023 (Day 216)
We left Hilton Head for Beaufort after fueling up the boat. It was a clear, sunny day. We saw lots of pleasure crafts on the move on our AIS app. Looks like we weren't the only boaters who had stayed put with the 3 windy days.
After about 34 miles of easy cruising we arrived at Safe Harbor Beaufort around 2:30 pm. (It's pronounced Bu-fert. There's also Beaufort, NC, but that's pronounced like Bow-fort! 😕) The dock master was nice enough to let us dock at a "private" slip close to shore vs. our "assigned" slip which would have been the absolute farthest slip (a very long walk) to shore! Today was not a good day as far as my foot pain is concerned. Bob insisted I get off my feet after we tied up to the dock and he did everything by himself! (Yes, he's a sweetheart and takes care of his baby! 💓)
I really did not want to stay on the boat during our short stay here, so I hobbled to the nearest restaurant with Bob and hobbled back in time to catch some nice sunset photos.
Bob has planned our route for the next day (an anchorage about half way to Charleston). The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm tomorrow before the rainy forecast for Thursday and Friday!
Savannah (Thunderbolt Marina), GA to Hilton Head (Shelter Cove Marina)
Friday, April 7, 2023 (Day 212)
We had a little bit of delay departing Thunderbolt due to our navigation chart (Bob had our route to a different marina 😛) Fortunately we discovered that before we left! We were crossing a shipping channel in Savannah, so I was monitoring AIS closely to let the Captain know what to expect.
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| Leaving GA, entering SC |
We had an easy 4 hour cruise to Hilton Head, NC and docked at Shelter Cove Marina next to a Sea Ray 42 Aft Cabin; this was my "dream boat" for the loop before we found Imzadi. The name, Shelter Cover, is very appropriate for this marina! We're surrounded by 3-4 story building all around the cove (hence, no sunrise/sunset pictures!) There are many shops and restaurants around the marina, so it would be easy to go out to eat!
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| Neptune watching over the Shelter Cove! |
The weekend is supposed to be cold and rainy; so we will attend to our chores on the boat. As it turned out, the weather (high winds) made us extend our stay by a day.
We had met a couple of Loopers back in Dubuque, Iowa (when we discovered the hole in our hull!) Louise and her husband, Dick, have a home in Hilton Head. They had kept in touch with us since last year and invited us to have an early Easter meal (lamb and Yorkshire pudding) with them at their beautiful condo our first night here. (It was strange for us to not be on a boat! LOL!) They also spent their Easter Sunday, driving us around the island and the neighboring communities before lunch. On our last night here, we had them over for docktails. Imzadi-2 needed a good cleaning and organizing since I have been neglecting my "chores" with the bum foot!
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| Louise & Dick |
Oh, Louise & Dick have already invited us for Thanksgiving if we are near here! Finding good friends is definitely a bonus on the Loop adventure! The generosity of the friends we have made along the way never seizes to amaze us.
The next three stops are planned and reservations made and we're ready to move on.
p.s. Our friends, Donna & Jim (Sand Dollars) crossed their wake and are back at their home marina. It's going to be strange not to have them as a buddy-boat! Congratulations to Donna & Jim for completing their Loop adventure!
Buckhead Creek to Savannah (Thunderbolt Marina), GA
Friday, March 31, 2023 (Day 205)
We pulled anchor and I piloted Imzadi-2 out, pulling behind two other cruisers. It was a nice, calm cruising day and we arrived at Thunderbolt Marina just before 1:00.
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| Sunrise at Buckhead Creek |
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| Buckhead Creek |
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| Cruising toward Savannah, GA |
Our friends, Chris & Donna (Runaway) have been here for a few days and we'll have a chance to hang out with them. We are going to stay here for a week as we have appointments for the pups to get their updated shots on the 6th. Our original slip was nice, but quite a walk for me. After a couple of nights, we moved to a spot closer to the parking lot.
Our week at Thunderbolt went by fast. We met up with Chris & Donna and went out to a really yummy sushi dinner before they left. Another evening, we discovered James's father (whom we met in Brunswick) was docked behind us; we asked him over for a simple burger dinner.
We were limited on the tourist activities, with my broken toes, but we took a trolley tour of Savannah, followed by lunch on the water and a short stroll down the famous river walk. We tried to get Bob to a maritime museum, but he wasn't able to find a parking spot and came back to the boat.
A few pictures from our trolley tour:
They boys had their vet visits and shots and Bob took care of a few boat maintenance projects: i.e. He had our fire suppression tested and certified and he installed a battery gage to hopefully trouble shoot our battery issues.
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| Our new battery monitor display |
Bob picked up a router to set up our boat with Wi-Fi so he can install a security camera for when we are away from the boat, and I finally upgraded my phone to a Samsung 23 Ultra which is supposed to have a great camera and larger memory and battery capacity.
New Teakettle Creek to Buckhead Creek, GA
Thursday, March 30, 2023 (Day 204)
It was 40 degrees when we woke up! Bob got up to turn the generator on to turn the heat on and make coffee, but the generator wouldn't start. He attempted to start the boat to warm up the generator so it would start easier, but the starboard engine wouldn't start either! Oops! After some checking around, Bob discovered the emergency start which helped our starboard engine to start and after we both took a sigh of relief, coffee was made and all was good.
After many turns and twists, we arrived at our anchorage and dropped anchor among multiple crab pots!
We saw many dolphins on the way here, and even in our anchorage, however, with my broken toe, I can't run to the bow to get closer to them, so I send Gordy alone!
Brunswick to New Teakettle Creek, GA
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 (Day 203)
When the first mate is injured, it takes a village for Imzadi-2 to leave the dock! Our boat neighbors helped us leave the dock and more boaters helped us tie to the fuel dock! Fortunately, we don't need to handle any lines for the next couple of nights since we are going to anchor (twice) before we get to Savannah. This anchorage was good and after the winds died down, we (I) was able to get a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, Bob doesn't sleep well at anchor as he wakes up multiple times to check up on our anchor.
Jekyll Harbor Marina to Brunswick Landing Marina, GA
Early in the morning, Bob went to help "Runaway" and a few other boats off the dock and as I was going up to our aft deck, I tripped and hit my forehead hard on the armrest of our loveseat and made a gash on my eyebrow. I am lucky I didn't not pass out and was able to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. When Bob got back, we decided to move on to our next stop, Brunswick. We knew there are medical facilities nearby. Bob did most of the work of getting us untied and on the way.
Friday, March 24, 2023 (Day 198)
As soon as we tied down and got the boat connected to power and water, we called in an Uber and went to the nearest emergency room. While there, I mentioned I believe I had broken my toe(s) and maybe that caused my imbalance and fall, so they took x-rays and confirmed the fracture. They glued my facial cut and taped my toes and 3 hours later, we Uber-ed back. Bob is joking that his wife is put back together with glue and duct tape 😂 Fortunately, we will be here for a few days which will give me a chance to heal.
Souvenirs from our visit to the ER at Southeast Georgia Health System:
The rest of our stay was uneventful. While I was laying low, Bob did chores around the boat and made a couple of scooter runs to the nearby downtown.
We are considering this marina as a possible winter spot and put our name on a waiting list. This marina is well protected and is dog friendly (even has an off-leash dog park). They have happy hours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (beer and wine provided by the marina) and a potluck once a month. Loaner bicycles and free laundry. There's also a security gate to each dock.
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| A view from our dock |
Our friends James & Wendye (Liberty) whom we hadn't seen since we left Boca Chica arrived on our last night. After catching up with our individual travels for the past few weeks, we met up with his father and walked to town for dinner.
We were greeted by a breathtaking sunset when we arrived at the marina. Wow!
Cumberland Island Anchorage to Jekyll Harbor Marina, GA
Friday, March 17, 2023 (Day 191)
Bob and I were both up early after a restless night's sleep. The anchor held well, but the winds changed directions on us in the middle of the night and there was a lot of rocking and rolling. To make the matters worse, Bob couldn't start the generator to make us coffee! The two of us, grumpy and groggy, pulled anchor and left our anchorage as the sun was rising, joking about finding a Starbucks on the way. However, a couple of hours later, Bob (my hero) was able to start the generator and we had our first cup of coffee ... and the day started looking better!
We were greeted by the two of the most knowledgeable and welcoming dock hands on the trip so far! They not only grabbed our lines and tied us down, but handled the shore power and water hose AND the ladder!
This marina also offers free golf carts and bicycles to boat owners. Bob and I took a cart and toured the island. Upon our return, we met up with Chris and Donna (Runaway) and over lunch decided to change our reservations and stay here for a week before going to Brunswick.
We celebrated Norouz (Iranian New Year) on our aft deck on Monday, March 20th.
We spent the week touring the island, trying a few restaurants, taking care of a few boat chores,
We visited the Mosaic Museum:
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Walked on the beach with Charlie & Gordy:
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| Sand dollars from our walk on the Atlantic coast |
Took a brief walk through the Driftwood Beach:
Tried 2 - 3 restaurants on the island with our friends, Donna & Chris (Runaway):
And when it finally warmed up, went to the beach with them on our last full day on Jekyll Island!
Thursday, March 16, 2023 (Day 190)
Today marked a couple of milestones for us. We left Florida waters and entered Georgia and to-date have travelled over 3,000 miles (3,013+ miles).
There are a few other Loopers at this anchorage, including our friends on Runaway. But I think we're all too tired to dinghy around! We hope to meet up with them at the next stop (Jekyll Harbor Marina).
St. Augustine to Jacksonville, FL
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 (Day 188)
I think we're moving north too fast! We woke up to 48 degree temps and had to wait until it warmed up a bit to leave our marina in St. Augustine as the flybridge can get too cold for us! We had to wear long pants, long sleeves and a jacket (Oh No!!!).
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| St. Augustine in our rear view |
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| Charlie trying to keep warm |
Jacksonville is our last stop in Florida. We arrived at Pensacola on November 12, 2022. In a couple of days, a little over 4 months later, we will be saying goodbye to Florida (for now) with nearly 3,000 miles under our keel.
Palm Cove Marine in Jacksonville is not very big, but they have nice floating docks and they advertise their fuel prices as low, so upon arrival, we fueled up and tied down at our slip. It was cold and we were tired, so we ordered pizza delivery and stayed put.
The next day, we have Walmart deliver groceries to the boat (it's a simpler and cheaper process than hiring an Uber back and forth. We also took a walk to a shopping center nearby for a few other items (including Hyacinth for the Nowrouz* table) and a trip to a liquor store. With Bob's bum knee and my broken toes, we were a sight to hold! To be honest, I was the one holding Bob back!
In the evening, we attempted to try the restaurant at the marina, but it was packed and we walked back to the boat.
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| Last evening at Palm Cove Marina! |
St. Augustine, FL (Marineland Marina to Municipal Marina)
Sunday, March 12, 2023 (Day 186)
We're in no hurry to move north and get into cold weather, plus we wanted to see more of St. Augustine, so we opted to have a short cruise from Marineland Marina to St. Augustine Municipal Marina. This marina is close to Old St. Augustine and will give us a chance to see more of the city. We loved our stay at Marineland Marina, but there's not much around the marina. There is rain in the near forecast and my foot still needs some more healing, hence this extended stay in St. Augustine!
The municipal marina is very nice, with floating docks and walking distance to many restaurants. We tried a seafood restaurant 2 blocks away the first night. The wait was 1 hour and 40 minutes. It was another half an hour or so before our dinner arrived. But hey, the adult beverages were good and we had fun.
It started raining shortly after midnight and rained non-stop until mid afternoon. It rained so much that the windows started leaking inside the boat. But in early afternoon, it stopped raining and we headed out to town. We did a wine tasting at a little wine shop and listened to live music, then headed to a Spanish/Cuban restaurant for dinner. The food was amazing and we have enough left overs for tomorrow! St. Augustine (the oldest city in the U.S.) has been one of our favorite stops. We hope to come back and explore this city more.
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| Lions Bridge |
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| View from the back of our boat |
Palm Coast to St. Augustine, FL
Tuesday, March 7, 2023 (Day 181)
We took our time getting to Marineland Marina. The dock master met us at our slip and helped us tie up. This marina looks nice and very reasonably priced and with floating docks! Our slip is facing the ICW and across the street from the marina is the Atlantic Ocean. We spotted a pod of dolphins playing around from our boat. We will be spending the next few days with Dawn & Paul. We last saw them shortly before we started the Loop. Paul was Bob's former Command Chief when he (and Paul) were serving in the MN National Guard.
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| Bob and I on our shortest cruise of the Loop (so far!) |
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| Sunset view from our boat |
We had a couple of fun days with Dawn & Paul who graciously drove us around and even invited us to stay at their place for a night. It was great to revisit with our "pre-Loop" friends! On one of our adventures around town, while getting off of a trolley tour of Old St. Augustine, I slipped while getting off and hurt my foot! Now Bob and I both walk with a limp (Bob's knee and my toe!)
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| Beach Day: Bob, Asea, Dawn & Paul |
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| A couple of horseback riders |
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| Sunset from Dawn & Paul's backyard |
To give my foot a chance to heal, we stayed put an extra day which also gave us a chance to visit the Marineland Dolphin Adventure across the road from the marina.
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| Look! I found Nemo!!! |
New Smyrna to Palm Coast, FL
Sunday, March 5, 2023 (Day 179)
We had a 5.5 hour cruise from New Smyrna to Palm Coast, after stopping for fuel across the bay from our marina. We had 9 bridges to go under and only 1 was too short for us. But the bridge operator had it opened for us by the time we arrived to the bridge! Nice!
We run into a lot of "Sunday boaters" and at one point we were rushed by about 2 dozen jet skiers coming directly at us!
The marina was off the main channel in a quiet residential area. The reviews for the marina mentioned a European Village within a 10 minute walk and we opted to explore it the next day. Unfortunately we found out that the entire mall (shops and restaurants) are closed on Mondays!!! What a disappointment.
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| The deserted (closed) European Shopping Center! |
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| Bob wondering where everyone is! LOL! |
Mid-day on Monday, 2 other Loopers arrived at the marina: Runaway and Livin' Life. We had met Chris & Donna from Runaway at New Smyrna Beach a couple of days ago, and met Rob & Cindy from Livin' Life during docktails. With everything around us closed, we opted to have Chinese food delivered to the marina.
After dinner, when Bob was doing route planning, he discovered that the marina we had reservations at our next stop was actually only about 6 miles away! He had previously used downtown St. Augustine as his destination, but we had found a marina close to where our friends, Dawn & Paul Kessler, were staying at on the southern part of St. Augustine. In hind sight, we could have pressed on from New Smyrna Beach directly to this marina and by-passed Palm Coast marina! Oh well! We will have a short cruise on Tuesday.
Friday, March 3, 2023 (Day 177)
We left our dock at Titusville Marina around 9:00 a.m. It was a very windy day, so we asked for, and received help from the marina. Bob was stressed out, but as always did a great job getting us out of the slip and back on the ICW without hitting anything! Yay, Captain Bob.
Most of the route was in pretty open water, but very narrow channel, except for a short (and slow) jaunt through Haulover Canal where we saw various wild life, including manatees (photos below). Bob had to put the boat in neutral a few times so avoid hitting any of the manatees that were swimming by our boat. I was on the bow, keeping an eye out for them, so no photos of the manatees; sorry!
It was still pretty windy (18 mph) when we arrived at New Smyrna Beach City Marina, but thankfully we had assistance on the dock and tied up quickly, washed the boat and headed out to lunch. There was live music coming from the River Deck Tiki Bar & Restaurant by the marina and I had heard they were dog friendly, so the entire crew walked over there.
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| First course! |
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| Bob's burger: a fat hamburger patty, layers of ham, bacon, cheese and topped with fried onions! |
We'll be here for 2 nights. The marina is near the historic part of the town with lots of shops and restaurants to visit and I hope to make it to the farmer's market tomorrow.
The second day, we wore our pups out after a long, but fun day of exploring New Smyrna Beach: The ruins of a fort right across the street from the marina, a farmer's market, an art fair, lots of fun shops on Canal Street, lunch at Jimmy Hula's (a surfer themed restaurant) and a dog parade! This is truly a dog friendly town. Later in the evening, Bob and I visited the local brewery and had a tasty pizza for dinner ... our first after many months! All and all, this has been one of our favorite stops of the Loop!
Some of the many chalk drawings on Canal Street at New Smyrna Beach
Old Fort Park (
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| A souvenir from New Smyrna Beach, the shark capital of the world! |
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| New Smyrna Beach Brewery stop |
Patrick Space Force Base to Titusville, FL
Thursday, March 2, 2023 (Day 176)
Ft. Pierce to Patrick Space Force Base, FL
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 (Day 168)
Palm Spring Gardens to Ft. Pierce, FL
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 (Day 167)
Delray Beach Anchorage to Palm Spring Gardens, FL
Monday, February 20, 2023 (Day 166)
Ft. Lauderdale to Delray Beach Anchorage
Sunday, February 19, 2023 (Day 165)
No Name Harbor Anchorage to our private dock in Ft. Lauderdale
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 (Day 161)
A huge shout out to Captain Bob who got us to Fort Lauderdale in time so this mama could see her baby boy! We were lucky to find a slip at a private dock since there are no "reasonably priced" marinas in these parts due to the Miami Boat Show. Getting to the slip was an adventure through ICW, a shipping harbor and "residential" canals. We were able to squeeze under all but two bridges with minimal wait. Passed a huge shipping container being towed to the harbor by 2 tug boats, and hovered in a narrow bend when a giant yacht was being towed by 2 tow boats. Lots of interesting boats (and boat names). Beautiful homes line up on both sides of the waterway. One (me) wonders what do these people do to be able to afford these homes and yachts! The life style of rich and famous?
We eventually found the dock after many turns and twists and after securing the lines, we got busy preparing the aft cabin (AKA storage area) for Alex.
Alex rented a car at the airport and found us with no issues. We had a wonderful dinner and I went to pay and discovered our cards and cash were still in the ditch bag! ooops!
We had two of Alex's friends join us during this stop: Julia and Seth. They are both friends from Alex's college days and they have travelled with Alex to exotic locations like Hawaii & Cancun in the last couple of years. We managed to find a place to sleep for Julia (on the futon) and Seth (on the flybridge bench) as Alex had claimed the aft cabin; his excuse being his 6'5" height! LOL!
We had a great time with the "kids" at a fun state park (unfortunately got rained on), St Olas beach and the river walk where we had an early toast to Alex's upcoming 28th birthday. I'm happy to see Alex has such great friends and hope I didn't embarrass him too much with stories about him! Oh well!
I'll be cherishing the memories of this visit until we see Alex (and his friends) again.
Tavernier, FL to No Name Harbor Anchorage
Tuesday, February 14, 2023 (Day 160)
We had another gorgeous cruise up to No Name Harbor, right outside Miami.
We had a glitch with the Nebo system that showed us still at Mangrove Marina hours after we had left. Fortunately, the Nebo techy guys took care of it for us and we received our daily travel log.
The big surprise of the day was finding our Looper friends, Anita and Randy (Drifter) on Nebo ahead of us. So, we cruised by their anchorage and chatted for a while. We had not seen them since Green Turtle Bay!
And just to make Gordy happy, a couple of dolphins swam by our boat for a bit. The rest of the trip, Gordy kept watch!
The No Name Harbor anchorage was full, so we anchored with quite a number of other boats outside the anchorage. It's beautiful and the only draw back is rude boaters who zoom in the middle of the anchorage and waking all the boats
Not a bad spot to be with your valentine! Valentines Day
Bahia Honda to Tavernier, FL
Monday, February 13, 2023 (Day 159)
We had a nice cruise from Bahia Honda (where we stayed 2 nights due to high winds) to Tavernier /Mangrove Marina.
Many Loopers at Bahia Honda gave us a hand with getting our 36 ft boat, out of the 37 ft, corner dockage!!! Captain Bob received a standing ovation for his handling of the boat.
The inside (Gulf) passage was much more comfortable than the one on the outside (Atlantic) from Boca Chica to Bahia Honda. Gordy was very disappointed we didn't see any dolphins! Well, I guess I was too!
We arrived Tavernier through a very narrow channel. Narrower yet was our assigned slip which we backed into! And the finger was not long enough to allow us to get off the boat!!! Only Bob, with his long legs, could climb to the dock from the boat!
We were excited to see our Looper friends' boat (Maria and Fernando on Soulstice) docked behind us. Unfortunately, they were in Miami. We hope to meet up with them there.
Boca Chica to Bahia Honda, FL
Sunday, February 11, 2023 (Day 157)
Today was our last day at Boca Chica (for a while anyway). Our friends (even furry ones) stopped to say goodbye and wish us safe travels. Our dock-mates (Tia, Greg, Pam and Evan) gave us a hand with the lines and off we went. Today was also our sea trial for our new transmission (it passed and we no longer have a vibration on the port side).
The ride was bumpy (2.5 to 3, with a few 4 foot waves), but we finally arrived at Bahia Honda and Bob squeezed us in a tight corner spot!
While I was washing the salt off the boat, a few people gathered around, taking pictures! I knew it wasn't my boat washing that attracted them. That's when I looked down to see a manatee drinking water off the boat. (It is illegal to give them fresh water, but I was washing our boat after all and the "visitor" just showed up!)
After a quick bite to eat, we rented snorkeling gear and took a nice cool dip in the water.
It's gorgeous here! We can watch the Atlantic Ocean on our port side and the Gulf of Mexico on our starboard!
We'll be watching the weather to see if we need to hunker down or can press on.
Marathon to Boca Chica, FL
Tuesday, December 30, 2022 (Day 114)
We had planned on staying in Marathon for a couple of nights, but early in the morning, Bob said we had a good weather window and should head to Boca Chica today instead of tomorrow or we would need to stay until past New Year. As nice as this marina is, we were (or at least I was) anxious to get to our next destination. So, we quickly untied our lines and headed toward Key West and Boca Chica.
The cruise started calm as Gordy and I sat on the bow of the boat, but soon it was too rough for us to stay. The 5 hour ride turned out to be very rough and we were super tired by the time we arrived Boca Chica NAS. The winds would catch our stern and make our boat turn 20-30 degrees to port side. We had a good upper body workout that day keeping the boat on track and at the same time, avoiding crab pots. It was so good to see the base air control tower in the distance, about an hour before we finally arrived in our slip and stayed past our plan of 30 days :-)
We watched amazing sunrise and sunsets here; made many new friends and great memories. We met other Loopers, some of whom we had travelled with before. This place felt like home so much so that we have put our name on a waiting list for a permanent slip. We're currently #17 on the list.
The marina is pretty nice; there is a grill and bar on site, as well as a laundry room, but not much else. We rented a car to get around which we shared with our new Looper friends, James and Wendye (Liberty). The commissary is at least 5 miles away but worth the trip as the food is about 30% cheaper than local markets.
The marina is on the flight path of Navy jet fighters! It took Gordy and Charlie quite a long time to get used to the jet noise. They would freak out, shake and try to find a place to hide - even with CBD infused treats we gave them. Fortunately, they finally got used to the noise! Bob, on the other hand was like a kid in candy store!
We were overjoyed to have "old" friends visiting us during this stop: Penny & Eddie DeJarnette came for 5-6 days and Shawn Beauchane came for a weekend following a business trip to Florida. Our "newer" friends, Alicia and Douglas (Sail La Vie) took a bus ride from Marathon where they were staying for a day visit. And Donna and Jim (Sand Dollars) surprised us by docking at the marina for a few days after they told us there was no room for them! Early February, Tia & Glen (Child of the Sun) tied down 2 slips away from us and stayed for a few days longer than us.
Imzadi-2 went through some major upgrades/replacements here! Bob installed a flush system for all engines and the generator to wash out the salt water with fresh water. Our sanitation system got repaired and we had a rebuilt transmission installed on the port side. Cha ching! Due to high winds, we did not get a chance to do a sea trial with the mechanic. Our "sea trial" was on the fly, on our way out of Boca Chica!
We did lots of touristy stuff (Hemingway House, Mile Marker 0 - the Southernmost Point, Sunset at Malory Square), tried many restaurants, freshly caught fish and interesting local brew and cocktails. I think my new favorite fish is Hog Fish! Unfortunately, it's a local fish and we only found it at 2 restaurants.
We had planned on heading up the Keys around Feb 10 and work our way to Fort Lauderdale when Alex is coming for a visit on the 15th. Later in the month, our friends Mark and MJ Blair will visit us while we are at Patrick AFB (fingers crossed there's room for us at the marina) and next, we will be visiting with Dawn and Paul Kessler. That's all we've planned for so far.
Thursday, March 2, 2023 (Day 176)
Even though our sleep was disturbed in order to watch the launch of Falcon Spaceship, we pumped out and left the marina minutes ahead of our 8:30 schedule. We waived at Al and Bob from the Marina office with a promise of coming back. This sure was a fun stop for us, especially with our friends visiting us.
We had a 5 hour cruise to Titusville which included back tracking on the Banana River back to the ICW. It was an uneventful ride, except for the 4 out of 5 sailboats we met were travelling on our side of the channel. The 4th sailboat was missing a captain at the helm (on auto pilot and lunch hour?)
We were able to snag a floating dock at Titusville Marina. The dockhand was very helpful as we first went in bow first, and then stern in so we could get off the boat. There are a few restaurants nearby and the Wifi seems to be working well (so far). We have a few more stops before we make it to St. Augustine to meet up with our friends, Dawn & Paul Kessler. Paul was Bob's former Command Chief in the Air Nat'l Guard.
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| Last sunset at Manatee Marina |
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| Our gorgeous view at Manatee Marina |
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| Kennedy Center and the launch pad in the distance |
Ft. Pierce to Patrick Space Force Base, FL
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 (Day 168)
We had a bit of late start as we watched many fishing boats pull out of their slips at day break. We had another long day ahead of us, almost 60 nautical miles and about 7 hours of cruising. The weather was great and the tide mostly in our favor. We were waked a few times by faster boats, but we chugged along and found our way to Manatee Cove Marina, located at Patrick SFB where we will stay for a week or so. We are in no rush to cruise too far north with the winter storm that's hitting back home!
We are expecting our friends, MJ and Mark Blair in a couple of days. So we will spend the next day or two discovering what the base has to offer (besides the Tiki Bar across the water from our boat), clean up the boat and get some provisions.
It's good to be back on a military base. We had a good chuckle to hear the taps and national anthem being played at 4:30 (Air Force Time Table) vs. 6:00 at Boca Chica (Naval base!) Bob is also excited to catch a couple of rocket launches and go to Cape Canaveral with our friends.
Our friends from Minnesota (MJ & Mark Blair and Jill & Jacob Marti) visited us for a long weekend. MJ & Mark had rented an apartment close to us (and the beach) and Jill & Jacob stayed on the both with us. We had a fun reunion with our friends and realized how much we had missed them. We even had Mark (the Grill Master) cook us dinner one night!
We were able to watch a Falcon 9 Rocket launching a Starlink Satelite, but the manned launch was postponed until the eve of our departure, so Bob and I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to watch the launch. We're so fortunate to be close enough to see these two events.
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| With MJ & Mark on the Coco Beach Pier |
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| Gator feeding time at Bass Pro Shop |
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| Sunday Bloodies with Mark, MJ, Jacob & Jill |
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| Watching the sunset from the Tiki Bar |
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| Sunset from the pier at Squid Lips (a great restaurant) |
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| Beach day! |
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| Jill & MJ playing in the waives |
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| Jacob showing us where he forgot to apply suntan lotion! |
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| Alligator feeding time at Bass Pro Shop |
Palm Spring Gardens to Ft. Pierce, FL
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 (Day 167)
We left the Soverel Marina shortly after sunrise, heading north through ICWW. I was able to grab the line I left dangling on the pilon on our way out!
Upon arriving at the Ft. Pierce City Marina, we fueled up and tied up at our slip. My back was giving me trouble, so Bob took care of the lines and power cords, while I took a hot shower and took a short nap.
We had heard a lot about what this area had to offer, so we went for a walk. There are two restaurants within walking distance. One had live music (video below) but we opted for the quieter one as we watched yet another beautiful sunset. I was able to take a photo of the sunset, new moon, Jupiter and Venus!
Delray Beach Anchorage to Palm Spring Gardens, FL
Monday, February 20, 2023 (Day 166)
We pulled out of anchorage and followed a tug boat under the 1st couple of bridges without waiting. Saw lots of bridges, humongous yachts with their uniformed staff and gorgeous homes, and a guy on a hydrofoil surf board zooming between the boats and riding their wake! We found the yacht captains polite and courteous. Smaller boats, on the other hand, would zoom by and wake us in a low wake zone. We heard a dredge operator multiple times on the radio alerting the boaters that it was a no wake zone and finally the Coast Guard got involved!
We found our marina for the night, Sorevel Harbour Marina and settled in. The dock hand was very helpful and took care of our lines and power cords and drove Bob on his golf cart to the office! After cleaning up, we had lunch at a white-cloth, Italian restaurant on the premise. (It has been a while since we had "fancy" dining! Most marina restaurants offer bar-food!)
Here's a funny tale of us getting into our slip! Knowing we had a fixed dock and pilons to tie to, I was ready and lassoed that line on the pilon and tied it loosely to the boat cleat as I ran starboard to lasso the dock cleat. It was the first time I managed to lasso one of these on a first try and I was very proud of myself! HOWEVER, the slip was much longer than our boat and we lost the end of the line in the water! I'll have to try to catch it on our way out tomorrow!
Ft. Lauderdale to Delray Beach Anchorage
Sunday, February 19, 2023 (Day 165)
Bob had done a ton of preparation and study to get us out of our slip back to the Intercoastal Waterways. The "back roads" of the ICWW had lots of turns and twists (The Wiggles, Little Florida, The Tunnel, The School House, etc.) and bridges that we had maneuvered through to get there. It was time to follow our breadcrumbs back to the ICWW.
We had originally planned on anchoring at Boca Raton Lake, but upon our arrival, we found the place full of other boaters. We made the decision to move up and find another anchorage (or marina). When we arrived at Delray Beach marina, there was only one other boat there (and he left late afternoon), so we had the entire anchorage to ourselves. It was a relatively quiet anchorage with the exception of when the party boats, blasting their music, would wake us ... even late into the night.
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| Bob checking the anchor |
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| Sunset at our anchorage |
No Name Harbor Anchorage to our private dock in Ft. Lauderdale
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 (Day 161)
A huge shout out to Captain Bob who got us to Fort Lauderdale in time so this mama could see her baby boy! We were lucky to find a slip at a private dock since there are no "reasonably priced" marinas in these parts due to the Miami Boat Show. Getting to the slip was an adventure through ICW, a shipping harbor and "residential" canals. We were able to squeeze under all but two bridges with minimal wait. Passed a huge shipping container being towed to the harbor by 2 tug boats, and hovered in a narrow bend when a giant yacht was being towed by 2 tow boats. Lots of interesting boats (and boat names). Beautiful homes line up on both sides of the waterway. One (me) wonders what do these people do to be able to afford these homes and yachts! The life style of rich and famous?
We eventually found the dock after many turns and twists and after securing the lines, we got busy preparing the aft cabin (AKA storage area) for Alex.
Alex rented a car at the airport and found us with no issues. We had a wonderful dinner and I went to pay and discovered our cards and cash were still in the ditch bag! ooops!
We had two of Alex's friends join us during this stop: Julia and Seth. They are both friends from Alex's college days and they have travelled with Alex to exotic locations like Hawaii & Cancun in the last couple of years. We managed to find a place to sleep for Julia (on the futon) and Seth (on the flybridge bench) as Alex had claimed the aft cabin; his excuse being his 6'5" height! LOL!
We had a great time with the "kids" at a fun state park (unfortunately got rained on), St Olas beach and the river walk where we had an early toast to Alex's upcoming 28th birthday. I'm happy to see Alex has such great friends and hope I didn't embarrass him too much with stories about him! Oh well!
I'll be cherishing the memories of this visit until we see Alex (and his friends) again.
Tavernier, FL to No Name Harbor Anchorage
Tuesday, February 14, 2023 (Day 160)
We had another gorgeous cruise up to No Name Harbor, right outside Miami.
We had a glitch with the Nebo system that showed us still at Mangrove Marina hours after we had left. Fortunately, the Nebo techy guys took care of it for us and we received our daily travel log.
The big surprise of the day was finding our Looper friends, Anita and Randy (Drifter) on Nebo ahead of us. So, we cruised by their anchorage and chatted for a while. We had not seen them since Green Turtle Bay!
And just to make Gordy happy, a couple of dolphins swam by our boat for a bit. The rest of the trip, Gordy kept watch!
The No Name Harbor anchorage was full, so we anchored with quite a number of other boats outside the anchorage. It's beautiful and the only draw back is rude boaters who zoom in the middle of the anchorage and waking all the boats
Not a bad spot to be with your valentine! Valentines Day
Bahia Honda to Tavernier, FL
Monday, February 13, 2023 (Day 159)
We had a nice cruise from Bahia Honda (where we stayed 2 nights due to high winds) to Tavernier /Mangrove Marina.
Many Loopers at Bahia Honda gave us a hand with getting our 36 ft boat, out of the 37 ft, corner dockage!!! Captain Bob received a standing ovation for his handling of the boat.
The inside (Gulf) passage was much more comfortable than the one on the outside (Atlantic) from Boca Chica to Bahia Honda. Gordy was very disappointed we didn't see any dolphins! Well, I guess I was too!
We arrived Tavernier through a very narrow channel. Narrower yet was our assigned slip which we backed into! And the finger was not long enough to allow us to get off the boat!!! Only Bob, with his long legs, could climb to the dock from the boat!
We were excited to see our Looper friends' boat (Maria and Fernando on Soulstice) docked behind us. Unfortunately, they were in Miami. We hope to meet up with them there.
Boca Chica to Bahia Honda, FL
Sunday, February 11, 2023 (Day 157)
Today was our last day at Boca Chica (for a while anyway). Our friends (even furry ones) stopped to say goodbye and wish us safe travels. Our dock-mates (Tia, Greg, Pam and Evan) gave us a hand with the lines and off we went. Today was also our sea trial for our new transmission (it passed and we no longer have a vibration on the port side).
The ride was bumpy (2.5 to 3, with a few 4 foot waves), but we finally arrived at Bahia Honda and Bob squeezed us in a tight corner spot!
While I was washing the salt off the boat, a few people gathered around, taking pictures! I knew it wasn't my boat washing that attracted them. That's when I looked down to see a manatee drinking water off the boat. (It is illegal to give them fresh water, but I was washing our boat after all and the "visitor" just showed up!)
After a quick bite to eat, we rented snorkeling gear and took a nice cool dip in the water.
It's gorgeous here! We can watch the Atlantic Ocean on our port side and the Gulf of Mexico on our starboard!
We'll be watching the weather to see if we need to hunker down or can press on.
Marathon to Boca Chica, FL
Tuesday, December 30, 2022 (Day 114)
We had planned on staying in Marathon for a couple of nights, but early in the morning, Bob said we had a good weather window and should head to Boca Chica today instead of tomorrow or we would need to stay until past New Year. As nice as this marina is, we were (or at least I was) anxious to get to our next destination. So, we quickly untied our lines and headed toward Key West and Boca Chica.
The cruise started calm as Gordy and I sat on the bow of the boat, but soon it was too rough for us to stay. The 5 hour ride turned out to be very rough and we were super tired by the time we arrived Boca Chica NAS. The winds would catch our stern and make our boat turn 20-30 degrees to port side. We had a good upper body workout that day keeping the boat on track and at the same time, avoiding crab pots. It was so good to see the base air control tower in the distance, about an hour before we finally arrived in our slip and stayed past our plan of 30 days :-)
We watched amazing sunrise and sunsets here; made many new friends and great memories. We met other Loopers, some of whom we had travelled with before. This place felt like home so much so that we have put our name on a waiting list for a permanent slip. We're currently #17 on the list.
The marina is pretty nice; there is a grill and bar on site, as well as a laundry room, but not much else. We rented a car to get around which we shared with our new Looper friends, James and Wendye (Liberty). The commissary is at least 5 miles away but worth the trip as the food is about 30% cheaper than local markets.
The marina is on the flight path of Navy jet fighters! It took Gordy and Charlie quite a long time to get used to the jet noise. They would freak out, shake and try to find a place to hide - even with CBD infused treats we gave them. Fortunately, they finally got used to the noise! Bob, on the other hand was like a kid in candy store!
We were overjoyed to have "old" friends visiting us during this stop: Penny & Eddie DeJarnette came for 5-6 days and Shawn Beauchane came for a weekend following a business trip to Florida. Our "newer" friends, Alicia and Douglas (Sail La Vie) took a bus ride from Marathon where they were staying for a day visit. And Donna and Jim (Sand Dollars) surprised us by docking at the marina for a few days after they told us there was no room for them! Early February, Tia & Glen (Child of the Sun) tied down 2 slips away from us and stayed for a few days longer than us.
Imzadi-2 went through some major upgrades/replacements here! Bob installed a flush system for all engines and the generator to wash out the salt water with fresh water. Our sanitation system got repaired and we had a rebuilt transmission installed on the port side. Cha ching! Due to high winds, we did not get a chance to do a sea trial with the mechanic. Our "sea trial" was on the fly, on our way out of Boca Chica!
We did lots of touristy stuff (Hemingway House, Mile Marker 0 - the Southernmost Point, Sunset at Malory Square), tried many restaurants, freshly caught fish and interesting local brew and cocktails. I think my new favorite fish is Hog Fish! Unfortunately, it's a local fish and we only found it at 2 restaurants.
We had planned on heading up the Keys around Feb 10 and work our way to Fort Lauderdale when Alex is coming for a visit on the 15th. Later in the month, our friends Mark and MJ Blair will visit us while we are at Patrick AFB (fingers crossed there's room for us at the marina) and next, we will be visiting with Dawn and Paul Kessler. That's all we've planned for so far.
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On Wednesday, January 25, 2023, our daily log was erased from the blog (an unfortunate operator error!) I used our various records, Facebook Posts and photos to recreate the journey while our memories are still fresh! Our hope is to share our adventure with you as well as having this log to refer to in the years to come ... long after we have crossed our wake!****************************************************
Cape Sable Anchorage to Marathon, FL
Tuesday, December 29, 2022 (Day 113)
The dolphins escorted us out of the anchorage early in the morning (before sunrise). Our prayers for a smooth ride were answered for our 5.5 hour ride, and we only had to deal with dodging the crab pots!
Around noon, the 7 Mile Bridge came into sight. Since it was a smooth ride, Gordy and I were on the bow watching for dolphins and crab pots. I was so excited to have finally reached the Florida Keys.
Safe Harbor Marina was nice, with floating docks and for the first time, we saw special “hidden” storages for the utilities (not a tripping hazard). We had lunch at a restaurant just outside the marina and our friendly server recommended Bellinis (Hemmingway’s specialty) to help us celebrate our arrival to the Keys.
Marco Island to Cape Sable Anchorage (Shark River), FL
Wednesday, December 28, 2022 (Day 112)
At night, far from any city lights, we were able to watch the night sky filled with bright stars. Tomorrow we will be heading to the Keys and hopefully have a smoother ride than today’s.
We left Marco Island on a sunny morning and entered the Gulf toward our anchorage at the mouth of Cape Sable. It was a very rough ride and we were happy to finally reach our quiet and calm anchorage in the Florida Everglades. (Bob had to do an online course to be able to legally anchor here.) We were far from civilization and had lost cell signal part way. There was a sailboat anchored here and we anchored a little way away from them. For some reason, they were annoyed that they didn’t have the (public) anchorage to themselves anymore and returned our friendly waves with glares!
Ft Myers Beach to Marco Island, FL
Monday, December 26, 2022 (Day 110)
We said goodbye to Dave & Steph early on the day after Christmas. The weather was still cold and Steph was wrapped up in a blanket. Fortunately, by the time we arrived at our marina in Marco Island, the weather had started to warm up. We stayed at a nice marina with floating docs, pump out at our slip, but no fuel dock! The dock master gave us the contact information for a fuel delivery service and for the first time we had fuel delivered to us! Since we were at the far end of the marina, Bob had to move us out of the slip and closer to the office. Next to us, a yacht was getting fuel (2,500 gallons) to our 100 gallons! For once we felt good about our fuel cost! LOL!
Our marina was about 1.5 to 2 miles from restaurants and shops in town, so we took our scooters (and I did not crash this time!) and found a restaurant on the water. We finally reached the Florida weather we were after!
This area is full of ritzy homes on canals with their own private slips for their yachts. Too rich for our blood, but nice to look at!
Venice to Ft Myers Beach, FL
Thursday, December 22, 2022 (Day 106)
After an almost 8.5 hour cruise, we arrived at Dave & Steph’s around 3:00 and tied to their dock. They, unfortunately, had taken their beloved cat to the vet to be put down due to kidney failure. Even with what they had just gone through, they accepted us graciously.
What we had witnessed cruising through Ft Myers Beach was mind boggling. The damage from Ian (3 months ago) was everywhere to be seen. Marinas destroyed, huge fishing boats piled up on shore atop each other, sailboats in the middle of mangroves and cruisers half sunk in! It was so sad.
In the next few days, we had a chance to see the damage on land. At the end of their street was a pile of debris where once 3 homes existed. All that was left was a swimming pool that was ripped out of ground.
Dave and Steph had also sustained damage to their entire 1st floor (garage). They lost a car, a motorcycle and all their belongings that were boxed up and on shelves. They had so much garbage (including neighbor’s grill) in their pool. The lost a small boat on a trailer that was washed out to the canal.
The next day, Bob used Dave’s car to go to Home Depot (there’s always something that needs fixing or a project to be built!). In the afternoon, our friends Nancy & Greg (friends from MN who have moved to Ft. Myers) came to the boat and took us to their home for dinner. We then drove Nancy’s car back so we could return on Christmas Day.
We spent Christmas Eve at Dave & Steph’s and Christmas Day with Nancy & Greg. This Christmas was unlike past years’ but surrounded by friends, we felt the spirit of the season. We had even dug out our coats as weather had become unseasonably cold (We were all grumbling about the false advertising of Florida, the sunshine state!)
Bradenton to Venice, FL
Wednesday, December 21, 2022 (Day 105)
Bob has a few relatives in Venice whom we hope to see. The ride out of Bradenton to the intercoastal was rough, but once we hit the intercoastal water ways, it was calm and beautiful. We had a fun cruise and saw many dolphins who stayed with us for the longest time to Gordy’s delight! Gordy has become obsessed with dolphins. He wakes up from his nap and runs down to the front of the boat, looking for dolphins! We can’t point at anything in the distance any more or say dolphins without him getting all excited and running to see his new friends! We’ve started a code name of SM (swimming mammals) for dolphins … until the smarty pants catches on!
We arrived at Crow’s Nest Marina in the early afternoon. After docking, we went to their on-site bar/restaurant where we met the captains of the catamaran that had docked in front of us. They said they had purchased their dream boat right before Ian and after the storms, their new boat was on a cement wall! They were taking in jobs as captains and moving boats for other people while their boat was being fixed.
As we watched the unfavorable weather approach us, we decided to move on the next morning, all the way to Ft Meyers Beach. It was the choice between staying in Venice for 5 days or pushing through to Ft. Meyer’s Beach where we were going to stay at our friends’ Dave & Steph (Karma) at their private dock. We opted to move on first thing in the morning.
Clearwater Beach to Bradenton, FL
Monday, December 19, 2022 (Day 103)
Our next stop is to visit with our friends (Michelle & Collin) from Twin City Marina who have moved to Cortez. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a slip in their marina and went to a marina in Bradenton, Twin Dolphins. We had nice, floating docks and a few Loopers around. The first night, Michelle and Collin picked us up and took us to a martini bar. The second day, Michelle met us at Oak & Stone where Bob tried a flight of bourbon, while I had fun trying out different beer from their beer wall! We then picked up the dogs and went to their home. Collin works from home and he agreed to watch the dogs while Michelle took us shopping. We had dinner at their local bar before we said goodbye to them….until we meet again!
Tarpon Springs to Clearwater Beach, FL
Monday, December 12, 2022 (Day 96)
We had a short, but fun cruise to Clearwater Beach. After we docked, my cousins took me to pick up our rental car. We have a few appointments to go to: Bob needs to have his knee looked and Charlie needs his teeth cleaned! After a few days, we returned the rental car as we could use my aunt’s car for the rest of the week.
We were invited to my cousins for dinner. They had to lock up their cats while Charlie and Gordy where there. Here we found out Gordy likes to play with cat toys!
Bob was seen by an orthopedic doctor. The X-Rays didn’t show any major issues. The doctor believed some ligaments were injured, but they should heal on their own. We both took a sigh of relief as I was sure he would need a knee replacement. He’s been in a lot of pain and a few times his knee had given out under him! We walked out with a new knee brace for him
Our friends, Alicia and Douglas (Sea La Vie) were about 50 minute south of us in Gulfport and we joined them for dinner one evening. They both love dogs (Gordy and Charlie included). We found a dog friendly restaurant and caught up with our travels since we had left them in Mobile, AL.
Funny story here: We had bought Gordy a cat toy which we took to the restaurant so Alicia could play with Gordy. We had accidentally left the toy behind when we left. I asked Alicia to check with the restaurant the next time they were there. She reported to us that she went and asked if they had found a dog toy! The server paused and said: “No! But we did find a CAT toy!” LOL!
Another fun visit was when our son-in-law, Aaron Cocking, came to visit us while on a business trip. My other cousin and his wife (Amir and Lisa) also came to see us while we were in Clearwater.
This is a couple of weeks before Christmas and our boat does not have a lot of space for decorations, so we decorated the boat as best as we could. There were other boats with huge air-filled decorations in the marina (I think they were trying to out-do each other!).
Bob did his first oil change on the boat by himself! The pump and tools he had purchased earlier paid for themselves!
One day we looked outside to see a very large yacht docked next to us (I think it was as wide as we were long!) We watched for days as the crew brought boxes to the boat … even a live Christmas tree! On Friday the activities picked up and we saw caterers bringing their wares in for a party. Later in the evening, we started talking with the hired captain and finally met the new owners while their guests were arriving. I had just finished defrosting and cleaning our bridge when the Mrs. asked if we would like to join them before they left! I immediately took her on her offer and joined the party in process (mind you, I’m in “work clothes” while everyone is decked up in their holiday party fancy outfits!) The boat was absolutely gorgeous. I was envious of the galley (kitchen) and the master suite, with its king-size, walk around bed and walk-in closets!!!
We made a day trip to the beach one cloudy day (but it was still very beautiful) and found a beach bar we had visited in two other trips to Clearwater.
Last day in Clearwater we went to Oasis, a Persian restaurant, and we stuffed ourselves with delicious food.
Cedar Creek to Tarpon Springs, FL
Wednesday, December 7, 2022 (Day 9)
We had originally talked about going to Crystal River and see the manatees; however, due to shallow waters and lack of an available marina, we headed toward Tarpon Springs. We followed Redemption toward Tarpon Springs. Another beautiful day of cruising and dodging crab pots! It took both of us to keep an eye out for them. Fortunately, we were following Redemption and would change course behind them as we encountered more crab pots. Redemption anchored outside Tarpon Springs and that was the last time we saw them. They finished the Loop soon after that.
We had reservations at MAR Marina. It turned out to be a better marina than we thought. The slips were very tights and you could shake hands with your boat neighbor from the deck of your boat!
The marina was a few miles from the “happening spot”, the sponge docks! Bob and I took our scooters to town for lunch. On the way, I had a major crash and skinned my knee pretty good. We made it to the restaurant where I asked for a table for two and a first aid kit! LOL! We had a tasty lunch and I took an Uber back to the marina as Bob scootered to a store for some parts he needed.
We went back to the sponge docks the next day (Uber!) and tried a Greek restaurant right on the water. Tarpon Springs is the capital city of sea sponges (and they actually use the old-fashioned diving gear to harvest sponges). It also boasts a large Greek community. I read somewhere that Tarpon Springs is the next best thing to visiting Greece!
After lunch (and a little shopping), we stopped at an outdoor plaza, sipping some local brew. It was a beautiful, sunny and warm afternoon. Bob was smoking a cigar he had just bought, and I was people watching, as we listened to a solo musician playing Christmas music. We were both thinking why people live in Minnesota when there are other parts of the country with warmer climates (thus happier people!?)
Our water heater died, and the marina ordered a new one for us that was cheaper than what Bob found on Amazon and we got it the next day. Bob’s new project! (The boat mechanic’s job is never done!).
On our last day here, my relatives who live in Clearwater drove up for lunch. My aunt Malouse and uncle Mike drove back home; My cousins Guita and Mehrdad and their son, Thomas, stayed with us to cruise to Clearwater Beach together.
Steinhatchee to Cedar Creek Anchorage
Tuesday, December 6, 2022 (Day 90)
I was feeling better and able to help drive the boat today and gave Bob a break from the upper body workout of dodging crab pots! The water was very calm, and we had a beautiful cruising day, escorted by dolphins from time to time.
As we were anchoring, dolphins were dancing around the boat. Gordy noticed them for the first time and went crazy, especially when Bob dropped the anchor and Gordy noticed the anchor ball being thrown in the water with these strange “water dogs!”
Our earlier companion ship, Redemption, was also anchored here, as well as 2 or three other Loopers. The sunset and sunrise were gorgeous.
THE CROSSING!
Dog Island to Steinhatchee, FL –
Sunday, December 4, 2022 (Day 88)
I was moving very slowly the next day with lack of sleep, so Bob got us as ready as he could by himself. I helped get the anchor off and lied down (pretty much for the remainder of the day). Bob was not sure if we should leave, but I assured him I would be OK. (I was antsy to move on!) Later as he listened to me moan and groan, he wondered if he needed to call the Coast Guard! I assured him I was OK! Meantime, both dogs, sensing mama wasn’t feeling good, laid on top of me the whole time. I will have to ask Bob to fill you in on this big milestone (The Crossing) as I totally missed it!
When we arrived at Deadman’s Bay Marina, Steinhatchee, I woke up long enough to throw the line to the deck hand before going to bed and sleeping until the next day. Bob took care of the lines and power and the dogs before going out to dinner. I was in no shape to cook or eat!
Fortunately, I started feeling better today and took a walk around the marina and the ship store (one of the best and most complete stores we have seen!) While in the store, we run into a couple of guys from Minnesota. One of them confessed he was still wearing his long johns!!!
We were able to fuel up while still in our slip to be ready for the next leg.
Carrabelle to Dog Island Anchorage, FL
Saturday, December 3, 2022 (Day 87)
We timed our departure from our “funky” slip to give Bob the easiest wind, tide and current conditions. First, we had to stop and pump out and pay our bills. We stayed at this marina way longer than we had hoped for, but mother nature runs the show!
We left Carrabelle in a sunny afternoon, heading for Dog Island. The anchorage was absolutely beautiful. There were 4 of us Loopers anchored here. We watched a gorgeous sunset after Bob grilled us some hamburgers and called it a night! We were planning on taking shifts tomorrow to stay fresh during our 9 hour cruise! Unfortunately, I came down with some kind of stomach bug and was throwing up all night!
Apalachicola to Carrabelle, FL
Monday, November 28, 2022 (Day 82)
We left our least favorite dockage for Moorings of Carrabelle at around 7:30 in the morning and arrived Carrabelle 4 hours later. As we were approaching the Carrabelle River, Bob noticed our friends from Heli Aku were heading out! We able to chat with them briefly on the radio and on Nebo!
After fueling up, we went to our assigned slip! I’m glad one of the dock masters and another Looper were around to give us a hand! This was a tough spot right before a bridge and there was a pier sticking out off center halfway in the middle. There was at least 1.5 – 2 foot gap between the boat and the dock so getting on and off was not easy.
On the other hand, the staff here was nice and there are at least a dozen Loopers here waiting for a weather window to do the crossing to the west coast of Florida. There are a few restaurants within walking distance (or scootering). Carrabelle also is the home of world’s smallest police station!
We had nightly captain’s meeting and ended up partnering with another boat (Redemption) that had 4 captains on board, one of whom had done the crossing before. The many Loopers were divided in 3 groups: (1) Long - overnight crossing to Tarpon Springs or Clearwater. (2) Long – daylight crossing, and (3) Short crossing to Steinhatchee, which was us. We finally saw an opening for a safe crossing on Sunday, December 4th. We decided to anchor at Dog Island to avoid dealing with the tides and winds on Sunday morning AND save an hour from our long day.
Panama City to Apalachicola, FL
Friday, November 25, 2022 (Day 79)
Oh what a day! We waited until the fog lifted off to head out of the narrow channel and work our way back to the intercoastal. There were at least 4 or 5 other Loopers on the go too! Less than an hour after we left, the fog rolled in and got very thick! We were cruising very slowly when we heard the sound of a motor. I was basically hanging out the fly bridge listening when I saw the silhouette of a boat approaching us. Bob blew his horn and turned to get out of his way! But the other boater turned again into us! But fortunately, we missed each other! Phew! We tried hailing him on the radio to let him know there were other boats behind us, but he would not answer! So I got on the radio and let the boat behind us know of the fast boater coming their way!
We could not find a slip in Apalachicola because Santa Claus was coming to town! I am NOT joking! The city Dock Master told us to tie down to the fishing pier and go to the city wall in the morning. We took the very last spot along the wall. Actually, a small sailboat had to move back to give us enough room. By the time we tied down, the fog came rolling in again. (I hope Rudolf is leading Santa’s sleigh tonight!).
The next day, we “attempted” to go to the city wall, but we could not budge the boat off the pier with the tides and current pushing us back against the pier. Bob and I were pushing against the pier, while a fisherman was pushing us away from the pier … and we were stuck where we were. We needed to watch the weather and tides to plan our departure.
On the 2nd night, there was a bad storm and warning for water funnels! This was one of our least favorite nights on the boat. With the late warning and nowhere else to go for shelter, we stayed on the boat. At 2:30 a.m. all 4 of us were sitting in our life jackets, swaying with the rocking boat! The dogs were not amused!
Destin to Panama City/Treasure Island Marina, FL
Monday, November 21, 2022 (Day 75)
We left Destin around 6:30 in the morning and saw many dolphins and Loopers along the way. Our route took us through a narrow canyon. One of our favorite boats, a Greenline named “Off Leash” passed us and took lead. We later met up with them in Carrabelle and toured the boat.
The canyon opened up to a big body of water that we needed to navigate to Panama City. As we were approaching the opening, we heard a conversation between Off Leash and a tug boat; we were still in the canyon and could not hear the tug boat on the radio, only Off Leash who became our go-between. The tug boat captain, upon hearing of our fleet coming through the narrow canyon, held place until we were all out!
Bob backed into a funky spot and we docked in front of the night guard station and right outside the marina part store which was handy as Bob replaced our fuel filters and fuel seals that were leaking due to bad fuel we had taken in earlier on the river! We had an open tab with the service department.
The staff at this marina was amazing! Marsha (the lady at the service desk) drove me to pick up lunch one day and gave me a tour of the national park nearby. One of the security guards brought us collard greens, sausage and corn muffin the day before Thanksgiving which I incorporated into our Thanksgiving Day meal of roasted turkey tenderloin (air fryer), roasted potatoes (instant pot and finished in frying pan) and mixed vegetables in a cream sauce. All of these had to be prepared separately since our shore power can only handle one appliance at a time!!!
This was our first Thanksgiving away from family, but we made the best of it and were truly thankful for how far we’d come so far.
Bayou Grande at Pensacola NAS to Destin, Florida
Saturday, November 19, 2022 (Day 73)
After a false start (sea grass tangled in the props), we waived goodbye to Donna and Jim and headed east. Our next stop Harbor Walk Marina in Destin.
After fueling up, we tied to a fixed dock in front of the Margaritaville Restaurant. The weather is cold and it’s clearly off season. The first floor of the restaurant is closed, but the lights and TV are on and there are a few little birds flying around in there! We had lunch at the upper floor restaurant and went back to our boat.
From the back of our boat we watched floating Tiki bars, dolphin sighting boats, fishermen AND dolphins!
The next day we explored the boardwalk. It’s so cold that all the venders are bundled up under blankets! I imagine this is a hoping place during the tourist season. We had the best and largest oysters on half-shell for lunch.
Homeport Marina, AL to Bayou Grande at Pensacola NAS
Saturday, November 12, 2022 (Day 66)
We arrived at the marina in time to tie down and wait for the Blue Angels last air show of the season. We were told they would fly right over our boat! We had another surprise! Ron Hilson (our friend from our home port marina) who has been following our trip, surprised us at the boat and delivered the many Amazon packages we had sent to his home! Ron and Barb invited us to their yacht club where we met another retired military couple.
The next day, Ron picked us up for a private tour at the Naval Air Station. Ron is a volunteer tour guide. Not only is he very knowledgeable (he was an F-4 aviator during the Vietnam war), but he’s an excellent story teller. After the tour, Barb picked Ron up as they had graciously allowed us the use of Ron’s car for a few days. We had many errands to take care of during our stay. Among them was a scheduled well-check up appointment for the pups on Monday, November 14.
After dropping the dogs at Banfield Pet Hospital, we run our errands and then treated ourselves to a sushi lunch and a mani-pedi to celebrate my birthday.
Our friends, Jim and Donna caught up with us at the marina and we had a few days together before we left Pensacola. The weather still is pretty chilly. We had a great time this week in Pensacola and visiting with Ron, Barb, Jim and Donna, but now it’s time to move on!
Jim & Donna left their boat here and drove home for the holidays. They’ll be catching up with us somewhere in Florida, hopefully Key West.
Gulf Coast!
Dog River Marina, AL to Homeport Marina, AL
Friday, November 11, 2022 (Day 65)
We had originally reserved a slip at Dog River for two nights, but stayed an extra night for a more favorable weather window to cross Mobile Bay. We left the marina at 6:13 am, before the sunrise and followed a fellow looper, Blue Yonder, across the bay. The passage was rough and bumpy but we finally entered the Gulf Intercoastal Water Ways and things calmed down considerably. Lots of gorgeous property along the waterway. We stayed at Homeport Marina, otherwise known as Lulu’s. The restaurant is owned by Jimmy Buffet’s sister, Lulu. Really nice marina with floating docks. I introduced Bob to fried okra (and he liked it) and we had a delicious lunch overlooking the intercoastal and saw boats being towed, leisure boats cruising, a barge and even a small boat with advertisement banners!
Bobby’s Fish Camp, AL to Mile Bay & Dog River Marina, AL
Saturday, November 5, 2022 (Day 59)
Today, Captain Bob decided we would stay away from the “rush” boaters and hang back with the two sailboats, Sail La Vie and Hele Aku. We ended up cruising the last part of the river with these awesome people. Sail La Vie took the lead as Alicia communicated with the oncoming barge traffic on AIS system on behalf of our fleet of three. We saw alligators and deer swimming in front of us. Many curves and turns on the river system in these parts.
Our last lock on this river was Coffeeville Lock & Dam, our 43rd lock so far. I played music on my phone and started dancing. Pretty soon, other boaters joined in our celebration.
We had 2 anchorages before we reach Mobile Bay. The first is Three River Anchorage!
Three Rivers was more fun than Bashi Creek. Once again, Bob and I took the lead as we had the lowest draft and broadcast our depth to Sail La Vie and Hele Aku who were following us at a distance. It was a narrow channel with branches overhanging the water way. It was natural to duck as we were going under the low hanging branches. We even saw an alligator swim in front of us and go under the boat. Our guide books recommended double anchoring (front and back). We decided to anchor next to Sail La Vie with each of us throwing our bow anchors in and then tied up to each other. It took a while, but it worked great and we were able to just step over onto the next boat. Folks on Hele Aku rode their dinghy to Sail La Vie for adult beverages!
Our last anchorage was the Big Bayou Canot. Once again, we scouted for the sailboats and found a suitable spot to drop anchors. We then rode our dingy to Sail La Vie for “boat-tails!?”
The next morning, we weighed anchor (well, Bob did) and I took the boat out of our anchorage. I asked Bob if I could captain to Mobile Bay and he said yes! Up to now we were on the rivers, with narrow passages and low water rivers and floating docks sitting in mud. We were now entering open waters and the Mobile Bay. I had a huge grin on my face and tears of joy in my eyes. For years I had been drawing a path by my finger on our Great Loop map of our route and how we would work our way to Mobile Bay and … well, we were almost there now! What a milestone and what a view. We even had a group of dolphins as a welcome committee. I seriously did not want to give the wheel back to Bob but the intense sun was burning me and I needed to take care of my arms and legs! So, I reluctantly gave the helm back to Bob who navigated us through shipping channels to our marina where we are staying for the next couple of days. I don’t think I stopped grinning.
We met some old friends and some new ones at this marina. Alicia and Douglas stayed behind at the marina to put up their mast which was shipped from Wisconsin and the crew of Hele Aku drove home for the holidays.
One of our fondest memories of this stop is discovery of a local “cigar shop and coffee lounge” with Alicia and Douglas. This place had a huge walk-in humidor where Bob and friends bought cigars. We then sat at the bar and the manager made us Cuban coffee (decaf) and it was just as I had imagined it would be. Meanwhile we were eavesdropping on the conversation in the southern accent in the back ground, not so much to what they were saying, but to their southern accents! It was a really fun and unexpected stop.
One thing I had forgotten to mention about us going through the locks was Gordy’s participation! As soon as I would put my life jacket on, I would tell Gordy it was “time to go to work!” Then he would sit for me to put his life jacket on and would run to the bow and watch me work. He would focus on me as I would handle the lines and he really took his “job” seriously!
King Fisher Bay, AL to Bobby’s Fish Camp, AL
Friday, November 4, 2022 (Day 58)
Early start for us today. We left King Fisher Bay at 7 am and navigated through Demopolis Lock and Dam and anchored at Bashi Creek (our back up plan) after cruising by the anchorage off of highway 10 bridge.
This was a very narrow off shoot of the river system. We were the lead boat and went even farther than I felt comfortable with branches overhanging the creek. Soon a few other Loopers joined us. We were hoping there would be enough room for Sail La Vie and Hele Aku after 3 or 4 other boats pulled in and anchored behind us. They finally reached us and anchored at the opening of the creek (this worked better for them any way!) They joined us by dinghy for a night cap before dark.
Today was a long day of over 8 hours of cruising. Fortunately, we are getting more and more comfortable with anchoring. I get behind the helm as Bob does the manual work of dropping the anchor.
The next day, we cruised to the “legendary” Bobby’s Fish Camp. In a nut shell, this stop is a “right of passage” for Loopers. We arrived in pouring rain. The last boat in. We waited until Hele Aku finished fueling up and then could only get half of the boat into the gas dock! As Bob was lying on his stomach fueling up, the owner stuck her head out of the office yelling to us that we could not dock our boat that way! Bob explained that we needed to fuel up! We joke that we paid for 36 foot, and only got 20 foot of dock! There were 3 or 4 boats tied up to the “dock” with 3 boats tied up to them which meant if you wanted to visit with a boat that was tied on the river side, you’d need to walk on other people’s boats! Of course, we just had to go visit our friends on Sail La Vie. Alicia and Doug had made a delicious curry dish which we enjoyed with friends from Hele Aku.
The boat that was docked on our aft was …. something else! He made a point of telling us he wanted to be the first boat out in the morning … however, he had put himself right next to the dock (so he could have power) with two boats to his side and us in his front! And …. In the morning he was complaining to us that our dinghy had “bumped” his anchor in the night! Duh! We’re on the river … the river moves … boats move! It’s not like we woke up and pushed our puncturable dinghy into his sharp anchor on purpose! Nevertheless, he had us moving in thick fog to “rush” to the lock! Sigh! He is definitely a rare “unpleasant” boater we have encountered on the Loop!
Columbus Marina, MS to King Fisher Bay, AL
Sunday, October 30, 2022 (Day 53)
Our journey from Columbus to King Fisher Bay took us to 2 anchorages (Cochran Bow and Tom Big-Bee Ox Bow) before arriving King Fisher. We had a mad dash shortly after 7:00 to make it to Stennis Lock & Dam. We were part of a fleet of 8-10 Loopers. We ended up taking the last bollard on the port side in front of all other boaters. Once again, Bob took our spot easily (and without any thrusters). After we cleared the 2nd lock of the day, Bevill L&D, we turned starboard (right) to our anchorage. One other Looper joined us later in the afternoon.
We left our anchorage at 9:45 and went through Heflin L&D with fellow Looper, Sea Livin and anchored at Big-Bee Ox Bow) for the night. Happy Halloween!
We had to wait for the fog to lift off before heading toward King Fisher Bay. This marina also has 2-day maximum stay, but the Dock Master allowed us to stay an extra night. There were plenty of hands-on deck to help us fuel and a dock hand to help us tie up in our slip.
King Fisher Bay seems to be running entirely by women! And it’s a well-managed marina. It has the best laundry facility we’ve seen on the Loop so far and a nice terrace for the captains’ meeting. It also has a courtesy van for provisions and a shuttle bus to the one of the two restaurants in town.
Remember we had lost our gas cap a few stops back? We had put the waste water cap on the gas cap and had covered the waste water cap with blue painter’s tape! Don’t laugh! It matched the canvas! :-D
Well, they pump out the boats at the slip here and the lady who was pumping us out heard our story and came back with a gas cap for us. Not a perfect match, but more classy than blue tape!
We met up with our friends from Karma (Steph & Dave) here. While on the Loop, Hurricane Ian had hit their property in Ft Myers Beach. They had parked their boat at Green Turtle Bay, drove home to check up on their house and do some clean up and were back doing the Loop. Unfortunately, we missed the shuttle to the restaurant, but we run into Alicia and Douglas who were waiting for the courtesy car and they drove us to the restaurant. It was nice catching up with Steph and Dave and they invited us to stay at their private dock when we get to Ft. Myers area since there are hardly any marinas that survived the hurricane.
The next night, we went back to the same restaurant with a different group of Loopers, including Fernando and Maria from Soulstice! It’s so much fun running into our Looper friends wherever we go!
Midway Marina, MS to Columbus Marina, MS
Friday, October 28, 2022 (Day 51)
Early in the morning, we were notified by another Looper that the Lock master was going to let us through at 8:00. A total of 5 boats headed to Fulton Lock (half an hour away): Oddessee, High Life, 4th Dimension, S-Dan and Grand Plan. We travelled through 4 locks together. Each Lock Master would let the next lock of our arrival and they would be ready for us when we reached the lock. In this fashion, we cruised through Fulton, Wilkins, Amory and Aberdeen Lock & Dams.
Bob was fascinated with the fighter jets from Columbus doing drills overhead!
Our plan was to only do 3 locks today, but we were in a groove and pressed on with the Fleet to arrive at Columbus Marina a day early. The Dock Master had all boats fuel up before entering their slips. It was then that we heard we could only stay 2 days! We really needed to stay 3 days due to rains, but were basically told NO!
This marina had a laundry room and a broken-down truck that its engine would die at every turn! Nevertheless, we used it to reprovision. However, we were on a time limit and could not grab lunch or liquor and had to go back to the marina! Thankfully (?) they took that car out of rotation before it caused a serious accident. I was able to get on the list to use the other car for the liquor run. Funny story: I couldn’t figure out how to turn the headlights on! When I was shopping, I admitted to the sales clerk I did not know how to turn the lights on to drive back. She said she was also an auto mechanic and when she brought my purchases out, she reached in a turned the lights on for me; I felt so silly 😊
Grand Harbor Marina, TN to Midway Marina, MS
Thursday, October 27, 2022 (Day 50)
After fueling up and pumping out, we headed toward the Tenn-Tom Waterways. We were cruising at our typical speed of 8 – 8.5 MPH, when we heard a radio call from Alicia on Sail La Vie who had head the Lock Master was waiting for one boat to cycle through and told us if we hurried, they’ll wait for us too! Bob opened up the throttle and we arrived at the lock 20 minutes later. As it turned out, we had to wait for one more boater, for a total of 5 Loopers in the fleet.
As I mentioned earlier, the Lock Masters don’t want to cycle through too many times given the size of the lift. James-Whitten L&D has an 84’ drop, the tallest L&D we’ve encountered on our way (all the way to Mobile). It was also the “wildest” ride down the river and it took all my energy to physically keep the boat away from the wall, while Bob was at the controls.
We still had one more lock to go through (Montgomery Lock) before our next stop. We arrived at Midway Marina the latest we’ve ever arrived at a marina (6 pm). We were tired and hungry. Gratefully, they were many hands on the dock to help us tie down. Lots of Loopers here!
We discovered there is a very nice restaurant at the marina. We enjoyed a nice dinner and a couple of cocktails on the dock overlooking the marina and met a few Loopers who had been here a few days with ideas of how far to go the next leg.
Riverstone Marina, TN to Grand Harbor Marina, TN
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 (Day 49)
We left Riverstone early in the morning and followed 3 Loopers to Pickwick Lock. By the time we got to the dock, another Looper had joined our Fleet. We were waiting for the Lock Master to cycle us through when a barge showed up! Usually, the commercial traffic has priority over personal crafts and with a 55’ drop, we were looking at a very long wait. But the tug boat captain who saw 5 pleasure cruises together, graciously stayed back to let us go through first.
The next surprise was the Dock Master taking pictures of our boats and posting them on the Lock’s Facebook Page! Sweet!
We arrived at Grand Harbor after the gas dock was closed. We had to wait until 9:00 am to fuel up and get ready to continue our cruise. There were a few Loopers but no one was up for a docktail this evening!
Clifton RV & Marina, TN to Riverstone Marina, TN
Monday, October 24, 2022 (Day 47)
Due to the low water levels, the entrance looked very challenging. But Captain Bob navigated us through the entrance (with me keeping point on the bow). Once we got to the gas dock, the water levels were acceptable. Riverstone Marina was officially closed, but the owners and a friend helped us dock in a secure spot next to the building that houses their store/restaurant and owner’s flat on the upper level.
We are happy to wait the storm out securely tied out here. A few of our friends were anchored out and had a rough time during the storm. We, on the other hand, hardly noticed the winds in our protected safe harbor. After the rains we took a nice stroll on the property by the marina which look inviting and peaceful after the storm and in beautiful fall colors.
Pebble Isle, TN to Clifton RV & Marina, TN
Sunday, October 23, 2022 (Day 46)
We had intended on staying at Pebble Isle 2 nights, but the Dock Master of Clifton called to say there were going to be closed on Monday (even though we had made our reservations a few days ago) but they could take us in if we got there on Sunday. So, we headed to Clifton early in the morning and arrived mid-afternoon.
Clifton is a small, hard-to-get-to marina. We were put between the gas dock and the bar/restaurant. The food was unexpectedly good, so we ordered extra food for the next day since there were going to be closed.
Checking the weather, we saw a storm was coming in. We called and asked the owner/dock master if we could stay an extra day due to weather and she said no! (She had previously told us we could not have access to the courtesy car, even though they were closed on Monday). We really didn’t like her attitude and called out to the next marina (3 miles down river) who were extremely kind and hospitable, so we left early.
Paris Landing, TN to Pebble Isle, TN
Saturday, October 22, 2022 (Day 44)
Our next stop gave us a chance to fuel up and pump out. We lost a gas cap in the process which, as it turns out, takes us a while to replace. Billy, our Dock Master, with his sweet southern drawl showed us all the southern hospitality you would expect in these parts! He had gone out of his way to find someone to come to our boat for an oil change on a weekend! We ended up paying the mechanic way more than we expected, even though we had all the supplies! This, along with our experience at Green Turtle Bay, prompted Bob to order his own gizmo to do our oil change going forward.
In the afternoon, our friends on Sail La Vie, tied up behind us and we spent the evening getting to know them better. Start of a great friendship!
Green Turtle Bay, KY to Paris Landing, TN
Friday, October 21, 2022 (Day 44)
I believe we were the last of our Looper fleet to leave Green Turtle Bay. Our path took us through Barkley and Kentucky Lakes to Paris Landing Marina. The Great Loop Association had recently held its Fall Rendezvous at this marina. We arrived around 1:00. We were docked next to another Looper and soon many other Loopers joined us (half of them Canadian Boats!) We had a good size docktail before turning in for the night.
Paducah, KY to Green Turtle Bay, KY
Sunday, October 16, 2022 (Day 39)
There are two routes to Green Turtle Bay, our next stop. We heard Olmstead Lock & Dam has long wait times. We opted for the Berkley Lock & Dam on the Cumberland River. I’m so glad we did. It was a narrow, winding waterway and as I was navigating the river, it felt like a lazy Sunday drive. We arrived Turtle Bay shortly before 2 and were happy the marina’s pump out is working! We were given a HUGE, undercover slip twice the size of our boat. The boaters here have decorated their docks like cabins, complete with industrial size fridges, grills, televisions and bars! Unfortunately, we’re far from where the rest of the Loopers are docked! We’ve heard so many good things about this marina that we’ve booked ourselves for 5 nights!
We used the courtesy van with Jim & Donna and went to Walmart for reprovisioning. We had a lot of Amazon and mail delivered here (early Christmas!). One of the packages is the Nebo box which is going to replace the phone app and it automatically starts and ends our trips.
We had hoped to have the marina do an oil change for us. However, we were told the mechanics were busy winterizing boats and could not squeeze us in. They gave us the name of 2 people which ended up being a waste of time! We run into one of them who told us to buy the oil and filters and he’d change the oil for us. We ended up waiting 2 days for him land no show!!! Very frustrating!
We made two trips to the famous Patty’s (Home of the 2” pork chops), once with a group of 5 Loopers (Fernando became our shuttle driver) and once with Jim and Donna (in a rented golf cart). With our large group, we had our own private dining room. There was a French-Canadian couple in our party who had an even a harder time with the southern accent than me! She kept pleading with the server to speak slowly (which she could/would not!)
Our last night at the marina, we had dinner at the Yacht Club. It was fun reading all the boat name insignias on the walls.
After 5 nights, we are more than anxious to get going! The weather is cold (winter jackets have been pulled out) and we really can’t go anywhere without a car. Time to go in search of warmer weather!
Olmstead Lock Anchorage to Paducah, KY
Friday, October 13, 2022 (Day 36)
Sail La Vie communicated that the Lock Master will let us through as soon as we are ALL there! We were ready to lock shortly after 7 a.m. and cleared the lock, along with our 3 fellow travelers, shortly after 8:00. We arrived at Paducah (civilization – finally!) and tied up to the city dock. The water was shallow and it was windy, but with the help of boaters on the dock, Bob docked us on the back side of the wall in a tight spot! Cheers to Captain Bob for managing all the tight spots WITHOUT a bow or stern thrusters which most other newer boats are equipped with these days!
We had to call in for a city employee to come and fuel our boat (promised for the next day) but unfortunately, their pump out is not working! Oops!
It is nice to tie up to a nice and sturdy dock after nights anchoring and no services (or civilization). We walked to town and discovered a restaurant that had better Cajun seafood (and Hurricane drink) than we had in New Orleans last year! We then walked along the river where there is mural wall with the history of the area. Very interesting. There’s also a quilt museum here in town that we have heard of. There are quite a few nice restaurants here, and the farmer’s market on Sunday. And Bob used the scooter to go to a “drive-through” liquor store! Ha-ha! We met up with a number of Loopers who we’ve stayed in touch with since: Maria and Fernando on Soulstice took the cutest picture of Gordy and Charlie! And Anita & Randy on Drifter.
We got fueled up Saturday morning and enjoyed a delicious steak dinner with the crew of Soulstice and Drifter. It’s not Halloween yet, but the town is celebrating it already. There were so many adults in costume! Fun!
Little Diversion Canal to Olmstead Lock Anchorage, OH
Thursday, October 12, 2022 (Day 35)
We left our anchorage at 7:40 a.m. and headed toward Cairo (IL, not Egypt) and left the Upper Mississippi River and entered the Ohio River. We joined 3 other boats at our next anchorage: Sail La Vie (Alicia and Doug), Sand Dollars (Jim and Donna) and Child of the Sun. Sail La Vie was the first boat at the anchorage and our fleet’s spoke-person! That made communication with the Lock Master much easier since we could hear the conversation on the radio (instead of having 4 boats calling him and getting the same instructions). Another Looper joined us at the anchorage later (I don’t remember the boat’s name!) It was a windy night and our boat spun around the anchor all night long, but the anchor held!
Kaskaskia L&D Wall, IL to Little Diversion Canal, MO
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 (Day 35)
We left the Wall early (7:20 am) in a light rain. There are 2 options for tonight’s anchorage: one under the bridge off the main channel and the other in the Little Diversion Canal (emphasis on LITTLE) which is what Bob preferred! Due to the narrowness of the channel, we needed to drop 2 anchors (front and back) which meant Bob had to let the dinghy loose and carry the 2nd anchor away and secure the boat. A bit of hassle, but we anchored and enjoyed a peaceful afternoon and even caught site of an armadillo on shore! Later another boater came in and dropped anchor further up. They did not have a working depth finder and Bob and I scratched our head at his risky boating! Furthermore, he was not communicating on the radio either! Oh well!
Hoppie’s Marina, MO to Kaskaskia L&D Wall, IL
Tuesday, October 11, 2022 (Day 34)
We were the 2nd boat out of Hoppie’s, heading to the Kaskaskia L&D in a light rain. We were told the Dock Master will allow the Loopers tie up to the wall. The rain stopped by the time we tied up to the wall and took the dogs for a walk.
Alton Marina, IL to Hoppie’s Marina Services, MO
Monday, October 10, 2022 (Day 33)
As I mentioned before, the Lock Masters in this part of the river want the Loopers to travel in packs. The captains get together in the evenings and discuss the weather, next stop(s), and who would make the call to the Lock Master and communicate to the other captains present.
The call came in at 7:30 that we need to be at the Melvin Lock (Lock 26) by 8:00 am. We untied our lines and left the marina in 15 minutes! There were at least 9 of us Loopers in the lock. There was a lot of barge traffic, as well as lots of debris in the water. We cleared the Chain of Rock L&D (Lock 27) uneventfully. I am finding holding to the bollards while in the lock is quite an upper body workout!
We cruised in the narrow Chain of Rocks Canal. Last year a Looper on a sailboat missed the entrance to the Canal and ended up on the rocks. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get a tow arranged before the current took his boat. It was all over the national news! So we were careful not to make the same mistake.
Next highlight was cruising by the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. There’s a Web Cam facing the river and the boats cruising. Ariana was able to log in and do a screen shot of our boat as we cruised by the Arch. With all the blue canvas on our boat, we are hard to miss!!!
Our stop tonight is at Hoppie’s Marine Service. This is an iconic stop for the Loopers in this part of the river as it is the last stop for fuel for 206 miles! It is not really a marina, but rather a few barges tied up together. The family-owned business provides fuel for the boaters and a family member provides valuable information for the next few stops, along with weather forecast. We broke out into various groups depending on our boat speed for the next few days, discussed at the nightly captains’ meeting.
Port Charles Harbor, MO to Alton Marina, IL
Saturday, October 8, 2022 (Day 31)
We met a few other Loopers here as we were fueling the boat at Port Charles Harbor and had an easy ride to Alton Marina which is kind of a hub for Loopers. From now on, the Loopers travel in packs through the locks. We’re going to stay here for a couple of days, rest up, buy more groceries and hopefully meet many other Loopers. They have a pool and a hot tub here! Frozen drinks are $1 each (end of season clearance!) The pool was too chilly and the hot tub was luke warm, but we soaked in it for a while by our lonesome selves! We walked to town and discovered a brewery and some food and local brew and had grocery delivered from Aldi’s. This is where we first met our friend-to-be, Jim and Donna Henley (Sand Dollars).
Rockport IL to Port Charles Harbor, MO
Friday, October 7, 2022 (Day 30)
We left the marina before 8:00 am, went under the Louisiana Swing Bridge easily enough. L&D 24 & 25 had long waits (1.5 hours for #24 and 1 hour, 10 min for #25). Long day, but we finally tied up at Port Charles Harbor @ 5:50 p.m.
Quincy, IL to Rockport IL
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 (Day 28)
As part of each day’s pre-cruise check, Bob looks in all the hatches and make sure there is no water or oil or anything like that where it shouldn’t be! This morning, he found a leak in a water hose coming out of the sea strainer and had to use his scooter to go up the hill to an auto part store and get the hose he needed. Once again, he was able to use his skills to get us “ship-shaped!” With the delay, we left around 10 and maneuvered through 2 locks: L&D 21 was “easy, peasy” and L&D 22 Bob felt comfortable enough to float! We arrived at Two Rivers Marina (for two nights) at 3:30. This is a nice marina, with a courtesy car and great staff. We had a few Amazon packages waiting for us here! So, we plan on reprovisioning for the next leg, catching up on laundry and take a breather while at this marina.
Keokuk, IA to Quincy, IL
Tuesday, October 4, 2022 (Day 27)
We left Keokuk Yacht Club at 9:30. Our next lock (L&D 19) had a drop of 38’ (other locks have been around 8-10 feet up to this point). And it was the first time we (I) had to use floating bollards in the lock… no sweat! Lock 20 was a drive through for us and we were able to tie up at Quincy Yacht Club by 2:30. We were planning on going to Art Keller Marina (up the channel from Quincy’s) but we learned that the water was shallow so we stayed at Quincy’s. There were a couple of other Loopers at the dock and we enjoyed meeting them.
Burlington, IA to Keokuk, IA
Monday, October 3, 2022 (Day 26)
We left Port of Burlington City Docks shortly after 9:30 and cruised low speed (to conserve fuel) at Keokuk around 2:00 pm. The boat was so thirsty, it took us an hour to fill her up!!! We tied up at our slip in front of the bar by 3:00 and filled up the water tank before going to the bar/restaurant to fill our tummy’s. The selection was limited (microwave pizza!) but the bartender was pleasant to talk to. We had a restless night’s sleep due to tugs moving by all night! Ugh!
Muscatine, IA to Burlington, IA
Sunday, October 2, 2022 (Day 25)
I don’t think Bob got much sleep last night. The anchor alarm went off quite a few times. We need to get better at this. On the positive side, the anchor held nicely and while Bob pulled the anchor up, I drove the boat out of our anchorage about 8:50 a.m. We navigated through locks 17 & 18, however, when we arrived at the Bluff Harbor Marina (where we hoped to gas up), we found the water level so low (1.5 to 2 feet) that we could not enter. So, we tied up to the city dock for the night. We are hoping to have some fuel delivered to the dock tomorrow. There isn’t much around here either (and we don’t want to leave the dock unattended). Bob walked to the gas station and brought back a “gas station” pizza for dinner! Oh well!
Clinton, IA to Muscatine, IA
Saturday, October 1, 2022 (Day 24)
We got back on the channel at 9:45 am, navigated through L&D 14 & 15 with only a 5 min wait and breezed through L&D 16. We were expecting to find a city wall to tie to, but it looked like the docks were removed (too late in the season?) We anchored for the first time downstream of Muscatine by 4:45. This anchorage was not on our navigation charts, but Bob thought it was out of the way and a safe spot.
Dubuque, IA to Clinton, IA
Thursday, September 29, 2022 (Day 23)
We left Dubuque around 9:00 am, navigated through L&D 12 & 13 with a 45 min wait at L&D 12 so we arrived in Clinton at about 5:00 p.m. We met a fellow Looper, Ron & Nancy (Flying Colors) who had crossed their wake and were returning home to MN. Over docktails, we learned about additional navigation tools and the Nebo "box". Dinner was a white linen experience at the restaurant at the marina. We were celebrating being back on the Loop.
Dubuque, IA to Clinton, IA
Thursday, September 29, 2022 (Day 23)
We left Dubuque around 9:00 am, navigated through L&D 12 & 13 with a 45 min wait at L&D 12 so we arrived in Clinton at about 5:00 p.m. We met a fellow Looper, Ron & Nancy (Flying Colors) who had crossed their wake and were returning home to MN. Over docktails, we learned about additional navigation tools and the Nebo "box". Dinner was a white linen experience at the restaurant at the marina. We were celebrating being back on the Loop.
Port of Dubuque, IA to Dubuque, IA
Friday, September 16, 2022 (Day 9)
Early in the morning, Bob was going to put away the coffee pot we had pulled out of our forward hatch for the relatives' visit, when he discovered we were taking in water. Evidently, we had caused damage to the hull when we hit the mysterious item yesterday. While Bob was shop-vacing the water out of the hatch, I was on the phone calling the marinas in our vicinity to see if they could pull us out and find the problem. American Marina at Dubuque Yacht Basin was only 1 mile away and we said we would head their way. After a few more calls, I finally found a hotel that would allow dogs! Unfortunately, I could not find a rental car to get from the marina to the hotel. I checked with the service manager to see if they had a courtesy car and explained our dilemma. He brought me to tears when he calmly said, it's going to be OK. He was not going to let us stranded. We later found out that he had called his wife and asked her to drop everything and come and take us to the hotel! Wow! Our faith in humanity is restored!
Before arriving at the marina, we also called our insurance agent, Jenny at State Farm (No, I didn't ask what she was wearing! LOL!). They immediately took our claim, told us that our insurance covered the incident and that they would process our claim right away since they realized our boat was our home! The adjuster said to let him know when we had uploaded our estimate of repairs and pictures and he would move our file to the top of the list! Wow! We had heard nightmare stories about insurance companies. State Farm, however, took great care of us. In fact, we had the funds in our account a few hours after we submitted the estimate! USAA insurance (homeowner's insurance) also was fantastic and they covered the cost of the hotel and meals and fuel during our stay!
When we arrived at the marina, the entire crew of the service department (10 or so) were waiting for us, knowing this was an emergency as we were taking in water. Bob and I could not believe our eyes when they pulled the boat out! There was a huge hole and the hull had been peeled away like a banana! We counted our blessings for not having had a worse outcome.
The crew was amazing. They worked quickly to secure the boat on the hard. They let us stay connected to the power (as to keep our food in the fridge and freezer cold). We took a few things off the boat and the service manager's wife took us to the hotel where we had to wait until Monday for the fiberglass expert to give us his diagnosis and timeline for the repair.
Bob took an Uber to the boat on Saturday to bring more clothes and some food back to the hotel and rode his scooter back with a full backpack. We spent the weekend exploring the neighborhood on foot. I also took advantage of a couple of hot baths (I miss not having a bath tub on the boat!).
On Monday, they said they would hope to get us back in the water by Friday. We were only 2 hours drive from Clarksville, IA (Bob's hometown) so we took his mom's offer of staying with her, instead of a hotel. Diane and cousin Donna picked us up on Tuesday morning. We stopped at the marina and showed them the damage to our boat and headed home to Clarksville where we stayed for about 10 days as the repairs took longer than expected! It took about a week just to dry out the hull before they could patch the hole and repaint the bottom.
We spent the time in Clarksville with the relatives, enjoying one last chance before our year long trip and checked (almost daily) on the progres ut also lucky that we were not hurt and that we were close to a boat repair facility and family nearby. It's all part of the adventure after all, right?
The fiberglass work was finally done and Diane & Donna drove us back to Dubuque. The service manager gave us a free night at the marina. We had Target deliver groceries (late at night) and are more than ready to get back on the river.
Guttenberg, IA to Port of Dubuque, IA
Thursday, September 15, 2022 (Day 8)
Before we left, the mechanic stopped by and added additional packing to our port ruder post, so we didn't leave until after 10:00. We were just up river from L&D #10 and it was an easy passage. We needed fuel, so we stopped at Pirate's Pit (recommended by the Hubbs at last stop). The proprietor drove us up the hill to the local bar/grill called: Someplace Else (I kid you not!) Iowa is either very creative or doesn't have much imagination for eatery names!!! (Sorry Iowa family!)
We had cleared L&D #11 and were travelling at around 4 - 4.5 mph, hugging the edge of the channel, giving a wide berth to an incoming tug boat when all of a sudden, we hit something under water (very hard) and came to a full stop! (MM 588.1) I went below to see if anything had fall down (and there was a big mess to sort out), while Bob tested our equipment at the helm. We then switched places and as I drove the boat, Bob checked in all the hatches and everything seemed fine. We seemed to have escaped a major incident (or did we?)
As we arrived at the slip, there was a fellow Looper (Louise Heusinkveld) who came to greet us. Evidently, she was watching us on Nebo! She invited us to join her on their boat (Nine Lives) after we had settled in.
We enjoyed a couple of cocktails and good conversation on her boat (her husband had gone back to Canada to help his mother settle into a nursing home) with the promise of meeting both of them the nex
Lancing, IA to Guttenberg, IA
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 (Day 7)
There was a heavy fog when we woke up in the morning. By 10:00 it started lifting and we left 20 minutes later. Went through L&D 9 and arrived at Winegar Works at 4:00. We were met by a very nice couple (Kevin & Connie Hubbs) who helped us with our lines. There was another gentleman (Rick) on his houseboat who offered us the use of his truck if we need to go out for provisions (who does that?). Later we met Kevin's mom who has done the Loop and now lives in Guttenberg in the summers and down in Florida in the winters. These nice folks invited us to join them on their pontoon and cross over to a place called: Bar Up The Street (no kidding!)
La Crosse, WI to Lancing, IA
Monday, September 12, 2022 (Day 5)
We waited for the rains to stop before we departed at 9:00 a.m. We only had one lock (L&D #8) to navigate through and arrived at Lansing Marina around 1:15 p.m. This isn't much of a marina and the Tiki Bar was nothing but a storage room!!! Ha-ha! We found a small café on the river for lunch - Shep's Riverside.
The next day, Diane, Darla and Dee visited us for a few hours. We visited a natural history museum, drove to an overlook and went back to Shep's for lunch. We stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the boat and then took the family for a cruise on the mighty Mississippi, during which Bob gave Darla navigation lessons. (Going down river, keep the green markers to the right; going up river, keep the red marker on the right. Red to the Right Returning!)
After our little cruise, we enjoyed some coffee and a visit with the relatives before they drove home. Uncle Dee is having a hip surgery in a couple of days and this was a quick and pleasant visit.
(We had packed a regular coffee machine as a back up to our Nespresso machine, which we used to make a large pot of coffee for the family. This becomes important later on in the story!)
Alma, WI to La Crosse, WI
s of the repairs. We were heartbroken to have this happen so early on the Loop, but also lucky that we were not hurt and that we were close to a boat repair facility and family nearby. It's all part of the adventure after all, right?
The fiberglass work was finally done and Diane & Donna drove us back to Dubuque. The service manager gave us a free night at the marina. We had Target deliver groceries (late at night) and are more than ready to get back on the river.
Guttenberg, IA to Port of Dubuque, IA
Thursday, September 15, 2022 (Day 8)
Before we left, the mechanic stopped by and added additional packing to our port ruder post, so we didn't leave until after 10:00. We were just up river from L&D #10 and it was an easy passage. We needed fuel, so we stopped at Pirate's Pit (recommended by the Hubbs at last stop). The proprietor drove us up the hill to the local bar/grill called: Someplace Else (I kid you not!) Iowa is either very creative or doesn't have much imagination for eatery names!!! (Sorry Iowa family!)
We had cleared L&D #11 and were travelling at around 4 - 4.5 mph, hugging the edge of the channel, giving a wide berth to an incoming tug boat when all of a sudden, we hit something under water (very hard) and came to a full stop! (MM 588.1) I went below to see if anything had fall down (and there was a big mess to sort out), while Bob tested our equipment at the helm. We then switched places and as I drove the boat, Bob checked in all the hatches and everything seemed fine. We seemed to have escaped a major incident (or did we?)
As we arrived at the slip, there was a fellow Looper (Louise Heusinkveld) who came to greet us. Evidently, she was watching us on Nebo! She invited us to join her on their boat (Nine Lives) after we had settled in.
We enjoyed a couple of cocktails and good conversation on her boat (her husband had gone back to Canada to help his mother settle into a nursing home) with the promise of meeting both of them the nex
Lancing, IA to Guttenberg, IA
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 (Day 7)
There was a heavy fog when we woke up in the morning. By 10:00 it started lifting and we left 20 minutes later. Went through L&D 9 and arrived at Winegar Works at 4:00. We were met by a very nice couple (Kevin & Connie Hubbs) who helped us with our lines. There was another gentleman (Rick) on his houseboat who offered us the use of his truck if we need to go out for provisions (who does that?). Later we met Kevin's mom who has done the Loop and now lives in Guttenberg in the summers and down in Florida in the winters. These nice folks invited us to join them on their pontoon and cross over to a place called: Bar Up The Street (no kidding!)
La Crosse, WI to Lancing, IA
Monday, September 12, 2022 (Day 5)
We waited for the rains to stop before we departed at 9:00 a.m. We only had one lock (L&D #8) to navigate through and arrived at Lansing Marina around 1:15 p.m. This isn't much of a marina and the Tiki Bar was nothing but a storage room!!! Ha-ha! We found a small café on the river for lunch - Shep's Riverside.
The next day, Diane, Darla and Dee visited us for a few hours. We visited a natural history museum, drove to an overlook and went back to Shep's for lunch. We stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the boat and then took the family for a cruise on the mighty Mississippi, during which Bob gave Darla navigation lessons. (Going down river, keep the green markers to the right; going up river, keep the red marker on the right. Red to the Right Returning!)
After our little cruise, we enjoyed some coffee and a visit with the relatives before they drove home. Uncle Dee is having a hip surgery in a couple of days and this was a quick and pleasant visit.
(We had packed a regular coffee machine as a back up to our Nespresso machine, which we used to make a large pot of coffee for the family. This becomes important later on in the story!)
Alma, WI to La Crosse, WI
Sunday, September 11, 2022 (Day 4)
We had a bit of trouble getting out of our slip with the dinghy getting caught and ripping the harness. Bob had to rig up something a little sturdier to hold the dinghy up and we left at 8:45.
We went through 5 locks today (4, 5, 5a, 6 & 7)! These were much easier than the 1st 2 locks we went through. Bob called 5-10 minutes away and they had the doors open for us when we arrived and we were the only vessel in the lock. Nice!!!
Our home for tonight is Pettibone Marina, La Crosse.
Red Wing, MN to Alma, WI
Saturday, September 10, 2022 (Day 2)
We docked by Slippery's in Wabasha for a relaxing lunch. The ever-vigilant Captain Bob noticed that a storm was coming our way, so we cut our day short and re-routed to Alma Marina just before the dark clouds rolled in a. It rained all weekend and we stayed put at the marina. Not much around here, but at least we are safely tied in.
Starting the Loop!
Twin City Marina to Red Wing, MN
Thursday, September 8, 2022 (Day 1)
We left the marina at 7:58 a.m. (2 minutes ahead of schedule!) among the cheers and horn blasts of our friends. This is it!!! We are finally starting our long-awaited adventure. I admit, I had tears in my eyes!
We are going to meet a couple (Dave & Steph B.) on their boat Karma at Red Wing Marina. We met them online (Great Loop Facebook Page). They will be starting the Loop a couple of weeks after us.
Today we have 2 locks to navigate through (L&D #2 and L&D #3). We had a 2 hour wait at L&D 3. Someone took a picture of our boat as they exited the lock! Cool!
We arrived at the marina at 3:50 pm and after securing the lines, Bob took the boys (Charlie and Gordy) for a walk and to look for Karma. We were invited to our first Docktails of the Loop and a grilling party. We met many boaters and had a great time. I wondered if every night of the Loop would be this much fun!
Tuesday, December 29, 2022 (Day 113)
The dolphins escorted us out of the anchorage early in the morning (before sunrise). Our prayers for a smooth ride were answered for our 5.5 hour ride, and we only had to deal with dodging the crab pots!
Around noon, the 7 Mile Bridge came into sight. Since it was a smooth ride, Gordy and I were on the bow watching for dolphins and crab pots. I was so excited to have finally reached the Florida Keys.
Safe Harbor Marina was nice, with floating docks and for the first time, we saw special “hidden” storages for the utilities (not a tripping hazard). We had lunch at a restaurant just outside the marina and our friendly server recommended Bellinis (Hemmingway’s specialty) to help us celebrate our arrival to the Keys.
Marco Island to Cape Sable Anchorage (Shark River), FL
Wednesday, December 28, 2022 (Day 112)
At night, far from any city lights, we were able to watch the night sky filled with bright stars. Tomorrow we will be heading to the Keys and hopefully have a smoother ride than today’s.
We left Marco Island on a sunny morning and entered the Gulf toward our anchorage at the mouth of Cape Sable. It was a very rough ride and we were happy to finally reach our quiet and calm anchorage in the Florida Everglades. (Bob had to do an online course to be able to legally anchor here.) We were far from civilization and had lost cell signal part way. There was a sailboat anchored here and we anchored a little way away from them. For some reason, they were annoyed that they didn’t have the (public) anchorage to themselves anymore and returned our friendly waves with glares!
Ft Myers Beach to Marco Island, FL
Monday, December 26, 2022 (Day 110)
We said goodbye to Dave & Steph early on the day after Christmas. The weather was still cold and Steph was wrapped up in a blanket. Fortunately, by the time we arrived at our marina in Marco Island, the weather had started to warm up. We stayed at a nice marina with floating docs, pump out at our slip, but no fuel dock! The dock master gave us the contact information for a fuel delivery service and for the first time we had fuel delivered to us! Since we were at the far end of the marina, Bob had to move us out of the slip and closer to the office. Next to us, a yacht was getting fuel (2,500 gallons) to our 100 gallons! For once we felt good about our fuel cost! LOL!
Our marina was about 1.5 to 2 miles from restaurants and shops in town, so we took our scooters (and I did not crash this time!) and found a restaurant on the water. We finally reached the Florida weather we were after!
This area is full of ritzy homes on canals with their own private slips for their yachts. Too rich for our blood, but nice to look at!
Venice to Ft Myers Beach, FL
Thursday, December 22, 2022 (Day 106)
After an almost 8.5 hour cruise, we arrived at Dave & Steph’s around 3:00 and tied to their dock. They, unfortunately, had taken their beloved cat to the vet to be put down due to kidney failure. Even with what they had just gone through, they accepted us graciously.
What we had witnessed cruising through Ft Myers Beach was mind boggling. The damage from Ian (3 months ago) was everywhere to be seen. Marinas destroyed, huge fishing boats piled up on shore atop each other, sailboats in the middle of mangroves and cruisers half sunk in! It was so sad.
In the next few days, we had a chance to see the damage on land. At the end of their street was a pile of debris where once 3 homes existed. All that was left was a swimming pool that was ripped out of ground.
Dave and Steph had also sustained damage to their entire 1st floor (garage). They lost a car, a motorcycle and all their belongings that were boxed up and on shelves. They had so much garbage (including neighbor’s grill) in their pool. The lost a small boat on a trailer that was washed out to the canal.
The next day, Bob used Dave’s car to go to Home Depot (there’s always something that needs fixing or a project to be built!). In the afternoon, our friends Nancy & Greg (friends from MN who have moved to Ft. Myers) came to the boat and took us to their home for dinner. We then drove Nancy’s car back so we could return on Christmas Day.
We spent Christmas Eve at Dave & Steph’s and Christmas Day with Nancy & Greg. This Christmas was unlike past years’ but surrounded by friends, we felt the spirit of the season. We had even dug out our coats as weather had become unseasonably cold (We were all grumbling about the false advertising of Florida, the sunshine state!)
Bradenton to Venice, FL
Wednesday, December 21, 2022 (Day 105)
Bob has a few relatives in Venice whom we hope to see. The ride out of Bradenton to the intercoastal was rough, but once we hit the intercoastal water ways, it was calm and beautiful. We had a fun cruise and saw many dolphins who stayed with us for the longest time to Gordy’s delight! Gordy has become obsessed with dolphins. He wakes up from his nap and runs down to the front of the boat, looking for dolphins! We can’t point at anything in the distance any more or say dolphins without him getting all excited and running to see his new friends! We’ve started a code name of SM (swimming mammals) for dolphins … until the smarty pants catches on!
We arrived at Crow’s Nest Marina in the early afternoon. After docking, we went to their on-site bar/restaurant where we met the captains of the catamaran that had docked in front of us. They said they had purchased their dream boat right before Ian and after the storms, their new boat was on a cement wall! They were taking in jobs as captains and moving boats for other people while their boat was being fixed.
As we watched the unfavorable weather approach us, we decided to move on the next morning, all the way to Ft Meyers Beach. It was the choice between staying in Venice for 5 days or pushing through to Ft. Meyer’s Beach where we were going to stay at our friends’ Dave & Steph (Karma) at their private dock. We opted to move on first thing in the morning.
Clearwater Beach to Bradenton, FL
Monday, December 19, 2022 (Day 103)
Our next stop is to visit with our friends (Michelle & Collin) from Twin City Marina who have moved to Cortez. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a slip in their marina and went to a marina in Bradenton, Twin Dolphins. We had nice, floating docks and a few Loopers around. The first night, Michelle and Collin picked us up and took us to a martini bar. The second day, Michelle met us at Oak & Stone where Bob tried a flight of bourbon, while I had fun trying out different beer from their beer wall! We then picked up the dogs and went to their home. Collin works from home and he agreed to watch the dogs while Michelle took us shopping. We had dinner at their local bar before we said goodbye to them….until we meet again!
Tarpon Springs to Clearwater Beach, FL
Monday, December 12, 2022 (Day 96)
We had a short, but fun cruise to Clearwater Beach. After we docked, my cousins took me to pick up our rental car. We have a few appointments to go to: Bob needs to have his knee looked and Charlie needs his teeth cleaned! After a few days, we returned the rental car as we could use my aunt’s car for the rest of the week.
We were invited to my cousins for dinner. They had to lock up their cats while Charlie and Gordy where there. Here we found out Gordy likes to play with cat toys!
Bob was seen by an orthopedic doctor. The X-Rays didn’t show any major issues. The doctor believed some ligaments were injured, but they should heal on their own. We both took a sigh of relief as I was sure he would need a knee replacement. He’s been in a lot of pain and a few times his knee had given out under him! We walked out with a new knee brace for him
Our friends, Alicia and Douglas (Sea La Vie) were about 50 minute south of us in Gulfport and we joined them for dinner one evening. They both love dogs (Gordy and Charlie included). We found a dog friendly restaurant and caught up with our travels since we had left them in Mobile, AL.
Funny story here: We had bought Gordy a cat toy which we took to the restaurant so Alicia could play with Gordy. We had accidentally left the toy behind when we left. I asked Alicia to check with the restaurant the next time they were there. She reported to us that she went and asked if they had found a dog toy! The server paused and said: “No! But we did find a CAT toy!” LOL!
Another fun visit was when our son-in-law, Aaron Cocking, came to visit us while on a business trip. My other cousin and his wife (Amir and Lisa) also came to see us while we were in Clearwater.
This is a couple of weeks before Christmas and our boat does not have a lot of space for decorations, so we decorated the boat as best as we could. There were other boats with huge air-filled decorations in the marina (I think they were trying to out-do each other!).
Bob did his first oil change on the boat by himself! The pump and tools he had purchased earlier paid for themselves!
One day we looked outside to see a very large yacht docked next to us (I think it was as wide as we were long!) We watched for days as the crew brought boxes to the boat … even a live Christmas tree! On Friday the activities picked up and we saw caterers bringing their wares in for a party. Later in the evening, we started talking with the hired captain and finally met the new owners while their guests were arriving. I had just finished defrosting and cleaning our bridge when the Mrs. asked if we would like to join them before they left! I immediately took her on her offer and joined the party in process (mind you, I’m in “work clothes” while everyone is decked up in their holiday party fancy outfits!) The boat was absolutely gorgeous. I was envious of the galley (kitchen) and the master suite, with its king-size, walk around bed and walk-in closets!!!
We made a day trip to the beach one cloudy day (but it was still very beautiful) and found a beach bar we had visited in two other trips to Clearwater.
Last day in Clearwater we went to Oasis, a Persian restaurant, and we stuffed ourselves with delicious food.
Cedar Creek to Tarpon Springs, FL
Wednesday, December 7, 2022 (Day 9)
We had originally talked about going to Crystal River and see the manatees; however, due to shallow waters and lack of an available marina, we headed toward Tarpon Springs. We followed Redemption toward Tarpon Springs. Another beautiful day of cruising and dodging crab pots! It took both of us to keep an eye out for them. Fortunately, we were following Redemption and would change course behind them as we encountered more crab pots. Redemption anchored outside Tarpon Springs and that was the last time we saw them. They finished the Loop soon after that.
We had reservations at MAR Marina. It turned out to be a better marina than we thought. The slips were very tights and you could shake hands with your boat neighbor from the deck of your boat!
The marina was a few miles from the “happening spot”, the sponge docks! Bob and I took our scooters to town for lunch. On the way, I had a major crash and skinned my knee pretty good. We made it to the restaurant where I asked for a table for two and a first aid kit! LOL! We had a tasty lunch and I took an Uber back to the marina as Bob scootered to a store for some parts he needed.
We went back to the sponge docks the next day (Uber!) and tried a Greek restaurant right on the water. Tarpon Springs is the capital city of sea sponges (and they actually use the old-fashioned diving gear to harvest sponges). It also boasts a large Greek community. I read somewhere that Tarpon Springs is the next best thing to visiting Greece!
After lunch (and a little shopping), we stopped at an outdoor plaza, sipping some local brew. It was a beautiful, sunny and warm afternoon. Bob was smoking a cigar he had just bought, and I was people watching, as we listened to a solo musician playing Christmas music. We were both thinking why people live in Minnesota when there are other parts of the country with warmer climates (thus happier people!?)
Our water heater died, and the marina ordered a new one for us that was cheaper than what Bob found on Amazon and we got it the next day. Bob’s new project! (The boat mechanic’s job is never done!).
On our last day here, my relatives who live in Clearwater drove up for lunch. My aunt Malouse and uncle Mike drove back home; My cousins Guita and Mehrdad and their son, Thomas, stayed with us to cruise to Clearwater Beach together.
Steinhatchee to Cedar Creek Anchorage
Tuesday, December 6, 2022 (Day 90)
I was feeling better and able to help drive the boat today and gave Bob a break from the upper body workout of dodging crab pots! The water was very calm, and we had a beautiful cruising day, escorted by dolphins from time to time.
As we were anchoring, dolphins were dancing around the boat. Gordy noticed them for the first time and went crazy, especially when Bob dropped the anchor and Gordy noticed the anchor ball being thrown in the water with these strange “water dogs!”
Our earlier companion ship, Redemption, was also anchored here, as well as 2 or three other Loopers. The sunset and sunrise were gorgeous.
THE CROSSING!
Dog Island to Steinhatchee, FL –
Sunday, December 4, 2022 (Day 88)
I was moving very slowly the next day with lack of sleep, so Bob got us as ready as he could by himself. I helped get the anchor off and lied down (pretty much for the remainder of the day). Bob was not sure if we should leave, but I assured him I would be OK. (I was antsy to move on!) Later as he listened to me moan and groan, he wondered if he needed to call the Coast Guard! I assured him I was OK! Meantime, both dogs, sensing mama wasn’t feeling good, laid on top of me the whole time. I will have to ask Bob to fill you in on this big milestone (The Crossing) as I totally missed it!
When we arrived at Deadman’s Bay Marina, Steinhatchee, I woke up long enough to throw the line to the deck hand before going to bed and sleeping until the next day. Bob took care of the lines and power and the dogs before going out to dinner. I was in no shape to cook or eat!
Fortunately, I started feeling better today and took a walk around the marina and the ship store (one of the best and most complete stores we have seen!) While in the store, we run into a couple of guys from Minnesota. One of them confessed he was still wearing his long johns!!!
We were able to fuel up while still in our slip to be ready for the next leg.
Carrabelle to Dog Island Anchorage, FL
Saturday, December 3, 2022 (Day 87)
We timed our departure from our “funky” slip to give Bob the easiest wind, tide and current conditions. First, we had to stop and pump out and pay our bills. We stayed at this marina way longer than we had hoped for, but mother nature runs the show!
We left Carrabelle in a sunny afternoon, heading for Dog Island. The anchorage was absolutely beautiful. There were 4 of us Loopers anchored here. We watched a gorgeous sunset after Bob grilled us some hamburgers and called it a night! We were planning on taking shifts tomorrow to stay fresh during our 9 hour cruise! Unfortunately, I came down with some kind of stomach bug and was throwing up all night!
Apalachicola to Carrabelle, FL
Monday, November 28, 2022 (Day 82)
We left our least favorite dockage for Moorings of Carrabelle at around 7:30 in the morning and arrived Carrabelle 4 hours later. As we were approaching the Carrabelle River, Bob noticed our friends from Heli Aku were heading out! We able to chat with them briefly on the radio and on Nebo!
After fueling up, we went to our assigned slip! I’m glad one of the dock masters and another Looper were around to give us a hand! This was a tough spot right before a bridge and there was a pier sticking out off center halfway in the middle. There was at least 1.5 – 2 foot gap between the boat and the dock so getting on and off was not easy.
On the other hand, the staff here was nice and there are at least a dozen Loopers here waiting for a weather window to do the crossing to the west coast of Florida. There are a few restaurants within walking distance (or scootering). Carrabelle also is the home of world’s smallest police station!
We had nightly captain’s meeting and ended up partnering with another boat (Redemption) that had 4 captains on board, one of whom had done the crossing before. The many Loopers were divided in 3 groups: (1) Long - overnight crossing to Tarpon Springs or Clearwater. (2) Long – daylight crossing, and (3) Short crossing to Steinhatchee, which was us. We finally saw an opening for a safe crossing on Sunday, December 4th. We decided to anchor at Dog Island to avoid dealing with the tides and winds on Sunday morning AND save an hour from our long day.
Panama City to Apalachicola, FL
Friday, November 25, 2022 (Day 79)
Oh what a day! We waited until the fog lifted off to head out of the narrow channel and work our way back to the intercoastal. There were at least 4 or 5 other Loopers on the go too! Less than an hour after we left, the fog rolled in and got very thick! We were cruising very slowly when we heard the sound of a motor. I was basically hanging out the fly bridge listening when I saw the silhouette of a boat approaching us. Bob blew his horn and turned to get out of his way! But the other boater turned again into us! But fortunately, we missed each other! Phew! We tried hailing him on the radio to let him know there were other boats behind us, but he would not answer! So I got on the radio and let the boat behind us know of the fast boater coming their way!
We could not find a slip in Apalachicola because Santa Claus was coming to town! I am NOT joking! The city Dock Master told us to tie down to the fishing pier and go to the city wall in the morning. We took the very last spot along the wall. Actually, a small sailboat had to move back to give us enough room. By the time we tied down, the fog came rolling in again. (I hope Rudolf is leading Santa’s sleigh tonight!).
The next day, we “attempted” to go to the city wall, but we could not budge the boat off the pier with the tides and current pushing us back against the pier. Bob and I were pushing against the pier, while a fisherman was pushing us away from the pier … and we were stuck where we were. We needed to watch the weather and tides to plan our departure.
On the 2nd night, there was a bad storm and warning for water funnels! This was one of our least favorite nights on the boat. With the late warning and nowhere else to go for shelter, we stayed on the boat. At 2:30 a.m. all 4 of us were sitting in our life jackets, swaying with the rocking boat! The dogs were not amused!
Destin to Panama City/Treasure Island Marina, FL
Monday, November 21, 2022 (Day 75)
We left Destin around 6:30 in the morning and saw many dolphins and Loopers along the way. Our route took us through a narrow canyon. One of our favorite boats, a Greenline named “Off Leash” passed us and took lead. We later met up with them in Carrabelle and toured the boat.
The canyon opened up to a big body of water that we needed to navigate to Panama City. As we were approaching the opening, we heard a conversation between Off Leash and a tug boat; we were still in the canyon and could not hear the tug boat on the radio, only Off Leash who became our go-between. The tug boat captain, upon hearing of our fleet coming through the narrow canyon, held place until we were all out!
Bob backed into a funky spot and we docked in front of the night guard station and right outside the marina part store which was handy as Bob replaced our fuel filters and fuel seals that were leaking due to bad fuel we had taken in earlier on the river! We had an open tab with the service department.
The staff at this marina was amazing! Marsha (the lady at the service desk) drove me to pick up lunch one day and gave me a tour of the national park nearby. One of the security guards brought us collard greens, sausage and corn muffin the day before Thanksgiving which I incorporated into our Thanksgiving Day meal of roasted turkey tenderloin (air fryer), roasted potatoes (instant pot and finished in frying pan) and mixed vegetables in a cream sauce. All of these had to be prepared separately since our shore power can only handle one appliance at a time!!!
This was our first Thanksgiving away from family, but we made the best of it and were truly thankful for how far we’d come so far.
Bayou Grande at Pensacola NAS to Destin, Florida
Saturday, November 19, 2022 (Day 73)
After a false start (sea grass tangled in the props), we waived goodbye to Donna and Jim and headed east. Our next stop Harbor Walk Marina in Destin.
After fueling up, we tied to a fixed dock in front of the Margaritaville Restaurant. The weather is cold and it’s clearly off season. The first floor of the restaurant is closed, but the lights and TV are on and there are a few little birds flying around in there! We had lunch at the upper floor restaurant and went back to our boat.
From the back of our boat we watched floating Tiki bars, dolphin sighting boats, fishermen AND dolphins!
The next day we explored the boardwalk. It’s so cold that all the venders are bundled up under blankets! I imagine this is a hoping place during the tourist season. We had the best and largest oysters on half-shell for lunch.
Homeport Marina, AL to Bayou Grande at Pensacola NAS
Saturday, November 12, 2022 (Day 66)
We arrived at the marina in time to tie down and wait for the Blue Angels last air show of the season. We were told they would fly right over our boat! We had another surprise! Ron Hilson (our friend from our home port marina) who has been following our trip, surprised us at the boat and delivered the many Amazon packages we had sent to his home! Ron and Barb invited us to their yacht club where we met another retired military couple.
The next day, Ron picked us up for a private tour at the Naval Air Station. Ron is a volunteer tour guide. Not only is he very knowledgeable (he was an F-4 aviator during the Vietnam war), but he’s an excellent story teller. After the tour, Barb picked Ron up as they had graciously allowed us the use of Ron’s car for a few days. We had many errands to take care of during our stay. Among them was a scheduled well-check up appointment for the pups on Monday, November 14.
After dropping the dogs at Banfield Pet Hospital, we run our errands and then treated ourselves to a sushi lunch and a mani-pedi to celebrate my birthday.
Our friends, Jim and Donna caught up with us at the marina and we had a few days together before we left Pensacola. The weather still is pretty chilly. We had a great time this week in Pensacola and visiting with Ron, Barb, Jim and Donna, but now it’s time to move on!
Jim & Donna left their boat here and drove home for the holidays. They’ll be catching up with us somewhere in Florida, hopefully Key West.
Gulf Coast!
Dog River Marina, AL to Homeport Marina, AL
Friday, November 11, 2022 (Day 65)
We had originally reserved a slip at Dog River for two nights, but stayed an extra night for a more favorable weather window to cross Mobile Bay. We left the marina at 6:13 am, before the sunrise and followed a fellow looper, Blue Yonder, across the bay. The passage was rough and bumpy but we finally entered the Gulf Intercoastal Water Ways and things calmed down considerably. Lots of gorgeous property along the waterway. We stayed at Homeport Marina, otherwise known as Lulu’s. The restaurant is owned by Jimmy Buffet’s sister, Lulu. Really nice marina with floating docks. I introduced Bob to fried okra (and he liked it) and we had a delicious lunch overlooking the intercoastal and saw boats being towed, leisure boats cruising, a barge and even a small boat with advertisement banners!
Bobby’s Fish Camp, AL to Mile Bay & Dog River Marina, AL
Saturday, November 5, 2022 (Day 59)
Today, Captain Bob decided we would stay away from the “rush” boaters and hang back with the two sailboats, Sail La Vie and Hele Aku. We ended up cruising the last part of the river with these awesome people. Sail La Vie took the lead as Alicia communicated with the oncoming barge traffic on AIS system on behalf of our fleet of three. We saw alligators and deer swimming in front of us. Many curves and turns on the river system in these parts.
Our last lock on this river was Coffeeville Lock & Dam, our 43rd lock so far. I played music on my phone and started dancing. Pretty soon, other boaters joined in our celebration.
We had 2 anchorages before we reach Mobile Bay. The first is Three River Anchorage!
Three Rivers was more fun than Bashi Creek. Once again, Bob and I took the lead as we had the lowest draft and broadcast our depth to Sail La Vie and Hele Aku who were following us at a distance. It was a narrow channel with branches overhanging the water way. It was natural to duck as we were going under the low hanging branches. We even saw an alligator swim in front of us and go under the boat. Our guide books recommended double anchoring (front and back). We decided to anchor next to Sail La Vie with each of us throwing our bow anchors in and then tied up to each other. It took a while, but it worked great and we were able to just step over onto the next boat. Folks on Hele Aku rode their dinghy to Sail La Vie for adult beverages!
Our last anchorage was the Big Bayou Canot. Once again, we scouted for the sailboats and found a suitable spot to drop anchors. We then rode our dingy to Sail La Vie for “boat-tails!?”
The next morning, we weighed anchor (well, Bob did) and I took the boat out of our anchorage. I asked Bob if I could captain to Mobile Bay and he said yes! Up to now we were on the rivers, with narrow passages and low water rivers and floating docks sitting in mud. We were now entering open waters and the Mobile Bay. I had a huge grin on my face and tears of joy in my eyes. For years I had been drawing a path by my finger on our Great Loop map of our route and how we would work our way to Mobile Bay and … well, we were almost there now! What a milestone and what a view. We even had a group of dolphins as a welcome committee. I seriously did not want to give the wheel back to Bob but the intense sun was burning me and I needed to take care of my arms and legs! So, I reluctantly gave the helm back to Bob who navigated us through shipping channels to our marina where we are staying for the next couple of days. I don’t think I stopped grinning.
We met some old friends and some new ones at this marina. Alicia and Douglas stayed behind at the marina to put up their mast which was shipped from Wisconsin and the crew of Hele Aku drove home for the holidays.
One of our fondest memories of this stop is discovery of a local “cigar shop and coffee lounge” with Alicia and Douglas. This place had a huge walk-in humidor where Bob and friends bought cigars. We then sat at the bar and the manager made us Cuban coffee (decaf) and it was just as I had imagined it would be. Meanwhile we were eavesdropping on the conversation in the southern accent in the back ground, not so much to what they were saying, but to their southern accents! It was a really fun and unexpected stop.
One thing I had forgotten to mention about us going through the locks was Gordy’s participation! As soon as I would put my life jacket on, I would tell Gordy it was “time to go to work!” Then he would sit for me to put his life jacket on and would run to the bow and watch me work. He would focus on me as I would handle the lines and he really took his “job” seriously!
King Fisher Bay, AL to Bobby’s Fish Camp, AL
Friday, November 4, 2022 (Day 58)
Early start for us today. We left King Fisher Bay at 7 am and navigated through Demopolis Lock and Dam and anchored at Bashi Creek (our back up plan) after cruising by the anchorage off of highway 10 bridge.
This was a very narrow off shoot of the river system. We were the lead boat and went even farther than I felt comfortable with branches overhanging the creek. Soon a few other Loopers joined us. We were hoping there would be enough room for Sail La Vie and Hele Aku after 3 or 4 other boats pulled in and anchored behind us. They finally reached us and anchored at the opening of the creek (this worked better for them any way!) They joined us by dinghy for a night cap before dark.
Today was a long day of over 8 hours of cruising. Fortunately, we are getting more and more comfortable with anchoring. I get behind the helm as Bob does the manual work of dropping the anchor.
The next day, we cruised to the “legendary” Bobby’s Fish Camp. In a nut shell, this stop is a “right of passage” for Loopers. We arrived in pouring rain. The last boat in. We waited until Hele Aku finished fueling up and then could only get half of the boat into the gas dock! As Bob was lying on his stomach fueling up, the owner stuck her head out of the office yelling to us that we could not dock our boat that way! Bob explained that we needed to fuel up! We joke that we paid for 36 foot, and only got 20 foot of dock! There were 3 or 4 boats tied up to the “dock” with 3 boats tied up to them which meant if you wanted to visit with a boat that was tied on the river side, you’d need to walk on other people’s boats! Of course, we just had to go visit our friends on Sail La Vie. Alicia and Doug had made a delicious curry dish which we enjoyed with friends from Hele Aku.
The boat that was docked on our aft was …. something else! He made a point of telling us he wanted to be the first boat out in the morning … however, he had put himself right next to the dock (so he could have power) with two boats to his side and us in his front! And …. In the morning he was complaining to us that our dinghy had “bumped” his anchor in the night! Duh! We’re on the river … the river moves … boats move! It’s not like we woke up and pushed our puncturable dinghy into his sharp anchor on purpose! Nevertheless, he had us moving in thick fog to “rush” to the lock! Sigh! He is definitely a rare “unpleasant” boater we have encountered on the Loop!
Columbus Marina, MS to King Fisher Bay, AL
Sunday, October 30, 2022 (Day 53)
Our journey from Columbus to King Fisher Bay took us to 2 anchorages (Cochran Bow and Tom Big-Bee Ox Bow) before arriving King Fisher. We had a mad dash shortly after 7:00 to make it to Stennis Lock & Dam. We were part of a fleet of 8-10 Loopers. We ended up taking the last bollard on the port side in front of all other boaters. Once again, Bob took our spot easily (and without any thrusters). After we cleared the 2nd lock of the day, Bevill L&D, we turned starboard (right) to our anchorage. One other Looper joined us later in the afternoon.
We left our anchorage at 9:45 and went through Heflin L&D with fellow Looper, Sea Livin and anchored at Big-Bee Ox Bow) for the night. Happy Halloween!
We had to wait for the fog to lift off before heading toward King Fisher Bay. This marina also has 2-day maximum stay, but the Dock Master allowed us to stay an extra night. There were plenty of hands-on deck to help us fuel and a dock hand to help us tie up in our slip.
King Fisher Bay seems to be running entirely by women! And it’s a well-managed marina. It has the best laundry facility we’ve seen on the Loop so far and a nice terrace for the captains’ meeting. It also has a courtesy van for provisions and a shuttle bus to the one of the two restaurants in town.
Remember we had lost our gas cap a few stops back? We had put the waste water cap on the gas cap and had covered the waste water cap with blue painter’s tape! Don’t laugh! It matched the canvas! :-D
Well, they pump out the boats at the slip here and the lady who was pumping us out heard our story and came back with a gas cap for us. Not a perfect match, but more classy than blue tape!
We met up with our friends from Karma (Steph & Dave) here. While on the Loop, Hurricane Ian had hit their property in Ft Myers Beach. They had parked their boat at Green Turtle Bay, drove home to check up on their house and do some clean up and were back doing the Loop. Unfortunately, we missed the shuttle to the restaurant, but we run into Alicia and Douglas who were waiting for the courtesy car and they drove us to the restaurant. It was nice catching up with Steph and Dave and they invited us to stay at their private dock when we get to Ft. Myers area since there are hardly any marinas that survived the hurricane.
The next night, we went back to the same restaurant with a different group of Loopers, including Fernando and Maria from Soulstice! It’s so much fun running into our Looper friends wherever we go!
Midway Marina, MS to Columbus Marina, MS
Friday, October 28, 2022 (Day 51)
Early in the morning, we were notified by another Looper that the Lock master was going to let us through at 8:00. A total of 5 boats headed to Fulton Lock (half an hour away): Oddessee, High Life, 4th Dimension, S-Dan and Grand Plan. We travelled through 4 locks together. Each Lock Master would let the next lock of our arrival and they would be ready for us when we reached the lock. In this fashion, we cruised through Fulton, Wilkins, Amory and Aberdeen Lock & Dams.
Bob was fascinated with the fighter jets from Columbus doing drills overhead!
Our plan was to only do 3 locks today, but we were in a groove and pressed on with the Fleet to arrive at Columbus Marina a day early. The Dock Master had all boats fuel up before entering their slips. It was then that we heard we could only stay 2 days! We really needed to stay 3 days due to rains, but were basically told NO!
This marina had a laundry room and a broken-down truck that its engine would die at every turn! Nevertheless, we used it to reprovision. However, we were on a time limit and could not grab lunch or liquor and had to go back to the marina! Thankfully (?) they took that car out of rotation before it caused a serious accident. I was able to get on the list to use the other car for the liquor run. Funny story: I couldn’t figure out how to turn the headlights on! When I was shopping, I admitted to the sales clerk I did not know how to turn the lights on to drive back. She said she was also an auto mechanic and when she brought my purchases out, she reached in a turned the lights on for me; I felt so silly 😊
Grand Harbor Marina, TN to Midway Marina, MS
Thursday, October 27, 2022 (Day 50)
After fueling up and pumping out, we headed toward the Tenn-Tom Waterways. We were cruising at our typical speed of 8 – 8.5 MPH, when we heard a radio call from Alicia on Sail La Vie who had head the Lock Master was waiting for one boat to cycle through and told us if we hurried, they’ll wait for us too! Bob opened up the throttle and we arrived at the lock 20 minutes later. As it turned out, we had to wait for one more boater, for a total of 5 Loopers in the fleet.
As I mentioned earlier, the Lock Masters don’t want to cycle through too many times given the size of the lift. James-Whitten L&D has an 84’ drop, the tallest L&D we’ve encountered on our way (all the way to Mobile). It was also the “wildest” ride down the river and it took all my energy to physically keep the boat away from the wall, while Bob was at the controls.
We still had one more lock to go through (Montgomery Lock) before our next stop. We arrived at Midway Marina the latest we’ve ever arrived at a marina (6 pm). We were tired and hungry. Gratefully, they were many hands on the dock to help us tie down. Lots of Loopers here!
We discovered there is a very nice restaurant at the marina. We enjoyed a nice dinner and a couple of cocktails on the dock overlooking the marina and met a few Loopers who had been here a few days with ideas of how far to go the next leg.
Riverstone Marina, TN to Grand Harbor Marina, TN
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 (Day 49)
We left Riverstone early in the morning and followed 3 Loopers to Pickwick Lock. By the time we got to the dock, another Looper had joined our Fleet. We were waiting for the Lock Master to cycle us through when a barge showed up! Usually, the commercial traffic has priority over personal crafts and with a 55’ drop, we were looking at a very long wait. But the tug boat captain who saw 5 pleasure cruises together, graciously stayed back to let us go through first.
The next surprise was the Dock Master taking pictures of our boats and posting them on the Lock’s Facebook Page! Sweet!
We arrived at Grand Harbor after the gas dock was closed. We had to wait until 9:00 am to fuel up and get ready to continue our cruise. There were a few Loopers but no one was up for a docktail this evening!
Clifton RV & Marina, TN to Riverstone Marina, TN
Monday, October 24, 2022 (Day 47)
Due to the low water levels, the entrance looked very challenging. But Captain Bob navigated us through the entrance (with me keeping point on the bow). Once we got to the gas dock, the water levels were acceptable. Riverstone Marina was officially closed, but the owners and a friend helped us dock in a secure spot next to the building that houses their store/restaurant and owner’s flat on the upper level.
We are happy to wait the storm out securely tied out here. A few of our friends were anchored out and had a rough time during the storm. We, on the other hand, hardly noticed the winds in our protected safe harbor. After the rains we took a nice stroll on the property by the marina which look inviting and peaceful after the storm and in beautiful fall colors.
Pebble Isle, TN to Clifton RV & Marina, TN
Sunday, October 23, 2022 (Day 46)
We had intended on staying at Pebble Isle 2 nights, but the Dock Master of Clifton called to say there were going to be closed on Monday (even though we had made our reservations a few days ago) but they could take us in if we got there on Sunday. So, we headed to Clifton early in the morning and arrived mid-afternoon.
Clifton is a small, hard-to-get-to marina. We were put between the gas dock and the bar/restaurant. The food was unexpectedly good, so we ordered extra food for the next day since there were going to be closed.
Checking the weather, we saw a storm was coming in. We called and asked the owner/dock master if we could stay an extra day due to weather and she said no! (She had previously told us we could not have access to the courtesy car, even though they were closed on Monday). We really didn’t like her attitude and called out to the next marina (3 miles down river) who were extremely kind and hospitable, so we left early.
Paris Landing, TN to Pebble Isle, TN
Saturday, October 22, 2022 (Day 44)
Our next stop gave us a chance to fuel up and pump out. We lost a gas cap in the process which, as it turns out, takes us a while to replace. Billy, our Dock Master, with his sweet southern drawl showed us all the southern hospitality you would expect in these parts! He had gone out of his way to find someone to come to our boat for an oil change on a weekend! We ended up paying the mechanic way more than we expected, even though we had all the supplies! This, along with our experience at Green Turtle Bay, prompted Bob to order his own gizmo to do our oil change going forward.
In the afternoon, our friends on Sail La Vie, tied up behind us and we spent the evening getting to know them better. Start of a great friendship!
Green Turtle Bay, KY to Paris Landing, TN
Friday, October 21, 2022 (Day 44)
I believe we were the last of our Looper fleet to leave Green Turtle Bay. Our path took us through Barkley and Kentucky Lakes to Paris Landing Marina. The Great Loop Association had recently held its Fall Rendezvous at this marina. We arrived around 1:00. We were docked next to another Looper and soon many other Loopers joined us (half of them Canadian Boats!) We had a good size docktail before turning in for the night.
Paducah, KY to Green Turtle Bay, KY
Sunday, October 16, 2022 (Day 39)
There are two routes to Green Turtle Bay, our next stop. We heard Olmstead Lock & Dam has long wait times. We opted for the Berkley Lock & Dam on the Cumberland River. I’m so glad we did. It was a narrow, winding waterway and as I was navigating the river, it felt like a lazy Sunday drive. We arrived Turtle Bay shortly before 2 and were happy the marina’s pump out is working! We were given a HUGE, undercover slip twice the size of our boat. The boaters here have decorated their docks like cabins, complete with industrial size fridges, grills, televisions and bars! Unfortunately, we’re far from where the rest of the Loopers are docked! We’ve heard so many good things about this marina that we’ve booked ourselves for 5 nights!
We used the courtesy van with Jim & Donna and went to Walmart for reprovisioning. We had a lot of Amazon and mail delivered here (early Christmas!). One of the packages is the Nebo box which is going to replace the phone app and it automatically starts and ends our trips.
We had hoped to have the marina do an oil change for us. However, we were told the mechanics were busy winterizing boats and could not squeeze us in. They gave us the name of 2 people which ended up being a waste of time! We run into one of them who told us to buy the oil and filters and he’d change the oil for us. We ended up waiting 2 days for him land no show!!! Very frustrating!
We made two trips to the famous Patty’s (Home of the 2” pork chops), once with a group of 5 Loopers (Fernando became our shuttle driver) and once with Jim and Donna (in a rented golf cart). With our large group, we had our own private dining room. There was a French-Canadian couple in our party who had an even a harder time with the southern accent than me! She kept pleading with the server to speak slowly (which she could/would not!)
Our last night at the marina, we had dinner at the Yacht Club. It was fun reading all the boat name insignias on the walls.
After 5 nights, we are more than anxious to get going! The weather is cold (winter jackets have been pulled out) and we really can’t go anywhere without a car. Time to go in search of warmer weather!
Olmstead Lock Anchorage to Paducah, KY
Friday, October 13, 2022 (Day 36)
Sail La Vie communicated that the Lock Master will let us through as soon as we are ALL there! We were ready to lock shortly after 7 a.m. and cleared the lock, along with our 3 fellow travelers, shortly after 8:00. We arrived at Paducah (civilization – finally!) and tied up to the city dock. The water was shallow and it was windy, but with the help of boaters on the dock, Bob docked us on the back side of the wall in a tight spot! Cheers to Captain Bob for managing all the tight spots WITHOUT a bow or stern thrusters which most other newer boats are equipped with these days!
We had to call in for a city employee to come and fuel our boat (promised for the next day) but unfortunately, their pump out is not working! Oops!
It is nice to tie up to a nice and sturdy dock after nights anchoring and no services (or civilization). We walked to town and discovered a restaurant that had better Cajun seafood (and Hurricane drink) than we had in New Orleans last year! We then walked along the river where there is mural wall with the history of the area. Very interesting. There’s also a quilt museum here in town that we have heard of. There are quite a few nice restaurants here, and the farmer’s market on Sunday. And Bob used the scooter to go to a “drive-through” liquor store! Ha-ha! We met up with a number of Loopers who we’ve stayed in touch with since: Maria and Fernando on Soulstice took the cutest picture of Gordy and Charlie! And Anita & Randy on Drifter.
We got fueled up Saturday morning and enjoyed a delicious steak dinner with the crew of Soulstice and Drifter. It’s not Halloween yet, but the town is celebrating it already. There were so many adults in costume! Fun!
Little Diversion Canal to Olmstead Lock Anchorage, OH
Thursday, October 12, 2022 (Day 35)
We left our anchorage at 7:40 a.m. and headed toward Cairo (IL, not Egypt) and left the Upper Mississippi River and entered the Ohio River. We joined 3 other boats at our next anchorage: Sail La Vie (Alicia and Doug), Sand Dollars (Jim and Donna) and Child of the Sun. Sail La Vie was the first boat at the anchorage and our fleet’s spoke-person! That made communication with the Lock Master much easier since we could hear the conversation on the radio (instead of having 4 boats calling him and getting the same instructions). Another Looper joined us at the anchorage later (I don’t remember the boat’s name!) It was a windy night and our boat spun around the anchor all night long, but the anchor held!
Kaskaskia L&D Wall, IL to Little Diversion Canal, MO
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 (Day 35)
We left the Wall early (7:20 am) in a light rain. There are 2 options for tonight’s anchorage: one under the bridge off the main channel and the other in the Little Diversion Canal (emphasis on LITTLE) which is what Bob preferred! Due to the narrowness of the channel, we needed to drop 2 anchors (front and back) which meant Bob had to let the dinghy loose and carry the 2nd anchor away and secure the boat. A bit of hassle, but we anchored and enjoyed a peaceful afternoon and even caught site of an armadillo on shore! Later another boater came in and dropped anchor further up. They did not have a working depth finder and Bob and I scratched our head at his risky boating! Furthermore, he was not communicating on the radio either! Oh well!
Hoppie’s Marina, MO to Kaskaskia L&D Wall, IL
Tuesday, October 11, 2022 (Day 34)
We were the 2nd boat out of Hoppie’s, heading to the Kaskaskia L&D in a light rain. We were told the Dock Master will allow the Loopers tie up to the wall. The rain stopped by the time we tied up to the wall and took the dogs for a walk.
Alton Marina, IL to Hoppie’s Marina Services, MO
Monday, October 10, 2022 (Day 33)
As I mentioned before, the Lock Masters in this part of the river want the Loopers to travel in packs. The captains get together in the evenings and discuss the weather, next stop(s), and who would make the call to the Lock Master and communicate to the other captains present.
The call came in at 7:30 that we need to be at the Melvin Lock (Lock 26) by 8:00 am. We untied our lines and left the marina in 15 minutes! There were at least 9 of us Loopers in the lock. There was a lot of barge traffic, as well as lots of debris in the water. We cleared the Chain of Rock L&D (Lock 27) uneventfully. I am finding holding to the bollards while in the lock is quite an upper body workout!
We cruised in the narrow Chain of Rocks Canal. Last year a Looper on a sailboat missed the entrance to the Canal and ended up on the rocks. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get a tow arranged before the current took his boat. It was all over the national news! So we were careful not to make the same mistake.
Next highlight was cruising by the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. There’s a Web Cam facing the river and the boats cruising. Ariana was able to log in and do a screen shot of our boat as we cruised by the Arch. With all the blue canvas on our boat, we are hard to miss!!!
Our stop tonight is at Hoppie’s Marine Service. This is an iconic stop for the Loopers in this part of the river as it is the last stop for fuel for 206 miles! It is not really a marina, but rather a few barges tied up together. The family-owned business provides fuel for the boaters and a family member provides valuable information for the next few stops, along with weather forecast. We broke out into various groups depending on our boat speed for the next few days, discussed at the nightly captains’ meeting.
Port Charles Harbor, MO to Alton Marina, IL
Saturday, October 8, 2022 (Day 31)
We met a few other Loopers here as we were fueling the boat at Port Charles Harbor and had an easy ride to Alton Marina which is kind of a hub for Loopers. From now on, the Loopers travel in packs through the locks. We’re going to stay here for a couple of days, rest up, buy more groceries and hopefully meet many other Loopers. They have a pool and a hot tub here! Frozen drinks are $1 each (end of season clearance!) The pool was too chilly and the hot tub was luke warm, but we soaked in it for a while by our lonesome selves! We walked to town and discovered a brewery and some food and local brew and had grocery delivered from Aldi’s. This is where we first met our friend-to-be, Jim and Donna Henley (Sand Dollars).
Rockport IL to Port Charles Harbor, MO
Friday, October 7, 2022 (Day 30)
We left the marina before 8:00 am, went under the Louisiana Swing Bridge easily enough. L&D 24 & 25 had long waits (1.5 hours for #24 and 1 hour, 10 min for #25). Long day, but we finally tied up at Port Charles Harbor @ 5:50 p.m.
Quincy, IL to Rockport IL
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 (Day 28)
As part of each day’s pre-cruise check, Bob looks in all the hatches and make sure there is no water or oil or anything like that where it shouldn’t be! This morning, he found a leak in a water hose coming out of the sea strainer and had to use his scooter to go up the hill to an auto part store and get the hose he needed. Once again, he was able to use his skills to get us “ship-shaped!” With the delay, we left around 10 and maneuvered through 2 locks: L&D 21 was “easy, peasy” and L&D 22 Bob felt comfortable enough to float! We arrived at Two Rivers Marina (for two nights) at 3:30. This is a nice marina, with a courtesy car and great staff. We had a few Amazon packages waiting for us here! So, we plan on reprovisioning for the next leg, catching up on laundry and take a breather while at this marina.
Keokuk, IA to Quincy, IL
Tuesday, October 4, 2022 (Day 27)
We left Keokuk Yacht Club at 9:30. Our next lock (L&D 19) had a drop of 38’ (other locks have been around 8-10 feet up to this point). And it was the first time we (I) had to use floating bollards in the lock… no sweat! Lock 20 was a drive through for us and we were able to tie up at Quincy Yacht Club by 2:30. We were planning on going to Art Keller Marina (up the channel from Quincy’s) but we learned that the water was shallow so we stayed at Quincy’s. There were a couple of other Loopers at the dock and we enjoyed meeting them.
Burlington, IA to Keokuk, IA
Monday, October 3, 2022 (Day 26)
We left Port of Burlington City Docks shortly after 9:30 and cruised low speed (to conserve fuel) at Keokuk around 2:00 pm. The boat was so thirsty, it took us an hour to fill her up!!! We tied up at our slip in front of the bar by 3:00 and filled up the water tank before going to the bar/restaurant to fill our tummy’s. The selection was limited (microwave pizza!) but the bartender was pleasant to talk to. We had a restless night’s sleep due to tugs moving by all night! Ugh!
Muscatine, IA to Burlington, IA
Sunday, October 2, 2022 (Day 25)
I don’t think Bob got much sleep last night. The anchor alarm went off quite a few times. We need to get better at this. On the positive side, the anchor held nicely and while Bob pulled the anchor up, I drove the boat out of our anchorage about 8:50 a.m. We navigated through locks 17 & 18, however, when we arrived at the Bluff Harbor Marina (where we hoped to gas up), we found the water level so low (1.5 to 2 feet) that we could not enter. So, we tied up to the city dock for the night. We are hoping to have some fuel delivered to the dock tomorrow. There isn’t much around here either (and we don’t want to leave the dock unattended). Bob walked to the gas station and brought back a “gas station” pizza for dinner! Oh well!
Clinton, IA to Muscatine, IA
Saturday, October 1, 2022 (Day 24)
We got back on the channel at 9:45 am, navigated through L&D 14 & 15 with only a 5 min wait and breezed through L&D 16. We were expecting to find a city wall to tie to, but it looked like the docks were removed (too late in the season?) We anchored for the first time downstream of Muscatine by 4:45. This anchorage was not on our navigation charts, but Bob thought it was out of the way and a safe spot.
Dubuque, IA to Clinton, IA
Thursday, September 29, 2022 (Day 23)
We left Dubuque around 9:00 am, navigated through L&D 12 & 13 with a 45 min wait at L&D 12 so we arrived in Clinton at about 5:00 p.m. We met a fellow Looper, Ron & Nancy (Flying Colors) who had crossed their wake and were returning home to MN. Over docktails, we learned about additional navigation tools and the Nebo "box". Dinner was a white linen experience at the restaurant at the marina. We were celebrating being back on the Loop.
Dubuque, IA to Clinton, IA
Thursday, September 29, 2022 (Day 23)
We left Dubuque around 9:00 am, navigated through L&D 12 & 13 with a 45 min wait at L&D 12 so we arrived in Clinton at about 5:00 p.m. We met a fellow Looper, Ron & Nancy (Flying Colors) who had crossed their wake and were returning home to MN. Over docktails, we learned about additional navigation tools and the Nebo "box". Dinner was a white linen experience at the restaurant at the marina. We were celebrating being back on the Loop.
Port of Dubuque, IA to Dubuque, IA
Friday, September 16, 2022 (Day 9)
Early in the morning, Bob was going to put away the coffee pot we had pulled out of our forward hatch for the relatives' visit, when he discovered we were taking in water. Evidently, we had caused damage to the hull when we hit the mysterious item yesterday. While Bob was shop-vacing the water out of the hatch, I was on the phone calling the marinas in our vicinity to see if they could pull us out and find the problem. American Marina at Dubuque Yacht Basin was only 1 mile away and we said we would head their way. After a few more calls, I finally found a hotel that would allow dogs! Unfortunately, I could not find a rental car to get from the marina to the hotel. I checked with the service manager to see if they had a courtesy car and explained our dilemma. He brought me to tears when he calmly said, it's going to be OK. He was not going to let us stranded. We later found out that he had called his wife and asked her to drop everything and come and take us to the hotel! Wow! Our faith in humanity is restored!
Before arriving at the marina, we also called our insurance agent, Jenny at State Farm (No, I didn't ask what she was wearing! LOL!). They immediately took our claim, told us that our insurance covered the incident and that they would process our claim right away since they realized our boat was our home! The adjuster said to let him know when we had uploaded our estimate of repairs and pictures and he would move our file to the top of the list! Wow! We had heard nightmare stories about insurance companies. State Farm, however, took great care of us. In fact, we had the funds in our account a few hours after we submitted the estimate! USAA insurance (homeowner's insurance) also was fantastic and they covered the cost of the hotel and meals and fuel during our stay!
When we arrived at the marina, the entire crew of the service department (10 or so) were waiting for us, knowing this was an emergency as we were taking in water. Bob and I could not believe our eyes when they pulled the boat out! There was a huge hole and the hull had been peeled away like a banana! We counted our blessings for not having had a worse outcome.
The crew was amazing. They worked quickly to secure the boat on the hard. They let us stay connected to the power (as to keep our food in the fridge and freezer cold). We took a few things off the boat and the service manager's wife took us to the hotel where we had to wait until Monday for the fiberglass expert to give us his diagnosis and timeline for the repair.
Bob took an Uber to the boat on Saturday to bring more clothes and some food back to the hotel and rode his scooter back with a full backpack. We spent the weekend exploring the neighborhood on foot. I also took advantage of a couple of hot baths (I miss not having a bath tub on the boat!).
On Monday, they said they would hope to get us back in the water by Friday. We were only 2 hours drive from Clarksville, IA (Bob's hometown) so we took his mom's offer of staying with her, instead of a hotel. Diane and cousin Donna picked us up on Tuesday morning. We stopped at the marina and showed them the damage to our boat and headed home to Clarksville where we stayed for about 10 days as the repairs took longer than expected! It took about a week just to dry out the hull before they could patch the hole and repaint the bottom.
We spent the time in Clarksville with the relatives, enjoying one last chance before our year long trip and checked (almost daily) on the progres ut also lucky that we were not hurt and that we were close to a boat repair facility and family nearby. It's all part of the adventure after all, right?
The fiberglass work was finally done and Diane & Donna drove us back to Dubuque. The service manager gave us a free night at the marina. We had Target deliver groceries (late at night) and are more than ready to get back on the river.
Guttenberg, IA to Port of Dubuque, IA
Thursday, September 15, 2022 (Day 8)
Before we left, the mechanic stopped by and added additional packing to our port ruder post, so we didn't leave until after 10:00. We were just up river from L&D #10 and it was an easy passage. We needed fuel, so we stopped at Pirate's Pit (recommended by the Hubbs at last stop). The proprietor drove us up the hill to the local bar/grill called: Someplace Else (I kid you not!) Iowa is either very creative or doesn't have much imagination for eatery names!!! (Sorry Iowa family!)
We had cleared L&D #11 and were travelling at around 4 - 4.5 mph, hugging the edge of the channel, giving a wide berth to an incoming tug boat when all of a sudden, we hit something under water (very hard) and came to a full stop! (MM 588.1) I went below to see if anything had fall down (and there was a big mess to sort out), while Bob tested our equipment at the helm. We then switched places and as I drove the boat, Bob checked in all the hatches and everything seemed fine. We seemed to have escaped a major incident (or did we?)
As we arrived at the slip, there was a fellow Looper (Louise Heusinkveld) who came to greet us. Evidently, she was watching us on Nebo! She invited us to join her on their boat (Nine Lives) after we had settled in.
We enjoyed a couple of cocktails and good conversation on her boat (her husband had gone back to Canada to help his mother settle into a nursing home) with the promise of meeting both of them the nex
Lancing, IA to Guttenberg, IA
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 (Day 7)
There was a heavy fog when we woke up in the morning. By 10:00 it started lifting and we left 20 minutes later. Went through L&D 9 and arrived at Winegar Works at 4:00. We were met by a very nice couple (Kevin & Connie Hubbs) who helped us with our lines. There was another gentleman (Rick) on his houseboat who offered us the use of his truck if we need to go out for provisions (who does that?). Later we met Kevin's mom who has done the Loop and now lives in Guttenberg in the summers and down in Florida in the winters. These nice folks invited us to join them on their pontoon and cross over to a place called: Bar Up The Street (no kidding!)
La Crosse, WI to Lancing, IA
Monday, September 12, 2022 (Day 5)
We waited for the rains to stop before we departed at 9:00 a.m. We only had one lock (L&D #8) to navigate through and arrived at Lansing Marina around 1:15 p.m. This isn't much of a marina and the Tiki Bar was nothing but a storage room!!! Ha-ha! We found a small café on the river for lunch - Shep's Riverside.
The next day, Diane, Darla and Dee visited us for a few hours. We visited a natural history museum, drove to an overlook and went back to Shep's for lunch. We stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the boat and then took the family for a cruise on the mighty Mississippi, during which Bob gave Darla navigation lessons. (Going down river, keep the green markers to the right; going up river, keep the red marker on the right. Red to the Right Returning!)
After our little cruise, we enjoyed some coffee and a visit with the relatives before they drove home. Uncle Dee is having a hip surgery in a couple of days and this was a quick and pleasant visit.
(We had packed a regular coffee machine as a back up to our Nespresso machine, which we used to make a large pot of coffee for the family. This becomes important later on in the story!)
Alma, WI to La Crosse, WI
s of the repairs. We were heartbroken to have this happen so early on the Loop, but also lucky that we were not hurt and that we were close to a boat repair facility and family nearby. It's all part of the adventure after all, right?
The fiberglass work was finally done and Diane & Donna drove us back to Dubuque. The service manager gave us a free night at the marina. We had Target deliver groceries (late at night) and are more than ready to get back on the river.
Guttenberg, IA to Port of Dubuque, IA
Thursday, September 15, 2022 (Day 8)
Before we left, the mechanic stopped by and added additional packing to our port ruder post, so we didn't leave until after 10:00. We were just up river from L&D #10 and it was an easy passage. We needed fuel, so we stopped at Pirate's Pit (recommended by the Hubbs at last stop). The proprietor drove us up the hill to the local bar/grill called: Someplace Else (I kid you not!) Iowa is either very creative or doesn't have much imagination for eatery names!!! (Sorry Iowa family!)
We had cleared L&D #11 and were travelling at around 4 - 4.5 mph, hugging the edge of the channel, giving a wide berth to an incoming tug boat when all of a sudden, we hit something under water (very hard) and came to a full stop! (MM 588.1) I went below to see if anything had fall down (and there was a big mess to sort out), while Bob tested our equipment at the helm. We then switched places and as I drove the boat, Bob checked in all the hatches and everything seemed fine. We seemed to have escaped a major incident (or did we?)
As we arrived at the slip, there was a fellow Looper (Louise Heusinkveld) who came to greet us. Evidently, she was watching us on Nebo! She invited us to join her on their boat (Nine Lives) after we had settled in.
We enjoyed a couple of cocktails and good conversation on her boat (her husband had gone back to Canada to help his mother settle into a nursing home) with the promise of meeting both of them the nex
Lancing, IA to Guttenberg, IA
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 (Day 7)
There was a heavy fog when we woke up in the morning. By 10:00 it started lifting and we left 20 minutes later. Went through L&D 9 and arrived at Winegar Works at 4:00. We were met by a very nice couple (Kevin & Connie Hubbs) who helped us with our lines. There was another gentleman (Rick) on his houseboat who offered us the use of his truck if we need to go out for provisions (who does that?). Later we met Kevin's mom who has done the Loop and now lives in Guttenberg in the summers and down in Florida in the winters. These nice folks invited us to join them on their pontoon and cross over to a place called: Bar Up The Street (no kidding!)
La Crosse, WI to Lancing, IA
Monday, September 12, 2022 (Day 5)
We waited for the rains to stop before we departed at 9:00 a.m. We only had one lock (L&D #8) to navigate through and arrived at Lansing Marina around 1:15 p.m. This isn't much of a marina and the Tiki Bar was nothing but a storage room!!! Ha-ha! We found a small café on the river for lunch - Shep's Riverside.
The next day, Diane, Darla and Dee visited us for a few hours. We visited a natural history museum, drove to an overlook and went back to Shep's for lunch. We stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the boat and then took the family for a cruise on the mighty Mississippi, during which Bob gave Darla navigation lessons. (Going down river, keep the green markers to the right; going up river, keep the red marker on the right. Red to the Right Returning!)
After our little cruise, we enjoyed some coffee and a visit with the relatives before they drove home. Uncle Dee is having a hip surgery in a couple of days and this was a quick and pleasant visit.
(We had packed a regular coffee machine as a back up to our Nespresso machine, which we used to make a large pot of coffee for the family. This becomes important later on in the story!)
Alma, WI to La Crosse, WI
Sunday, September 11, 2022 (Day 4)
We had a bit of trouble getting out of our slip with the dinghy getting caught and ripping the harness. Bob had to rig up something a little sturdier to hold the dinghy up and we left at 8:45.
We went through 5 locks today (4, 5, 5a, 6 & 7)! These were much easier than the 1st 2 locks we went through. Bob called 5-10 minutes away and they had the doors open for us when we arrived and we were the only vessel in the lock. Nice!!!
Our home for tonight is Pettibone Marina, La Crosse.
Red Wing, MN to Alma, WI
Saturday, September 10, 2022 (Day 2)
We docked by Slippery's in Wabasha for a relaxing lunch. The ever-vigilant Captain Bob noticed that a storm was coming our way, so we cut our day short and re-routed to Alma Marina just before the dark clouds rolled in a. It rained all weekend and we stayed put at the marina. Not much around here, but at least we are safely tied in.
Starting the Loop!
Twin City Marina to Red Wing, MN
Thursday, September 8, 2022 (Day 1)
We left the marina at 7:58 a.m. (2 minutes ahead of schedule!) among the cheers and horn blasts of our friends. This is it!!! We are finally starting our long-awaited adventure. I admit, I had tears in my eyes!
We are going to meet a couple (Dave & Steph B.) on their boat Karma at Red Wing Marina. We met them online (Great Loop Facebook Page). They will be starting the Loop a couple of weeks after us.
Today we have 2 locks to navigate through (L&D #2 and L&D #3). We had a 2 hour wait at L&D 3. Someone took a picture of our boat as they exited the lock! Cool!
We arrived at the marina at 3:50 pm and after securing the lines, Bob took the boys (Charlie and Gordy) for a walk and to look for Karma. We were invited to our first Docktails of the Loop and a grilling party. We met many boaters and had a great time. I wondered if every night of the Loop would be this much fun!
