Busters week at the Doggie Spa and Daycare

July 19th was our 40th wedding Anniversary . We happen to be in Panama City Beach with my sister and two brothers and spouses. Mom had asked us to return to her home , select what we wanted and to donate or toss what was left and get her house ready to put on the market.. We did this task in record time and with love and empathy to each other and her cherished belongings . Her house is now listed and hopefully sells quickly.. 

During this time Buster was in "lock up". He was one very excited little pup when we came to pick him up

America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association (AGLCA)

Today we joined the "loopers"! We realize that they are a vast group of folks who have taken this journey before us and we can learn a lot from them. We love to hear the stories. Granted, we are only doing the southern third.. But who knows, we may complete the whole loop one day.. It certainly appeals to us.

The circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water is known as The Great Loop. Also referred to as the Great Circle Route,^[1][2] the trip varies from 5,000 to 7,500 miles (8,000 to 12,100 km) depending on the options used. The boats used range from personal watercraft (jet-skis) to 60-foot (18 m) yachts. Both sailboats and powerboats are used but the most common boats are 34–45-foot (10–14 m) recreational trawlers. The main factors that govern the size of the boat are the limited draft (5 feet (1.5 m)) in some locations on the loop and the height of one bridge (19 feet (5.8 m)) in Chicago. People traveling The Great Loop are known as "loopers." The number of people attempting this voyage is growing with the baby boomers reaching retirement age. In 2007, more than 150 boat owners notified America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association that they were planning to attempt the loop in the coming season.

Our journey will begin up the Tennessee River in Chattanooga. We will head south and west to the Tenn-Tom waterway. There we turn south to Mobile, AL into the salt waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Following the ICW intracoastal waterway, we will make our way down to the clear blue waters of the Florida Keys.

RoutesEdit

Most Great Loop cruisers travel the Loop counterclockwise, taking advantage of the downstream currents on the Illinois River, Mississippi River, Tombigbee River and Black Warrior River to Mobile, Alabama.^[3] To avoid summer hurricanes and winter ice, most Loopers head north in the spring, spend the summer in the Great Lakes region, and head south on the rivers in the fall, arriving in Florida after the beginning of November.^{[citation needed]}

Starting on the east coast of Florida at Stuart the route heads north on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Chesapeake Bay offers many different locations to visit and some loopers go 95 miles (153 km) up the Potomac to Washington. At the north end of Chesapeake Bay the Chesapeake & Delaware Canalconnects to Delaware Bay. The Intracoastal Waterway resumes at Cape May and ends at Manasquan, New Jersey.

There is a 30-mile (48 km) stretch of open Atlantic Ocean to New York harbor. From this point a few loopers continue up the coast, around the Gaspé Peninsula and up the St Lawrence River to Lake Ontario. This adds about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) to the loop. Most loopers go up the Hudson River to Waterford and then take the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario or Lake Erie or the Champlain Canal to the St. Lawrence. Canada's Rideau Canal, built in 1832 from Ottawa to Kingston, is frequently chosen. Most loopers will take the Trent Canal from Trenton, Ontario to Port Severn on Georgian Bay. The North Channel is one of the highlights of the loop. This is the most northerly point on the loop and has the shortest season, just 8 weeks of good warm weather from July 1 to August 30.

Lake Michigan is next with most loopers taking the east side of the lake to Chicago. From here it is down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, up the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers, then down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to Mobile. The route then joins the Intracoastal Waterway going east to Carrabelle, Florida. The ICW now extends to Fort Myers where loopers can cruise the Okeechobee Waterway to Stuart on the east coast of Florida or turn south to the Keys rounding the southern tip of Florida, returning north to Stuart.

Looper cultureEdit

Many loopers retire, sell everything, and live on their boats. Some complete the loop every year with the record being nine complete Great Loops.^{[citation needed]} Many spend the winters in the Bahamas on their boats.^{[citation needed]} Other loopers complete the loop in stages, storing the boat at various locations while they return to work.^{[citation needed]} A few take their children and home-school them on the route.^{[citation needed]} Loopers who are members of the America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association (AGLCA) meet two times a year in different locations along the Great Loop. The first reunion is on the east coast in the spring, and has been in Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and Norfolk over the past several years. The second reunion is traditionally in October at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama. This is a very popular one. The reunions and rendezvous are organized by AGLCA. The reunions are designed to allow mixing and mingling with old friends and new members, sharing stories and tips, also include general lessons on safety, vessel safety checks and other valuable cruising information. One highlight of the events is the Looper Crawl.

The America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association assists Great Loop cruisers with various needs such as safety, sharing navigational and cruising information, and networking among loopers. The networking through the daily e-mail blast provides updates and local advice. The boaters can broadcast information requests for anything such as docking, anchoring, water depth, hazards, repairs, fuel prices or dinner reservations.

Another source of useful information is Capt. John's site with many pictures, route options, and an interactive planning map, five time Looper Capt John, gives you boat restrictions, fuel requirements and frugal options for cruising America's Great Loop.

Sums us up to a tea.. Or boat drink.

Preparation for our journey to the Keys

IWhere oh where to begin... Phil's been getting our boat ready for that last couple of month. Checking the engines, generator, water systems, the plumbing,the AC units, electrical cables, drains, intakes, GPS, radar and just about every inch of this boat. Believe it or not .. This boat has had no cable or TV. That has been fixed, thanks to Phil. We now have TV in the Master stateroom and in the main salon. He has cable run throughout via every crawl space to run the lines. He's quite the bilge rat.

The dinghy needed a reliable motor to get Buster to shore on the evenings we don't tie up to a dock. We upgraded from a 5 horsepower to a 9.9. It's great .. Better get up and go, and quieter. And best of all.. It's RELIABLE !! Having a powered hoist system is mighty terrific too. Much easier to lower and lift the dinghy as needed. And it travels safely out of the way.. We are quite pleased with our dinghy.

The storage on Knot Yet (KY) is wonderful.. But it's amazing how you fill the space you have. So we have reorganized to make it all make sense and reorganized again and again. We buy water by the gallon , no more than 6 gallons ,then we refill. Six gallons can take up some room and we don't want it out in view nor buried so deep that it inconvenienced to dig for it.

Meal planning a week at a time and proper storage for all of the groceries. The refrigerator/freezer  is bigger than the "Knot ADream" (KAD) but still has it's limits. Space in General is priced greatly. Which brings me to our washer/dryer..as excited as I was to have one on board ... It's really is taking up a lot of space and it's convenience  verse the laundry rooms at marinas... Well... We removed it from KY today.. More storage makes better sense..

This area where the washer and dryer once occupied will be used for food, water and galley needs . Planning meals that are tasty, healthy and easy.. And storage friendly.. Refrig and freezer space is quite limited.

At the helm, Phil has been checking the equipment ,also the storage and Bimini . We do not have screen or isinglass to protect us from wind or rain. So we have called the canvas folks to come check out what we have and how they can adapt a design to our Bimini. Hopefully they'll be by in this next week or so. 

There is much to learn before we venture out. Many books have been written, many blogs too. Thank goodness for internet and all it has to offer. All this makes for interesting reading. Courses to be plotted and mapped out. Understanding all the while that barge traffic, weather and other unforeseen situations can arise and turn all your planning to useless chaos. Always good to have a plan B and maybe C.

July 4th in Scottsboro, AL

The weather forecast is for THUNDERSTORMS.

 We were looking forward to Mike and Lori Pangburn coming to spend the holiday with us. We had hope to take the boat out, explore and play in the river.  Also, to stay on the hook.. However, now we weren't even sure if we would leave the marina. 

  

Even in the rain.. We were able to do some fishing.

During scattered storms, we drove to Huntsville, AL. And the weather cooperated .. How lucky we are.

Very nice downtown area.

On Saturday, we ventured out in a drizzle.

Explored an old barge housing shed.

Did a little fishing and the skies turned blue.

Thinking we might catch a break. We got back to the marina, got the "Knot Yet" and found a great position to drop anchor for the night. Front row to the fireworks that evening. 

The firework barge was parked by the island on the left.

Testing the water temps... A bit refreshing.

Dinghy fun and necessities.

Captain and shipmates.

Queen of the world.

We had such a great time.. Hope to do a repeat in October as we travel to the Keys.

Shrimp on the Barbie.

Perfect summer fresh meal.

Buster looking festive. ( an older photo)

Mentone Alabama and the Wildflower Cafe

Crystal, Colton and I took a scenic ride up the hills to Mentone . Cute little village of log cabin shops. We had a good little lunch at the Wildflower Cafe before heading back to Scottsboro and seeing a movie.

Live entertainment !

Buster and Harley

Spending the night on the hook, the pups needed to find a patch of grass on shore before bedtime and again in the morning. Their dinghy ride was a welcome relief!

Harley fit right in.. She's a good little "sea dog ".

It's a dogs life!! She's loving her vacation too!

Headed back to the marina, both dogs were worn out ..

Harrison Brothers Hardware in downtown Huntsville

IWho knew that downtown Huntsville offered so much.. There are many old homes that have been converted to new offices and some have held on to their old charm.. Harrison Brothers Hardware is full of charm! It's not very big, but it's very interesting. And it's an easy walk from the Commerce Kitchen where we had lunch.

This old register still works daily.

Quite a display of marbles. A hit with the kids!