That ship has sailed

Suffice it to say that COVID happened. 🤷‍♀️. Of all the places to be "stuck" for your birthday when a pandemic makes people lose their minds.... we lucked out. Huge. Venice, Florida, and specifically The Crow's Nest Marina is a lovely lovely place. We stayed at the Crow's Nest for a few weeks until the COVID heat became too much and we headed home to Michigan. It was a very sad trip home. Our boat barely made it home to us before frost laws were in place, but we DID make it home, and had a wonderful summer boating - and staying more than 6 feet away from everyone else. (sigh). We hope to finish the loop "one day soon" - and you guys will be the first to know!

So.....What's my excuse for coming in now, almost 5 years later?

Horses. 😆 I'll tell you what - if you ever find yourself in a hiring position, and your two candidates have equal backgrounds, but one has horses? Hire the horse person!! I've never worked SO HARD in my life. And you can't really take a sick day if you're a horse person.

We are a walking COVID cliche, and we didn't really mean to be - We now have a farm, lots of land, a sort of barn-dominium, horses, a support sheep (Polly - long story), a few "structures", lots of tractor implements, and chickens!!! Look at these beauties!

In case you were wondering - The Handsome Captain looks even more ruggedly handsome driving his tractor. 💕 I've missed many details along the way, but I wanted to get back to posting, so I'll fill you in when I can!

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Day One of The Great Loop.

At long last, we are on our way! Originally, this great adventure was to start on 10/05/2019. A month beforehand, the boat was pulled out of the water for maintenance. The boat hauler made a mistake and ended up bending the props. EEK! Pretty important, props. They are also pretty heavy and really large. So Todd sent them off as stowaways on a semi to be repaired downstate. In the meantime, it was also discovered that someone may or may not have flushed marbles down the toilet at some unknown point in time. The toilet on our boat runs via vacuum and pistons (don't think about it too much - it's gross). ANYWAY, when there are marbles in there, vacuums don't seal and pistons can't move. Also pretty important? Toilets. Especially when you're heading off on an 8 month excursion. Et voila - our new departure date was 10/10. Well, wouldn't you know it, but we have had the most bizarre and...

YOU get new props, and YOU get new props!

In light of the flooding on the rivers, they should consider placing Oprah in the middle of Mobile Bay. "You get new props, YOU get new props, and YOU get new props!!" I know of scant few boaters who have eluded the obstacles and ended their journey down the rivers without needing at least some repairs. Remember, I'm traveling with a very handsome (sorry Tammy) and capable Captain. We hit a significant something in a well marked channel. Totally pissed and bummed us out, to be truthful. An "are you kidding me???" Sort of moment. But I digress. I've left you out of so much! We found a lovely Anchorage called Kelly's landing where the kids swam with abandon in waters that were for all intents and purposes "cold". We were almost eaten alive by coyotes. Really. It was one of those stories where the minute the sun set, we heard "scrambling" in the woods.... And we went silent. "Uhm, honey? Let's get in the dinghy,. Like NOW....

Wait...where are we?

There was scant internet available for much of the remaining stretch of the Mississippi River or as we made out way onto the Tombigbee River, so many of the memories we created are going to be a blur. I'll try to capture the highlights here. We left Hoppie's Marina as early as the Coffeeville Dam said they didn't have a back-up of barges waiting. Other than Dresden locks where we had to overnight, we have really been lucky with Dams as far as I can remember. We haven't had to wait much at all, despite war stories from other boaters of four to six hour waits at some locks. The river really looked a lot alike as we traveled down, and there wasn't much that was remarkable. We had a couple of anchorage nights before Paducah- nothing spectacular, but we always make the most of the "ground time" we have! The Handsome Captain is always good for a fire, a steady hand as the Littles climb fallen trees of dubious stability, and adult beverages to ...

The Floating Stones

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