Optimystique crossed her wake after spending the last 330 days enjoying this 5200 mile geography lesson called The Great Loop. 118 travel days, hundreds of new acquaintances plus a few old friends and new friends made our Great Loop year one of the best so far! So many different types of cruising …
- East Coast & Gulf Coast ICW gunkholing amongst leaping dolphins and historic towns such as Georgetown, Savannah & Beaufort (SC)!
- Transitioning to a being a cruising boat, exploring The North Channel & Georgian Bay
- Canal Boating in the Trent Severn Canal System in Ontario, plus
- Scenic and occasionally challenging river boating on storied rivers such as the Hudson, the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee…
More laughs, more smiles, just more experiences than we imagined possible …
- Watching in awe as Optimystique cruised all the iconic views on The Great Loop: The Statue of Liberty, The St Louis Arch and cruising the Chicago River through the Skyline of Chicago.
- Gliding through the still waters of the Dismal Swamp Canal, stopping at the visitor center, being amazed that the “Rose Buddies” still exist in Elizabeth City when Greg stopped to present me with my own rose (after helping us tie up at the city wall). Oh, and getting a kick out of the history – George Washington apparently was the 1st to call for “draining the swamp” – the Dismal Swamp! 🙂
Old friends Kenny & Sherry on Blue Moon, the Cutwater 28 trailerable boat they used for their Great Loop. - Surviving more “Hell’s Gates” than we knew existed along the East Coast ICW.
Poutine … it’s a Canadian thing… french fries covered in “gravy” and cheese curds topped with whatever the restaurant is serving … in my case the choices were smoked duck or brisket … clearly I did not opt for smoked duck. It was actually delicious – more like brisket and gravy over mashed potatoes once the french fries got soggy from the gravy. Gotta try the local dishes! And the wine is from Sandbanks Winery here in Ontario. The Pinot was superb! David had ShockTop & fish n chips, how boring was he??? - Sampling as many local cuisines as possible! Kawartha Dairy Ice Cream. Rachel’s Butter Tarts. Poutine. Shrimp n Grits. Devouring the world’s biggest steak at Spoon River in Belhaven, NC
Swimming in the 62 degree waters of the Hudson River - Swimming in the Hudson River, Topaz Lake (North Channel), The Big Chute, and so many other spots, plus soaking in the rain in the “spa” at Lovesick Lock.
- Flying down the Log Flume at The New Jersey ICW into Manasquan Inlet and riding our the Boat Roller Coaster aka Big Chute, Trent Severn Waterway, Ontario
The infamous bear swimming after boarding and trashing a boat at Heywood Island – we didn’t know it at the time, but the shot is still blurry. Sorry! - Wildlife: The Beaver Dam with the Satellite Dish just before Killarney; our 1st Loon’s song, our 1st Trumpeter Swans, playful otters in Covered Portage Cove and the unforgettable bear swimming (and boarding boats!!!) at Heywood Island (North Channel) on my birthday!
Where David’s Coast Guard career started, Cape May New Jersey. - Returning to the scene of David’s US Coast Guard background: USCG Training Center, Cape May, New Jersey.
A Waterfall in Trent Severn, Lock 15 … Turns out this lock is just prior (like 500 feet) to Flight Locks 16 & 17. When the water gets dumped out of the locks with 48 feet lift, it overflows the front wall in a waterfall. I felt like I was on the “Maid of the Mist” when tying up at the front of this lock — it was WET up there! - Surviving 100 locks (exactly) from the tame Okeechobee & Dismal Swamp locks to the famed Erie & Oswego Canal Locks, through the historic Trent Severn Locks and then down the river locks.
Trent Severn: Peterborough Lift Lock … my favorite lock… - But the highlight had to be the highest lift lock in the world: Peterborough Lift Lock, 65′ up and one of only five in the world!
Shiloh National Park is nearby – great since we love history. - Exploring the history of places we’d never heard of … Muscle Shoals Fame Recording Studio, the Coon Dog Cemetery … and many that we had … Shiloh National Battlefield…
Watch out for these ticking time bombs … everywhere, but not as bad as advertised… definitely not as bad as we’ve seen elsewhere. - Surviving 3,224 crab pots without a line wrapped around the prop … the same cannot be said of our dinghy line, but that’s another story…
Trent Port Marina’s “Pods” set the gold standard for marina showers! - 74 marinas and countless facilities and wifi codes … so where was the best shower? Hands down, Trent Port Marina in Trenton, Ontario!
Bashi Creek – 5 boats in view, the 6th beyond the rafted boats forward. One amazing meteor shower shared with friends on Sea Trolley! - 35 anchorages – but a highlight remains anchored/rafted in Bashi Creek off the Tenn Tom Waterway, watching for falling stars/meteor shower while rafted into a creek that shouldn’t have been big enough for 6 boats!
New Friends on Lark (Bruce & Sue) & Sea Trolley (Rob & Lee) join David & I for dinner at Bobby’s Fish Camp on the Mississippi River.
But beyond all these amazing experiences and memories are the people and new friends that accompany them. Friends turned a rainy cold afternoon in Fairhope Alabama into…
An impromptu Texas Two Step lesson as Curtis and Michaeleen fired up the jukebox and proceeded to instruct Lark, Sea Trolley and Optimystique on the proper way to Texas Two Step (also the name of their boat) on this otherwise miserable afternoon.
Every AGLCA burgee, represents friends we haven’t met yet! Here’s another impromptu fun evening with 30 ish Loopers playing games at the Thirsty Turtle in Green Turtle Bay on Barclay (Kentucky) Lake.
The American Great Loop Cruisers Association is amazing and we are SO happy to be a part of this organization.
Eileen Quinn in her song “Friends” sums up our Great Loop perfectly:
“I’ve got seashells, I’ve got souvenirs, I’ve got songs I’ve penned …
I’ve got photographs, I’ve got memories ..
But mostly, I’ve got friends!”
We are proud to be Gold Loopers! We are sad that the experience is over and Optimystique, our beloved 2007 Mariner 40 that carried us all the way around this loop flawlessly, is now for sale. But the memories and friendships will live on forever!
sailboat, rv trailer, cruiser boat…? Next? i so enjoy your writing style, content and prose. keep us posted!
blessings
scott
m/v Anywhere but Under (under construction)
Thanks Scott! We definitely have more adventures in mind, just need to narrow in on exactly what next year looks like — too many possibilities! Cheers! J
Congratulations on a journey well done. Good luck on the sale of the boat. After that we expect to see you here for a visit. We have more adventures in mind and want you to come along. Merry Christmas
Not to worry, Doug. We always have the best adventures together! Looking forward to the next time! Besides, it’s WARMER there!!! David’s got on flannel pants, ask me how happy he is about that!!! Cheers! J