Pre Loop travels




Leaving Everett  



Left Everett February 14, 2023. A winter storm seemed to follow us across the country. So glad we were out in front of it. Arrived at Richmond, Virginia on February 22.  There we switched the "boat stuff" from the uhaul to a storage unit, and headed towards Florida.




 

   Florida 


 Panama City Beach in the panhandle of Florida. 
    Beautiful white sand goes on and on!


Outside our cabin at Fort White, near the springs. We stayed here for a week.


Ichetucknee Springs State park.


Drove through the Everglades. Corey's dad told us about a loop road. Great opportunity to see birds and alligators. Even ate some alligator for lunch at the Rod and Gun Club in Everglades City.


Stayed at Key Largo for a few days and traveled to Key West.


 Catching Up

My mom's sister, Mary Jane and her husband, my Uncle Ralph. Now that our folks are gone, they are the family representatives of that generation. So nice to get a chance to visit with them and so many other relatives that we hadn't seen years. I got to introduce Keith to a few relatives for the first time...and we've been married over 40 years!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hudson River to Erie Canal

Image
Hudson River The scenery changed once we left Liberty Landing Marina and headed up the Hudson River. Highlights for us along the Hudson River were passing West Point Military Academy and visiting the CIA (Culinary Institute of America). We stopped at a small marina below the CIA and hiked up to take a look at the campus. We were even able to get lunch reservations at one of the three restaurants on campus. We heard all three of the restaurants that were part of the CIA are great: French,  Italian and American. We were able to get reservations at the French restaurant.  I had the salmon Keith had the Cornish game hen   We were told French food is all about the sauces. The only French food I am familiar with is French pastry, so we didn't know what to expect, but both meals were very tasty. Next best thing to actually traveling there! Erie Canal Then our time on the Hudson River was over.  Turning west, we started on the Erie Canal after Troy Lock, and traveled the fir...
Read more

Beginning the Loop

Image
 Finally Getting Started  The Loop. Nearly 6,000 miles. Over 150 locks (varies depending upon route). Our Loop will start at the beginning of the Hudson River. The Pre-Loop first leg will be getting from the tip of Long Island Sound to the Hudson. That starts today, Monday, May 22, 2023.  We plan to start with a few short travel days to get acquainted with the boat and familiar with the water in this area. This part of the trip was not covered in any of the seminars since we're not technically on the Loop. So, at the start, we are unfamiliar with our new boat and also in unfamiliar waters. Both are a bit stressful! Day 1 - Niantic to Westbrook, Connecticut Day 2 - Westbrook to Stratford, Connecticut Day 3 - Stratford, CT, to Port Washington, NY Day 4 - Port Washington, NY, to Liberty Landing, Jersey City, NJ Day 1 - Leaving Niantic - every day has new challenges. Getting familiar with our new boat, getting familiar with the route, deciding how far to travel in a day, whic...
Read more

Lake MIchigan

Image
We crossed the border from the North Channel of Lake Huron, Canada into Michigan, on July 18. Then we headed to Mackinac Island. Crossing the Border Crossing the Border by boat requires using the CBP ROAM mobile application. "Download the CBP ROAM app and create an account on login.gov. Fill out the traveler and vessel information in the app. Once in the US waters, report your arrival through the app. A CBP Officer will review your submission and may initiate a video interview if necessary." We found this process very frustrating. It required entering and submitting our information multiple times, only to have the CBP officer deny the request because the video link was not working to initiate the video interview. After repeating this effort several times, we were able to reach a CBP officer by phone. In the meantime, we are hanging out in the channel trying to dodge other boaters, stay off of shoals, etc. After multiple phone calls and a lengthy phone interview, we were fin...
Read more