Crossing our Wake

December 13, 2018

It is with a massive amount of pride, gratitude and excitement, that I can finally tell you, that we have crossed our wake! Jim, Kim and our Happy Destiny have returned to the marina where we started our America’s Great Loop Adventure from, 206 days ago.

✅

To say I am a bit overwhelmed, is an understatement. Jim and I have spent the last 206 days in “go” mode. Even when we weren’t going, plans were being made for when we would go again. Our Great Loop has been a series of one day trips. Each new day, met with beauty, wonder, excitement and challenges.

When we left Los Angeles on February 28, 2018, life as we knew it was done. Our home, our jobs, our commitment to the everyday hustle and bustle of big city living, packed up into our car. The so long, farewells, to the children and grandchildren, was complete. Sealed with a hug and a kiss to them all, with the promise of seeing them again soon. “Our Tribe” was put on high alert, that we would carry them in our hearts, so we were never far from recovery mode. Life as we had known it, was about to change drastically.

As we drove into Venice, Florida, on March 3, 2018, and caught the first glimpse of the Happy Destiny, the whole “quit your job, sell your stuff, live on a boat” became a hard core reality for us. There she was - our new home. Big, and white and strong. God only knows the raw emotion I felt. Years and years of trials and tribulations were erased from my memory in that moment. From the young girl who swore she’d never live to see the age of 20, who struggled through most of her adult life, with drugs, alcohol and severe depression, who, finally one day decided to turn “right” instead of “left”, who found a God she understood and more importantly a God who understood her, who met a man who didn’t slam doors or expect her to be anyone but herself, who encouraged her and believed in her. A man who loved her enough to put a ring on it and say, “Let’s Go have an Adventure”.

And there we stood, staring in awe, at our Happy Destiny.

As we embarked on our journey, preparing the Happy Destiny to carry us on what would turn out to be an EPIC adventure, I had to pinch myself constantly to assure myself this was for real. Jim worked very hard to make sure we would have everything we needed on the boat to make her stronger and safer for the 5000 mile Waterway cruise that we were about to undertake. Our smiles were huge and our gratitude was off the charts!

We tossed the lines on May 21, 2018. Kim and Jim’s Great Loop Adventure was underway! I have chronicled, in all my previous bogs, our journey. I’ve shared details, pictures and my intimate feelings. I’ve laughed and cried. I’ve prayed, a lot! I’ve had the opportunity to transform, again, into an even better version of the girl who stood on the dock, staring at her Happy Destiny 278 days ago.

“Oh, the places you’ll go”❤️

Dr. Seuss had wanderlust.

“Kid, you’ll move mountains”. 💜 Today was good, Today was fun, Tomorrow you’ll have another one”.🧡 “Life is to short to wake up with regrets. So - love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don’t, and believe everything happens for a reason”.💛 If you get the chance, take it. If it changes your life, Let it. Nobody said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it”.💚 “You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut”.💙 “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory”.🖤 “Don’t cry because it’s over - Smile because it happened”.❤️

I’m not going to rehash our entire trip on this, my last Great Loop Adventure entry. I think I feel confident that my previous writings have done a good job at documenting the amazing days we have had. What is important to me today, is that Jim and I teamed up and “did” it. We really did it. We worked together, ate together, read together, celebrated together, cried together, laughed together. We went to meetings together, we made plans together. We slept together, and we supported each other, together. We walked and talked, together. We cooked together, cleaned together, and hugged a lot. We praised each other for jobs well done, and most importantly, we said I love you many times a day. I am so grateful that Jim picked me. I’m the luckiest girl ever. His helmsmanship got better and better every single day! He managed the Happy Destiny really well. I wouldn’t have wanted to do this journey with anyone than him.

Now, to the people we met along the way. The America’s Great Loop Cruising Association (AGLCA) is an organization created many years ago to support boaters who wanted to traverse the waterways around the Eastern Part of the United States and parts of Canada. Don’t you just find it amazing that you can drive a boat in a continuous circle that doesn’t end? Rivers, creeks, Lakes, bays, sounds. Waters that are 600 feet deep to waters that will make you pray you don’t ground your boat. If you are prepared to stay in all of the channels on the Great Loop, and follow the rising and falling tides in some places, you are pretty much guaranteed 5 feet of water under your boat. So- “Loopers” scrimp, save, and plan with the help of the AGLCA. The Great Loop is a “thing”, and many people do this “thing” every day. Some do it fast, and some take years and years to complete one Loop. We met several people on the loop that have been at it for years. They do a few hundred miles, Park their boat somewhere, go back home because they still work. We met people who work from their boats. We met people as we did our laundry. We met recovering people in small little towns, who were gracious enough to invite us into their meetings and treat us like family. We met young people, and old people. We met doctors, and nurses, lawyers, airline pilots. US Vets, Engineers, a Rocket Scientist. Firemen, Policemen, School Teachers. Retired folks, like us, who had a dream. We met people with young children, homeschooling them along the way. We’ve met people with small dogs and big dogs. People with cats, birds, and reptiles. People with big 60 foot boats that cost millions of dollars, people with small boats that have to jump start them in the morning. Then there’s the people in the middle. Like us. The people fortunate to have been able to afford a reliable boat. Boats that have cosmetic flaws. War wounds. Where we jury rig dingy cradles, forget to buy jumper cables, have to install new electronics, because we need them. Where the canvas on the boat has holes, and the fenders are old and covered in t-shirts, instead of expensive monogrammed covers. Our kind of people. Real people.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that along our journey we made a few friends that I hope will be forever friends. Kay and Keith on their boat “Sea Tiger”. Judy and Marshall and their dog Mindy on “Let’s Go”, Mark and Lezlie on their boat “Antonia”, and Jody and Tom, on their little boat “ Braveheart”. These 8 people are by far the nicest folks ever. We all shared different times and adventures together. They are the people, I felt most comfortable with. They are the people I could be honest with. People who didn’t judge. Fun people. Interesting people. These are folks we shared meals with. We laughed and we cried. We will have stories about adventures we had together that only we will understand. Because we are Badasses! Because we are friends.

This is so bittersweet. This whole last year has been about preparing for and now completing this Great Loop Adventure. Our hearts and souls have been affected. We are changed for the better. We have completed a trip of a lifetime. We are Gold Loopers!

Jim and I both hope you have enjoyed joining us as we wrapped our way around America’s Great Loop. Thank you all who left me messages. I always enjoyed getting them. To the strangers, who in your own special way of reaching out your hand the AA way - you will always hold a special place in our hearts. Thanks for keeping us in check and for giving us rides and encouragement when we were in unknown territories.

To our family and friends from life before The Great Loop, we love you and thank you for supporting our dream. As crazy as it is has been, we are so grateful that we have a home in your hearts to come back to. Our Happy Destiny Adventures are not over. There is life after The Great Loop.

We will stay in Florida on the boat for the time being. We are home.

YAY!