Jim and Kim’s Great Loop Adventure Begins
We did it! On May 21, 2018 we finally tossed our lines in Osprey, Florida and began our Great Loop Journey. From the day we moved aboard, March 3, 2018 until this day, you have read our trials, our tribulations, and shared in our excitement about this day arriving! I can’t tell you how many times I have teared up in the last few days. In fact, I bawled like a little kid about 30 minutes into the journey. The night before we left we said these prayers for our boat and for our safe passage.
Our first day on the water was just perfect. It’s been raining in Southwest Florida for weeks. Our trip was bright and sunny and the best day ever. We traveled across an area where Jim and I spent our honeymoon. It was quite memorable. We cruised about 60 miles to Fort Meyers Florida. It took us 6 hours and 40 minutes. We made arrangements ahead of time and acquired a boat slip at The Marina at Edison Ford where Carley, the Dock Master, met us and helped us tie up. It is a beautiful marina.
Sights from our trip - Osprey to Fort Meyers
In the morning, we left the marina and headed out. We are now on the Okeechobee Waterway. The Okeechobee Waterway is a man made Waterway that stretches across Florida from Fort Meyers on the west coast to Stuart on Florida’s east coast. The Okeechobee Waterway is 134.3 nautical miles, and we are making great progress. On this stretch of the river there are two “ Locks”. A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. There are about 189 Locks on the American Great Loop. Today we did 2 of them. The Franklin Lock and the Ortuna Lock. I’ve been nervous about this for years. Today Jim and I handled them like pros!
wooohooo!
Again, we made arrangements for a slip in a marina for the night. We made it safely after encountering a pretty good rainstorm, to The Glades Resort and Marina. We got settled and Rick, the dockmaster, delivered us to the pool on his golf cart! It was very much needed as it is so muggy, nasty, hot here. Oh, and guess what? We found out where the Lovebugs went. Right here!
FYI- there is still some leftover damage from the Hurricanes. This sailboat didn’t make it through. We have been told that damaged/sunken boats get abandoned because it is too expensive to raise them. We’ve seen this many times in Florida waters. Also, how do you like that there are cows on a river, and let’s not go without saying, my ghetto fabulous GoPro is amazing!
Its evening, we’ve had our dinner and we are still smiling ear to ear. I can’t express how grateful I am to be the girl that gets to experience this Happy Destiny. It is a dream come true for real, for real.
I will blog as often as I can. Sometimes there isn’t real good connectivity, but I will do my best. Thank you for peeking in on us. Please leave notes. You don’t have to sign up for anything. Leave a comment, press publish. When the black scary box comes up that says to put in an email, forget that. Write your name and push “sign in as a guest”.
Please let us know how you are doing. We are interested!
Until next time,
peace and our love. ❤️
