Boat Captain In The House

As the world continues to turn - here on the Happy Destiny, we have great news! Jim passed his USCG Captain’s License Exam! I did not hold any notions that he would not pass his test, but if he were writing this, he would probably tell you that it was a great undertaking. Seriously, for 2 weeks straight he studied, and sweated, and was not much fun to be around. I get it, but, my husband is a smart man. He can accomplish most anything he puts his mind to. I allowed him to have his moments. He really did struggle. He had to learn paper map charting, and all the rules of proper navigation and water safety. He wants to be the best, and he puts everything he’s got into getting what he wants. His mother had a saying, and I think, for Jim, it resonates deep within his soul -

I often hear Jim quote this saying. For him, it’s important. He passed that test like a badass!

While Jim was at Sea School for the weekend, I helped our friend Canvas John, by watching his dog Lucky. She stayed on the boat with me. I’m not a big dog fan. I like fluffy kitty’s. Lucky is a BIG dog. Not a fluffy puppy. But, she is so smart, and was so good. She never gave me a second of grief. We went for long walks, several times a day, which was good exercise for this fat ass I have accumulated over the past few months!

On Thursday, the 17th, Jim and I drove to Tampa and met up with our Looper friends Judy and Marshall from their boat Let’s Go, and Judy’s Sister Nita, and her husband Lin. We went to the Tampa RV show and wandered around all day. Jim and I are entertaining the idea of purchasing a small RV so we would be able have some adventures on land as well as by water. It was a huge show at the Tampa Fairgrounds. I heard the word, 17,000 motorhomes, trailers and campers on the grounds. It was huge!

We found a really nice 24 foot Thor diesel and we took her for a spin! I don’t know how close we are to pulling the trigger on such a pricey new toy, but it was fun looking.

It was fun spending time with Marshall and Judy. They are still on their Loop. I’m so jealous! If you remember, we had left them back up on the rivers. They went one direction and we went another. So meeting back up with them after a few months was great. As they make their way south to the Keys, they will stop at our marina for a few days. We have a plan to visit the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, and since we have a car, we will be able to take them on errand runs if need be. That will make me feel wonderful! I will be able to “pay it forward” like so many people who helped Jim and I while we were Looping. When you live on a boat, getting around a town can sometimes be very challenging! I’m looking forward to being the girl who can be of service to our friends.

Speaking of adding to our fleet, Jim and I bought a couple of bikes! Not just any bikes, but super rad, foldable, motorized bikes, with big fat tires”! I’m super excited! We have threatened to buy motorized bikes several times on our Loop Adventure, but never pulled the trigger. They would have been so handy, but it just didn’t happen. But now, I’m a motorized bike owner and I can’t wait to get out and do some exploring around the beautiful area where we live right now. I’m not a very athletic or over zealous girl. I’m not into running, or kayaking. It’s a chore to go out for walks. Bicycling is boring! (For me). But, have you ever ridden a motorized bike? It’s like heaven! It’s fast, and fun and super cool! I’m gonna get a basket, and a bell! I’m going to ride over to the ocean every day! LOL!

Shawn, owner of I Bike Sarasota, 1560 Boulevard of the Arts Sarasota, FL 34236 (941-376-3368) 🚵🏻‍♂️🚴🏻‍♀️ hooked us up with these beauties. Jim and I took them for a long spin and we both had a great ride. They are solid, power peddling assist, plus a full throttle for when you get tired of peddling! Looks like there will be some excercise in my future.

I am over the moon to have this framed poster adorning our kitchen wall! I had our Track my Tour map sent to a poster place and they printed it for us. We got it framed, and now have a constant, joyful reminder of our Great Loop Adventure! Each red dot is a place we stopped!

This week, on the 24th, we will travel to Fort Meyers, Florida to attend the Looper-Palooza and a Gold Looper Reunion event. It will be all kinds of fun reconnections with the people we traveled with on the Loop. This event is for the people who completed the Loop and received their Gold Burgee. Jim and I are not taking the boat. We got an AirB&B for the night at this very cool place!

The “Looper❤️Palooza was all kinds of fun. It was great to see some of the people we traveled with on the Loop at different periods of time. There was one couple, Mona and Nolan, that we were with and hadn’t seen since we were in Canada! They left there boat in Wisconsin back in August to return home to welcome their first grandbaby. They are anxiously awaiting the beginning of June, when they can pull their boat out of winter storage and return to their Loop. There were many other friendly faces too. We saw our friends Tom and Jody, Herb, and Mike. New found friends, Kim and his cute wife Tamara from M/V Cocoa Beach, who we shared the treacherous Gulf Crossing with. she is hysterical, and we had many laughs together as we reminisced over that night! They picked up their Gold Burgee at the dinner. There were people there that are in the planning stages of doing the Loop. It was fun to be able to share our stories with them. I have to admit I was jealous of those people! They are in for the time of their lives! Planning and then actually doing the Loop was such an exciting time in my life!

The AGLCA provided a nice dinner reception for us. The room was packed with not just us recent Gold Loopers, but countless people who completed America’s Great Loop in years gone by. It was like being at an AA Covention when they do a sobriety countdown! There were two couples who completed their Loop over 10 years ago. They still come to these events and enjoy sharing their experiences with others. I think that is very, very cool! Kim Russo, the Executive Director of AGLCA, was there. I enjoyed meeting her. I’ve had email conversations with her a few times over the last year, but have never met her in person. She allowed all of us loopers to share a little bit of our story with the group. I, of course, got a little choked up. I am just so damn grateful for the experience I had. I’m super sad it is over. I’m definitely looking forward to our next adventure on our Happy Destiny!

A few days ago, Richard Darling, our diesel mechanic came by the boat. He will be addressing our engine oil leak, and we are planning on pulling the boat out of the water to have the props changed out and our depth finder problem fixed. I did hear, with my own ears, from Captain Jim, that once that is done, we can plan a trip to the Florida Keys. YIPPPPPPEEEEEEEE!

Our last few weeks of Life after Looping have been great. Lots of stuff going on and lots of things to be looking forward too. Life is good😎