And we're off........

Ahoy and Happy New Year!  Well after many months (actually years is more like it!) of preparing, we have officially set off on our adventure called the Great Loop.  If you are interested, Google AGLCA to learn more about the Great Loop. On the way down in October, we spent 4 days in Rogersville, AL with 275 other "Loopers" (some in progress, some planning and several having completed it) and learned more than we could possibly process.

From there we went to Longboat Key and spent 2 months prepping Phase II for our departure.

Yes, that's Lori sanding the bottom of the boat for the new paint job.  

And Dave giving Lori's paint job a thumbs-up!

We will definitely miss the amazing sunrises over the Sarasota Bay...

and the breathtaking sunsets over the Gulf visible from the bow of our boat....

but, we know we have many more in our future as we cruise the 6,000 miles of the Great Loop! 

We had the most incredible send off by our family and friends and pulled away from the dock at 9:50 am on Friday, January 1st, just as planned!  We will miss them all, but we know we will see them all soon either on the waterways or on return visits.

It's hard to believe we won't be pulling back into the channel at LBK until this time next year!!  

As soon as we crossed under the Ringling Bridge downtown Sarasota, the dolphins joined us in all their glory!  They put on quite a performance, jumping out of the water at least 3 feet!

We quickly got back in the groove of "cruising", requesting a bridge opening in Venice.  Travelling the waterways is definitely different than the roadways.

We anchored in Pelican Bay just south of Boca Grande, where Dave caught 2 catfish at once.  Needless to say, it was chicken on the grill that night!

From there we went up Charlotte Harbor to hunker down for a few days in Burnt Store Marina to escape the windy, rough weather that the whole country was experiencing.  We enjoyed the down time to relax and play some golf.

Tomorrow it's off to Cape Coral or Sanibel Island.......

We'll try to update the blog every week or two.