In the beginning....

Eight months ago, if someone had asked me about "America's Great Loop", I would've answered "What is that?"

Sometime between then and February, my adventurous husband, Michael Finkenbinder, heard about America's Great Loop and starting talking to me about it...probably around February of this year, 2018.  In the car on our way home from a 3-week stay in Colorado (where our daughter and her husband and their two flowers live--Iris, age 11 and Rose, age 6), we started doing more research into "The Loop."  We learned there was an "America's Great Loop Cruising Association (AGLCA)"  We also learned the AGLCA was holding a Looping 101 conference in Chicago in March.  What kind of people cruise The Loop?  What does it take to do so?  How do  you buy a boat?  How much does it cost?  How does one learn how to do it?  The conference itinerary looked like it would answer these questions for us, and so we completed an online registration, booked our hotel accommodations and purchased 2 tickets to "Hamilton!"

The conference was everything we'd hoped for and more.  We heard stories from interesting people who had completed The Loop.  During our research, our favorite website to shop for boats was Curtis Stokes and Associates; Curtis Stokes spoke at the conference and we were able to visit with him about our thoughts on boats.  Cindy Lewis talked about what it takes to finance a boat and how to search for insurance for a boat.  It was easy and pleasurable to visit with other attendees who dreamed of cruising The Loop.   In particular, we met Fred and Gayla from Iowa and Tom and Michelle from Texas--all of us "Looper Wanna-Bees."  To top off the conference, Mike and I took in "Hamilton" which inspired us to explore and learn more about American history--particularly the Revolutionary War--while cruising The Loop.

We returned back to our home on Long Lake near Bemidji, Minnesota and began the process for making "The Loop" become reality.