The Who, Not What

During our six-week Thanksgiving and Christmas break from the boat, I learned how easy it will be to make a book from the blogs written about our America’s Great Loop Adventure on Velsignet.  Before going to print, each blog is being reviewed, starting at the beginning in 2018.   2018 to 2020.  Has it really been as long as that?  

Having said goodbye to Mike’s parents and Loopers at The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach (No Schedule, Pura Vida III), we departed at sunrise yesterday morning, January 1, to cruise towards Fort Walton Beach, FL.  During the day, we texted and reconnected with other Looper friends (Red Pearl, Southern Cross, Misty, Saltaire, Honey Queen, About Time, Orion).  Slowly approaching the area where we would overnight (Fort Walton Beach Free Dock), Velsignet came to a sudden stop and the engine alarm sounded:  We’d run aground!  Having experienced a similar situation in the lowlands of South Carolina, we flagged a 20-foot Searay passing by and the couple (new owners of their beautiful boat!) gently pulled Velsignet to deeper water.

Our Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays were joyfully shared with loved ones in Colorado (Arvada and Denver), Washington (Seattle and Mercer Island), Minnesota (Twin Cities, Fertile, Crookston, and Bemidji), Iowa (Des Moines and Adel) and Alabama (Orange Beach).  We hugged our grandkids, our daughters, our sons-in-law, our parents, our siblings, and our “other brothers and sisters” — our friends.  How I wish the good memories of the times spent together were in pictures to share in this post!  (If you have pix to share, please email them to us!)

Reflecting on this season with people we love, I am reminded of a saying that goes like this:

 “It’s not WHAT I have in my life, but WHO I have in my life that counts.”

We are on our second day cruising east along the Panhandle of Florida towards Carabelle where we will wait for a weather window to cross the Gulf of Mexico again.  This will be our third crossing and the anxiety around interpreting the weather, wind, and wave forecasts is no less than the first two.  We are currently cruising across the 30-mile Choctawhatchee Bay.  The winds are from the SE at 10-20 mph and will increase for the next couple of days.  We’re hoping things calm down such that we can get to Clearwater, FL by Monday or Tuesday of next week.

It's official!  We've gone gold!  We're gold loopers!  We held off replacing our white Looper Burgee with a new gold one until we reached Orange Beach where we could share in a ceremony with family.

The burgee shows the circumnavigational route we took to complete America's Great Loop.

Scott and JoAnn Brolsma have accompanied us on Velsignet more than once on our travels.  It was great to have them in Orange Beach with us to help us celebrate.

Mike's parents, Glen and Marlys, were also with us when we took down the White Burgee to replace it with the Gold one.  We've enjoyed meals, card games, and a cruise with them on Velsignet.

As we were cruising the Gulf ICW towards Fort Walton Beach yesterday, we passed this sunken boat.
It's sad to see such a site.

Another new day!  With our gold burgee flapping in the wind, we left Fort Walton Beach at sunrise this morning and cruised to an anchorage near Panama City, FL.