The Christensen's Lucky Star

January 2008 Finish the Great Loop

2008-02-03T09:34:00.001-07:00

We went home for the holidays, always good to go home, regroup, see friends and family. A great Christmas with the boys and Jan's parents.

We flew into Birmingham, AL on Jan 20th, ready to resume our trip. The boat in great shape, waiting for us in tiny Pickinsville, AL.
This is the view from the little marina where we left the boat over Christmas. We spent just a couple of days restocking the larder, anxious to get going down the Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers. The weather is cool, cloudy, and rainy, so we are ready to get to the Gulf coast for some sunshine.

We had to anchor out a lot on the Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers, as we headed south in Alabama. Here is my main anchor man.This was our last lock on the rivers. We tied up next to this barge full of wood chips.
January 28, 2008 we crossed our wake in Mobile Bay at Bon Secour. Just a spot on the intercoastal, but a monument for us. We have traveled over 6000 miles to get to this dot on the map. We are still amazed that we could do this trip. We have completed the Great Loop!!
This has been a dream come true and sensational trip. The highlight of this trip has been meeting some wonderful people and seeing great and beautiful parts of our country (and Canada).

Now what do we do? Well we have loved traveling on the Lucky Star, our little home on the water, so we are going to spend this winter in the Florida coast.

We were boarded by the Coast Guard just as we got to Pensacola Bay. First time for us, they just walked through the boat to make sure we have all the safety equipment required, and that the boat is safe. They were very nice and courteous. Always something new to experience.

Sept. 17- Nov 10, 2007 The Rivers

2007-11-14T02:13:00.000-07:00

Bob's cousin Harry from Victoria, British Columbia was with us for a week.

Jan, roping onto a bollard in a lock.

Beautiful sunset on the Illinois River.

We finally started down the Illinois River from Chicago the middle of September. We had cousin Harry with us down the Illinois, through Peoria (had to stop a few days for Bob to show us his alma mater at Bradley U).
We entered the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis, left the boat there for a few weeks while we traveled back to Chicago, then Denver for a quick home leave.

Once we got back to St. Louis, Jerry and Cristina Kemper joined us for the thrilling ride down the Mississippi. We passed tows with up to 35 barges (5 wide by 7 long). I do not know how the tow captains keep these all together.

This is a mooring cell used by the tow boats and barges on the larger rivers. We had to tie up to it one night. No marinas in sight that day.

We left the Mississippi and took a short trip up the Ohio River to the Tennessee. We stayed at a beautiful area on Lake Barclay at Green Rivers, KY. A quick trip to Nashville was in order. We got to hear a little country music, and visit the Opryland Hotel, then said goodby to Jerry and Cristina. Bob took a fast trip back to Denver for the World Series (go Rockies).
We headed down the Tennessee river to some very nice spots. A Jack Nicklaus golf course in the tiny town of Clifton TN

Grand Harbor Marina and Resort at Fulton MS, with a side trip to the Shiloh Civil War sight.

This is an 84' lock on the Tombigbee River, we just hang on tight while they let the water out.

We are now in a calm and quiet area of the Tombigbee on the Alabama side. We will leave the boat here for a couple of months while we go home for the holidays. We are only 300 miles from completing the loop in Mobile Bay. We have traveled over 5000 miles on these waterways.

We still have to pinch ourselves to believe that we have made this journey. Just will hate to see it end.

Sept 13-16, 2007 Chicago

2007-11-14T00:57:00.000-07:00

We made it to Chicago on a big wave, we stayed a marina in the downtown area, was wonderful to be able to bike the beautiful path along the water. Chicago has the most wonderful shore of any city. We were lucky to be able to take advantage of the great weather and all the city has to offer.
We had a lot of company on the boat while in the city. Some of Bob's school friends, Bill Clifford, spent an afternoon.Then came Bob's cousin Harold, some of his kids, and grandkids. We had a wonderful time having all of them aboard. The kids had a great game of hide and seek throughout the boat.

Our time in the city was too short, we need to keep moving south down the rivers, as fall is fast approaching.

Sept 3-11, 2007 Lake Michigan

2007-11-04T18:37:00.000-07:00

As we traveled down the east coast of Lake Michigan, we keep meeting up with many friends we have met on the loop. In Pentwater, MI we had dinner with Jack and Judy from Tennessee, and Jim and Trish from Michigan. We are all doing the loop, and meet up with each other in various ports along the way. These are friends with a common interest and goals, so we will keep in touch and find them in another place at another day. This is one of the great things about this trip, the wonderful people we have gotten to know.
We stopped in Grand Haven, MI and spent time with Bob's High School buddy, Scott Fowler and wife Karen. We had a wonderful time with them and seeing their beautiful town. They traveled with us for the day, from Grand Haven to Holland, MI. It was a glorious day, wild swans in the bay, and a regatta on the way.

Once in Holland, Bob's sister, Carol and good friend Ann met up with us. Holland is a lovely town with great shops and restaurants. It was fun to have everyone with us. We had to keep moving south, to get closer to a point that we could cut across the lake to Chicago. Lake Michigan can be quite rough, so picking a good day can cause some delay.
We spent two extra days in South Haven, MI before we could go on. These pictures show the storm we tried to venture out in, then had to go back into the channel to get out of the lake.
Even in a storm there is beauty.

August 30-Sept 3, 2007 Traverse City to Frankfort, MI

2007-10-14T19:07:00.000-06:00

We had some good friends join us, Jim and Dale Gallagher flew into Chicago, then drove up the Michigan west coast to find us in Traverse City, a very nice town, renovated downtown area, with great shops and eateries. We met up with some looper friends from Traverse City and had dinner with them. We went on to Northport, then Leland, once again very picturesque towns, with a lot of summer homes and lots of little lakes and waterways. This east side of Lake Michigan also has beautiful sandy beaches all along the coast. I did not expect to find that at all. Our friends from Traverse City, came and picked us up in Leland and took us back to the rental car. (These are the type of great people we have met while boating). We spent the day driving around Sleeping Bear National Park, a beautiful area with huge sand dunes.
Bob and Jim took the boat on to Frankfort, so Dale and I drove the car to meet them (we did manage to get in some shopping and lunch).
Frankfort, another delightful town, is where the Gallaghers left us to head back to Chicago and fly back to Denver. We sure enjoyed having them, as we do all our visiting passengers. They did a lot of driving just to spend a few days with us. Next time we hope they can stay longer.

August 27-30, 2007 Petoskey to Charlevoix, MI

2007-10-14T17:14:00.000-06:00

The northern part of Michigan is just beautiful, Lake Michigan is clean and clear and the towns are very quaint. The ports are 20-30 miles apart for easy access, in case of bad weather. We found the Michigan marinas of the highest quality, very new and clean.
We rented a car in Petoskey, so we toured around to see some of the summer homes, then spent a day at Harbor Springs, just across the bay. Another beautiful village, with wonderful summer homes, shops, and places to eat. An evening view from the marina...We went on to Charlevoix, met up with some friends, Charley and Bonnie, fellow loopers. We had a nice bike ride and dinner with them. This is the bridge entry to Charleviox, and some of the beautiful "mushroom" houses. Charlevoix and Petoskey are some of the many charming Lake Michigan towns. I feel like a tour guide, we sure are enjoying all the sights along the way.

August 25-26 Mackinac Island

2007-10-14T16:46:00.000-06:00

We decided to spend a few days on Mackinac Island, just across the water from the mainland in upper Michigan. We found the marina to be right in the middle of town, so we had easy access to everything. Mackinac is like paradise, no motorized vehicles of any kind are allowed, all transportation is by bicycle or horse drawn. There is a fort, Grand Hotel, lots of shops and wonderful restaurants. There are golf courses and bike trails all around the island.
We rode our bikes and took horse drawn carriages to brunch and sunset drinks on the veranda of the Grand Hotel. We will definitely come back here some day, as this is one of our favorite places.

August 21-23 Little Current On to the USA

2007-10-14T15:14:00.000-06:00

We continued on to Little Current, ON another small Canadian waterfront town. Much to our surprise, there were about four boats of some of our friends still there. One of the men in the marina had a car, so he loaded us up and took us to the grocery store. This is a big event to have a car at our disposal, sure easier than trying to tote our provisions on a bike. We also attended a Canadian waterway radio broadcast one morning. This was interesting, as so many boaters listen to the news, weather, and shared information from other boaters.

We had a dinner party on the Lucky Star, some of the many wonderful friends we have found in these waters. The 'loopers' are a very social group, keeps us all sane to be able visit with each other.

Because we were held up in Killarney, we could not spend the time in the North Channel that we would have liked. However, we did dock in Muldrum Bay, this marina is one of the few buildings in this small town. We had a wonderul dinner at a small inn a block away. When we left the next morning the fog was so thick we had to use only our radar to get us out of the bay and on our way. Not the best of travel conditions, but we made it back to the US.

The skies cleared up as we approached Drummond Bay Marina. The US Customs met us at the boat, asked a few questions, and welcomed us back to the great USA. This lighthouse is on the Canada/US boarder.

August 15-20 Killarney, ON

2007-10-14T14:50:00.000-06:00

We made our run from Britt, Ontario to Killarney. This is a dot on the map that is an oasis to boaters, one of the last stops on the Georgian Bay before the North Channel. This area of the Georgian Bay is so beautiful, very few cabins or people. Some of these areas do not have roads, accessible only by boat or sea plane. The town of Killarney has 4-5 marinas, no post office, just a general store, a few restaurants, somewhat of a golf course, and lots of beauty. This whole area is so clean and unpopulated, the water is clear and pure.
We ran into some of our 'looper' friends, so had dinners, played a round of golf (not the best course we have seen),
and enjoyed the new friendships. We were docked at a lodge, so had access to activities, dining, and pool.
We had to replace the boats batteries, so we were held up here for a few extra days. This is a view from the marina, almost a picture to paint.

August 11-14 Georgian Bay Ontario

2007-08-13T13:16:00.000-06:00

We entered Georgian Bay on the 10th at Honey Harbour, Ontario. Had a nice dinner with Joyce and Hugh on their last night. Saturday morning we dropped them off on the dock, they had to catch a taxi and bus to get back to Toronto, to fly home. We will miss them and their help.

This is a marker on one of the rocks (islands) that we use to navigate many of the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay. One of the many cottages, some all alone on an island.

Bob took me on a sea plane ride for my birthday, what a trip!
We flew over the Parry Sound area of Georgian Bay, we could then see some of the channel that we had traveled to get here. Very beautiful and unique part of the country.

This is a view of the Marina at Parry Sound where we are docked.
We left Parry Sound this morning after catching the weather report. High winds are due in this area this week. We made a run for the Byng Inlet town of Britt.
This area of Georgian Bay is full of cottages and very small towns to service them. We had a nice dinner with some fellow loopers, always interesting to meet and hear all the different boating stories. Now to wait and see what tomorrow brings, Killarney, or more of Britt.

July 28-Aug 11, 2007 Trent Severn, Ontario

2007-08-13T12:42:00.000-06:00

We started the Trent Severn waterway on July 28th and continued on it until Aug 10th. This entry will be mostly pictures, not enough words to describe the sights and events that we have enjoyed. The first two pictures represent the typical lock, and lockmaster's building. Most of the locks on the Trent Severn are manually opened and closed by the lockmaster and helper.

Bob's sister and husband, Joyce and Hugh, joined us in Peterborough ON, we put them to work helping with lines in the locks. Hugh earned the name 'rear admiral' for all his great line work on the stern, and Joyce maintained her 'first class passenger'
status. When going through the locks, the stern and bow must be roped to the cables along the sides of the walls of the locks. We were sometimes in a lock with 4-5 other boats.

This is a series of pictures of the Peterborough Lift lock, the boat enters a pool of water, the entire pool is raised or lowered hydraulically. This lock lowered us 48'. There are beautiful parks and boat tie ups at each lock. Below are some of the views of inside the lock pool at the top, and then looking out over the landscape.Then pictures from the top of the lock, looking out over the landscape; and then down at water level after we have been lowered to the canal. There were two of these lift locks, very unique to the Trent Severn Canal system.
This is one of the little inlets we saw as we traveled along the canal. Everyday was as pretty as can be.
We anchored out one night, and this friendly Canadian drove his boat over to us and invited us to his cottage for coffee. We accepted, so he came back and took us on his boat to join him and his wife on this lovely deck. This cottage is built on a solid rock that you can see in the front of the house. We even had a view of our boat in the bay.
The next morning, some people that we met in the locks, came by our anchorage and had a chat with us (Bob and I are in the dingy). Life on the water is always full of wonderful surprises.
The Big Chute at Port Severn is the end of the canal system, the entry to Georgian Bay. The Big Chute is a unique lock that we had read about all along the trip. Picture driving a boat onto a marine railway, then being lifted out of the water (on a sling), traveling over a road and being lowered down a hill to the water. That is the Big Chute.

Riding the Lucky
Star on the Big
Chute.

Up and over the land, we all sat on the bow and let the lockmaster do the work.

July 2007

2007-07-27T19:22:00.000-06:00

We are back in/or should I say on the Loop. We got back on the boat July 20th after a month at home. Was good to finally be able to travel on water again. The Lucky Star is running great, and we have a new "stern thruster" that lets us move into the tighter spaces with greater ease. This new addition really helps Bob maneuver with wind and currents, that were much more difficult to handle before.
I put the map of the Loop here, again, to show where we now are. We have crossed Lake Ontario, and are in the Trent-Severn Canal, this waterway connects Lake Ontario to Lake Huron at Georgian Bay. We are really enjoying all the Canadian hospitality and beauty.

Lock and drawbridge on the Oswego Canal, and the entrance to Lake Ontario from Oswego NY.

Lucy in her new life jacket!!

Bob relaxing after crossing Lake Ontario at Confederation Marina in Kingston Ontario. This is a beautiful town at the southern end of the St. Lawrence River and our Canadian port of entry.

The entrance to the Trent Severn Canal. This waterway winds 250 miles and 45 locks between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron at the Georgian Bay. This is lock 11 and 12 on the Trent Severn, a double lock, each raising us 24 feet.

May 22, 2007

2007-06-03T17:00:00.000-06:00

We are happy to be back on the Lucky Star. We flew into Syracuse NY, rented a car, and made our way to the boat. The marina had already launched the Lucky Star, so we could stay on it right away. Everything was in order, felt good to be back afloat. We had some work done on the transmissions while we were away, so we went on a sea trial with the mechanic, all well except for a little black smoke off the starboard engine. Well something needs to be fixed. They came onboard and told us parts would need to be ordered and we should be on our way in a week.

We decided to take a car trip to Montreal and Quebec City, we are so close, why not. What beautiful cities, we especially enjoyed Quebec City and the Charlevoix area north of Quebec City. These are picture of Quebec Vieux (old city) inside the walls and the Petit Champlain area. The Chateau Frontenac is the large hotel, pictures of this are usually used for Quebec City tourism.
The streets a old and wonderful, full of art gallerys, shops, antique stores and wonderful cafes.

We headed north along the St. Lawrence River to a small village in the Charlevoix region. This is the Casino Charlevoix, and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

We got back on the boat after a week of travel, the parts are still not in. We are spending our days doing odd jobs on the boat, shopping for provisions, and enjoying the other boaters in the marina. We have been lucky to have such nice people around us.

Sept 17-25, 2006

2007-06-03T15:15:00.000-06:00

The Erie Canal, a left (port side) turn.

Well this is the last leg of the loop for 2006. We have gone 3130 miles on the Lucky Star since we set out from Houston.
We entered the Erie Canal, we will go through 22 locks that will lift us more that 500 feet as we move from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes. These are some views from inside a lock, going up or down, and then heading up the pretty canalways.
We spent two days at Sylvan Beach, an old tourist town on Lake Oneida. Unfortunately, all closed up during the off season.

This, Winter Harbor Marina, will be the home of the Lucky Star for the winter. These are huge, heated, storage buildings for small to large water craft.

Good bye to the Lucky Star for 2006, see you next year!!

Sept 14-17, 2006

2007-06-03T14:35:00.000-06:00

Bye-Bye New York City. We now head up the Hudson River. Rob went with us the first day as far as Newburgh. There is a ferry ride across the river to a NY Modern Art Museum at Beacon NY that he wanted to take us to. The museum is housed in an old paper carton factory, huge buildings to hole huge works of modern art. This was very interesting. We had a nice dinner with him at our marina. Rob took the comuter train back to NYC the next morning.
This is such an interesting area, just past the George Washington Bridge, the river area becomes very quiet and secluded. The countryside is almost rural, with beautiful homes, but very few within view.

As we made our way up the Hudon, we passed some of the most unique lighthouses. They looked like victorian style houses, each one was representative of the town near by.

Greg and Sherri Dunn were bicycling the Erie Canal path, so they found us docked at a funky marina along the Hudson and joined us for dinner one night. Was so good to see friends from home, we have been gone since July.

This is Albany, NY, a pretty city from the waterway.

Sept 7-14, 2006

2007-06-03T13:40:00.000-06:00

New York City here we w come. This was truly an event of a lifetime. Going into the NYC harbor was thrilling. We went right past the watchfull eye of the Statue of Liberty, that was so cool.

We were at the 79th Street Marina, on the Hudson River, the Riverside walk and bike path was just outside our door. We rode our bikes everywhere we could, all the way to Rob's place in the lower east side one day. What an experience that was. From this marina we could walk to the museums, Central Park, the theater district, it was very easy for us to get around.

Rob had some of his friends over for a drink one beautiful night, so we all gathered on the flybridge and enjoyed the NYC skyline. He has wonderful friends, we so enjoyed meeting them.

One of Bob's high school buddies, Dave "Monk" Delano, lives close by so he came over one evening, we were hoping he would be able to travel with us a bit, but this was not a good time for him. We love having people join us on our Lucky Star.

Mike flew in for a few days, so we just had a ball with both boys touring Manhatten. Rob really knows his way around this city, so we got to enjoy some of the less tourist areas. We even went to the "best" pizza place in Brooklyn.

We spent seven wonderful days, saw so many sights, very neat to live in Manhatten, even if it is on a boat. We had a location worth millions.

Aug 30-Sept 6, 2006

2007-06-03T13:03:00.000-06:00

Cape May, NJ, what a delightful surprise. We knew nothing about this town, except that it is at the bottom of New Jersey, and we would stay there after our daylong trip down the Delaware Bay. We spent a few days provisioning the boat, and sightseeing. We were ready to head up the Atlantic coast to NYC along the Jersey shore. However, Hurrican Ernisto was playing havoc in the Southeast, so we holed up here for a few extra days.

The weather report was 30-40 mph gusts, so we tied everything down, buttoned up the boat, and decide to take a side trip to Atlantic City to pass the time while the wind was blowing. Las Vegas this is not. It is right on the beach, and probably pretty when the weather is nice, but a little seedy. We were not impressed. When we knew we had seen enough, we headed back to the marina to find out that the tail end of Ernesto had hit the area with 80 mph gust.

The bimini of the boat was in a shambles, Bob found some parts 100 yards away in the parking lot in front of the boat. Some of the boats in the marina had major damage, some had sunk.
We were lucky to find all of the parts to the bimini and in good enough shape to have it repaired. We spent the next two days getting the canvas resewn, and put the bimini back in place (this was like a jigsaw puzzle).

We did more sight seeing and found the Cape May beach area, with some of the most beautiful turn ma-of-the-centruy mansions we have come across. This has been a summer resort area for New Jersey and New Yorkers for many years.

We left Cape May and headed up the Jersey Shore on the Atlantic Ocean. We were lucky now to have very calm waters because this is a stretch we had to do on the 'outside', our boat's draft is 5 feet, intracoastal here is too shallow for us. We anchored one night at Barnegate Bay NJ next to a great lighthouse. Tomorrow, up the coast to NYC.

Aug 27-30, 2006

2007-06-03T12:00:00.000-06:00

If Rocky can do it, we can too. At the top of the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, we ran, walked, then crawled to the top, but we made it.

Philadelphia was a side trip up the Delaware River we had not planned on, but so glad we made it. It is a gem. The day we came into the marina was windy, tide rising so the
current was very strong.
This marina was a tough one to get into, but Captain Bob, with much patience and skill, made it without a scratch.

The marina was located in the old waterfront of Philly, so as we walked, we would go through the streets and buildings that Benjamin Franklin traversed. We spent the entire time enjoying the many museums and historical sights.

Aug 23-25, 2006

2007-06-03T11:37:00.000-06:00

Coming in to the Baltimore Harbor was very exciting. This is one of the most beautiful and best big city harbors we have seen. The city has most of the urban development centered around the harbor, so we were within walking or water taxi distance to everything.

Here we are docked right in the middle of the entertainment area.

We met up again with Diane and Mike Ruhr, (Jans childhood friends sister, got that connection?) and went to a Baltimore Orioles game.

After leaving Baltimore, we continued up the Chesapeake, then crossed to the Delaware Bay through the C&D canal. This canal just big enough for ships to make it between the two waterways.

Aug 22, 2006

2007-06-03T11:24:00.000-06:00

Here we are in Annapolis MD, we just keep seeing more neat places. We are getting quite a history lesson each day, as we really have tried to read as much as we can about each stop, so this is school on the bobber.

Bob tying up the dingy so we could tour Annapolis.

This picture is from our anchorage, right next to the Naval Academy. The field house and practice fields are on the other side of these flags. We would here the cadets call out the excersizes and bugle call in the morning. A fleet of small sail boats ran races all around us in the afternoon. Great view of the entire harbor.

Aug 19-21, 2006

2007-06-03T10:58:00.000-06:00

We hated to leave Washington DC but still have many places to go. We are truely in the middle of the Chesapeake. We arrived in Oxford MD, a beautiful coastal town. We anchored in the bay next to the town park. Lucy took us ashore for a nice dinner and walk. This is our dingy, provides great transportation when we are "on the hook".

Our next stop was St. Michaels MD, the blue crab capital. Anchored again, in the town harbor, this is a very picturesque town (VP Cheny has a summer home here). Very nice shops and restaurants. A water taxi picked us up at the boat and took us across the harbor to dinner. Fresh blue crab special, of course.
You can see the Lucky Star in the background of this picture, anchored very close to town.

Aug 11-17, 2006

2007-06-02T12:02:00.000-06:00

Captain Lucy and the Kemper crew. Lucy has been with us the entire time, she is a great boat dog.

Mount Vernon, on the river just before Washington DC.

Touring the many sights of DC, there is so much to see we could have been there another week. Jerry and Cristina left after a great week with us.

This is Steve (yo-o-o Stevie) and Nancy Norton. Steve was Bob's best childhood friend. They had not seen each other in 40 years, so this was quite a reunion. Steve and Nancy had just bought a new boat and live on it full time in DC., we were able to dock at the same marina. We sure spent some wonderful time with them.
A trip highlight for Bob.

July 28-Aug 7, 2006

2007-06-01T20:06:00.000-06:00

We were in Portsmouth and Norfolk, VA for about 10 days. We took a lot of time to explore the great historic cities, and enjoyed the beautiful Virginia Beach. The beach front here has been cleaned up and renovated with restaurants and shops.

The Carols' left us and our friends, Jerry and Cristina Kemper joined us. We have really enjoyed having friends and family aboard with us.

We boarded Jerry and Cristina and started the journey to Washington DC. We went up the James River to Williamsburg, temperatures in the 100's, but we survived. The facilities at the Kingsmill Marina and Resort were georgeous. They had shuttles for us to all their facilities, including golf, pool, tennis, and the Williamsburg village. This was a real highlight in our travels. We spent a few days there, then out to the Chesapeake, an overnight stop at Cape Charles, then on to the Potomac. This was an exciting leg, never dreamed we would sail the Potomac, or even the Chesapeake. We anchored at a delightful spot on the Potomac, in a little area called Long Cove. Nice tim e to have a sip of wine and play some cards.

July 25-28, 2006

2007-06-01T19:43:00.000-06:00

We went through this South Mills lock outside of Elizabeth, NC. This is the beginning of the Dismal Swamp, a route to Norfolk VA. The waters and air were so clear it was like floating on glass. We had such a good time with the Carols', everyday was so different. It was nice for us to have a "crew".

This is the No "1" mile marker for the intracoastal waterway. We will no longer be traveling this intracoastal. Carol and cousin Carol were in Portsmouth with us for a few days before they had to leave.

July 22-24, 2006

2007-06-01T19:25:00.000-06:00

Back on the Lucky Star, we were gone for two months, so we were really ready to get back and on the waterway. Bob's sister, Carol; and cousin, Carol from Victoria BC, joined us in Wilmington and were with us for two weeks. We left Wilmington and started up the NC intracoastal. More beautiful sights, many small wonderful towns to visit. Friendly and helpful people all along the way

Here is a real "Salty Dog"

These are some of the picturesque small town marinas that we stopped at along the way. Oriental and Bellhaven NC

May 7-17, 2006

2007-06-01T18:58:00.000-06:00

We finally arrived in Wilmington, NC, this was our home for the next ten days, before we flew home to Denver for two months. Wilmington is on the Cape Fear River and next to Wrightsville Beach. The beaches here were very white and fine, we had some really nice walks.

Vince and Mary Birleson of the Betty B were our good neighbors for the two weeks we were there. We also had an alligator in the marina that would swim around the docks every day. No skinny dipping here.

May 4-6, 2006

2007-06-01T18:44:00.000-06:00

This flag on the front of the boat is the AGLCA burgee (American Great Loop Cruisers Assoc). We get e-mails and newsletters about all the different experiences of other 'loopers'. These are most helpful whenever we have a question about a specific area, cost of diesel, boat problem, or navigation issue.
We just keep moving along at a very leisurely pace. We only travel about 50-70 miles a day. There are just so many wonderful places to stop, and we still feel like we have missed some great towns that we have read about. As we travel, we use regional Cruise Guides that give us marina, anchorage, and information about all the towns along the waterway.
Here we are in Myrtle Beach, lots of tourists. We did get to play a few of their great golf courses.

April 30-May 2, 2006

2007-06-01T18:23:00.000-06:00

Charlotte, SC is a wonderful city. We were at the city marine, on the "Mega Yacht" dock (see sign by the boat). This marina was so large that the attendants used golf carts to get around. We saw some of the most beautiful yachts here. We were within bicycle distance to town, so we rode all over. The residential streets are some of the most lovely.

April 29-30, 2006

2007-06-01T17:42:00.000-06:00

Joyce stayed on the boat with us from Hilton Head Island to Beaufort, then Hugh drove over and met us for dinner. There are so many neat towns very close to Hilton Head.
We really had a nice time in Beaufort, SC, rode our bikes, took a carriage ride, and wandered through all the nice shops and gallerys. Here is another coastal town growing and developing so fast.

April 22-27, 2006

2007-05-31T13:57:00.000-06:00

Our life is just too rough! Happy, happy hour on the bow. As we meandered through the beautiful southeast country, we could stop and anchor whenever we wanted.

We got to Hilton Head Island and stopped for a week. Spent time off the boat to stay with Joyce and Hugh at their lovely home. This is a view from their back deck, a lovely marsh that empties to the Atlantic. We took time to golf and tour the "low country" of South Carolina. Another beautiful part of our country, What a glorious world we live in.

April 20-21, 2006

2007-05-31T13:34:00.000-06:00

We are in lovely St. Augustine, this is a very pretty town. Bob's sister, Joyce and husband Hugh joined us here. We spent some great days touring around town. Hugh even dropped a fish line or two while at the marina.

Hugh and Joyce stayed with us as we jouneyed up the intracoastal waterways of northern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The areas were probably the most tranquil and pristeen land we have seen. We stopped at Jeykle Island and viewed the land of the 'old rich, a beautiful resort area originally developed for the wealthy few of New York.

April 15-17, 2006

2007-05-31T05:57:00.000-06:00

We stayed at Daytona Beach for a few days, and were welcomed by these manatee at our stern. They seem to like the marinas, as they were at Titusville also.

Everyone has to drive on the beach, part of the Daytona Beach experience. We took a side trip to the Daytona race track also. We really are tourist at heart.

Bob and Jan a Epcot Center, what is Florida without Disney World. We had a fun day here.

April 13-14, 2006

2007-05-31T05:45:00.000-06:00

We made it across the Okeechobee in good time and weather. Our first stop was Stuart Florida. While Jan was walking Lucy one day, she saw a friend, Mike and Diane Casey Ruhr from Minn. (her sister was Jan's best friend in grade school in Winner SD). Mike and Diane were in the same marina outfitting a new boat, was fun to catch up with them. Definetly a small world we live in.
Bob is welcoming us to Vero Beach, we travel about 6 hours a day, and stop as we want. Vero Beach hit the spot with nice restaurants and beach. The tug with a tug at the pier behind us, really cute. We meet so many interesting and nice people along the way.
A view of the intracoastal as we head up the east coast of Florida. Many beautiful homes and towns along the way.

Lucy on the watch, she loves the boat. This is a typical marina scene.

April 7-9, 2006

2007-05-31T05:31:00.000-06:00

We are back on the Lucky Star after a month at home in Denver. We will try to go back home about every 6-8 weeks, to catch up on the office and house. We had a great 60th Birthday celebration for Bob while home, complete with his sisters, cousins, Jan's family and many dear friends.
And, here are some of those great friends on the Lucky Star. When we got back to Ft. Meyers, the Craft's, Dunn's and Elrod's were in Naples FL at the Dunn's condo. They came over to spend the evening with us at the boat and out to dinner. We really enjoyed being able to have them see the boat and exactly what we are living on these days.

This is the Caloosahatchee River that took us to Lake Okeechobee. This is also part of the intracoastal waterway.
The lock entrance and dock in Clewiston, will open up to Lake Okeechobee. We crossed Florida to the east coast at this point. This time of year the route through the Keys was too shallow. We tied up here for a few days waiting for the winds to die down, so we would have a smooth crossing.

February 22-28, 2006

2007-05-31T05:05:00.000-06:00

We anchored next to the uninhabited island of Caya Costa, near Captiva and the Pine Islands. We took the dingy to the island and took advantage of their nice hiking trails. Spent a couple of days at this anchorage before going to Ft. Meyers.

Entering the Caloosahatchee River from the Gulf, going into Ft. Meyers.

We left the Lucky Star in Ft. Meyers for the month of March. This marina is in the downtown area of Ft. Meyers, so we had time to explore another lovely Florida town. We love the palm trees. We have had such a good time on the boat, hard to leave her for awhile. the Lucky Star has been our home for the last two months.

February 19-22, 2006

2007-05-31T04:51:00.000-06:00

We decided to stay a few days in the Charlotte Bay area, found a nice little place called Burnt Store Marina (we thought this would be a quiet little place on the bay, with a store and maybe a town close by). Much to our delight, this is a beautiful resort, with golf, pools, restaurants, everything within a few feet of our boat.
We have our clubs with us, and the cart was waiting for us at the dock. How spoiled can we get.
Bob and Lucy taking a minute to enjoy the sights at the Burnt Store Marina. Needless to say, this is one of our favorite spots.

February 16-18, 2006

2007-05-31T04:28:00.000-06:00

As we travel along..... Here we are anchored in the bay just outside Sarasota FL. It is amazing how quiet and tranquil it can be out in the middle of these large bays.
This is captain Bob on the flybridge. He rotates steering the boat from here to the pilot house, depending on the weather. The fair weather days we are usually up here.
We keep the bikes up on the flybridge,and use the dingy hoist to lower them whenever we want to ride. The bikes are our usual mode of transportation in many areas. We only rent a car when we are someplace for a week or so. We have had a lot of fun riding around all the various towns, large and small.

February 10-15, 2006

2007-05-31T04:16:00.000-06:00

We are waving hello from our spot in Clearwater Beach. We had a great week here, lots of sunshine, beach time, and bike rides with Lucy. We took the time to tour around the Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg area, we have never been here before, so it was fun to see another beautiful Florida area.
Our friendly neighbor.

Februrary 6-10, 2006

2007-05-29T18:26:00.000-06:00

We entered the waters of Florida the first part of February. Now we could take a breather, this area was not hit by Katrina, so there are marinas in tact. We spent a few days at Panama Beach, then went on to Apalachicola to wait for good weather to cross the Gulf of Mexico to Clearwater Beach. These first two pictures are taken at our spot in Apalachicola. We could walk or ride our bikes to town from here. Very nice small town with many new shops and restaurants, it has been discovered. We especially enjoyed the fresh Gulf oysters and talapia.
Apalachicola to Clearwater Beach is a twenty hour trip on our boat, so we left at 7:30 am and arrived at Anclote Key at 3 am the next morning. We had beautiful weather for the crossing, so the time spent waiting was worth it. We anchored at Anclote Key, slept until 9:00, then took off to Clearwater Beach Marina. This was a beautiful place to spend a week of R&R.
Our friend and mate, Jim, flew back to Houston, as he was ready to leave us on our own. We learned many valuable lessons from him about our boat, and tips for future navigation.

This is the view from our boat at Clearwater Beach Marina.

Jan. 2006

2007-05-23T19:51:00.000-06:00

We left Galveston Bay early in the morning January 26, 2006 to begin the Great Loop. Our good friends Jerry and Cristina Kemper, were up to wave goodbye. We were so nervous, this is quite a trip we were planning, not too sure we could manage this new sea going home of ours. A good friend from our marina, Jim Monahan, traveled with us around the Gulf of Mexico to Clearwater, FL. Jim has years of boating experience and knows his way around a boat. We were very lucky he decided to make this first part of the trip with us. This trip to Clearwater, FL will be made in the Intercoastal Waterway around the Gulf. We spent the first five days from Houston to New Orleans traveling up to eleven hours a day. (We move at about 7-8 knots which is equivalent to about 8 miles per hour. a nice slo-o-o-ow pace) This part of the Intercoastal Waterway was litered with the remnants of Hurricane Katrina so there were very few marinas and anchorages left undamaged. The trip through New Orleans was very emotional, seeing the aftermath of such destruction, and just traveling through this famous city was something we had been dreaming about for a long time.
Even after leaving New Orleans, we were still confronting signs of the hurricane all along the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coast. We did find a brand new or should I say rebuilt marina in Gulf Shores, Alabama called LuLu's. The owner is Jimmy Buffets' sister, so much of his memorabelia and music there. Was a fun and very nice stop.
This is just one of the many beautifull sunsets we see from the back of our boat.

2007-05-10T22:12:00.000-06:00

The Lucky Star

America's Great Loop

This is an over view of most of the route we have and will follow. We started our trip in Houston, so we also traveled the Gulf of Mexico. We crossed Florida through Lake Okeechobee, then up the Atlantic coast to Chesapeake Bay, a side trip on the Potomac, Delaware Bay, New Jersey coast to the Hudson River. Up to this point, from Houston to the Hudson, we have been traveling on the Intercoastal Waterway. North on the Hudson through the Erie Canal to Oswego on Lake Ontario. The Canadian route through the Trent Severn canal to the Georgian Bay, the North Channel on to Lake Michigan. Once we leave Lake Michigan, we will start south on the Illinois River, Mississippi River, Ohio River, Tennessee to the Tombigbee, then back to Mobile Bay. Once we reach Mobile Bay we will have completed our Great Loop.

In August 2004 we began our Great Loop Journey by purchasing the Lucky Star, a 1988, 50 foot Marine Trader. After visiting the Miami and Palm Beach Boat shows, reading numerous boating books and magazines, the dream started to become a reality. This classic boat was found in Houston where we purchased it. We spent a good part of 2005 refurbishing, learning the ways of the waters, and how to maneuver a large boat. We were fortunate to keep the Lucky Star during this time in Seabrook, TX, on the Galveston Bay. We met many wonderful people in the marina that are now dear friends, we were so lucky to find such a great place to begin this journey.