Discovering The Home of Our Hearts

To think that this is the last entry on the amazing sojourn that Chip and I experienced on The Great Circle Loop is probably the biggest reason why it has taken me so long to sit down and write it out and publish it....How does one sum up 31 months and nearly 7,000 miles in one last blog post? I was worried as each day passed that I might somehow lose the emotional energy that those last few days on the loop were charged with...We got home about 3 weeks ago, and quite honestly, we haven't stopped long enough to really put all of our thoughts down on paper...but, the emotions haven't quieted themselves down at all...in fact, it is possible, the joy of the experience has only since intensified with every retelling of a story from our wonderful adventure...and so, please allow me these last few words about our trip which took us to places we never thought we would ever see, and worlds within ourselves that we didn't know existed...

~We are not the same people we were when this journey began---that is one thing for sure I can tell you will happen if you ever decide to jump off the ledge in life where you look out onto a horizon with a longing in your soul to see more of our beautiful planet, But beware...once you have touched the other side, there is no coming back to where you began---of course, I mean that totally in a metaphoric way...We are so happy to be home, but it is truly the home of our hearts that we discovered on ithaka...and man, what a beautiful place it is...

~Some say what we did took a lot of courage...I never thought of it as courageous...You see, I've knelt beside the well at the home of Helen Keller where as a small child she came to understand her first word, water...and while gazing all around me I saw the blue sky, the flowers in the gardens, the magnolia trees that were planted before she was ever born--I listened to the birds sing--knowing that she never experienced the simple gift of gazing into her mother's eyes, yet went on to publicly speak around the world and inspire people everywhere--Our journey pales in comparison when you think and try to imagine her world of dark silence...

~I have walked through the halls of the shrine of the multitudes who at Ellis Island 16 million immigrants crossed over the threshold of America having risked everything in pursuit of a dream---sailed across a great ocean with all their worldly possessions wrapped in a blanket---How could our journey in a comfortable trawler ever compare, how could it ever be described as brave and ambitious when we think of our ancestors and their vision of the Statue of Liberty as they arrived in their new home...

~My best memories you ask? --There are too many to have a favorite. I sang the national anthem in the city where it was written as I watched my Yankees play the Orioles in Camden Yard...and sat in the stands at Doubleday field where our national pastime began....We visited West Point, and Annapolis...and countless forts and battlefields from both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War...Shiloh, Fort Sumter, Fort Stanwix, Williamsburg, Yorktown. --Countless churches and cemeteries...lighthouses and landmarks...galleries and studios...locks and a chute and lakes and gorges...even a carp barrier...farmer's markets, even fond memories of Super Wal-marts (fellow loopers will understand)...We've been through tropical storms and micro bursts, 8' seas, fog and rain...but mostly sunny days. --We've hiked across Cumberland Island as feral horses ran right beside us and biked around Jekell Island where we visited mansions from yesteryear......we picked wild blueberries & fished in the north channel where granite islands were pink and mauve...cruised up the Hudson River past countryside so breathtakingly beautiful we no longer need wonder how the great River Valley artists were so inspired...We touched the doorknob to the office where FDR gave his fireside chats...We've seen the changing leaves along the Tennessee River as ancient mountains rose up along side us...we walked in sand drifts as white as snow in the Florida panhandle...took the dinghy to hidden treasures, up quiet rivers and around the bends...and cruised through water along Lake Michigan that rivals the Caribbean in its clear blue color...I've left a thousand things out!

~Most of all, life is all about the relationships we create and hold dear, and the loop is no different...So, here's to those that met us along the way (in order of appearance)--Jack & Holly...our friend Leigh...Fern of course, she met us twice! ~and Aunt Dot & Uncle George...my brother Joey and my dear friend Fred...Frank & Denise and their family...Uncle Bill...Gil & Pam...Art & Sharon, Brandy, David & Leonardo, Chino & Yvonne...Carol, Uncle Joe, Tim & Betty, Ed & Marcia...and we cannot forget the new friends we made along the way...Milt & Fran...Guy and Peggy...James and Renny...and countless other loopers who, when any of us saw that AGLCA burgee flying, we knew we'd soon be making another new friend! ~and then there are those who also became family...like Bill & Eileen on the BlueMax and Bud, Muriel & Shelly on Sunshine...

~Yes, it is about the journey--not the destination, but for what it is worth...the destination, as it turns out, is not a place afterall, but rather a feeling inside of us at the depth of our being, a new way of seeing the oneness of our planet and the lovely connectedness of it all.

...and we can't wait to do it all again!

We're Home

On January 4th, 2010 at 4:32 pm, the Ithaka crossed her wake in Gordon Pass, Naples Florida,
officially closing the circle on one of the greatest adventures of a lifetime. It took us nearly 3 years overall to cruise the 6,777 miles.
Everyone is asking us..."What has been the best part of the loop?" There is no 'best part', but rather hundreds and thousands of wonderful experiences all coming together to become one unbelievable adventure that we can't wait to do again!


*Photo of my very happy captain as we crossed our wake!






"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by those you did. So, throw off those bowlines...away from safe harbors...Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain

Borrowed Words

I have enjoyed keeping this blog...I love words. A lot of time and thought goes into each post. ~and, I am sure later today as Chip and I cross our wake, an emotion will take my pen in hand and right words will indeed come to me. But, for now I would like to borrow some words from John Steinbeck, an excerpt from "Travels with Charley."

"When I was very young and the urge to be somewhere else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked. Four hoarse blasts of a ship's whistle still raise the hairs on my neck and set my feet tapping. The sound of a jet, an engine warming up, even the clopping of hooves on pavement bring an ancient shudder, the dry mouth and vacant eye, the hot palms and the churn of the stomach high up under the rib cage. In other words, I don't improve; in further words, once a bum always a bum. I fear my disease is incurable. I set this matter down not to instruct others but to inform myself.

When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He has a built-in garden of reasons to choose from. Next he must plan his trip in time and space, choose a direction and a destination. And at last he must implement his journey. How to go, what to take, how long to stay. This part of the process is invariable and immortal. I set it down only so newcomers to bumdom, like teenagers in new hatched sin, will not think that they invented it.

Once a journey is designed and put into practice, a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has a personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person unto itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. Tour masters, schedules, reservations, brass-bound and inevitable, dash themselves to wreckage on the personality of the trip. Only when this is recognized can the blown-glass bum relax and go along with it. Only then do the frustrations fall away. In this a journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it. I feel better now, having said this, although only those who have experienced it will understand."

Life's Little Speed Bumps

It was a sleepless night in St. Pete Beach; bad waves, wind & current...Chip had one eye open all night and stayed on the couch, checking the lines throughout the night...I didn't drift off till after 3 am when the wind finally settled down. We headed out before the sun came up, with the magnificent Skyway Bridge in the distance. We knew it was low tide; but all the charts, electronics, visual aides and local knowledge could not have foreseen the events of the day as they were about to enfold. As we approached Tampa Bay, right in the middle of the channel our depth gauge went from 5' below the keel to NO READING. Luckily Chip was at idle speed, slowly maneuvering through the skinny water with sandbars along side us all the way. I could have reached out to touch some of the shore birds wading in the mud. The bow bumped first which popped the stern up slightly or else the damage would have probably been much worse...After a call to our mechanic in Naples, we made the decision to get to the closest marina to have Ithaka checked. We crept across Tampa Bay at 3 knots because of the vibration above 1000 rpms...think unbalanced washing machine on the spin cycle times a thousand. Throughout the 3 1/2 hour bay crossing we listened over the radio to several other boaters in distress who had gone aground during this unusually low tide.

The folks at Bradenton Beach marina couldn't have been nicer. Chip had a spare prop on board. He always says he has a spare for everything except his first mate! Had he not been prepared we might have been spending a few days on Anna Maria Island--which, by the way, turned out to be a good stop in spite of the reason that got us there. While the mechanics worked on the prop, I spotted a steeple off in the distance so I went for a walk. A sweet little clapboard sided church was unlocked...I went inside to say a prayer to find a dozen or so church ladies taking down their Christmas decorations, playing music and enjoying fellowship. They were all so happy to have a visitor! They told me all about the history of the church and the story behind all the beautiful stained glass windows. I sat in awe of the holy spirit, that feeling you get when you cannot put something into words. Just think of something that brings you so much joy you cry. That is how I felt. I knew at that moment that everything is always in perfect order and God knew we needed one more gentle reminder, a "speed bump" so to speak. I heard Him whisper, "Slow down, enjoy the journey."

Once we got the Ithaka back in the water we determined we would not be getting to Englewood before dark, so we called a marina in Venice and set out to enjoy the rest of the cold but clear afternoon. We counted our blessings and reminisced about all the adventures, both planned and unexpected, that we've experienced along this journey. Once docked at The Crow's Nest Marina, we called our dear friends Ed and Marcia who live nearby. They came down and picked us up and brought us back to their loving, warm, wonderful home for a delicious dinner which included a champagne toast in celebration of our nearly completed loop and their 15 year anniversary!

Last night we slept like babies as Ithaka gently rocked us---and it was the first time in many days that we did not set the alarm. We are now 100 miles from home so we will stop tonight somewhere between Captiva and Sanibel...Probably our last night on Ithaka on The Great Circle Loop. We expect to be crossing our wake tomorrow afternoon at Gordon Pass at high tide...

"Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God." ~ Kurt Vonnegut

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year from the cast and crew of the good ship Ithaka!

Tarpon Springs is one of those places that needs to be seen once, but when you leave you say to yourself, "Ok...been there, got the t-shirt." (although we didn't buy any t-shirts!) ha ha! -You can see it all in a day, two at the most...and most of it is pretty touristy. It was interesting to learn that it is the sponge capital of the world. The gulf waters north of Tampa Bay is one of the few areas in the world where the species of natural sponges suitable for commercial use are found. The local industry began in the late 1800's. Initially they retrieved sponges by gigging or hooking them. Diving for sponges was introduced in 1905 when the first Greek immigrant came to the west coast of Florida. As we walked along the docks we overheard Greek spoken as often as English. The restaurants were very good. I love Greek food! Our favorites were Hellas and Mykonos. Please, have you ever had fried cheese? Opa! ~We stayed at the city docks, which were pretty dilapidated to tell you the truth, but within walking distance to everything you'd want to see. (photo is of the Anclote River cruising into Tarpon Springs).

The two best things to happen to us in Tarpon Springs however, had nothing to do with sponges or fried cheese! We had two wonderful visits! First, early in the day, our friend Carol came to see us. Carol's husband is Chip's longtime friend Dave, who passed in August. We are dedicating the 4th and final leg of our journey to Dave's memory. Carol lives in Largo, not far from where we docked and she and her daughter Stacey, who was visiting for the holidays, came by to spend some time with us on New Year's Eve day. It was great seeing her...there were lots of tears and lots of reminiscing. Later in the day, my Uncle Joe, my dad's 'baby' brother, joined us for New Year's Eve dinner! What a treat for us to spend such quality time with such special people in our lives. A great way to start the new year and the new decade! Happy 2010!

Today we pulled out early; the sun was barely popping up over the horizon. We maneuvered our way past all the sponge boats and tour boats and made our way out into the intracoastal waterway. Tonight we are taking cover from the 25-30 knot winds in Tierra Verde near St. Pete Beach. It's pretty bouncy out there! When we cruised past the Bellaire Beach bridge around noon we called Grandma Helen and she waved to us from her window as I blew her kisses...I promised her we'd be back with mom in February. Tonight we are meeting up with Chip's cousin Tim and his bride Betty. They're on their way to get us now...We went 30 days without seeing more people than we could count on our fingers, but as we approach the end of the loop we are filling our days and nights with a lot of fun & happy people! All part of this wonderful journey home.

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than in miles." Unknown to me