What started out as 6,000 miles in front if us came full circle this past weekend as we crossed our wake at sunset on December 5th. We started the day with the intention to enjoy the beautiful sun and waves and to anchor in a spot between Sarasota and Venice, but the 10 hour day had different plans.
We left our anchorage in St. Pete after a heavy fog lifted and we decided to run outside in the Gulf to take advantage of the favorable winds and waves. Each time we reached a pass or inlet to go back inside and travel in the channeled waterway, the way was either to shallow or not well marked. Consequently, we had to keep going to Bocca Grande and enter right back to our very first anchorage last April, at Caya Costa State Park. How miraculous that we arrived as the sunset? A fitting and great metaphor as the sunset behind Irene, and David said, ”We did it”. Other worldly at best.
We are here! How fortunate we are to have seen an America that restores one’s faith in her people. All of them. To the dockhands, harbor masters, fishermen, weather experts, barge captains, other Loopers, Coast Guard, uber drivers, restaurant folk, shop keepers, spirit guides, and you; our most loving friends and family- you helped make the meaning. To our dear readers, we offer our most humble and true gratitude for your encouragement, communication, belief, and love.
To this beautiful world we live in, thank you. We saw a landscape we never “knew” existed and far greater then we had imagined. Each state is a unique place with a complex and interconnected ecology; we love and respect every one of them.
- Florida
- Georgia
- South Carolina
- North Carolina
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Delaware
- New Jersey
- New York
- Michigan
- Illinois
- Missouri
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- Mississippi
- Alabama
Every waterway, including the little creeks and bayous that connected us to the big ones, and offered us refuge from the weather and during the nights, we love them too.
- The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
- The Lake Okeechobee Waterway
- The North Atlantic Ocean
- The Chesapeake Bay
- The C&D Canal
- The Atlantic Ocean from Cape May to New York Harbor (or sometimes inland waterways through New Jersey)
- The Hudson River
- The Erie Canal
- Lake Erie
- The Detroit River
- Lake St. Claire
- The North Channel
- Lake Huron
- Lake Michigan
- The Illinois River
- The Mississippi River
- The Ohio River
- The Tennessee River
- The Tenn-Tom Waterway
- Mobile Bay
- The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
- The Gulf of Mexico
- (And next, the Keys)
This has been an epic 228 days and nights of miracles. Such a grand reminder that we are all the bosses of our beliefs and of our lives. No waiting for a metaphorical ship to come pick you up, friends. We are the ships, so ”Betheship” ❤️
Be kind. Be gentle. Be peace. Stay close to the spirit.
Thank you.
All our love, always.
Barbara & David
Be the Ship 
Congratulations! So happy, proud and grateful for you! Thank you for taking us all along the journey with you! Love you both so much!😘❤️🙏
So proud of you both. Looking forward to seeing you soon. 💜
Congratulations 🎊🎉🍾 So happy for the both of you.
Congratulations! Well done. So I am very interested in knowing how the adventure planned compared to the one you lived! I am amazed at the knowledge, endurance the hours of hard work all of it amazing! Well done.❤️❤️ “Courage to me is doing something daring, no matter how afraid, insecure, intimidated, alone, unworthy, incapable, ridiculed or whatever other paralyzing emotion you might feel. Courage is taking action…..no matter what. So you’re afraid? Be afraid. Be scared silly to the point you’re trembling and nauseous, but do it anyway!” ― Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway Looking forward to seeing you both and discovering your adventure through your voice.♥️❤️🌞 All my love, Kathy
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What a beautiful ending to an amazing journey! We’ve enjoyed “traveling” along with you and sharing your incredible experiences! We’re so happy for you and hope to see you soon! ❤️❤️
WOOHOO!!!!! You did it!! CONGRATULATIONS! What a truly amazing, awesome, miraculous, inspiring, and wonderful journey! Thank you for including all of us, your enthralled readers. I hope you are celebrating in style and have some fabulous spa treatments lined up so you can rest and savor the adventure. Sending you huge hugs and tons of love xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Super Congrats!! You did it!! Kudos!! I loved all the blog check-ins and pics along the way! And, I loved following you via Google Earth all along the way. What’s next? Trans-Atlantic crossing? Canals of Europe? The warm waters of the Caribbean? Perhaps a little rest? Kudos again. xoxo DDD
We are all so proud of you. We have loved being on your journey with you. I am afraid I enjoyed it much more through your words than I would have actually being in the ship.
You had such an amazing experience and so many beautiful sights. You lived your dream, not many can say that.
I love you. I am so glad you are back safely and we can enjoy being with you “live” for a few months. ♥️
I cannot wait to see what is next!
Love bunches,
Patty