Tuesday, May 14, 2013 – Home!
Wow! We woke up this morning at 5:30 a.m., bound
and determined to get home this afternoon!
We pulled up the anchor and left our final anchorage at 6:30 a.m. Sometime during the night, spring forgot that
it was supposed to be here, and we had to resort to hats, coats, and gloves
this mornin
 |
| Leaving Solomon's Island |
The sun was
out, but it wasn’t doing much to warm up the morning, and we left the Patuxent
River with it right in our eyes, but notwithstanding the cooler temperatures,
it is a beautiful day! The only incident
that marred it was an ugly conversation between two boaters because of the wake
one of the boats was making.
The bay was
not quite as rough as it was yesterday, and we made great time up to Knapps
Narrows, past Poplar Island, and on up to Kent Narrows and the bridge. We are back in the land of the watermen and
crab pots, and dodging crab pots is part of the end of the journey.
 |
| Back in the land of watermen and crab pots |
It is windy, but once we get behind Poplar
Island we have some protection from the wind, and the water is getting calmer.
We were hoping to make the 11:30 a.m. bridge opening at Kent
Narrows but we didn’t quite get there in time, so we drifted around and ate our
lunch while waiting for the 12:00 bridge opening. The water on the north side of the bridge is
still skinny, and I was glad when we got through this last “hurdle” without
touching bottom!
Well, this is it – the last page –
the last day of our great adventure! And
it has been a real adventure! I never
thought I would ever do anything like this in my life! I suppose, as a non-boat person, that I
didn’t really know what to expect – living on a boat for months (with a cat who
probably wasn’t terribly interested in changing her life-style) to traveling to
a new place everyday, and living the saying, “it’s mostly all pleasure
interrupted by moments of sheer terror!”
Bob, I know, had a blast! People
who have done this before can tell you so many stories and give you so much
advice about their experiences, but until you jump in and do this trip on your
own, you just don’t have a clue as to what it will be like. And really – it wasn’t such a big deal. You are just living on a boat – yeah, there
may be more “yikes” moments than if you lived in a house, but, truly, it’s a
trip that’s beautiful, exciting, and filled with great memories!
We’ve had
2,784 miles of great experiences! I
don’t think I can pick out one day over another that wasn’t worth the effort to
do! From visiting quaint little towns,
traveling through some of the most remarkable scenery, meeting people from all
walks of life who all have a story to tell – it was all fascinating!
One of the
most memorable parts of this trip was crossing Florida by way of Lake
Okeechobee and spending a week cruising the west coast with friends and being
followed by an alligator as we toured a little bayou in a dinghy – even if it
was for only a few minutes! It’s
experiences like that that leave me thinking I’m so glad we made the effort to
make this journey.
There are a
few things that we will really miss now that we are back home – Publix Grocery
Store, Florida tomatoes, the tropical plants, the variety of wildlife and
birds, and one thing we really enjoyed was the simplicity of daily living on
the boat.
There were
some observations that might be interesting to remember about this trip:
The holding
tank holds more than I ever thought it could!
You can’t
have too many fenders, especially in a lock!
You can’t
count on leaving a trail on the GPS because the “bread crumbs” always seem to
vanish when you want them the most!
The “magenta
line” is only a guide – a good guide – but only a guide!
I don’t
know what kind of memories Miss Lucy will have.
I always told her she was going to become an adventure cat, but now she
will have to go back to being an ordinary house cat and be satisfied with
catching an errant mouse from time to time.
I know she became a braver kitty than I ever thought she would, although
she’s still a “scaredy cat.” She was a
pleasure to have on the boat and really made the boat a “home” even though
there were times I thought for a few fleeting seconds that I wished we’d left
her home! But that was just fleeting!
We pulled
into our slip on the Corsica River at 1:30 p.m., and now have to return to the
real world. I already have a “to do”
list started. I guess it doesn’t take
long to assimilate back to our old lives.
One final
note about Miss Lucy – she came out as usual when the engines stopped, took one
look around at her “new” surroundings and made a beeline for back “under the
covers!”
So…that’s all folks!
I am
wondering what could possibly be our next “adventure”. I know Bob would do this again without too
much urging, and I think I heard him talking to someone the other day about
maybe doing the Great Loop.
Yikes!
 |
| Lena Victoire back in her home port |
THE END
Welcome home! What a great adventure!
ReplyDelete