Coming Home

How You Feel After Finishing The Great Loop

 

You feel relieved for what you have weathered and how far you have traveled.

You feel overwhelmed for what you have just accomplished and what you have missed.

You feel sadness for friends you have made and may not see again.

You feel connected to new friends that will become family.

You feel proud that you kept in touch with so many.

You pat yourselves on the back for your navigational abilities.

You don't revisit your navigational shortcomings.

You relish the moment you cross your own wake one year later.

You ponder the fate of the rest of your fellow travelers.

 

Totals:

Travel Time: One Year and One Week (crossed our wake 3/20/2013)

Stayed in: 117 Different Marinas

Traveled Through: 106 Locks

Highest Elevation: 840 Feet

Traveled: 5,486.35 Nautical Miles

Traveled: 6,295.87 Statute Miles

Engine Hours: 851.4

Diesel Fuel: 3,573.80 gal.

 

Averages:

6.44 knots @ 1.66 n. miles/gal.

7.39 mph @ 1.91 st. miles/gal.

3.88 gal./hr.

 

Fuel Cost:

$13,674.72

$3.83/gal.

$2.31/n. mile

$2.01/st. mile

 

Entire Cost of the Trip: The Experience was Priceless

 

This was an amazing trip, and is truly a modern-day adventure. We are proud to have traveled with other cruisers also living their dream. We want to thank all of you who have followed us on this incredible journey, and don't sweat the small stuff! Just Do It! 

 

Best Regards, Ivy & Bob

 

 

 



One Last Stop

The first settlers in these parts were the Mound Builders. They were followed by the Caloosa Indians, the Spanish, and the Seminoles. When the braves retreated into the wilds of the Everglades after the Seminole War, a trading post was established at the site of what is now called Everglades City.

 

The Rod and Gun Club was built on the original structure of the first permanent white settler who founded Everglades City in 1864. By 1922 Barron Collier, a banker and railroad man, purchased the Rod and Gun Club. He catered to many famous, notable guests and operated the club as a private establishment.

Half a century later in the year of 1972 the Rod and Gun Club was purchased by the family whom owns it to this day, the Bowen family. Throughout the years the Bowen family has maintained the Rod and Gun Club's old frontier values and rustic charm!

There is wicker furniture along a grand old screened porch which is ideal for watching the pelicans perched on the pilings and for checking on the river traffic.

The atmosphere of the club still exudes dark brown wood, the pecky cypress dining room, the mounted grouper and tarpon trophies, the deer and 'gator skins, and the casually appointed registration desk. Actually, it looks haunted.

The dining room is from another era, just imagining Presidents and Movie Stars.

Off to the side there is a swimming pool. At dockside, charter captains and guides pick up guests for a day of fishing the flats and backwaters of the glades.

This was such a surprising little paradise, that once hosted international dignitaries, celebrity guests, movie makers, and cocaine cowboys, a step back in time.

Our good friends, Marcia and Russ, joined us for a memorable steak dinner, as we know soon we will be parting ways, we are almost home, and they just started the loop in Sarasota.

As the sun rises, we head out in different directions, knowing that the best friendships are made in surprising ways and at surprising times, and the best place to make them is on the Great Loop.

Happy Anniversary

 

 

March 13th marks one year cruising on Karma. We have had great times, but we aren't home yet! Let us tell you about Ft. Myers and Naples.

 

The Calusa Indians made this land their home thousands of years ago, utilizing the favorable climate and abundant natural resources to thrive and prosper.

Ever since then, the beaches of Fort Myers have attracted people for the same reasons.

We visit the Edison & Ford Winter Estates and enjoy 20 acres of historical buildings, historic gardens, the Edison Botanic Research Lab and the Edison Ford Museum.

When you visit Thomas A. Edison's winter estate, you enter a world unlike any other. The furnishings and architecture of these gracious, rambling buildings are reminiscent of a bygone era. 

Henry Ford purchased his home in 1916, providing him the opportunity to vacation with Thomas Edison. The Ford porch, adjacent to the vintage garage, offers a spectacular riverfront view of the Caloosahatchee River.

Kidding around with friends, Marcia and Russ, traveling with us on the boat Paper Moon.

 

 

Our next stop is Naples.

 

 

We pull into Naples Boat Club located in the historic area of Old Naples. This dock-o-minium offers a full service, state-of-the-art marina, with a touch of class.

 

 

We were very happy to get into a secure dock along with our friends, Paper Moon, as windy weather will be coming through.

 

 

Naples is a great place to walk, dine out, and shop.

 

 

As luck would have it, our friends, Linda and Carlo from Miami, visit, and we all have a good time at Handsome Harry's outdoor cafe.

 

 

 

 

The Gulf Coast

 

 

Shimmering water, sand, and sea birds. This is laid back Florida.

 

 

As we make our way south, we slow down to enjoy the natural beauty of the Gulf Coast.

Having never been on this side of Florida by boat, I am impressed by the open expanse of empty beaches and the abundance of herons, ospreys, gulls, and cormorants.

South of Sarasota, we pull into the Palm Island Marina on the Intracoastal near the town of Cape Haze.

We were treated like royalty, sitting by the pool and jacuzzi, sipping drinks from the bar (free beer on Saturdays), and listening to live music.

Now this feels like a vacation!

 

 

Working our way south, our next stop was Tween Waters Inn and Marina on the island of Captiva.

 

 

For years, this has been a favorite place of Floridians and Snowbirds with it's miles of white sand beach, two restaurants, pool and scattered cottages. This is old Florida.

There were three loopers here so we biked the small town, went for ice cream and enjoyed each other's company.

That evening, the resort hosted a cocktail party for guests by the pool, and our friends on Sea Gypsy, Paper Moon, and Jackets II, enjoyed prime rib night at the Crows Nest Restaurant. A farewell dinner as we all move on our way in the morning.

As the sun came up over Captiva Island, we all head out to new destinations with memories of good times.
 

 

and fun places.

Sarasota's Circus Museum

The “largest miniature circus in the world” was created over a 50-year time span by master model builder and philanthropist Howard C. Tibbals of Tennessee and Florida.

The Howard Bros. Circus, complete with eight main tents, 152 wagons, 1,300 circus performers and workers, more than 800 animals and a 57-car train, is on permanent display in the Ringling Circus Museum. The Howard Bros. Circus is a ¾-inch-to-the-foot scale replica of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus when the tented circus was at its largest (circa 1919-1938), and occupies 3,800 square feet in the 30,600 sq. ft. 

This poster describes the unloading of the circus from hundreds of train cars as depicted in miniature.

This is a recreation of the Big Top and side shows, complete with vendors and lights.

 

 

 

This is a steam driven whistle calliope, Bob's new passion.