America's Great Loop With our boat "Little Bit More"

  Blackfin Marina, Marathon Florida A Month in Paradise aka The Keys There are so many things we love about this place it's difficult to know where to begin.  From the community of boaters that come here year after year, the amazing marina managers, Ruth and Chris, and of course the water and weather. We fell into an easy rhythm from the very first day.  Wake up late and decide if it's a pool day or a beach day!  Evenings we grill and enjoy sunset docktails with our neighbors. There are several fantastic restaurants and live music all within walking or biking. Some we enjoyed are Steak & Lobster, Dockside, Overseas Pub, and The Ale House, The Tiki House, and Barnacle Barneys to name a few. The bike paths run parallel to Overseas Highway both north and southbound. We carry foldable bicycles on the boat and they have come in really handy. Key West  We've also taken advantage of the Florida Keys Transit Bus to Key West. For only a dollar we took the hour and forty-minute r

  Week 18 February 19, 2023 to February 25, 2023 Marco Island to Everglades City Rod and Gun Club Built-in 1864 this beautiful family-owned hotel and restaurant is the western entrance to the Florida Everglades.  We were only here for one night on the dock wall and were able to schedule a tour on an airboat through the mangroves. The airboat captain speeds through the mangroves making sharp turns and sudden stops.  We did not see any alligators or snakes but lots of birds, which was OK with me!Florida Keys.  Everglades City to BlackFin Marina Marathon FL This cruise was over 74 miles across the Gulf to the Florida Keys.  Like the Gulf Crossing we were watching for a good weather window.  We were buddy boating with a Ranger Tug and the four of us agreed that everything looked good for an early morning departure and a 6 hour cruise.  We navigated crab pots all day and the depths rarely got above 8 feet.  We are truly in the land of palm trees and blue water now.  Finally arrived at

  Week 17 February 12, 2023 to February 18, 2023 Gulfport City Marina to Lemon Bay Anchorage After a beautiful day cruising the ICW and a quick stop at a Casey Key Tiki Bar. It has a special memory for  us.  On vacation in 2017 with our daughter and future son-in-law, he planned a few of the details of his proposal while we sat on this cute beach. We were in on the plans while Kimberly unknowingly soaked up the beautiful day.  This time around we celebrated, Valentine's Day on ‘the hook’! A beautiful anchorage and we enjoyed a nice meal grilling while we talked about our plan leading up to our extended stay in the Florida Keys. Lemon Bay to Naples Marina Mooring Ball The Naples City Dock Marina is a beautiful place but at the slips were full.  The marina manager was very nice and offered us a mooring ball for $16 per night.   We were only a short dinghy ride from the dock and had access to this beautiful city and fantastic restaurants. We loaded the bikes in the dinghy and enjoyed

  Week 16 – February 12, 2023 to February 18, 2023 Hernando Beach to Caladesi State Park and Gulfport FL It is very shallow to enter this state park but worth it. We stayed here with our C-Dory and knew we would be back. Caladesi Island State park is an beautiful island and is only accessible by boat or ferry. The marina is relatively new and very clean. The public bathhouses include showers and are located between the marina and the beach. The park comprises a total of 650 acres and more than 1800 acres surrounding mangroves and grass flats. In addition, over 3 miles of sandy beach and a 3-mile nature trail. The park is mainly used by day boaters and we had the whole place to ourselves at night. Caladesi State Park to Gulfport City Marina Coming into this marina we had to maneuver through a large mooring field and we had a strong wind against us. It was Super Bowl weekend and we hoped to meet up with some Loopers to catch the game.  This marina also has a large captains' loung

  Week 15 January 29, 2023 to February 4, 2023 - The Big Crossing! Carabelle Moorings Marina to Dog Island The weather window looked good for the next couple of days. If we did not make the gulf crossing now according to Marv’s weather forecast as well as AGLCA we would be in Carrabelle for another two weeks. We watched both wind speed, direction, the height of waves, and the interval between the waves. Our forecast was 6 knots of north wind and 1 ft swell with a 3 second interval.  This meant a flat sea with calm wind.  We made the decision to leave the marina with several other boats and anchor out at Dog Island. It was a short crossing from the protected marina to the small island but very foggy. Several of us took the dinghy to shore for a cocktail and bonfire. The Gulf Crossing to Steinhatchee  There are two options for making the crossing.  The longer of the two is 170 miles from Carabelle to Tarpon Springs.  Most Loopers travel between 7 and 10 knots per hour so this option co

January 22, 2023 to January 28, 2023 Destin, FL to Panama City, FL Finally caught up with several Looper friends and enjoyed a great night of 'docktails'.  The discussion about making the Gulf crossing started to take on a new urgency.  Up until now, we checked the weather every day using the Windy App, Marv’s Weather Report, and several other apps to confirm both wind and swell. Scott installed AIS at our last stop but our Raymarine Radar is 18-year-old technology and almost impossible to read.  When we saw the first weather window where winds were less than 13 knots and the swell was under 2’ we set off to our second to last stop before the Gulf crossing. Panama City to Scipio Creek Marina Apalachicola This tiny waterfront town has a long history. In the the1800's it was the third-largest cotton exporter in the United States.  This community is known for its oyster production and Tupelo honey.   Tupelo honey is produced in the Okeefenokee Wildlife Refuge and the Apa

January 15, 2023 to January 21, 2023 A break from the boat San Juan Texas and Dad's 90th Birthday Celebration! We had one more family obligation before we could get our Loop journey back underway and that was to celebrate my Dad's 90 th birthday in San Juan Texas. We left the boat in Demoplis, AL, and flew to Texas for the celebration.  Amazing weekend with my family and honoring a truly great man, husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather.  We love you Dad!! Perdido to Ft. McCree Anchorage Short cruise today to a beautiful anchorage where we ‘beached’ the Rossi for the first time.  We were able to explore the beach and island.  Unfortunately, when we woke in the morning the tide had gone out so far that we could not get the boat off the beach and were forced once again to slow down and wait for the tide to come up.  We were underway by 2:00 pm. Ft. Mcree to Sabine Anchorage Another short cruise day to a very shallow anchorage in Sabine Harbor.  We did pull