Sarasota, FL – Burnt Store Marina, FL - November 14, 2008

We did it! We returned to the port we left 8 months ago, arriving in Burnt Store Marina on Friday, November 14, at 2:00, after traveling 6017 miles and spending 227 days on the boat.

Our friends, Dennis and Judy and Bob and Margaret met us at the dock and helped us celebrate. Champagne for all!

It was a beautiful day for the last day of this trip. We had the anchor up and were underway at 7. The sky was overcast with little wind. It turned partly cloudy around 10 and the wind picked some, but we had a very smooth ride.

This trip enabled us to see parts of the country we probably wouldn’t have seen from a vantage point that many people don’t get to have. We have met many wonderful people, both those living and working in the places we visited and those traveling by boat, as we were.

In retrospect, doing the loop in less than 1 year prevented us from spending as much time in some areas as we would have liked. It also kept us away from family and friends for longer periods of time than we would have liked. Those people who spend several years doing the loop may have a better idea. They go home more frequently and for longer periods of time.

There are parts of our trip we would like to re-visit. We particularly enjoyed the east coast, Canada and the Great Lakes.

Although we are very happy to be back on land for a while and see our families, we look forward to spending some more time on our boat.