Epilogue

Now that I have had a chance to reflect on the trip and add up some numbers, I'm ready to put this blog to rest along side Westin. We traveled just over 2200 statute miles in an elapsed time of 33 days. Of those days, three we had to hunker down for bad weather, and three others for R&R or prop repair. So, we spent 27 days underway at various speeds depending on a variety of circumstances . For the total trip we burned 1627 gallons of fuel, so that averages out to 1.35 mpg. When we cruised at 10 mph, our fuel burn was a little over 2.0 mpg, and on plane it was under 1.0 mpg. The price for fuel continually decreased as we progressed. The highest was $4.09 when I filled up at Sunnyside a week before we left, the lowest $2.74 here at Burnt Store Marina. Only twice did we pay more than $3.00/gal.

The only major boat problems we had were the two prop mishaps, both of which were the fault of marinas not posting any warnings about shallow water depths at the gas dock! We replaced the raw water pump for the AC which went bad on us, but we never did have to use the AC, even down south. When we needed heat we just plugged in electric space heaters which are a lot easier and more efficient to use than cranking up the Cruisair(s). We didn't have to change oil or service the main engines until we reached Burnt Store with just a little over 200 easy, clean hours. The new Raymarine C80 GPS was great, even when navigating the rivers - we could always look ahead for the next green and red buoys on the screen when the visibility wasn't the best. The river tow captains are a really great bunch. After you get comfortable communicating with them on the VHF, they are extremely friendly and helpful. The knowledge they have of where the uncharted shoaling areas are located is amazing.

There were no favorite parts of the trip because it was all interesting and challenging, but the best had to be when we reached the entrance to Burnt Store Marina (pictured above). The upper Mississippi and lower Tennessee were the most scenic river cruising, and of course the ICW along the western coast of Florida rates right up there. Crossing the Gulf of Mexico was a first for me, and because we were doing it one engine, it was the most stressful segment of the trip. No wonder I didn't sleep until the next night. Probably the least favorite times were when we had to wait for a tow to clear a lock. Negotiating the locks themselves became pretty easy once Jeff and I got the routine down. It was actually fun to go through the locks that were over 50-60' high.

Today is Thanksgiving Day, 2008, and the immediate thing I am thankful for is that our trip was completed safely with no threats to our well beings. I am thankful that Jeff Janacek was with me for the trip and provided very valuable advice and suggestions that obviously came from his experience and background of traveling many miles on these same waters. I can't think of a better shipmate that I would like to have had for this trip.

Finally, I am most thankful for Patty who, when we were discussing this change in our lives last summer, simply said "make it happen." That is her way of expressing her approval for major things in our lives. At the time, I don't think she realized that she would be home alone for almost six weeks. To say the least, we were both very glad when the journey was finally completed.

Also, thanks to all of you who have followed our adventure and have provided comments along the way. Now..............it's time to go sit by the pool.