It has been two months since we updated the blog so we want to share our status and latest thinking regarding our Loop.
To recap, we flew back to Chicago on April 2nd to ride out the initial phase of the pandemic and wait to see how events unfolded. It quickly became clear that a return to looping was going to be VERY different than what attracted us to the Loop adventure in the first place. Restaurants closed, spotty marina availability, less fuel availability, fewer pump out stations, music and entertainment venues canceled, cultural historic sites closed, sporting events canceled, the Erie Canal access limited, the Canadian border opening date unclear, etc. Due to all of this uncertainty, and our desire to have what we deem as a FULL Loop experience, we have decided to take a break from Looping for the remainder of 2020.
Our new plan is to keep the boat in Jacksonville, Fl and start our trip again in Jan of 2021. We will travel south to the Bahamas and Florida Keys for the winter months before turning back around to head North in March/April. Up the East Coast, into Canada and the Great Lakes before returning to Chicago in the fall of ’21. This plan also allows us to spend some needed time with our family and business as the recovery takes hold.
A few weeks ago we did travel back to Jacksonville to move Sea C into a covered marina slip and get her ready for in-water storage this summer and fall. We hired a diver to clean the bottom on a monthly basis, added a couple NEST cameras, added a wifi controlled dehumidifier and took a load of stuff home. Every couple of months we will travel down to Jacksonville for some R&R and check on Sea C. We’re hoping for a forgiving hurricane season!
Like everyone, never in our wildest imagination could we have predicted the events of the past few months but we are embracing the new plan and are thrilled that we get to go back down south for the winter and extend our Loop experience! As the saying goes…………Man plans… God laughs.
We’ll update the blog as events occur but pick it up with more frequent posts once we are back on the water. Wishing you all the best and hope that everyone is safe, healthy, and finding ways to reinvent life for the better.
Loopin' with Mike n Pam 