We had a great couple days in Manitowoc. As we were going to dinner on Friday night, we saw a large crowd gathered along the river. It turns out there was a community event, and we were watching the first part of it: a waterski show by Webfooters. We went to dinner at the Harborside Restaurant and Fine Cocktails (so good!), and then headed back to the riverfront for the Balloon Glow, a group of hot air balloons inflated and lit up along the river. What a surprise! There were thousands of people admiring the balloons, eating at food trucks, and enjoying children’s activities. Owen managed to find an ice cream truck, and he was happy.

We made a quick stop at Kwik Trip for some cinnamon rolls for the morning, and we made it back to the boat in time to watch fireworks from the back deck of the boat. What a great end to a Great Loop!

In the morning, we got up in time to head home to Port Washington. Our home port. Our last leg. The end of our Loop. Have to admit it was pretty emotional.

We were expecting waves of 1-2 feet for our 52-mile trip, but they were more like 2-3. It was a little choppy at first, then turned into 3-foot big rollers between Sheboygan and Port. The short interval made it uncomfortable and a little unpleasant, but not unsafe. We spent the time reminiscing about the last year, looking at pictures, reading old posts, and talking about our favorite and least favorite experiences. I’m so glad we took the time to do that.

After about five hours, we were nearing Port Washington! Two of our daughters were waiting for us, and they had scoped out the best place to take pictures. When we turned into the marina, we were happy to see more family waiting for us to go by, waving and taking pictures! We turned around in the marina and sidled right up to the south wall, where waiting dock hands helped us tie up. Our Loop was complete!

We were so happy to change our white burgee to gold! We headed over to Frankie’s Ice Cream to celebrate as the rain started coming down. They were just about to close early due to the rain when they saw our caravan of umbrellas arrive. Thankfully, they let us have our donuts and ice cream. I waited a long time for that donut sundae! And then didn’t take a picture of it…

The rain thwarted our daughter’s efforts to give us a Loop completion gift. We were able to look at it in the car, but we’ll wait to have it until it doesn’t have to be transported in the rain. She made us a gorgeous dream catcher that we can’t wait to hang up at home.

Later, Owen gave me a necklace he’d had made just for me. He wrote a poem to go with it to describe each detail’s significance. It’s beautiful and meaningful, and I’ll treasure it forever.

By then, our oldest daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons came by. The eight of us (missing our son!!!) went for dinner at a nearby restaurant called “Full Circle.” We thought that was a fitting end to our Loop.

With the celebration over, we looked at each other and sighed.

We did it. We thought of it, learned about it, planned for it, prayed about it, prepared for it, waited for it, and then we did it. It took 379 days. We went 6,425.9 miles, visited 17 states and three countries, used 4,841.95 gallons of diesel, passed through 108 locks, and we did it.

We learned so much about ourselves and each other and our ability to work together to do fun things and hard things. We managed to live together in close quarters for long periods of time. We learned how to use the weird toilet plunger that came with the boat. We learned about diesel engines, generators, air conditioners, and anodes. Oh, the anodes! We learned about tides and saltwater and how to remove the ugly tan mustache that appears on the front of the boat in ugly water.

We met so many people in so many places and found it necessary to talk to strangers about politics exactly zero times. There were to many other discussions to be had with people in new places who were proud of where they live. We met people who will be friends for life. We loved the small river towns and marinas with “courtesy cars” of questionable roadworthiness. We adored the peaceful anchorages in the middle of nowhere, where we sat on deck at night and stared at the stars. We soaked up the liveliness of Chicago, Nashville, and New York City. We reveled in the island time of Bimini and Great Harbour Key.

We read nearly every historical marker we encountered. We visited forts, battlefields, museums, parks, beaches, hiking trails, monuments, bridges, shops, and cemeteries. We cruised through downtown Chicago on an early Sunday morning, we spun a circle as we passed the St. Louis Arch, and we slept next to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We saw West Point from nearly every angle. We traveled the gorgeous Thousand Islands and visited a castle. We traversed the Trent-Severn Waterway with locks that are operated by hand in the same way they were a century ago.

And the water. We marveled at the blue-gray of the Great Lakes, the brown of the tannin-tinged rivers, the cobalt of the Gulf Stream, the turquoise of the Bahamas, and the absolute clarity of Georgian Bay. And the pure white foam that contrasted it all in our wake.

We saw birds of all kinds. Herons, egrets, eagles, hawks, cormorants, pelicans (my favorite), sand pipers, sea gulls, ducks, geese, and so many more whose names I don’t know. We saw many deer, including one swimming across the river; snakes, woodland animals, iguanas, mink, badgers, sharks, turtles, stingrays, and lizards. We fell deeply in love with dolphins. Thankfully, we only saw alligators in places they were fenced in. We fought insects of all kinds, and we maintained a love-hate relationship with the spiders that simultaneously ate the bugs and left their sticky droppings and webs on our boat.

We admired the terrain that changed from north to south and west to east: the rivers and valleys, the rocks, sand, and mud. Rivers cut through layers of stone, canals manually cut through rock, the flatness of the southeast, the hills and small mountains in upstate New York. The stunning beauty of Ontario. The whole province doesn’t have an ugly spot on it! Owen took at least a thousand pictures of sunsets and sunrises.

We ate plenty and often. We shopped at the best and worst grocery stores we ever saw. We loved Publix in the southeast and Metro in Canada. There wasn’t an ice cream shop Owen passed by. I was with him, so I couldn’t be rude and not partake. We ordered catfish along the rivers. We learned what a “meat and three” restaurants is (a restaurant that serves a meat with three sides). We ate our weight in oysters and other local seafood. I had the two best desserts I’ve ever had in my entire life at Doc Ford’s in Fort Myers Beach and at Scoop’s Ice cream in Clayton, New York. We bought as much as we could carry from Joan’s Perfect Pie Shop in Eau Gallie, Florida, and we gobbled it all up in an embarrassingly short amount of time. We ate our first butter tarts in Canada. Also, our 50th butter tarts, because we had to try each Ontarian bakery’s version to find the best. (I promise I ate salads and vegetables and stuff, too. Owen makes no such claims.)

It wasn’t all rainbows and cartwheels. We made an ill-advised cruise through a tornado warning our first week. We had a few uncomfortable nights where our anchorage wasn’t as protected as we expected. A dog bit me. In one five-day period, I lost my phone in the water and broke my wrist. The windows on our boat canvas blew out in a storm. We had a few “Jesus, Take the Wheel” moments. Weather and work obligations had us missing a few destinations we really wanted to see. We ran aground and wrecked both our props. Sometimes Owen and I got snippy with each other. We got through it all, and we’re better for it. One of the coolest things about the entire journey was watching Owen go from a complete novice to a competent, confident captain. I did things I never dreamed I’d be able to do out of sheer necessity. That wouldn’t have happened if it were all rainbows and cartwheels.

Through it all, we wondered at God’s creation, His diligence in designing a planet that cares for itself while providing for its inhabitants, and who created vastly different places that make the perfect home for each person, plant, and animal. We prayed a lot on this trip. I learned to pray in my head instead of out loud as we docked in Nashville. “Please, God, let me get this right on the first try. Please, God, let me get this right.” A voice answered, “You don’t exactly inspire confidence when you are praying out loud in my ear.” God? No, it was Owen on the other side of our two-way headsets we wear while docking and taking off. We prayed for our travels and safety for the people we met, but mostly prayers of gratitude for the beauty of this earth and the opportunity to enjoy it.

This was a trip of a lifetime for us. We were fortunate that we were able to do this when we did and while Owen was working. We’re thankful that our kids were supportive and that most of them were able to visit us along the way. We’re grateful for the “famchat” we have on Snapchat that allowed us to keep in touch with them and the grandkids. We’re glad we were able to go back home along the way for the important family stuff–to see the new grandson, spend the holidays together, and to see most Texas A&M home games. Thank you to everyone who encouraged us and followed along on our journey. It has truly been one of the very best experiences of our lives, and we will treasure it and you always.