THE BEAUTIFUL WACCAMAW RIVER

The Waccamaw River deep to it's wooded banks, is considered one of the most scenic parts of the intercoastal. I concur. Above is the view from the Lady's window from our slip. We arrived at Osprey Marina on Aug. 16 and couldn't get up the energy to leave until Aug.25--truely beautiful. We did venture out via car, however, to several

LIVING IN PARADISE

After the adventure of living on Bombay Lady for the last two years, we are now settled on land and living in PARADISE.

THANKS TO ALL

While Captain John and I were able to complete this trip we would have never been able to get it done without the help and support of our family and friends.

We often saw the rainbows dancing on the Lady's ceiling because of the gift from Tansy which sparkled on our window everyday. We thank you for your patience too ! We'll be back soon and eager to resume our active grandparent role. We love texting, but we love talking and hugging even more. Thanks to Amara and Thea for coming to cruise with us. Laith and Zayd you both have an open invitation.

We delighted in the yummy things Cait provided most especially the Herbal Salt which I used several times EVERY day and the great Blood Orange Marmalade! We were happy that you came to visit us several times, and now want to see those little guys, Aydin & Em , even more. We miss you all VERY MUCH.

And thank you Dad for understanding how important this trip was to us.

We had our companions true: our parrot, pirate, budda and bunny, but they didn't make up for our wonderful friends Marv & Barb, Dennie & Claudia and David & Julie. You kept us connected by phone, but now we look forward to spending more evenings together.

Captain John is especially grateful to Lloyd, Tom, Greg, Alan and Rob for keeping the farm up to snuff. He hopes that this deer season will be the best in the history of past seasons!

A special shout out to all our good friends who actually read our blog and followed us and even called from time to time.

For their guidance and expertise, we are extremely thankful to our friends Pete & Jane and our favorite Captain Keith.

Lastly, we cannot even begin to put into words how appreciative we are to Tom & Jo Ann!!! They have gone WAY beyond. It's this simple "WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS WITHOUT THEM!!!!

DOWN THE RIVERS TO THE FINISH LINE!

It was a hazy day as we approached Chicago from Lake Michigan and began our trip down the rivers to Kentucky Lake our official "crossing of our wake".

Bridge at Alton, Illinois

The Arch--St. Louis

We caught a notorious Asian Carp in our dingy as we cruised down the Mississippi

Cliffs Along the Mississippi

The Western Most Point of the Circle Trip

At 4:30 PM August 30, 2011, we entered into Kentucky Lake completing our 6,000 mile journey.

MICHIGAN

Over the next week, we cruised down the coast of Michigan. By carefully choosing our weather windows, Captain John made sure our rides were smooth and trouble free. We had heard many stories about how the winds could kick up some terrible waves, but we had many delightful days.

Channels Provide Access to the Many Michigan Cities

Many Sandy Beaches

And Lighthouses

Fish Smoker in Leland--Great White Fish & Trout

Fog in Drummond Island Where We Cleared US Customs

Now On to Chicago!

LOCKS, ROCKS & COTTAGES

Seems like all Canadians have cottages, but actually only about 3% of them do!

Rocks, rocks everywhere.

CANADA O CANADA

On July 7, we departed Oswego, New York, crossed Lake Ontario (the first of the Great Lakes we would cruise) and cleared customs at a small swing bridge in the Murray Canal. We docked at Trenton ,On and prepared for our entry into the Trent-Severn Waterway system.
The Trent-Severn Waterway is 240 miles, stretching across Central Ontario, from the Bay of Quint (just off Lake Ontario) to Georgian Bay, with 36 conventional locks, two flight locks, two hydraulic lift locks and a marine railway.

SWING BRIDGE WHERE WE CLEARED CUSTOMS

AUTHENTIC CANADIAN GEESE !!!

WILD SWAN CRUISING THE CANAL

We cleared the Trent-Severn on July 19 and entered the Georgian Bay. We spent the next 16 days cruising the north side of Georgian Bay and the North Channel.

August 5, we arrived at Drummond Island, Michigan and cleared customs there. The water entering the US was a clear aqua blue with eagles flying overhead-a wonderful welcome back to our homeland!

We will spend the next few weeks working our way down the coast of Lake Michigan and into the river system which will take us eventually back to Mobile, Ala. and Burnt Store Marina, our home in Florida.