It's time for me to introduce you to what may be The Adventure of the Decade. On Tuesday morning this week, May 11, 2010 my son Peter and his wife Anna departed from their home port of Nantucket on a year long journey that should take them over what is known as the Great Loop. Nancy and I are very excited about their plans as is everyone in our family.
A little background. Peter & Anna have been living on Nantucket for about ten years now. Anna has worked primarily at a candy store and Pete at a marina. They have settled in and bought a home and made many many friends. About five years ago they bought an open cockpit fishing boat which they named Roxanne. Peter had developed a passion for fishing and Anna was game so they bought the boat and made very good use of it. In fact Nancy and I have been out on it several times with Nancy usually having the greatest success. As things go it was okay but it wasn't exactly what Peter and Anna wanted and it did not have a necessary or any of the comforts that make it work for a relaxing day on the water. All of this changed about 3 years ago when they discovered Nordic Tugs. A wonderful line of boats made in the North West. They located a 24 footer in Newport and bought her.
What a dream. The little tug boat that could. Tootsie was red, cute, adorable almost if you can say that about a boat and for the next two years Anna and Peter relished their time on board. They loved going out for daylong trips...blowing the whistle at incoming and outgoing ferry boats and really being a fixture in the harbor. They were able to use the boat almost as a vacation home, a second home at home if you will where they could get away for a night or the weekend. Little did they realize that as perfect as Tootsie was all she was doing was planting a dream in their minds.
The kids took a few overnight trips to Martha's Vineyard and then began to wonder to dream what would it be like to go on a real cruise. It wasn't long before they became aware of The Great Loop which is the grand slam of cruises in North America. Up the Hudson, thru the great lakes to Chicago then down thru a series of river inland waterways to the gulf coast, around Florida and then up the eastern coast until you are back in New England waters.
They realized that if they were to do this lots would have to fall into place. They would in essence have to take a year off from normal life. They would have to take leaves from their jobs. Rent their house. Arrange for storage of cars and other personal items. Designate someone to take care of their personal affairs and in essence carve a year out of their lives to do it.
They also needed a larger boat. Fate smiled on them during the summer of 2010 and they found a 32 ft Nordic Tug which they named Blue Yonder. Fate really smiled when they sold Tootsie for their asking price almost the day before they put her up for sale. And equally as heartening was the fact that they were able to sell it locally to someone who appreciates and cares for her the way they had.
Gradually during the last 6 months the remaining pieces has fallen into place. Peter became Captain Peter as he passed all of his exams after a self taught effort on the first try. The transition's necessary from work to sabbatical fell into place and almost instantly to those of us standing on the side lines they were moved out of their home, living on Blue Yonder and ready to go.
They left Tuesday morning. All of us in the family are thrilled but at the same time numbed by the journey they have laid out for themselves. We know it will be fun. But we also know there will be good as well as hard days while they do this.
While their adventure is not really part of what I thought I'd be writing about in Pocket's Meadow on reflection I think it is more than appropriate that I post accounting's of their adventure as it unfolds.
More to come.
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