Postscript to the Last 10 Years

December 2008 on the Mississippi River

with Jackson Square & St Louis Cathedral

in background

We bought the boat in order to travel the country, but not over the roads by RV.  We wanted to do the boat thing before we got too many aches & pains.  We did get to travel everywhere we wanted to go except for the Bahamas.  In particular, I wanted to take the boat through New Orleans with Jackson Square in the background; below Lookout Mountain on the Tennessee River; and on Lake Erie with Perry’s Monument in the background.  We did it!

December 2008 on the Mississippi passing 

towboat traffic

June 2011 on the Tennessee River with Lookout Mountain

in background

August 2015 at Middle Bass Island on Lake Erie 

(where Sue & I first met) with Perry's Monument

in the background

Best guess is that we travelled about 25,000 miles (not nautical miles) on the boat – all of it at 10 mph!  When adding up all the money we spent on the boat in just over 10 years, it totals right at $400,000 (including dockage, fuel, maintenance), and then we sold the boat for $50,000 less than we bought it for.  But then, there’s nothing to match the feeling of being on the water – the total independence yet dependence on just you & your abilities; the closeness to nature, both to animals & to the weather; having the biggest argument with your spouse being simply trying to decide where to go next; making instant friends with the boat docked next to you; rafting for the night next to someone you’ve never seen before.

August 2015 a replica of Perry's flagship Niagara is lit

by the setting sun in front of the Monument

at Put-In-Bay OH

During the past year that the boat was for sale, we wanted to sell, but then we wanted to continue cruising.  The indecision was frustrating.  We didn’t know that the last time we did something was turning into the last time we did something.  But we have no regrets.  For 10 years we lived the lifestyle that we wanted.  We made many memories.  We were able to expose our granddaughter to experiences she would never have had.  And we had fun doing it.

Now on to the next chapter!