Here Endth Our Great Loop

 

Our arrival at Little River, SC in March 24 marked the end of our Great Loop.  A joyful and sad day.  On the one hand, we were clearly ready to be done.   An rightly proud of all we had accomplished.  But on the other hand, the Loop had occupied our lives to one extent for another for almost four years.  And now that its done, we wondered what the future may bring.  

Most immediately, it meant unloading Irish Lass and preparing her for sale.  Sheesh.

It is amazing how much "stuff" one can accumulate on a boat in three years.   It took us four days to pack and remove all of our "stuff".  This despite that fact that we planned to leave a lot of bedding, towels, galley equipment, etc.  aboard for the new owners.  But even that all had to laundered and scrubbed and reorganized.  

This process was hindered by a seven foot tide range at our marina, which meant that there were only a few high-tide hours each day when the angle of the dock ramps allowed easy transit with loaded dock carts.  So we would accumulate piles of stuff on the dock and wait for the waters to rise.  And then rush to get everything hauled up to parking lot level before the tide ebbed.

In between trips to the laundromat,  Commadore Kathleen took charge of arranging our transportation.  We know we would need extra space but none of the rental companies would offer us their largest vehicles for a one-way .  So we had reluctantly reserved a mini-van, figuring we would have to ship many boxes home.   

But, no!

On the appointed day, Commadore Kathleen slipped up to the airport counter and asked innocently, "Gee, do you have anything bigger?"  And, lo and behold, a shiny black 2022 GMC Yukon XL appeared.  "Ok for one-way?" she asked.  "Only a few dollars more", they said.  "DONE DEAL!", she said.  You don't get what you don't ask for, right?

Faithful (if overloaded) Victoria

We dubbed her Victoria, in honor of the one ship in Ferdinand Magellan's fleet that actually made it all the way around the world and back to Spain (minus Ferdinand himself whom they buried in the Philippines).   And we proceeded to load her to the rooftop with Rubbermaid tubs, duffle bags, and boxes; reserving just enough space for us and fur-Admiral Maggie.  Even then, two trips to Goodwill were required and three large boxes were shipped home via UPS.  Sheesh.   One can acquire a lot o' stuff in three cruising seasons.   Irish Lass floated an inch higher in the water once unloaded. 

We booked a few nights in a nearby motel and spent two days scrubbing Irish Lass from end to end.    We also made arrangements with a local "boat concierge" to watch over her once we hit the road and to arrange for an exterior detail, interior carpet cleaning, and some other minor repairs.   

And we entered into a listing agreement with IntracoastalYacht Sales.  After much discussion with Doug and review of recent market activity,  we settled on an asking price that seemed like pure fantasy (35% more than our original purchase price!) to us but that Doug felt was appropriate.   With great faith in his knowledge and abilities, we signed on the dotted line. 

Iriah Lass at the brokerage dock in Little River, SC

On March 30, we bid the Lass an emotional goodbye and headed west toward Birmingham, AL.   It was exciting to be headed home, but bittersweet to the closing out the Great Loop chapter of our life.  That same day, however, opened a whole new life role for us, namely GRANDPARENTING!   Our daughter-in-law, Alexandria, gave birth to a healthy 7lb 4oz boy in Somerville, MA!  His name is LINCOLN DANGER GRIFFITH.  We couldn't wait to get home so we could turn around and fly to Boston to meet him

DANGER is his middle name, y'know! 👍

Day Two  took us across Mississippi into Arkansas.  As we rolled into Little Rock the weather was getting ominous, with wind, rain, and swirling skies..  Local radio began to broadcast tornado warnings, telling folks in specific parts of the city to be prepared or even to seek shelter. Of course, to those of us passing thru on I-40, all this geographic detail was useless, not knowing where any of the areas of warning were.  We could have been driving into the heart of storm and been none the wiser until we saw Auntie Em and Toto fly by the window. So we pressed on until the rain fell so hard we could not see, at which point we parked on the shoulder under an overpass (with a dozen others) and waited it out.   We learned later that the F-3 tornado had passed about a half mile behind us and did serious damage in the city.  But the worst we saw was strong winds and torrents of rain off the overpass like a waterfall.   Whew!  The good Lord does look out for fools. 

After an overnight near Fort Smith (no sign of Judge Parker or Rooster Cogburn but we did see the gallows)), we crossed the Arkansas River into the "Indian Territory", aka Oklahoma.   Our destination  was the home of Spokane transplants  Mark and Adrienne Parcher, in Edmund, just north of Oklahoma City.  We had a delightful visit in their beautiful new home in the red clay hills, (complete with a steel tornado shelter bolted to the garage floor.)  Adrienne asked us to transport a piece of her stained-glass art commissioned by fellow Spokane-ite Scott Rodin, so Mark and Wade spent an hour in the shop carefully packaging it in foam and then finding a low-risk spot for the package aboard Victoria. 

Day Three was a High-speed, two-lane voyage West across Oklahoma and Texas to Raton, New Mexico, where the 6.700 ft elevation gave us a cool and short-breath reminder that we had been living at sea level for nine months.  Gasp!   

Day Four took us north on I-25 across Raton Pass into Colorado.  We took a few minutes near Trinadad, CO to visit the desolate valley where Wade's grandfather once commanded a camp for some 3,000 German POW's during World War II.   Almost nothing to see today but a location clearly intended to isolate and intimidate those interned there. 

We were bound for the home of Kathleen's cousin Sarah Hertzenberg just north of Denver. We passed a pleasant evening with the gathered Colorado arm of the McLaughlin clan, planning to head north into Wyoming and Montana the next morning. 

But God said, "Ha!"  

We awoke to a few inches of snow and the news that I-25 north  and I-80 west of Cheyenne, WY were closed by 2+ feet of snow and high winds.  Quite a shock after wintering in Florida, for sure.  Not wanting to wait for the weather to break, we called an audible and quickly made plans to head west on I-70 thru the Rockies via Eisenhour Tunnel.     With the storm still blowing, the first 80 miles took almost 3 hours, but once we cleared the tunnel, the roads and skies cleared, and we were able to resume our customary cruising speed.  Still, it made for a long day by the time we rolled into Spanish Fork, UT (Sorry, Eric 🤷) at about 7:00 PM.  

The early morning of Day Five found us back in the snow (and traffic) along the Wasatch Front northbound on I-15.   But once we cleared Salt Lake City, conditions improved, and we were able to set an 80 mph pace for Butte.  The low temp there that night was 11 F.  BRRRRR!!!  Welcome back to the Northwest, indeed!

Day Six (April 5th) was an easy, familiar run west on I-90 thru the Idaho Panhandle to dear old Spokane! 

HOME AT LAST!

 Epilogue

Since arriving back in Spokane, we have been busy learning to live on land again and taking our life here out of suspended animation.   After unloading an returning Victoria,  we attacked the heap of  bins, boxes, and duffle bags in the garage, sorting and storing and, in some  cases, scratching our heads and saying “Why exactly did we bring THIS home?’  At the same time, we worked to prepare the house for re-occupancy , undoing all things we shut off/turned down/covered up for our nine-month absence.  And by the end of the first week, we were down to a couple of small boxes to unpack and felt pretty much “at home”.   (fur-Admiral Maggie’s period of adjustment was MUCH shorter.)

Then one  of the first week's back, friends Sharon and Darrell invited us for a casual dinner at the home along the Little Spokane River.    Upon arrival, we discovered not a casual dinner, but 20 or more of our other friends gathered for a surprise Welcome Home party.   Wow!

Our next priority was a quick trip to Boston for a face-to-face encounter with Lincoln Danger Griffith, the world’s most perfect grandchild.   (And his parents, of course. 😊)

And THEN.......

Forty days after leaving Irish Lass with Doug in Little River, SC, he called us with AN OFFER!!!  Just under 90% of our (we thought) ridiculous asking price, and with minimal contingencies.   After commission and closing costs, and  a few minor repairs, still 20% more than our original purchase price.  Certainly not full recovery, but a meaningful contribution toward the money ewe invested in the Lass during our ownership.  And all in 40 days in what appeared to be a 120-day market for boats in her size and price ranges.  After a brief temptation to hold out for more, reason prevailed, and we took the deal   A huge relief, given that. 1) our original vision of the Great Loop was to sell the boat for 75% of what we paid for it and , 2) we were preparing ourselves to wait until Fall for a sale.   The Lass passed her survey with flying colors and by the end of June, she belonged to a nice couple from North Carolina who planned to live aboard for the summer following the sale of their home.  Bon Voyage , Irish Lass.

The bittersweet feelings about selling the boat have been softened now by the passage of time.  (And by the realization how much more disposable income one has when one no longer owns a boat.)  We are not sure if there will be another boat or what it might be.  In the meantime, we have been filling our time with new flooring in the house, revived golf games,  and upcoming travel plans including British Columbia by (rented) motorhome, Boston for Lincoln’s baptism, a 9-day tour of the Holy Land and a VRBO week in Maine next summer.   And then there is that trip to Africa that Wade promised Kathleen as part of the  bargain  to do the Loop……….

Regardless, we are busy and healthy, and our eyes are on the future.  We thank each and everyone of you who traveled along on our Great Loop journey, and we hope to see you all on some future adventure.   Be safe and keep in touch

 FINIS!