Trip of a Lifetime
America’s Great Loop
by
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On March 21 2003 we began the cruise. We had several friends aboard from River Wilderness Parish Florida, our neighborhood in Florida. We cruised to Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant on Longboat Key near Sarasota, anchored in the bay behind the restaurant and dinghy to the restaurant dock for dinner.
The next morning we awoke to a steady rain. We proceeded south on the ICW into the Sarasota Bay, past Lido Key, Siesta Key and Casey Key to Venice. We spent the night at Lemon Bay near Grove. City Florida. Long time friends from Michigan Vicki and Joe Fresard, met us at the boat and we went to dinner. Just the beginning of our many routines. I developed a routine to take care of the poodles. When we docked at night I would take them out for a walk. I would return and feed them. Then David and I would go to dinner. Before we went to bed we would again take them out. It worked. This was just the beginning of our wonderful adventure. On December 23 2003 at 4:28 pm Summer (the name of the yatch) completed the Great Loop when she passed the range markers at the mouth of the Manatee River near Bradenton Florida. It was an emotional moment for David and I. We spent the last hour, as we crossed the Tampa Bay, reminiscing on our experiences since we passed these same range markers on March 22 as we started this great adventure. Reminiscence is the enjoyable recolledtion of past events and the word certainly fits. We will enjoy our recollections of the Loop for the rest of our lives. It was the trip of a lifetime.
This undertaking was unlike anything David and I have ever done. We are grateful that we were able to do it. It was an adventure in every sense of the word. We learned and experienced so much. We are so glad that we had the courage to "just do it" instead of letting our negative thoughts and fears stop us.
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About the Book
David Kennedy Barnes and Anna Marie Barnes were seeking a little adventure. Anna Marie thought an RV would fit the bill. David wanted a boat. In December of 2003, the couple purchased a three-year-old, forty-nine-foot DeFever trawler yacht. They learned to operate the vessel, navigate, and read maps. And the following April, the couple left their slip in Palmetto, Florida, with their two poodles on board to begin their cruise of the “Great Circle.”
In Trip of a Lifetime, David and Anna Marie share their story through a series of journal entries created during their sailing trip. With photos included, this travel log, initially written as emails to friends and family, chronicles some of the highlights of their experiences. From weather-related incidents, to the sights and sounds from their cruise, and the people they met on the journey, this story offers insight into a trip that afforded many memories.
A journey that took them from Florida to New York City into Canada, to Lake Michigan, to the Mississippi River, into the Gulf of Mexico, and to points in between, Trip of a Lifetime narrates the details of one couple’s adventures on their boat, Summer.
About the Author
David Kennedy Barnes worked many years as an attorney. After a heart attack at the age of forty-nine, he left his practice. He purchased and managed small strip mall properties. With his wife, Anna Marie Barnes, he embarked on a boat trip of the Great Circle.