Natalie's Next

Preparations are in full swing for our Great Loop Adventure. We just got back from Looper Palooza 2025, where experienced and soon-to-be experienced “loopers” gather to share stories and tips and resources. A week in sunny Punta Gorda was so welcome after all the cold up north, and we took some time to visit with friends as well. “Warm” is a great word for the week! Weather, good friends, and all of the great folks we met at the conference. We focused on the route briefings from Punta Gorda around to the Chesapeake, but also dabbled in things like tablet navigation, medical emergencies, and such.

Now, I am officially and totally overwhelmed! (although some may argue it doesn’t take much for me). I made a list of everything I wanted to get and everything I wanted to do based on what we learned. The list is pages long, and we only have weeks before we want to cast off. Needless to say, our porch has been full of Amazon boxes every day. Our office is filling up with the everything we want to take with us as we stage for the drive down to Pensacola. I just hope it all fits in the car.

My emotions are all over the place. I am so excited to spend so much time in my happy place on a boat: cruising down a river with a warm breeze in my face, anchoring in a quiet cove watching the sun set. I am anticipating all of the great places we will see and people we will meet (I must not forget my camera! Where is my list?) I have started looking for great DockTails recipes for drinks and apps to share with fellow loopers. (Happy to take submissions.) I am sad to leave friends and family behind for so long, and thankful for Zoom and FaceTime and my new electronic photo frame. I am terrified about being able to manage this boat since we don’t have a lot of experience with it yet. I keep reminding myself that we were able to learn to handle the old boat together, all we need is practice and patience (Mike already knows how to do things, it is teaching me that is the challenge). There will be lots of time for practice, I suppose.

One of the most helpful things I heard at Looper Palooza was this: “It is 365 one day trips.” Such a great reminder for this endeavor, and for life in general. Take each day one at a time. Everyone who has done this says that you can have a place picked out and you can have a day picked out, but you cannot specify both at the same time. It’s the Heisenberg’s principle of cruising. Shit happens, so plan time for it and stop worrying.

That’s my mantra right now. Do what I can, and stop worrying.