All Y’all have probably been wondering where we’ve been with not posts for a while.  We have been at Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, TN at the AGLCA (American Great Loop Cruisers Association) Fall Rendezvous.  Too busy to write the blog but also the internet was terrible.

This unique boat made by the owner was anchored as we entered the park.

These Families were on the bank as we entered and were having a great time.

Good friends Bob and Vicki Rehkopf met us here on their way to Florida.  This is just us girls. Teresa Lasker Vicki and yours truely.

The “class rooms” were pretty full. The seminars were well attended.

This is Patsy. One of my favorite speakers.

We learned a ton and socialized a ton.

What did we learn? We chose the classes that took each piece of our journey from Tennessee all the way around Florida, the Bahamas and up to New Bern, North Carolina. We took a ton a notes and got handouts and they provided us with a thumb drive with all the presentations power points on it.  Our brains were full, but then came happy hour to chill us out.  I cannot explain to you the bonds that we have made with so many wonderful people!  It is something that cannot be put into words. Almost everyone doing this trip is doing it with their significant other or their spouse.  I have never seen so many “normal:” marriages in an organization ever.  I figure, you have to have a strong marriage if you live on board a boat together for a whole year.  There were people there who are just learning about the trip and in the “Planning” stage.  Then there is the “In Progress” group, then there are the “Gold Loopers” They are people who have already completed the loop and may or may not be doing the Loop again.

The presenters were superb! They all spoke well, knew their subjects extremely well and had a great sense of humor.

Every day at 6pm we had pool-side docktails then Dinner at 7pm except for Wed, which I will write a whole blog about Wednesday. We had Looper Crawls. People who wanted to, would open up their boats for others to come aboard.  We opened our boat on Tuesday and had a ton of people go through. They were all so greatful to be able to look at your boat. Many people who are looking for their Looper boat, find it is very helpful to get on many  boats all at one setting to learn about their likes and dislikes.

We too a hike on the trails at the park. Here are a few shots I took on the trail.

One of the most entertaining things we did, was the dinghy race. The driver of the boat is blindfolded and has to drive backwards while the navigator told the driver where to go without touching the driver.  We laughed so hard. The course was to go down to a buoy go around it and come back.  One couple did 14 360 degree turns.  They just couldn’t figure out how to go straight.  2 people hit the dock. A few got a little close to the boats but in a panic the navigator was able to get them turned around.  There were many people on the dock watching, laughing and heckling the teams.  It was truly one of the funniest few hours I have ever spent. Oh and by the way, Scott and I won the dinghy race.  Man, now that is something put on our boating resume.

Thursday night was awards dinner.  For winning the dinghy race we received a very nice tote. When we first arrived at the rendezvous, we were given bingo cards. The squares had things on them like, has completed the loop in a boat under 30 feet, is Canadian, can’t swim, saw a shark, has more than 12 bottles of wine on board. (That was the one I signed for everyone ;)) You had to find people to sign your card to fit each category. My card got chosen and I won 2 years renewal on my membership. We also were given one year membership renewal for letting 6 couples use our dinghy for the dinghy race. We were the big winners of the night.

One of the biggest highlights is that Mallory (our daughter) and her boyfriend, Marcelo came to visit and will be on board going up the Tennessee River with us for 3 days.  More on that later.

Where to next?  We left this morning and are going up the Tennessee river to Chattanooga then possibly up further to Telco Lake. The tip of Telco lake is right at the edge of the Smokey Mountains. It suppose to be breathtaking beautiful.

Thanks for reading.

Karen and Scott