Sunday Summary #86

A Slower Pace of Cruising

Hi ,

Welcome to Scho & Jo’s 86th Sunday Summary. This edition of the Sunday Summary was written aboard PIVOT who is anchored on the Cumberland River in Tennessee in quite possibly one of our favorite anchorages on the loop.

Last Week.

Since returning back to the US after spending our summer in Canada, it’s felt like we’ve been going non-stop. On days we were cruising down Lake Michigan, we took advantage of the good weather and made the most miles we could with the most sunlight we had. Once we got to the Rivers, we felt a sense of relief to be off the BIG bodies of water and didn’t have to watch the weather with such fierce attention, however, we had the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous as a deadline pushing us forward. Now that the rendezvous is over, we feel like we can take our time and enjoy the side trips on the mid-west rivers. We’ve been trying to balance work and cruising, so it’s meant we’ve traveled slower with half our day devoted to cruising and the other half devoted to computer work. It’s been so nice traveling at this slower pace and finding a better balance in our day-to-day.

Our first side trip on the rivers is to Nashville! Nashville isn’t on the great loop, but it’s located on a river which connects to the Great Loop waterways. The trip is supposed to take about 3 days traveling to Nashville and 3 days back. In the effort of traveling slower to find more balance, we will have taken a week to get to Nashville. We enjoyed staying in some anchorages as well as exploring Clarksville, TN. The slower pace has allowed for more time for dog walks (not just quick ‘business’ breaks), runs for Elliot, and enjoying sundowners (read: while working on our computers).

This Week.

We’ll be visiting Nashville this week and are looking forward to listening to live music, eating some delicious food, and enjoying Music City! Afterward, we'll be turning around and getting back on the Great Loop.

"Life is a journey with almost limitless detours."- Ken Poiro

 Videos. 

In case you missed it, here are all the vlogs we’ve released since our last Sunday Summary:

Pivoting in a Heat Wave | Albany to Troy New York

EPIC Troy Farmers Market and cruising to Waterford to Prep for the Erie!

Starting THE ERIE CANAL and the FLIGHT OF FIVE

 Extra. 

We recently had the opportunity to share our wanderlust story on the Trawler Talk podcast. You can find the episode and download it anywhere you listen to podcasts or on the Passagemaker website.

 Great Loop Recommendations. 

We are looking for recommendations for destinations and spots along our Great Loop to go see, visit, and enjoy. It's been a real challenge for us to keep track and stay organized with the many wonderful recommendations we've received thus far. So we've created a Google Form to help us stay organized. Thank you to everyone sending us recommendations so far! We really appreciate it.

 From the Eyes of Ollie. 

Yesterday I sat outside all day and listen to the birds from our boat. There are many great spots to sit on our boat, but my favorite is this seat because I can see everything from up here and I'm right next to Dad. I can get all the best sniffs while still making sure everything is ok. I like it best when my Dad puts my bed on this spot so it makes it extra comfy!

 Gratitudes. 

Autumn has given us beautifully colored trees and cooler temperatures. With the cooler temperatures, we’re grateful for our generator and AC/heater. There are a few things we’ve learned about our boat as we’ve cruised with her longer and longer. Like how our engine will heat our water with the flip of a switch - we learned that after 800 miles of cold showers during our first loop attempt. Not too long ago we tested our AC/heater to see if we could run it on our generator - it could! It was a wonderful discovery because we’ve been waking up to about 29-35 degrees F (1-4 degrees C) in the morning, so turning our generator and heater on for an hour or two to ease that morning cold has been a game changer. I don’t think I’ve ever been so grateful to have our generator and AC/heater.

Peace and love,Jenn + Elliot