Day 234 @ the Marriott Water Street Tampa, FL – The Great Loop Boat Trip

11/18/19

I’ve had a difficult time finishing this blog with our final day. It’s been a week since we’ve finished the great loop adventure but I have been unable to bring myself to wrap up the final steps. I’ve enjoyed writing the blog and some days I’ve had exciting material and others it’s been just ok. The trials of the boating and planning were (in the end) nothing compared to the life events that took place without warning. I was recently asked by a friend how long Mom had been sick before she passed and I had to really think about that one. Ya see, she had gone into the hospital because her weekly Doctor had said she didn’t like her numbers. It wasn’t an acute situation and she wasn’t complaining. And yet my reply to my friend was “12 years”. My mom has been dying every week, every day and every moment since my Dad died on April 17, 2007. So when she died it was extremely sad, yet it was her hope, her wish. My cell phone rang at 2am on November 7th and I was laying in my bed on the Aquasition. Kind of waiting for sleep to come but having no expectations of sleep to carry me off – I was just staring at the ceiling. I picked up my phone and it said Mindy Olivieri (my sister) – I knew why she was calling at 2am. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t answer. She left the message.

Here is our last day:

We departed before the sun came up. The morning light had not yet graced the water so I sat on the bow helping direct Captain Nick through the shallow and narrow channel that led to the Gulf. Once we were in the open I climbed inside and settled in for a long haul. We set cruise control and auto pilot and then took turns at the helm. We were about 30 miles out into the Gulf when Nick asked me to take the helm so he could sit on the back and have a smoke. I was checking the gauges and everything was perfect. We were getting great fuel economy and at our maximum speed of 23 mph. I then examined the surroundings – looking out around me I noticed the water looked like a silk sheet rippling gently in the morning light. It was going to be a great day. It was about 9am and we had to be more than 30 miles from any land and we hadn’t seen another boat or buoy or anything for a long while. Then I saw something. It was a seagull resting on the water. As the boat approached it the seagull rose out of the water and flew right in front of the Aquasition. As if to say, look at me! I then saw the bird cross our path and fly around to the stern. I thought maybe the seagull wanted to land on us but she didn’t. I call her a she because I feel the bird was Mom. When Nick came in from outside I asked if he saw the seagull and he said “Yea, and it was the weirdest thing that bird kept up with us for a long time. It followed the boat and wouldn’t give up.” Nick was shocked because he knew we were maintaining a speed of 23 mph. He was trying to figure out how the bird could keep up with the speed of the boat. Surely a seagull can’t fly at 23 mph.

We reached our destination pretty quickly!

The scenic morning views from Carrabelle channels.

Glass! The water was beautiful!

These two dolphins were playing around the boat.

Once we could see land we started seeing some working boats.

Cruise ship passed us near the bridge!

Then we saw home! Tampa’s skyline!

Party with Barbi and friends! Little Ayden came out to play! It was so wonderful to see everyone! Such an amazing feeling to pull in and have friends waiting for you! Thank you Barbi for organizing the group!

Mom is with Dad in heaven and her body is in its final resting place. I am back home in Tampa after having flown to Chicago for the wake and funeral. Looking forward to finding a routine with my friends I have missed for the last 8 months!

Thank you for reading – until our next great adventure – safe travels to you all!

Safe travels Mom!