Feb. had been a very cold month and all I could think about was maybe it would be warmer if we got further south. However, there were things Tom wanted to have done on our boat before we started. One of the things was to get a three blade propeller. Of course you have to order it then get it installed, which takes time. On Feb 23, Joe Bob put it on for us. I hated to think he had to dive into that cold water....but he did have a special diving suit for the job.

Next another man Kingsley, helped Tom check the engine. Just to be on the safe side, better to find out something while you are in a marina. Tom also changed the oil.

The boat pretty much looked like a grocery store, and the longer we stayed in Panama City the more we loaded onto the boat. In fact the water line was now 6 inches below the water.

The last thing we planned to get was fresh water, which can be hard to get while you are traveling, as we planned to anchor out most of the time, we couldn't afford to stay in marina's all the time.

It's Feb 20 and it has warmed up a little, with a chance of rain the following day. It was so cold that year.

With the new propeller on and tested Tom feels more confident in the performance of the boat. There was a small leak found, which hopefully will not cost too much to fix.

Tom also bought all kinds of belts and things you might need ...who knows what will lie ahead, or what you will need. We both were anxious to get going, with more stress on Tom to make sure things are right before we start.

We had planned our trip for a long time. The plan was to sail from Panama City, Florida.............cross the Gulf of Mexico, to Tarpon Springs, down the ICW up the Caloosahatchee River to Lake Okeechobee then continue on to the Atlantic side of Florida, then up the coast ...........all the way to New York to the Hudson River, then cross Lake Ontario, but we didn't get that far. So I can only give you details as to our trip, on what we saw and did.

On a big trip like we planned you have to prepare for everything. We did our best before we left asking every sailor we knew for advice on their travels. I have to admit that I went a little over board on the food department. I bought all kinds of canned food, and neither one of us likes canned food so really that was a bit of a waste of money. Plus it loaded the boat down. My advice is only take food that you will eat. Since we were going to be in contact with land most of the time, we were still able to get food just not in the places you would normally buy food.

Our budget was very small so for our trip it would mean mostly anchoring, no fancy marinas with hot showers and restaurants. Honestly, I have to say the thing I missed most was a hot shower. Both Tom and I are creatures of habit, a shower sets the day off on a good start.

Out starting point was Panama City Florida. Being a Canadian, you think Florida is hot, but it isn't in Jan and Feb. It's darn cold, and Panama City is in the northern part of Florida so it is even colder. Anyway our trip was planned for the end of Feb. the year of 2007. Wow, it's beginning to be a long time ago. Better late than never to write your thoughts down they say. Anyway, it had been a very cold winter, and all I wanted to do is go south and get warm.

But, before we could go anywhere we had a few things to be done.

I am writing this blog as a way to remember the trip my husband Tom and I took a few years ago. To tell you the truth, I lost my log book, but the other day I found it again in a pile of old papers. It's funny when you write things down daily then look back on the events that have happened, they seem big at the time but not so much anymore.
I read other people's blogs and they have been on longer journey's than ours, but this is our journey, one that I will always treasure. The good times and the bad, I will look back and remember for the rest of our lives.
I hope that you will enjoy reading about our little adventure too. Our boat at the time was a Catalina 30, named Mariah.
Sorry I do not have many pictures as they are on my old laptop, but I may find a few somewhere to give you a better idea of the life we had.