Landlocked in Vegas

When I was 18/19/20 I spent time working boats in Alaska. I was thankful for the pay and to see the world (and to have survived). Those summers left me with the desire to someday explore the PNW by boat.

Fast forward too many years and I'm a land locked Entrepreneur chasing the dream and living in a place that makes me think of all of the other places I could be... Then I discover the Great Loop. Just wow. Showed it to my wife, she says, "yup, its at the top of the bucket list." (<--how awesome when dreams intersect in this way)

Now, finding that just right boat, the coin with which to buy it, and the time to spend upon her.

Just another guy with dreams...checking in and saying hey. To those of you making that dream a reality and sharing here, my respect. To those of you chasing the dream like me...the credit goes to the man (or woman) in the Arena. ??

Thousands of miles of shoreline on Lake Mead, but it's not the same.

Welcome Aboard,

pete

Welcome aboard. We lived in Tucson for 30 years and when we retired we moved back to Michigan and are living on the water. We get to dock our boat behind our house. Living the dream, except for the virus...

Pete and Comodave, Thanks for the welcome!

Pete, you are so correct, lots of miles of shoreline on Lake Mead. We do kayak every now and again on the Lake/River. We do not power/sail boat there... It seems when we decide to escape Vegas we typically head to the mountains...where I get my fill of fly fishing and white water.

Comodave, color me envious. What have you got tied up at the dock? What sort of trips have you enjoyed so far? When I was a kid we spent some time in Charlevoix (and north to include islands). I always thought the area very beautiful.

We've got a few years to plan for what we'd like to do. Our goal is Great Loop, perhaps some wintertime island hopping, and a summer trip through the Inside Passage. I know- different trips...but each of terrific interest to us.

We've just begun our research. So many beautiful options...the question is can we find one that does each of the three things we envision. I suspect so. Lord knows we've got time to figure it out.

We have a 41’ President that we bought 5 years ago in Virginia. We ran it home 1400 miles, 75 locks, 45 days and 1 appendix. We have done a lot of local cruising since my mom lives with us and will be 100 years old on the 28th so we can’t go far and leave her alone. This year I don’t think we will even be able to do an overnight trip due to the virus. We have a lady that comes in several times a day when we are gone but we cannot risk that this year.

Welcome aboard and Cheers from Vegas ourselves, which is where we are at the moment. Pairadice is currently on the hard in San Carlos, MX. waiting for our return in Sept/Oct to put her back in the water and continue south. About 20K NM so far with many great memories and new friends along the way. Follow your dreams and do them sooner than latter!

Crusty Chief said:

Welcome aboard and Cheers from Vegas ourselves, which is where we are at the moment. Pairadice is currently on the hard in San Carlos, MX. waiting for our return in Sept/Oct to put her back in the water and continue south. About 20K NM so far with many great memories and new friends along the way. Follow your dreams and do them sooner than latter!

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I figured I'd find a fellow Las Vegan somewhere on here...thanks for the welcome, mate. Color me envious for your adventures and the friends you've made along the way. We look forward very much to doing the same. Great name, by the way, Pairadice. In your 20K nM, where has most exceeded your expectations, least exceeded them, and what's been your favorite?

At this point, guess I'm most excited that my spouse is as excited by this, or more, than me. It's not a financial reality for us right now...oh the "fun" of being an entrepreneur...but we see where and how it can be a reality- if we plan for it.

Comodave said:

We have a 41’ President that we bought 5 years ago in Virginia. We ran it home 1400 miles, 75 locks, 45 days and 1 appendix. We have done a lot of local cruising since my mom lives with us and will be 100 years old on the 28th so we can’t go far and leave her alone. This year I don’t think we will even be able to do an overnight trip due to the virus. We have a lady that comes in several times a day when we are gone but we cannot risk that this year.

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Wow, a fun trip home, less the appendix. My wife and I are similarly remaining very much socially distant from people, as we care for her aging father here in Vegas. My respect to you and your wife. 100 on the 28th, that's nothing to scoff at!

LastMohican said:

In your 20K nM, where has most exceeded your expectations, least exceeded them, and what's been your favorite?

At this point, guess I'm most excited that my spouse is as excited by this, or more, than me. It's not a financial reality for us right now...oh the "fun" of being an entrepreneur...but we see where and how it can be a reality- if we plan for it.

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So many great places, its hard to pick a favorite. Being within 35 ft of a Spirit Bear in Northern BC, fishing up in SE Alaska, flying Rays in Mexico, locks on the Columbia/Snake rivers, they are all memorable.

But the best part of this journey has been meeting and making lifelong friends, a lot of them originally met here on TF!

I suggest you look at chartering a boat up in the Anacortez/Bellingham area and cruise the San Juans/Southern BC for a week. Do that a couple of times with different boats, you’ll learn a whole lot real fast.

Your lucky that the spouse is excited and supporting this dream. Best of luck, but get out there and do it!

Cheers

Crusty Chief, thanks for the response. We're very fortunate that we've got a few Florida friends that are regular Island Hoppers...we've not ever gone with them, but there are standing invites. Your charter suggestion is already something we've been investigating...San Juan Islands would be amazing.

Even better than having a supportive spouse, I've got a spouse that is actively scheming and building the plan. That's a rarity...I recognize regularly that I've likely married much further up than should have been allowed. lol

LastMohican said:

Wow, a fun trip home, less the appendix. My wife and I are similarly remaining very much socially distant from people, as we care for her aging father here in Vegas. My respect to you and your wife. 100 on the 28th, that's nothing to scoff at!

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She had been having stomach pains the day before. I told her to go to the ER in case it was appendicitis, she said no. We got up the next morning and I asked her about 10 times if she was good to go, yes. We had about 90 miles in the Atlantic to do that day. About halfway there she said she had to lay down. When we got into Manasquan, NJ I put her in a taxi to Urgent Care. They sent her to a hospital and they operated late that night. She came out of the hospital the next day after fighting with the surgeon who wanted her to stay in. We left for New York City the next morning. She is a trooper!