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What is the epic adventure we are embarking on when we share the onFIREfamily story?

The Inspiration

Our vision and plan for what to do with a sabbatical, a mini-retirement, a gap year (whatever you want to call it) came out over a dinner conversation with friends. Over dinner, our friends shared their vision for a sabbatical with their family (their kids are the same ages as ours). They would unplug from the rat race for a 3-month epic family adventure. It included time at the beginning and at the end to decompress from the working world, time to deeply connect with family (not just a week at Christmas), and an epic travel adventure, including Europe and the Near East. They wanted to do it while they’re kids were young so they could educate their kids in the process and expand their world view. They were intentional about their dream for this trip and what they wanted it to be.

The problem was there was no accommodation or precedent at work for taking such a leave of absence, and our friend hadn’t asked his boss yet. They were confident and shared their dream over dinner and it stuck in my head. Eventually, his sabbatical was approved, and that family did go on that epic adventure. I was excited for them. I remember thinking, that for many of the same reasons, I wanted my own adventure. Something non-conventional. Something intentional. Something meaningful. A way to unplug, connect, and learn as a family in ways our daily lives on the hamster wheel did not allow. But we didn’t have “our thing.” We were lacking the vision for what our personal adventure would look like. Until we learned about the Great Loop.

The Great Loop

Shortly after that dinner, while the idea of a sabbatical, gap year, etc. was rolling around in my head, and not knowing what our family’s version of it might look like, I became aware of America’s Great Loop. An article had been published in a magazine I subscribe to outlining the route with a tiny map.  It’s the first time I remember becoming aware that it was possible to circumnavigate by boat the East Coast of America in a continuous loop.

I was surprised I had never known that was possible! It certainly seemed epic enough.  We are a family of boaters, so it scratched that itch.  It provided ample decompression time from the rat race, and plentiful educational opportunities for the many sites we would visit. We would see family along the way. It was perfect.

Incompatible With a Job Though

One of the things we’ve been saddened by, as we think about all the places we want to go with the kids, is that with just two weeks of vacation per year, we simply don’t have enough years left with our kids under our roof to see all the things we want to see. Years ago, Jennifer’s cousins set a goal, made possible by parents being teachers and having summers off, to visit all 50 states. With limited time off, we were not on a trajectory that would allow us to say, visit Washington DC, New York City, Disney World, and Ohio to see family before they were launched. The Great Loop would allow us to spend as much or as little time as we wanted in each place, as tourists, without having to cram it all in and catch a flight home for Dad to report to work on Monday morning. We wouldn’t have to vacation when flight prices were high and attractions busy around holiday weekends or school breaks. We could really immerse ourselves wherever we went and linger if we wanted to.  

What is America’s Great Loop?

America’s Great Loop is a 6,000 mile route that circumnavigates the Eastern part of the United States. It uses waterways such as the Great Lakes, inland rivers like the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, and Tennessee. It transits the Gulf of Mexico between Mobile, Alabama and Florida. Cruises up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (a protected passage of the Atlantic Ocean along the eastern seaboard of the US), through the Chesapeake Bay, the Hudson River, New York Harbor, and the Erie Canal into parts of Canada. It’s a giant loop that takes about a year to complete to stay where the weather is pleasant the whole time (No Great Lakes during winter and no Florida during humidity or hurricanes).

Where Does it Start/Stop?

Where you begin (and end) your great loop is largely dependent on when in the year you want to start (so you stay in good weather) and where you purchase your great loop boat. It’s roughly broken into 4 sections (aligning with the seasons):

Seasons on the Great Loop

Fall

In Fall, we descend the Mississippi River system to the Gulf of Mexico popping out into the Gulf of Mexico after November 1^st when hurricane season ends.

Winter

In Winter, we explore Florida, the Keys, and the Bahamas.

Spring

In Spring, we head up the East Coast, stopping at all the amazing towns along the way, and passing by the Statue of Liberty towards the beginning of summer.

Summer

In Summer, we spend time in the Great Lakes either on a northern route through parts of Canada or a southern route hugging America’s northern coastline.

Highlights on the Great Loop

When asked, each “looper” will point out different highlights they experienced on the Great Loop. We look forward to experiencing with our children:

• New York City and boating past the Statue of Liberty
• Boating under the bridges of Chicago
• Touring Washington DC
• Seeing Niagara Falls
• Going through the locks of the Erie Canal
• Quiet Anchorages in Canada
• Touring Civil War battlefields and Colonial American cities
• Visiting New Orleans
• Going to Disney World
• Relaxing in the Bahamas
• And all of the off-the-beaten path amazement we will encounter along the way.

The best part is that we won’t be competing with tourists on busy weekends and we can extend our stays where and when we want.

Have you ever been on vacation and thought that you wish you could just extend a few more days before having to go back to work? To me, it feels like with all the preparation, planning, travel, expense, etc., that just when you start to enjoy your family vacation is when the reality hits that it’s time to return. With this plan for the Great Loop, we’ll be able to experience these sites on our own terms. And that, my friends, sounds awesome coming from someone who has not had more than a two-week vacation in my 25-year career.

Is the Great Loop Safe?

For our moms, the short answer is yes. There is an amazing organization called the AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association) that maintains a list of Harbor Hosts who are available to help as you make your way around the loop. It’s a fairly rare and special thing to complete the route (only 150 boats a year do), but the route itself is protected and safe and keeps you in good weather windows along the way. You can be in a marina tied up to a dock every night you spend on the Great Loop but it’s also possible to drop anchor in some pretty amazing places and live “for free” on the hook instead of paying marina fees. I have a Captain’s License because of my side hustle but that is not a requirement for embarking on the loop. People with limited boating experience do it all the time.

The Boat

A boat capable of accomplishing this epic journey is not just a boat. It needs to be capable of reliably carrying us 6,000 miles. It needs to be our home for a year with enough personal space for a family of four with two teenagers. It needs to have certain creature comforts. We’re frugal, and handy, and fix most things and DIY like crazy, so a seaworthy but older vessel is probably what we’re after.

We’ve got a passion for antique and classic boats but shopping for our Great Loop boat is both exciting and challenging. We want to buy our boat on a particular schedule. We want to begin our loop in the summer of 2022, which means we’re looking for a boat in the Atlantic North East or Great lakes area. There are suitable boats near where we live, in Portland, Oregon, but over the road transportation to truck one to points on the Great Loop to begin our journey is prohibitively expensive. Because we’ll be shopping for, and selling, a boat not close to where we live, that will create additional challenges, particularly when the region where we want to start/finish the loop has a limited boating season due to freezing weather.

Inspiration to Adventure

What started as a simple dinner conversation, with an adventurous family whose vision for slowing down life and showing their kids the world, has sparked our own dreams of adventure. Our version involves a year-long boat journey on America’s Great Loop as a family. Thanks for coming along as we plan, save, and experience all it has to offer!