Some of you may be aware that we learned about the Great Loop from my parents, Mike & Fran Moran. When Craig started dreaming about buying a boat, they handed him the book “Honey, Let’s Get A Boat“, written by Ron & Eva Stob, founders of America’s Great Loop Crusing Association. Craig is not usually an avid reader but he read it straight through, and then reread it multiple times. Hence…here we are!
My folks knew about the book because they cruised the canals of southern France in 1986. Mom was 50 and Dad was 57 – pretty close to us at 56 and 59. They spent a year planning their cruise and looking at boats in those old black and white books a French boat broker sent them. Then they withdrew a chunk of cash from the bank, closed up their home, and flew to France. They spent a year as boaters and my Dad still misses those days. We looked at their slides on my recent trip home and the similarities are pretty amazing. We had fun recreating her photos below 🙂
Here’s a clip from an article Mom wrote. Very similar to us!
Now, the word traveling may not quite convey what we actually did. Vessels are not allowed to sail faster than five miles an hour on the canals! We did have another mode of transportation – our bicycles. Any time our travel guides indicated a tourist site within ten miles, off we would go to visit chateaux, castles, medieval towns, vineyards, and an extraordinary abundance of ancient churches and monasteries.
Tomorrow we head off from Chicago into the midwest rivers on our quest down to Mobile, Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico. Drone video footage is coming soon (OMG, we’re very excited about it and hope you enjoy it, too!)
Team Joy Girl Adventures 
Good luck to you! We enjoyed meeting you in Mackinac Island last year as well as seeing you in Government Bay. Keep these great posts coming!
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Loved the comparison between you and your parents!! Enjoy every minute of your journey!! Loved seeing you earlier this summer. Looking forward to more of your awesome posts and pictures
Steve & Sandy
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Hey guys, so great to hear from you!! I wasn’t sure if people would enjoy it as much as I did, so thanks for letting me know you liked the post 😊 We loved getting together with you this summer and think of you when we use our Harvest mugs! Best to you both!!
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What a neat comparison! I can hardly wait for the next chapter in your adventure through middle America- and your drone pictures!. Quite a change from what you’ve seen but just as exciting! Good luck and smooth sailing!
R.J.
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So great to hear from you, dear R.J.! Today we are suffering through the Illinois Waterway locks, but we hope to be out soon! Praying for you all 🙂
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I love all the similar photos you captured in this set ! thanks for sharing! Marina
On Sun, Sep 8, 2019 at 6:36 PM Joy Girl Adventures wrote:
> Niki Kozak posted: “Some of you may be aware that we learned about the > Great Loop from my parents, Mike & Fran Moran. When Craig started dreaming > about buying a boat, they handed him the book “Honey, Let’s Get A Boat”, > written by Ron & Eva Stob, founders of America’s” >
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So glad you enjoyed it, my friend! Great to hear from you!
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Best of luck on the rest of your trip. Looking forward to the blog updates and drone footage!
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Hey, guys, so great to hear from you! Hope you had a wonderful summer. The drone is very cool, check out the Chicago post 😀
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