Cruising on Last Dance


This blog archives the adventures of Glen and Jill Moore and provides a means of communication for friends and family. Exploration and adventure have been synonymous with boats and water for centuries. The joy of adventures shared while exploring new places and meeting new people has built a strong bond for Glen and Jill. Last Dance is the platform for the exploration.

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." St. Augustine, 354 - 430

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain, 1835 - 1910

"There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing around in boats." The Wind in the Willows, 1908, Kenneth Grahame, 1859 - 1932

"I've never believed speed and ease are conductive to living fully, becoming aware, or deepening memory, a tripod of urges to stabilize and lend meaning to life." River Horse: a log book of a boat across America, 1999, William Least Heat-Moon,1939 -

The Great Loop -- The current adventure is a circumnavigation of the Eastern United States, cruising north up the east coast through New York into Canada, across the Great Lakes to Chicago, navigating multiple river systems south to Mobile, along the Gulf coast to the Florida Keys and back to St. Augustine. This trip by boat is commonly referred to as the Great Loop. Progress and current location are indicated by the red line on the map to the right. It was titled the Traceless Path in recognition of a German sailor we met in St. Augustine who published booklets of his travels with hand-drawn, detailed maps describing his travels across the water as the Traceless Path.



Monday, August 29, 2011

Spring to Fall

One of the goals of this Great Loop trip was to follow the Spring up the East Coast, then follow the Fall down the interior of the country.  A year without a hot summer: a unique experience for two Floridians.

 Earlier posts have documented the spring flowers beginning their bloom along the Eastern Seaboard.  The calendar-specified Summer was spent in the Georgian Bay and North Channel, where high temperatures were in the 70's and sometimes 80's.

The photos at right of the leaves changing colors, signifying the beginning of Fall, were taken August 25th, in Charlevoix, Michigan.  Fall has begun at these higher latitudes.  Charlevoix is located at 45 degrees, 19 minutes north - still in the upper half of the Northern Hemisphere.  Low temperatures in the high 40's have sparked the annual ritual of the trees.  The colors signal that the trip south should begin.

The 45th parallel was crossed, first by car, on the drive to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore -- deemed by Good Morning America and others as the most beautiful place in the United States.  It is beautiful and a later post will share some photography and stories.  The next day, Last Dance crossed the 45 degree line, heading south.

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