One more step closer
Not sure how many steps in the ladder before we actually are ready to leave for our trip.
I am as stated before officially retired and ready to go. Robin works through August.
We left Midway Marina on the boat this past Saturday which was April 9th and anchored out across from Grand Harbor at Zippy Cove Saturday night. We arrived at Stenson Hollow Marina on Sunday afternoon. Kieth Mullins is the owner of the marina and was very hospitable. We were having some service work on the boat at J'S Landing which adjoins the marina. Keith did not charge for the dockage due to our having work done by J'S Landing. All people were super nice. Boat checked out great and we departed Monday afternoon in the rain. Robin got soaked as we locked back through Wilson Lock. We anchored out at what is called the rock pile. A very good anchorage area marked by three rock piles. As we pulled in and anchored, no cell service or internet service was available. But my KVH direct tv worked fine. We slept well with two anchors set  as the wind blew and rain fell. No problems. We had a great traveling day on Tuesday arriving back at Midway Marina around 5:30 p.m.

We traveled a total of 30.4 engine  hours
208 statue miles and used a total of 80.1 gallons of diesel.
2.5 miles per gallon is good for our boat. I was pleased.
There are a lot of If's, but if the price of diesel remains close to the present prices,
currents, winds, and whatever else that affects performance stay with in reason we look forward to an economical trip around the Great Loop.