Remember “You’ve Got Mail” with Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan? It’s one of my favorites. Hearing from so many amazing people on the blog has been kind of like that. I LOVE hearing from each of you; answering questions; mulling over your suggestions and even meeting some of you along the way.
Shortly after arriving in Chicago, I received a short message from a girl named Amber. It simply stated that she and her boyfriend had read the article in Power & MotorYacht and wanted to know if we needed anything while we were in the Chicago area. I eagerly showed Tom the message – noting how incredibly thoughtful the message was aaaaand realizing this may be a GREAT avenue for inquiring about suggestions for all of the beauty maintenance I was hoping to catch up on while we’re here.
A few messages were exchanged and before we knew it, we were out to dinner with Amber & Kevin (and even some of their mutual friends); and then out for drinks; and then repeating the process over and over again.
We were treated like old friends and it was so(!) refreshing & fun to hangout with a crew again. As we’re making our departure plans from Chicago, i’m already sad just thinking about our “goodbye” but I’m *forcing* them to visit when we’re in warmer waters in the coming weeks/months.
My Mom also visited! The best thing ever when you’re feeling homesick. No matter how old a girl gets, sometimes she just needs a day with her Mom….Am I right? We shopped and sipped rosé like it was our job. I think it’s safe to say we both loved every second of it!
The rest of our time here was spent in our usual exploratory fashion. Food/Cocktails/Sight Seeing….in that order!
Eataly…this place is GENIUS! Amazing food, wine and shopping all in a gorgeous and inviting setting. 
We’re still hanging out at DuSable Harbor for the time being – its raining – and we need to have some work done to the boat tomorrow…but making our departure/next port plans in the next few days!
…off to happy hour!…
P.S. – Tom has UPDATED our Track Our Trip portion of the blog! It includes the exact route we’ve taken, miles traveled, gas consumed and costs incurred as compared with the income received from renting out our house in Baltimore.
Oh! And another side note. We just booked our flights to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in November! Anyone else going??
We have been enjoying your blog from East Port Marina, Peoria. Stop by on your way thru Peoria, We will buy you a drink (or 2). Steve and Julie
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Hi! Peoria is on the list for the coming days! Planning to leave Chicago on Monday! Would love to meet you!
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Happy travels as you head south down the Illinois River. The Starved Rock area is beautiful this time of year; however, I am not sure what kind of access they have for boaters. Let us know when you are in the Peoria area and we will try to meet up with you, Meanwhile we will live vicariously thru your incredible journey. Steve 309-256-7128, Julie 309-256-7505, call or text.
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Hey Julie! We should be in Peoria Monday/Tuesday! Would love to meet you! ☺️
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We floated up to the Baywash and knocked on the hull Sunday afternoon but no one was home,which didn’t surprise me. I don’t think we’d be able to make it back before you leave so I wish you and Tom the best on your journey. Its not raining too bad but still be careful of the debris in the river when you leave, it gets real bad after heavy rain. We caught a winter cover off a 35’er which wrapped around both props and bent both shafts 2 days into the season years ago. The wife and I pondered doing the loop but probably just too much for us. Doing it while your young is the best way. So now, I live vicariously through my son and his boat , and now your blog. I must have shown the “whale” video 50 times to others and still just in awe over it. All your pics are great! Hope Chicago treated you well and you enjoyed your time here.
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So bummed that we missed you on Sunday! 😩 Must have been out on the town. We absolutely love Chicago – truly beautiful and everyone has been incredibly kind.
I just told Tom that you love the whale video! (It’s his favorite too).
Thanks again for following our journey! ☺️
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Hi Kate! Thanks for the update. My husband and I plan on doing the loop in the next couple of years and your the 2nd blog I’ve followed for the loop. Always interesting! And yes, we are booked for the boat show as well. We currently have a 43′ Tiara and are looking for something a little bigger. Maybe we will see you there ! Safe travels, Patte
Sent from my iPad
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Hi Patte! Thanks for following along – and congrats on planning your own GL journey! It’s been such a surreal way to see the country.
Please stop by the Bavaria display at the show! We would love to meet you! (And the boats are beautiful.)
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We continue to enjoy the blog and have been anticipating your trip down the Illinois and through Peoria. The weather will be awesome this week so we’re planning on being out on our boat a couple afternoon/evenings. Some suggestions if you’re in Peoria for dinner that are near harbors, in no particular order …. Jonah’s Oyster Bar (www.jonahsseafood.com), The Blue Duck (www.blueduckbarbecue.com), or Alexander’s Steakhouse (alexanderssteak.com). Enjoy and safe travels!
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These all sound great! Thank you! ☺️ We are currently in Joliet – thinking we will make it there by Friday.
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Making our way into town this afternoon! Planning to check out Jonah’s. Thanks again for the recommendations!
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Our boat is docked at East Port Marina. Looking forward to meeting you when you get to town.
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We just docked! Getting in a workout and then making dinner arrangements.
If you guys are free for a drink, we’d love to say Hi!
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(We are at IVY…)
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We are heading to East Port shortly. If you go to Jonahs by boat you will dock at East Port. Give us a call and we will definitely meet up. 309-256-7505 or Steve 309-256-7128
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Great! I’ll let you know!
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Dang! So sorry we missed you! We came out of the East Peoria Boat Club (across from Ivy) around 5:30pm to go to EastPort to get some fuel and then we cruised down to the Peoria Riverfront to see if you were there, but no luck. But we did catch another beautiful sunset as we headed back to our slip. Unfortunately we didn’t see your posts until just now. Hopefully you were able to have great dinner and meet some of our friendly boaters in the Peoria area. We’re heading out around noon tomorrow and going up north to Starved Rock for the weekend. Enjoy and safe travels! We’ll continue to follow you guys on your journey.
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So funny! The couple we had dinner with are doing that trip tomorrow and are also out of East Peoria, I think! (Steve and Julie)
Stop in tomorrow to say Hi if you get a chance!
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Another excellent post; It’s cool to hear that the story impacted your trip in some small way. If time allows it would be great to catch up at the Lauderdale show!
Dan
516-318-3173
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Hey Dan!
The article has been incredibly influential and made the trip even more fun!
We’d absolutely love to catch up at the show. We’ll be there Friday-Sunday. 🚤
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Hi Kate – enjoying your blog. We will be at the Fort Lauderdale boat show and would love to meet you. Planning to do the GL next year.
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Hi Mary! Congrats on planning your great loop trip for next year! So exciting!
Please stop by the Bavaria display at the show to say hi! ☺️
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Great to hear from you! Yes, we will stop by. Our boat will be in the North Pacific Yacht display. Look for “exhale”. She’s a 49′ trawler. Looking forward to meeting you. Mary and Rick.
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Oh wow! We will definitely stop in to check her out! Looking forward to it too! (And the Florida sunshine)
See you there.
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Kate, Tom’s track out trip ?? I am missing how to check on it ?
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Hey Jack! I actually need to update it! But you can click on the tab on the homepage “Track our Trip” at the top of the blog.
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What set-up (SW & SW) is Tom using to create the Track Our Trip log? That is really impressive!
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Hi Mitch! It’s ArcGIS. I actually need to update his link…😬
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