Joe Wheeler State Park AL – AGLCA Rendezvous - Oct 18, 2016

Oct 16^th – It was a hot and sunny day.  We moved the boat from the Joe Wheeler anchorage to the Joe Wheeler marina which we will be staying at until Friday while we are attending the AGLCA Rendezvous.  We went for a 12 mile bike ride into town and back with Brian and Judy and then we went for a trail hike.  We definitely got lots of exercise today!  There’s a very high concentration of Loopers at the marina and I’m sure we’ll meet many of them during the next few days.  The weather forecast shows that we may break some records for high temperatures over the next few days thus you’ll most likely be reading “It was a hot and sunny day” over and over again.  We attended docktails by the pool at 5pm and the crowd is growing larger.  Afterwards we went for a dingy ride to visit Brian, Judy, Tom and Cathy since they are not attending the AGLCA Rendezvous and are anchored close by.  We had our last dinner with them on their boat since they plan to start heading south before the Rendezvous ends to avoid the traffic jam.  Once they leave we will not see them until sometime in January since both couples will be flying home once they reach Mobile for a couple of months L

Oct 17^th – It was a hot and sunny day.  Brian, Judy and I went for an 11 mile bike ride this morning … Maria opted out since her knee was bothering her a bit from yesterday’s ride.  Afterwards we went to the pool for a swim and to relax in the sunshine.  At 3pm Maria and I registered for the AGLCA rendezvous and then checked out all the vendor booths.  We also played Looper bingo where we had to identify other loopers meeting certain criteria and have them sign our card.  We were very popular since one of the squares required a Looper’s signature from Canada.  We became even more popular after we introduced ourselves to the audience as part of the In-Progress Looper introductions.  Afterwards we attended a free Wine, Beer and munchie event and then a Looper dinner.  The Gold Loopers (ie. Those that already completed the loop) introduced themselves and many are going through Looping withdrawls … which I’m sure we’ll experience as well since this is an incredible lifestyle with life changing experiences.  After dinner we went to Over Ice to say goodbye to Brian, Judy, Tom and Cathy who will be leaving in the morning.  To say goodbye we had shots of Fireball and the youngest Looper we know (Max) had a great toast for us: "There are good ships and wood ships and ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships and may they always be!"

Oct 18^th – It was another hot and sunny day.  We went to the conference provided breakfast this morning and prepared ourselves for another action packed day.  We attended a number of sessions preparing us for our travels from here through the river system including 14 locks to Mobile and then along the Gulf Inter-Coastal Waterway to Carrabelle as well as crossing the Gulf of Mexico to Tarpon Springs or Clear Water Florida.  The people here are great and we are learning lots!  During a break Maria checked Facebook and noticed that the AGLCA posted a link to our blog … I’m not sure what initiated this, however it seems to be driving more traffic to our blog.  All the Loopers gathered for another sponsored Wine, Beer and munchie event followed by a Looper dinner.  I think I’m going to gain a few pounds during the next few days!

Brian, Tom and I at the Last Supper before they head south

Judy & Cathy

Hiking in the woods ... Brian ... where are you going?

At the AGLCA Rendezvous ... Can you spot Aqua-Fennatic?

Dinner at the AGLCA Rendezvous

Robert from "Over Ice" trying to impress us Canadians ;)

Max - The youngest Looper with the great toast!