Driving Wild Betty

 Me and Wild Betty and my Dodge Caravan crammed to the roof with all of her stuff. Now the task is to sort through it all. Many people take years to do this, but I don't have a place to put it all, so I will spend the next month doing that.

Wild Betty rode in the back seat - not her usual place, but the front was piled with boxes of photos and notebooks. There was just no room. Tennessee had tornadoes, and the winds hit the house before I left. I passed tractor trailer trucks blown over by the winds, and I pulled off the road for an hour to escape the gusts myself. I had to wait for a lull to get the van door open, and the car rocked side-to-side as I sat there. No way I was driving in that. I was super glad for the added weight with those kinds of gales. Even now, at home, the wind is hammering the outside of my apartment.

I got home okay, and am now looking at boats, reconnecting with clients and feeling overwhelmed with all that has to be done. I have learned that:

• The perfect boat would have an unrestricted height above water of less than 15'6" to get under all the bridges on the trip.
• It will have a full load (water, gas, food,  people and stuff) of no more than 5 feet and preferably 4 feet.
• The beam (width) of the book will be at least 13 feet
• It will have a cruise range of at least 500 miles without refueling because of the distance between marinas.
• It should be an "ocean capable" vessel so when I cross the Gulf and Great Lakes I don't sink in even moderate (11 knots creates 4 foot waves that send 4+ tons per square yard of water crashing down on your boat) winds. 
• The Loop is 5,800 miles long, but there are 24,000 miles of navigable detours and side trips. Fuel is $6 to $9 a gallon. So, you want something economical as well.

It's going to take some time!