We have modified our previously planned our trip as shown in the yellow text below:
(see numbering on the map)

1. We will depart our Marina on Tellico Lake, early in October this year (2009) and proceed south and west down the Tennessee River to Yellow Creek, the beginning of the Tenn-Tom waterway.
    
2. We then head south on the Tenn-Tom to the Gulf of Mexico at Mobile Bay.
    
3. At the south end of Mobile Bay, we then head east along the Gulf Intra-Coastal Waterway (GICW) to Carrabelle.
    
4. From Carrabelle, we proceed to the west coast area of Florida around Tampa Bay.
    
5. From Tampa area, we then proceed south along the west coast of FL, spending a fair amount of time (Dec, Jan, part of Feb) along the way, mostly in Fort Myers.  We will now go to the Keys by car.
    
6. From Fort Meyers, we will then cross the Okeechobee and then head slowly north, up the east coast via the Atlantic Intra-Coastal Waterway (AICW).
    
7. At New York Harbor, we head up the Hudson river and into the Erie canal portion of the New York Canal system, and exit at Osewego, NY.
    
8. From Oswego, we cross Lake Ontario, and visit Brenda's family in Kingston ON, and then proceed west along the north coast of the lake to Trenton, ON.
    
9. At Trenton, we enter the Trent-Severn canal system that will eventually lead us to the Georgian Bay section of Lake Huron.
    
10. From Georgian Bay, we travel via the North Channel and the Straits of Mackinac to Lake Michigan.
     
11. We run south on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to Chicago, then ---
     
12. We take the Chicago Sanitary and Ship canal, the Illinois river, the Mississippi, and the Ohio to get to the Cumberland river.
     
13. From the Cumberland river, there is a canal joining the Cumberland and the Tennesse, and via this route we will return home up the Tennessee River.

 
Charts are important, as is electronic navigation, but keeping a good lookout is the prime safety activity.

We got rid of the old yellow arrow a long time ago, and substituted our satellite tracking system to save webtime and to improve accuracy.  The button below will show you EXACTLY where we are (if I have remembered to trigger the satellite tracker).  It could also save our butts if we got in big trouble, as it has an emergency button that would send a help message to the Coast Guard with our exact coordinates.

 
Click on the URL link below for our location on Google Earth:
Here is where we are: 

"As you might expect, with an overall distance in excess of 6000 miles, and a boat that will likely be cruised at just a bit over 8 statute mph, and a crew that likes to dawdle in interesting places -- this adventure will be rather lengthy.

Our expectation is that it will take us about the better part of one full year to complete this journey, barring any unforseen disasters."

Copyright(c) 2008 Ken Bloomfield, All rights reserved.