From there to here - Portsmouth, Virgina

As we lay our anchor down once more on the silt of the sand...

We cannot help but become lost in what has come of the days since last we wrote.

Our journey home has been much different from when we first started in countless ways.

Pushing ourselves to our limits, the miles sail past us....as home creeps into sights.

We imagine that in our travels home, we have gained skills and learned lessons, that have allowed us not to tire or curse as quick as we once did.

Looking back, I think the journey down was just as exhausting as the one we are on now, but its the parts of us that bare the wear that differs.

As we found ourselves in Titusville, making good time, we had decided on one day of rest (mostly because of poor weather conditions)

Falling victim to what we all do, we needed the excuse to stop....instead of allowing ourselves the break itself. (something we all need to work on)

Funny (only now) enough, life demanded a longer pause, for as we set out to leave the boat once again requested her rest. This poor girl had never even seen the ocean, nor left the dock...and here she was! Living her best life, as she was meant too be :)

Only like all of us, she seemed not so sure. With the one engine already limping back with an unknown ailment, the second engine refused to start.

After a days try, and a spoken agreement to not leave until the next day, she roared back to life.

Grateful we set off once again, knowing that each day brought us closer to home, but no guarantee that we will complete the entirety of the journey.

The days and states blurred by, with a welcome surprise visit in Hilton Head.

A friend in an RV, traveling the US from our original home marina in Pickering....met us with much needed hugs and smiles!

Its hard to believe that it has been a month since we began this journey back.....

And yes for those that also follow along on Instagram, you know we have had some moments!

Details....and long stories best shared dockside....

For those that like the extra no sense these are some of the weird things we learned

When preparing to leave Ontario we were told we needed to Register our boat (coolio- no big deal right?)

What this actually meant when we TRIED was that we had to print and fill in forms that than had to be MAILED to the local office. This process would take roughly 6 weeks and was done for a fee

The catch was that we would have to first print and fill in forms and MAIL in forms to a different office requesting to cancal our license that we currently have. This license is required for you to drive your boat in Ontario. Therefore once this step was completed we would no longer be able to drive our boat.

This clearly didnt work for us so we looked for a work around. This lead us to another " what the" moment

IF we wanted to travel in the US on our current ON license we could "sail" the boat to the border, take it out of the water via a trailer and DRIVE is across the border on land, relaunch it in US water than continue on. (again this didnt work for us)

In the end we simply drove to the border, TRIED to use an App that is REQUIRED to check in. Which of course did not work. We were instructed to dock, find a mounted tablet inside a store and complete the process from there. This didnt make much sense to us, as the point (so we thought) was that an officer can do a video chat/walk through your boat and make sure you are following all the regulations.

So we were a little confused by the MOUNTED tablet....that was mounted so high that only my eyebrows and above showed. But hey we were cleared and off we went....

You might wonder why I'm sharing these details only now.....well some of you asked how I almost got us arrested and our boat ceased......

This same app....was required for us to re-enter the states back when we came from the Bahamas to Florida. Yet once again it failed.

We got a "Welcome to to United States your trip has been approved, Enjoy your stay" (sounds like a green flag right?) But no! The what we thought of the point of it (to get a cruising license) sat "Pending". Unsure what to do....we pressed on. Waiting as Florida turned into South Carolina....and South the North.

Yes we tried calling the offices but they of course listed all contact information as "unspecified" So on we went....emails sent for help.....daily attempts to reapply (you cannot - it tells you that you have already submitted)

FINALLY I called 1 office that gave me a phone number to a different office....on the circle went.

At this point, I finally reached a human, and the intense emotions of regret!

He was VERY clear that we were in violation of numerous laws....and that he was uncertain what would happen now. He spoke of arranging for authorities to met and board us...

As my breakfast gathered in my throat....I gave account of all of our attempts, and reference numbers of being cleared to enjoy our trip....and the lack of understanding and clarity offered.

After all, I was TRYING to correct it...hence me calling and alerting them of our infraction.

The hours that followed as we worked to sort it out will not soon be forgotten.

The end result.....them again trying to video us....it not working....they I think weighed the risks....and finally approved us!!!!!

Sweet relief!!

Met with gratefulness and gratitude for their help, I could not help but be frustrated by such an "important" role being replaced by an APP!!!! and one that has been noted not to work!

Anyways...there you have it....

Some of the unnecessary hiccups of boat life! Boring and yet comical!

Trip Summary to date:

Distance traveled: 1406.2 miles / 2263 km

Hours Driving: 177.6

Fuel cost to Date: $ 7,013 us / $9,585 can

Remaining Guess: 1739 km

Start date: April 3

George town to Staniel Cay: April 3

51.9 Miles (Fueled up before leaving - $855.44 us: (139.55 Gal @ $6.13 us)

Staniel Cay to High Bourne: April 5

44.8 Miles (Fuel Stop - $ 494.69 us (80.7 Gal @ $6.13 us)