Trip of a Lifetime: America’s Great Loop

David Kennedy Barnes and Anna Marie Barnes were seeking a little adventure. Anna Marie thought an RV would fit the bill. David wanted a boat. In December of 2003, the couple purchased a three-year-old, forty-nine-foot DeFever trawler yacht. They learned to operate the vessel, navigate, and read maps. And the following April, the couple left their slip in Palmetto, Florida, with their two poodles on board to begin their cruise of the "Great Circle."

In Trip of a Lifetime, David and Anna Marie share their story through a series of journal entries created during their sailing trip. With photos included, this travel log, initially written as emails to friends and family, chronicles some of the highlights of their experiences. From weather-related incidents, to the sights and sounds from their cruise, and the people they met on the journey, this story offers insight into a trip that afforded many memories.

A journey that took them from Florida to New York City into Canada, to Lake Michigan, to the Mississippi River, into the Gulf of Mexico, and to points in between, Trip of a Lifetime narrates the details of one couple's adventures on their boat, Summer.