We met in Atlanta in 2008, on eHarmony, and it truly was an instant connection. Thank you, Dr. Warren!

Todd, a Navy brat from Florida, designed commercial banking software, and Susie, born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, was a top-level executive assistant. Circumstances took our jobs from Atlanta, Georgia to Birmingham, Alabama.

Life together was magical, and together we worked hard, saved well, went through a fair share of family tragedy and major life events, and finally decided to hang it up and “retire early” in 2019.

Having children and grandchildren spread from Virginia to Florida led to a driving trip along the coast of the Carolinas to explore possible retirement locations, during which Todd told of his favorite aunt and uncle who navigated down the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake and down the ICW to dock at his late parents’ house in Palm Coast, Florida.

Susie enthusiastically replied, “Remember I grew up in Tidewater. I always wanted to explore the ICW!” What…?? Wait… throw in a chance meeting at a bar in Georgetown, North Carolina the next day with a couple that had just purchased a trawler to do the Great Loop (again), and the die was cast. The good Lord had provided the nudge, and the excitement began.

Let’s see, first find a boat! Here’s the plan…. Find a good one, buy it, and then “shop out of the house” to provision it. Unfortunately, living in central Alabama, the search process wasn’t exactly expedient… So, six months and some 12,000 road miles in, the plan changed. Let’s sell the house and everything in it! Whoosh! That happened literally in a flash (in late 2019 the house sold the day it was listed!). Heck, now we’re homeless; let’s visit the Virginia gang for Christmas – there are boats over there! Well, that led to being in Chesapeake when the Covid-19 lockdowns stopped everything for everyone.  

Flash forward, and ultimately, 18 months and 17,000+ miles of searching from the top of the Chesapeake Bay to the bottom of both sides of Florida, more than 60 boats crawled over, two failed deals, life in a small apartment utilizing thrift store finds, loaner items, and a mattress on the floor, and finally finding the dream boat right there in Chesapeake, Virginia.

The Adventure Begins!