Today is our 365th day of the trip.  We have been gone for a year.  A year ago we waved goodbye to a dock full of friends and family and headed south to the Calumet River bound for Joliet.  Since then we have seen so many amazing things and been to such incredible places.  When we left I had very high expectations of what we’d see and do.  I think it’s safe to say all those expectations have been exceeded.

Today we arrived at the Big Chute, lock 44, which as it turns out isn’t actually a lock at all.  It’s a marine railroad that connects two bodies of water.  Rather than a traditional lock there’s a railroad that goes over a road and down a hill to connect the two bodies of water.  The entire thing takes about seven minutes and is quite impressive to watch.   Our boat will ride the railroad tomorrow morning.  We’ve been told it’s likely we will end up riding alone.  Today while watching the railroad run we saw the car typically loaded with between six and eight boats.  After our railroad ride we will head to Midland Ontario and officially be on the Georgian Bay.  We’ve enjoyed the Trent Severn but I think with it’s shallow waters this might be a one and done experience for us.

As we look back at the year we’ve been travelling I looked back at some of our statistics.  I’m always amazed as I look at the numbers.

• We have traveled 6,489 miles (statute), the dinghy has traveled 736 miles
• We have been underway for 710 hours
• We’ve put 1204 hours on the generator (though it’s running right now so that’s going up)
• We have traveled 138 days
• We have traversed 106 locks
• We’ve been in three countries, 14 states and the District of Columbia
• We have been travelling for 365 days
• We have spent 288 nights in marinas
• We have spent 40 nights anchored
• We have spent 24 nights on a wall
• The boat has spent 13 nights out of the water
• We’ve had power 306 nights
• The boat has been hauled out of the water three times during the trip
• I’ve changed the oil three times
• I’ve changed the oil in the generator five times
• The main engines have gone through three impellers
• The generator has gone through four impellers and one water pump
• We’ve bought fuel 22 times
• We’ve put 7,710 gallons of diesel in the boat
• 4 teeth have been lost since we left, none by adults (and actually none by Molly)

We will be home in about a month.  All of us except Maddy are dreading it.  Maddy talks a good game about wanting to get home but I think she’s going to realize how good she had it.  We’re really looking forward to seeing friends and family but this experience and way of life are pretty awesome.