The American Great Loop is a boating route around the east coast of the US and up through the middle of the US via the Mississippi and various rivers. I just took one leg of a trip a friend is taking a 30 foot Crosby on the Great Loop. I describe my little portion at my home page.

One thing that was eye-opening is that few of us get to see some of the backwater places in any country. The second thing is that people really tend to help each other. At one place the owner of the marina had agreed to drive us to the nearest available motel in the next town. After we tied up and sat down and had a beer with him, he gave us the keys to his pickup truck and said, "See y'all in the morn'n." A bridge tender who did not usually go to work before 10 AM made a special trip just to open it at 7:30 AM for us. He did not have to do that, but he did and we tipped with all the remaining beer in our refrigerator. (We didn't use any of it while we motored, so we could not think of a better use).

Tom remembering dueling banjos in Carlisle. http://www.raftery.com/main.htm