Susan Wilson
In earlier days I boated for years along the Connecticut Shore before getting together with Foster. We’ve now been boating together for over 15 years on the Chesapeake Bay, and are Gold Loopers. Foster and I completed our Loop aboard our 45 ft Bayliner
Quo Vadimus in 2015, and were awarded AGLCA’s “Harbor Hosts of the Year” in 2018.
When Foster first brought up doing the Loop, I responded with “maybe someday when we retire”. We were on a smaller boat in those days, still had a son in high school, and the idea of spending a year living aboard that boat wasn’t attractive. I was also in a great spot in my career, and about to complete a degree I’d worked toward for years. I really was a reluctant spouse – I couldn’t imagine just picking up and leaving for a year, especially to live full time on a tiny boat.
Doing the Loop was a lifelong dream for Foster – since his early teens. Those who know or have read Foster on the Forum know how persistent he is, and the idea grew on me a bit more after we talked through our wish list for a live aboard boat. We spent a year shopping for our “dream boat” together. We ended up buying the
Quo Vadimus in 2010.
After spending a year learning the boat and doing more extensive trips in the Chesapeake, Foster mentioned meeting a couple our age who were actively on the Loop. They told him they were glad they were doing it at this age because they felt it might be too much when they were 10 years older. When I asked how they managed to get time away from their jobs, he replied that they had left their jobs but intended to go back to work once they returned. We talked some more about what our lives would look like if we decided to do the same thing, but I still wasn’t quite ready.
Foster was smart enough not to push too hard, and I started to think even more about what it would be like to have a year just to ourselves after working and raising kids for decades. That idea took root and we decided that we would plan on a departure date 2 years in the future. When the time came, we both quit our jobs. Our youngest son agreed to move back home as a house sitter while we were away, and we were able to take our elderly cat with us. We were off in April of 2014.
Doing the Loop turned out to be a life changing experience. While we both went back to work after returning home, we continued to keep the Loop and Loopers active in our lives by acting as Harbor Hosts in the northern Chesapeake Bay. We have also presented talks at a few of our nearby AGLCA Rendezvous and Looper Lifestyle seminars. We fully intend to complete the Loop at least one more time, once the stars align again!
See Susan's contact info & listing in the AGLCA Member Roster.