The title of this delightful book merely hints at the extended journey inside. Betty's Barge takes us faraway and into a peacefully adventures life exploring the historic canals of France aboard an antique Dutch motor barge. The book brings to life, in vivid color and charming detail, canal barges and the people, villages, geography and history of the canals, along with the joys and tribulations of living aboard a seventy foot long, sixty year old, floating iron mobile home?while restoring and overhauling it. A book to be savored anytime you would really rather be somewhere else. The author...

From a sailor who has lived on a sailboat, trawler, Dutch canal cargo barge, and a Maine lobster boat comes Into the Land of Coconut Dreams, a charming and compelling memoir. Author and sailing/boating aficionado Bill Hezlep not only dreamed of escaping across the waters, but lived out that dream. With his shipmate and partner in adventure, Betty, he struck out to explore the eastern seaboard, the Bahamas, the canals of France and the Caribbean. Hezlep recounts their journey of exploration along the Intracoastal Waterway―a magnificent string of natural bays, rivers, sounds, man-made...

For most of us, caught up in the busy, constantly connected web of modern life, the navigable coastal and inland waterways are a close, but unknown world...windshield background, briefly glimpsed but unseen. Blue Walkabout, A Time on the Waters is an invitation to visit that world and to learn a little about its geography, history and culture. Take a break, slow down, let the voicemail answer the phone and experience the waterways. Join the author and his cruising companion Betty as they transition from sailboats and ocean sailing to power boats, renovate an aging Down East boat and then...