1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

     April 23 was the anniversary of our first year on the road!  I can't believe we have been gone so long.  "What a long strange trip it's been."  (Grateful Dead)  Of course we had our good days:

Newport, OR

Our bad days:

Rome, Italy
(No we didn't go there this year.)

Our days of utter confusion and consternation:

New Orleans Museum of Art

But once in the zone:

Whiskey Joe's, Tampa, FL

It has been:

Cincinnati Museum of Art

     It has been a very steep learning curve, but we survived.  Upon leaving Connecticut in our new rig, we were anticipating a few years of no problems.  Wrong!  We spent 16 nights living in repair shops and learned that this is normal and should be expected.  After learning to chill, I am doing a lot better with these nuisances.  We also discovered that it seems like 80% of all campgrounds are directly adjacent to landfills, highways, airports, trains, obnoxious public works buildings, industrial centers, etc.  However, when you find those remote camping opportunities, you never want to leave. Also, I do not have clue how I managed to work a full-time job and take care of family business.  It seems as if I am always paying a bill, managing my insurance, setting up appointments, etc.

     No matter where you travel in this country, you are guaranteed to find spectacular beauty, interesting stuff, and wonderful people.  Every state we have visited has left me wanting to return and experience more.  Also, if a place has the word "National" as part of its name, do not pass it by.  So far every National Park, Monument, Forest, Recreation Area, Wildlife Area, Historic Area, etc. has been amazing!

     As we have traveled down the winding by-ways of this beautiful country:

Our rig traveling down a narrow road in
Zion National Park.
(Bryce supplied the photo.)

Experiencing all its beauty and grandeur:

Long Key, FL

The moose just keep on wandering:

Dearborn Bike Trail, Indiana

We have dealt with our issues intelligently:

Palm Beach Shores, FL
(Thanks to Mary for the photo.)

But resolution of all our problems is alway fun:

Chloride, AZ

Of concern, weird things seem to happen to Nancy at Tiki Bars:

Cedar Key, FL
(Nancy's favorite chair.)

And Nancy has learned the ugly truth when she leaves me alone for 5 days:

Nancy visited Marie in Boston and left me to
my own devices in Cedar Key, FL.
This is just butt ugly!

     (A digression-I am writing this while sitting outside in Florida.  I just had a 4 foot long black snake slither directly between my legs.  HOLY COW!!!-but pretty cool.)
     We have made a lot of new friends along the way and hope to see them again down-the-road. However, our greatest joy has been those occasions when family and friends visit us.  We have been fortunate to have several visitors and hope to have more in the future.  Let us know when you are in the area.

     It has been a great year and we look forward to many more happy travels.

CHEERS!!!

     I wonder what's around the next corner!  ENJOY!