The Adventure Begins

Around the Next Bend on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Paul and I have shared our lives since 1966. Paul has always been the adventurous one. He wants to try anything that is new or unusual. If there is some new technological gadget or different mode of transportation he does the research, finds the best buy and convinces me that I will enjoy what ever he has found.Whether we are riding a dirt bike, walking the trails in the mountains, riding the Trikkes on the bike trail or paddling our Kayaks I am always the one who tires out or wants to give up first. When I start to complain and suggest that it is time to quit, he has the same answer. "OK, but first lets see what is around this next bend."  Like a loyal puppy, I follow along because my curiosity won't let me miss that mysterious adventure that lies beyond that next bend.  I finally realized that there is always another bend and always some new adventure for us to share. We have so many stories, and so many adventures to share about our lives and our family. We usually share those stories around a campfire with old and new friends that we meet along this road we travel. We are lucky to be a couple who share the same sense of wonder about the world around us. Our dream for our retirement years is to continue on this road exploring the new and unknown world around so many bends in the road. When we share this dream with our friends and family many of them show an interest in hearing about our trips. So we invite anyone who is interested in sharing our adventure or who may want to follow in our footsteps in the future to follow along and see what is around the next bend.

Here's the plan, We purchase a 35 ft. Class A Tiffin Motor Home called The Open Road. The label on the back says we are "Roughing it Smoothly" and indeed we are. We purchased this model because it is large enough to be comfortable yet small enough to fit in the more rustic campgrounds that we enjoy. Our first choice in camping is Federal, State or Corp of Engineer campgrounds. They are usually off the beaten path, in wooded areas and often near water. Our close companion and animal friend, Gizmo, travels with us so we will not stay at campgrounds who do not accept pets. Neither of us are really into the typical tourist areas. We are more interested in seeing what God has created for us to enjoy. We live in a beautiful country and we want to see and photograph as much as possible.

After getting medical issues for both of us out of the way we are now ready to begin this adventure. Our plans are sketchy at best but the idea is that we start in Mississippi and travel up to Tennessee, then head to Michigan and across Hwy US 2 until we reach Washington State, then down the California Coast and back home through the lower U.S. There are a few places that we would like to make a point of visiting . We consider Natchez Mississippi our starting point because we want to travel the entire 444 miles of the Natchez Trace Parkway from Natchez MS to Nashville TN.

Leaving home was delayed for several reasons beyond our medical issues. One, the weather in all parts of the country that we wanted to visit. If it wasn't flooding it was burning up from fires or blowing away with tornadoes. Two, the weather at home was wet, wetter and even wetter! We planned to do some work in our yard, but the soggy ground delayed those plans as well. So a trip that was intended to start in June actually began on July 22, 2013.