I want to thank MultiBriefs for allowing me to return to the writing family. I left abruptly with a serious health issue that required surgery and a lengthy recovery period. I’m not totally out of the woods but I’m feeling much better. It did create a life-changing event.

To steal from an old movie line, "I’m baaaaack."

I can’t remember when the idea of extensive travel flashed through my mind. Perhaps when I was a young man and I took my first great road trip across this magnificent country. Somewhere along the way a seed was planted.

Perhaps it was crossing the great American plains, or hiking in the magnificent Rocky Mountains, or just relaxing with a cold beer in the desert with my uncle in Arizona. Whatever the case, that seed took hold and years later germinated, grew and finally blossomed.

In retirement, my wife, Diane, and I were not ready to sit on our porch for years. So we sold everything, even our Gold Wing, and replaced it with a 36-foot motor home and a 4x4 off-road Jeep. Today, looking back after 12 unbelievable and incredible fun years, we wouldn’t change a thing.

All my life I have traveled; first as a Tin Can sailor, followed by years in national sales. Diane and I love to travel; we are vagabonds, wanderers, rolling stones, we are scamps. We do not live by the standard time zones, we just pass through them. We had no special timetable, no formal schedule and no forward agenda.

Being a scamp made our life worthwhile, stress-free, enjoyable and sensible. We were born under a wandering star; I don’t know if we will ever stop. We now know the worth of a day relaxing under a shaded tree, wandering in tall grass on a high prairie, or just loafing in childish naiveté as the sun sets in the western skies.

My intent in the following months is to encourage many of you to join our family; we are a subculture of great wanderers exploring the least written yet most exciting and unbeknownst places in America. Over the years, Diane and I have met such wonderful people — people with no agenda or timetable, just people enjoying life our way.

We have such great stories to share discovering backcountry roads that lead to small unique towns, villages, seashores and camp settings. We enjoyed the discovery of finding great beer halls with hometown craft breweries and tasty cuisines from one-of-a-kind cafes and restaurants.

We will tell of our trips from sea to shining sea, our exploits in the deserts and mountains, and our adventure of chasing the ever-changing colors of autumn south to the Blue Ridge.

We will recall our evenings on the heights of Cayuga Lake and the call of the loons on the beautiful waterways in the Adirondacks. We will tell of our visits to Canada and Mexico and the culture differences you can expect when crossing the borders.

We will relate stories of how we enjoyed getting wet in a coastal downpour, waking to a chilly morn on a high mountain ridge, and visiting aged marinas to buy fresh Maine soft-shell lobster from incoming boatmen. Come along to where we fished the surf for stripers and blues, to beaches where porpoises play among the inbound surf or the finding of a quiet beach for an evening walk.

We will tell stories of our breakdowns and how changing emotions created mood swings and how we came to deal with them; and how weather is an important part of our life and the challenges we faced in tornado and snow country.

We enjoy this strange and different but wonderful lifestyle, the smell of evening logs burning, the nighttime laughter of playful children, falling asleep listening to the music of a shallow brook and the evening yowling of scurrying coyotes.

We hope to share the enjoyment of the high plains, our fascination with the grasslands and the many colors of wildflowers. The story would not be complete without the history of early America, the beauty of the red rock country, and the harsh but splendorous environment of the American deserts.

We feel blessed being able to fulfill our dreams and share some of it with you. If you are thinking to bridge the gap between porch swings for a life as a traveling gypsy, perhaps these stories will be of great value to you.

If this interests you, come and join us, sit beside the fire and learn to live and do everything in "our own sweet time." It’s a wondrous adventure!