Diane and I have been on the road for nine unbelievable and incredible fun years. We have traveled more than 100,000 miles, and visited every state in our union as well as many Canadian provinces. Yet we remember our first days as if they happened just yesterday — time has a way of passing so quickly.

In the beginning, our 36-foot motor coach with our Jeep in tow was very intimidating. Narrow two-lane roads without shoulders, construction zones with high concrete barriers, large and scary 18-wheelers, and fast-moving city traffic would give us anxiety attacks.

After several hundred miles, we began to relax and feel more at ease moving through the countryside. We were finally realizing our dreams of travel — it all seemed so surreal. 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 of our experiences discovering back-country roads. Roads that led to small unique towns, villages and camp settings in our state and national parks and seashores. We enjoyed the discovery of finding great beer halls within hometown craft breweries and tasty cuisine from one-of-a-kind cafes and restaurants.

So many stories to relate, and they will all begin right here.

We began our new lifestyle with a maiden journey to the northeastern states by leaving Indian Branch in New Jersey. We will tell of our early exploits in the mountains from Pennsylvania to Maine, our time on Mount Desert Island, the adventure of chasing the beautiful and ever-changing colors of autumn south, and our first trip from sea to shining sea.

In the first few months, we sipped wine in vineyards on the heights above Cayuga Lake. We watched the sunset from a rocky ledge overlooking Frenchman's Bay in Acadia and enjoyed our meals in the fresh air while listening to the wondrous call of the loons. We spent a lazy afternoon driving a Jeep on open sandy beaches, searching out elegant sea shells and sea urchins as we fed and listened to the raucous call of herring gulls.

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 but working marinas to buy fresh soft-shell lobster directly from incoming fishermen and cooking them an hour later. 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 country road for an evening walk.

We will tell stories of our breakdowns and the various problems encountered with our motor coach. How changing emotions being away from family and friends created mood swings and how we came to deal with them. How weather is an important part of our life and the challenges we faced in tornado country.

We are enjoying this strange and different but wonderful lifestyle, the smell of evening logs burning, the laughter of playful children running about the camp, falling asleep listening to the music of a shallow brook and the howling of coyotes as they pursue their evening meal. We hope to share the delights of the high plains, the grasslands and the colors of wildflowers, 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. Where and when we decide to settle down in a stick house is anyone's guess! We would love to hear from you and your world.