1. Introduction

As we approach April, it's apparent that spring has sprung in the Northwest. Buds are popping, trees are blossoming, and the grass and weeds are growing with renewed vigor. It's time to get out of town!

The motor home has been in storage since last September, following our trip to South Dakota. We got it started earlier this month, brought it home and spent a day de-winterizing, removing moss, sanitizing the fresh water tank, cleaning, lubricating, sorting and making sure everything still works. The batteries were low, but a little driving and overnight charging powered them up.

We spent the winter months daydreaming and plotting alternative vacation routes until we arrived at an agreeable route. We arrived at the conclusion that the only way to see what we wanted to see was to circumnavigate America in a counterclockwise direction. After spending most of our lives in the Northwest, we felt a need to see how people live, work and play in other parts of the country. The Gulf Coast, Florida, East Coast, New England and the maritime provinces of Canada were all on our list of places to visit. With gas selling for $3.50/gal. and rising rapidly, this may not be the ideal time for a couple of retired folks on fixed incomes to begin a 10,000 mile journey in a rig that gets 8 miles to the gallon pulling a dinghy. But, we aren't getting any younger and we feel it's time to do some of the things that we've been setting aside for our retirement years.

We plan to embark on this adventure on March 26. We'll head south through Oregon and California, then turn left toward Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, followed by the Gulf Coast, Florida and the East Coast, or until we run out of gas money. We'll take pictures along the way and document our adventures in this blogspot. Time and internet access may limit our production somewhat, but we'll add to the blog every few days . . . provided something interesting is happening. We invite you to follow along by reading our reports and, if you've already been where we're going, feel free to comment or offer suggestions on where to go and what to see, or places to avoid.