Two hundred thousand visitors!

TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND OF YOU GUYS! By day’s end tomorrow, more than 200,000 of you guys will have visited this blog since June of 2013. That’s impressive. That’s flattering. Thank you. Let’s talk a little bit about it…the milestone, that is.

Two hundred thousand of you guys have been part of our Adventure so far. And we’re not done yet. Not even close!  

IT ALL BEGAN IN JUNE, 2013. We’d decided to embark on our “Great American Adventure” about 8 months earlier. We figured that folks would think we were nuts. “Who cares,” we decided. So we ran with it. As it turned out, not even one person thought we were nuts. In fact, quite to the contrary everyone with whom we shared our dream in those early months said something like, “Wow. I wish I could do that.” Or, “I’m hoping to do that some day, too.” We were amused but not surprised, because we’d already begun to “get it.” That this idea of ours, to begin our Great American Adventure was not unique to us. Rather, it was our demonstration of a feeling most of us experience at one time or another. “Let’s just go!” Let’s be gypsies. Let’s be kids again. So we did, and we have. The rest is living history. Because our Adventure is not yet complete, as those of you who follow my blog already know.

We’re constantly on the lookout for places to see and people to meet.

EARLY DAYS OF OUR ADVENTURE. Florence and I previously owned two motorhomes. So we knew pretty much what we were going to be doing for our Adventure. We agreed that a larger rig was in order. But what we didn’t know then was in how many ways our “trip” would affect the ways we think about things, about others and about ourselves. That discovery, gradually occurring over the past several years, has turned out to be our Adventure. It’s the places, of course. The moonlit water on Flathead Lake, fresh Maine lobster just plucked from the sea and exotic animals in the Texas Hill Country. These are a few of the delightful places. But it’s been the people we’ve met, more than the places where we’ve met them, that have defined our Adventure. The people we’ve met on our Adventure are what have made our lives and our experiences so special. You know who you are. So thank you for continuing to follow us on my blog and on my Facebook page. I appreciate your support and I know it’s good for both of us. If you agree, leave a comment after this post and tell me why you do. And remember that our paths will cross again, if nothing else right here where I can write and you can comment. Where we can share the adventure called life.

I tell a bit of my story in each of my blog posts.

MY GREAT AMERICAN ADVENTURE BLOG. I don’t know if I have a type A personality or not. But I do know that I’ve got to keep moving, thinking and working. I need constant intellectual stimulation or I’ll drown in its absence. So when we began our Adventure, Florence told me I’d need to have a “rainy day hobby.” Something I could enjoy doing rain or shine. Because, she continued, “There will be lots of rainy days, when going outside won’t be an option.” How right she was. “What’s a hobby you think I’d like?” I asked. And she responded without hesitation, “A blog. You should write a blog.” As it turned out, that was good advice, but at the time I didn’t know what a blog was. Or is. I’ve learned, though. And some of you guys have been with me since the beginning. Kitty and Jim, for example. Therese. And lots of others. Many of you have joined us along the way, and now I have quite a following. It’s a bit like Forest Gump when he decided to start running. He didn’t know where he was going any more than we did when we left home in San Diego.  But it worked out pretty well for Gump and it’s worked out just fine for us, as well. And now it’s been more than three years, lots of sights, some sounds, many interesting people, some good food, a lot of anguish and pain but a miracle in the end. It’s been our Great American Adventure.

WHY I CARE ABOUT THE BLOG AND ABOUT YOU. First, I wanted to make a record of our Journey. To tell as a story about us and our travels. And I wanted a way to review the people and places at a later date. This blog is an efficient way to do that. I’ve saved thousands and thousands of photographs without yet “organizing them” so just collecting lots of photos wouldn’t have worked for me. Second, I wanted to have a reason to write. I love words and I love to write. The blog fit perfectly in that niche. Third, I wanted a way to communicate with you folks, those of you who are part of our Great American Adventure. I hope you’ll continue to post comments at the end of my posts, and to email or call me so we can share the Journey. Yours and mine, because we’re all connected. We’re all together in this thing called life. Those are the reasons I care about the blog and about you. Thanks, Florence, for the idea and for all your tech support over the last few years. I’d have drowned in a sea of technicalities were it not for your help and your patience teaching me how to use WordPress. And finally, thanks to Ryan, “my blog guy” for showing me around the back office and working with me from afar.

LET’S CELEBRATE. I still can hardly believe that I’ve had two hundred thousand visits to my blog. A celebration is in order. The celebration is for us, but it’s also for everyone else who believes that life is an adventure to be savored. Life is a gift from God and it’s meant to be used. Be proactive, don’t just react. Live your life to its fullest. Be good to yourself and kind to others. Read about the miracle I experienced. but also look around for miracles all around you as well. For example, take an early morning walk on the beach. Take some time every day to pause and look around for those miracles. They are everywhere. Do as I’ve suggested,  because even though you think you know what tomorrow will bring, you may not. My story, that part of it before the miracle, is evidence to the contrary. Godspeed.

Part of the excitement is being-self contained, but alone and in the pitch of night far from the security of home as we’d known it. A little of this feeling goes a long way but it’s certainly part of our adventure. 

I’ll continue my story next time.