Back in 1985, Ron and I spent about a year wandering the planet.

After a hell-of-a-wedding in New Orlean’s French Quarter, a few more months living in a shotgun in Uptown, partying, working and socking away the dollars, we bought around-the-world air passes and put all our belongings in storage. We gassed up the green VW micro bus on St. Charles Avenue and headed east, parking the bus (and the dogs) with my parents in Florida before making a sharp turn west for the islands of the Pacific. For 300 days, we wandered the planet.

How do you get a marriage started? Tonga, Fiji, Australia, Bali, Java, Borneo, Thailand, Singapore, Burma, Nepal, India, Spain, Morocco and England gave us the solid foundation to build our 30 year marriage upon.  If you can travel together for that long and not split, you probably can make a go of a family and a life together (more on that later…).

And we met lots of YOU out there! We shared beers with you on the beaches of Fiji, carbo-loaded together in Kathmandu, drank more beers on that train in Java. In Thailand we heard how you were married by Wavy Gravy just before you hit the road (only to be disappointed to see his real name, Hugh Romney, on the certificate). In Borneo we did shots and sang that silly song with you when we all reached the top of Mt. Kinabaloo.

LOTS of you hit the Gringo Trail in Mexico with us or slept on the floor of the Karen tribesmen in Borneo. You also wanted to soak up some adventure and put off that “real world” for just a few more weeks, months. Or maybe even years.

We fellow travelers needed each other back in those pre-Internet days. When you were travelling west, you hoped to meet someone travelling east who had just come from where you were headed. You exchanged stories, took some notes and then off you went.

And then we did it.  We came back.

We picked up the dogs, the bus, planted our souls and hung up our wander-lust. We started careers and families. We went to PTA meetings (instead of the night market). We went camping in Colorado (instead of Kandavu). We wore suits (instead of sulus). And, amazingly, we were actually, truly, RESPONSIBLE people. And pretty freakin’ decent parents, I might add (maybe cuz we had big, full lives before having families. But more on that later…)

And then the kids grew up. And then suddenly (especially on my part…) we retired.

First we sold our raise-the-family house and moved to a downtown, roof-top loft. That was cool and fun for awhile but when an “opportunity” presented itself (more on that “opportunity” later…) we were not surprised when Wander-Lust jumped down off the hook, shook herself … and then us.

“Hey!” she said. “What the hell!? Go freakin’ wander.”

In May of 2015 our youngest kiddo graduated from college and found a job (GO JULIA!).  In June we once again put our possessions in storage and hit the road.  We have 300 days of travel planned in the US, Europe and Mexico. And after that?

Who knows…

This blog is for YOU, our fellow travelers back in 1985.  Come wander with us again. We’ll help. Rediscover what put you on that beach with us in Fiji, in that restaurant in Kathmandu or on that train with us in Java. We’ll blog here about how long term travel is different now at age 60 than it was at 20-something.  And how its better.

We’ll blog about logistics, how we got prepared, made plans (or didn’t) and throw in a few juicy stories so you can also get your wander on.

Or maybe you’ll just read and wander vicariously with us.  It’s all good. Wander on…