The Prequel

   Where do I begin?  The story starts with the movie "The Bucket List" and Jerry and I sitting down to "list" our must see travel locations . . . or does the story actually start with "The Motorhome."  A 1970's era, class C used motor home that Jerry picked up for $2500 when we were living in Houston.  It should have been a red flag that a tough as nails Army sergeant was selling it.  If "Sarge" who was used to sleeping in barracks and tents, was getting rid of it, maybe we should have been wary.  Of course, even if I was, my optimistic hubby said that he could "fix it up."  Off we went on our adventures, with 2 1/2 year old Erin in tow.

Here's the motor home.

Erin was so cute!  She loved all of her adventures, though she would now be mortified to have been riding right next to those curtains and the faux wood paneling.

  The worst memory to come out of that purchase - probably the morning I woke up with a kitchen pan on my stomach.   Jerry had put it there during the night to catch the leaks from the roof.  No, don't ask, there were no camera phones in those days and there are NO pictures available.
   The best thing to come out of that purchase - a nifty map of the 50 states that you filled in as you visited each state.  We proudly displayed it on the vehicle.
   Though the vehicle is long since sold (praise God), we have continued our quest to "fill in" that map and the map of the world.  As our family grew and we began to outline a vision for raising our family, we made traveling together as a family one of our core values.
   So far, we have visited:
Jerry:  40 states and 21 countries
Annette:  38 states and 19 countries
Erin:  26 states and 19 countries
Zach:  29 states and 24 countries
Josh:  28 states and 16 countries
  So, back to the bucket list.  The "Ride a Motorcycle from Coast to Coast" item has merged with Jerry's now almost obsessive quest to complete his 50 states' map.
  After being shown the location of Oklahoma on a U.S. map and being firmly convinced that we are "smack in the center,"  Jerry decided to break up the trip into two separate adventures.  Two years ago, he and the boys traveled from Oklahoma to the East Coast, up through Canada and back home.  I rode with them for the middle week (about 1500 miles) of the trip.  I joined them in Nashville, Tennessee and flew back home from New York City.  On that day, I don't know if you could have convinced me to ride 1 mile further, yet, here I am two years later, getting ready to embark on a 5000 mile trip. (They will be doing almost 6000!)
   Stay tuned . . .