…In Which I Expound On Why I’m Joining The Blogosphere
Just over a year and a half ago, my life was upended by the accidental car-crash death of my wife, Toni. Six months later (May 2013), it was upended again when my job was eliminated. I have spent the past year on a personal journey (for lack of a better phrase) to rebuild my life in this new reality.
One of the decisions I made was to check off, over the next few years, some of the items on my bucket list. These include, but are not limited to, the following (which I present in no particular order):
1. Hike the Arizona Trail
2. Hike the Appalachian Trail
3. Drive US Route 60 from one end (approximately Wickenburg, AZ) to the other (Virginia Beach, VA). [This one may sound a little stranger than the first two, but it’s on my list because I live near the west end of the route and I grew up in Richmond, VA, near the east end. I’m curious to see what’s in between.]
4. Traverse the Trans America Trail (http://www.transamtrail.com/) from east (Tennessee) to west (Oregon). Although it’s designed for dual-sport bikes, I know that it’s workable for Jeeps, too.
5. A fifty-state, fifty-weekend Jeep expedition where I can go four-wheeling in every state in the Union (yes, this includes AK and HI).
So as I’ve talked about these plans to family and friends, I’ve had various requests to find a way to keep them updated with what I’m doing. Eventually, it occurred to me that a blog would be a good way, especially since it can also serve as raw material for the book I hope to write about #5. Originally, the blog was just going to be about two journeys: First, the buildup of my Jeep from its current (semi-wrecked) condition into an overland-capable, long-term movable home; and second, the actual “expedition” to all 50 states. As I started setting this up, however, I realized that there are all kinds of journeys that people take in their lives, so I’ve expanded the scope to include all those, too.
I hope that my meandering ruminations will entertain at least some of you some of the time. I welcome your thoughts and comments and will do my best to respond as appropriate. I’m sure my tone will vary from pedantic to lighthearted to very serious, with other notes thrown in for good measure.
So. Welcome to The Peripatetic Traveler. May you and I journey together for a long time.
Dave
The Peripatetic Traveler 
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