Wandering Across the USA

In 2002, we decided it was time to re-evaluate our lives. We were both self-employed and fortunate enough to be able to park our careers, rent out the house, and go walkabout for a whole year. We traveled by bus, train, horse and dugout canoe along the length of the Andes from Ushuaia, Argentina to Coro, Venezuela. We both fell in love with wandering for months on end. Neither of us could imagine not having the other to share it all with. Back home again, we quit our jobs. We sold the house, the cars, the boat, the books, and the furniture. For the next five years we began to roam about, living in different places around the world, teaching English, and learning a lot about how the rest of the world lives. A few years ago we bought a house in Oregon, but itchy feet struck again. The urge for a longer trip kept nagging until we hatched the slightly preposterous plan of going around the world without getting on an airplane. This is the story of the first part of that trip.