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I’m Midwestern born and raised, with all the good qualities and hang ups that come with that upbringing. I was educated in a conservative Midwestern community, followed by an education at a Midwestern university to become an engineer specializing in computer design. I had a wonderful engineering and marketing career, starting out in the western states and ending up back in the Midwest where I met Jane.

As a young man I remember becoming infatuated with stories in the National Geographic about Captain Irving Johnson and the world voyaging adventures of the brigantine Yankee. This led to the adventures of Joshua Slocum, Francis Chichester, Robin Knox Johnson, and, my personal hero, Bernard Moitessier. And who can forget the TV episodes of James A. Michener’s, “Adventures in Paradise“? However, dreams of such adventures are foolhardy for a young man living in the middle of cornfields! Once my engineering career took hold of my life, dreams of sailing over the horizon to the South Pacific soon faded.

I guess I’ve always gravitated towards those activities that are a little different. I spent thirty-five years very actively involved in the sport of skydiving, a period of my life that gave me great joy and probably most closely represents to me who I am today. I retired from skydiving with a little over 3,000 jumps. I truly miss the sport and the wonderful friendships that came from it. I became a beekeeper for ten years. I like to think of myself as a pretty good woodworker, but most real woodworkers would chuckle at my results.

There have been dozens and dozens of interests that I’ve pursued, somewhat mastered, become bored, and abandoned. However, the whole cruising adventure thing has always lingered in the back of my mind.

So, when Jane and I began talking about downsizing from our large home outside St. Louis, I thought it the ideal time to broach the subject of cruising (and RVing) as a retirement lifestyle.

There’s certainly more to my life story, good and bad, but it’s boring and unimportant stuff, especially to me. After sixty-eight years, I now understand that the measure of a person’s happiness is derived from family, friendships and a gratefulness for the sum total of life’s experiences – all of them … the good, the bad and the ugly. I’m grateful for the terrific friendships that continue to surround me and the life experiences that have brought me to this point in my life where pursuing new adventures is still a real possibility and continues to be as exciting as it was when I was a young boy reading about the adventures of the brigantine Yankee in the National Geographic.

Most of the interesting stuff and answers to the most interesting questions can be found in the FAQ section of this website. Go there!