John and Mandi

In May 2022 we pulled off the road after 7 years. Alaska to Argentina from May 2015 to May 2019, US and Mexico until May 2022. While we are back working and living in a sticks and bricks, we will be using our weekends and vacations to explore. We have lived in Florida for the majority of our lives so we moved to Eastern Tennessee. No matter where we have traveled, we always get pulled to the Appalachians. Our blog abruptly stopped after our first crossing into Chile but it's purpose was to assist others that were embarking on a similar journey. We have been panelists at Expo and joined here to make ourselves available for anyone who may want to talk to yet another Pan-Am veteran. We have a slight inkling for Africa but our funds need to be replenished first.

Rig: 2001 Ford 7.3 E350 with Ujoint Offroad 4x4 and Sportsmobile Penthouse top. We converted the van to a camper ourselves and were quite surprised it all held up extremely well. Our rig is in need of some TLC so we will also be spending our free time sorting out all of the issues that have cropped up over the years. At some point we will gut it and maybe build it out more suited for the US but as it is it functions fine, albeit our canvas is getting pretty ragged.

Other: We left social media in 2020 but we have missed being connected with the community. I (John) have always preferred forums so it's great to see that there is a rather large one focused around what has been one of the largest defining moments in our lives. One of the greatest take-aways from our years on the road is that the overlanding lifestyle is much more about people than places. We enjoy assisting others and are known amongst our road-friends as being the planners. We also field a lot of questions regarding budget so that is our pathetic claim to fame, as if there is any. We are not off-roaders but we do love harder to reach places, no cell service is better. Our van, fully loaded, is right at 9,500lbs but we plan to pull a bunch of gear out of it which should make her a bit happier.

Enough of that. We are normal people who had never traveled before setting off to drive Alaska to Argentina. One of our favorite things is to answer emails from those that have questions or who just need a bit of encouragement to back away from the ledge. We have mentors whom we leaned on and we are wanting to pay it forward. Hopefully we can contribute to this community while simultaneously gaining knowledge related to our future endeavors.

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." -Neale Donald Walsch