Sim and I talked about retirement even before I had my heart attack in March 2005. That event just sped up the process. Moving to Thailand and retiring on a tropical island sounded pretty good. But before we did that, we decided that we would like to see more of the US and Canada. Long before that I had a plan to sail around the world and end up in Phuket, Thailand. Sailing would require physical strength and stamina that I no longer had and besides there are no hospital in the middle of the ocean, in case I have another event. Knock on wood!

Sim has been in the US for ten years and has only been to a couple of states, and I have never been to the South or the Northeast. So, our new plan was to take a couple of years and see the US, Canada and Mexico. We thought it would be cool to visit 49 of the 50 states. Now the question was how. I originally thought of getting a used VW bus, you know the pop top Westfalia. I began searching the Internet and the local papers for the perfect bus. After discussing this option with Sim, the bus option was off the table as Sim thought about showering and the like in a VW bus for 2 years. So I changed tacks and looked at pop up trailers, Class B Vans, and travel trailers. I took Sim to a local RV dealership so she could get an idea about the size and accommodations available in the various models of R.V.s. Sim mentioned that the Class B Vans reminded her of That 70s' Show when Eric and Donna decided to get married and to live in the trailer. The episode shows how they could not get out of each others way because of the limited space. It is scary to think of going without "Me time." We left that dealership knowing that only a Class A motor home would fit the bill for us. The search for class A began in February 2006. I searched and researched the Internet for 3 or 4 months trying to decide which make and model of Class A coach would best suit our needs, wants, and budget. It came down to Country Coach and Foretravel. I drove a couple of Country Coach's that were for sale near me, and then drove a Foretravel that was for sale in Sacramento. After driving the Foretravel, my mind was made up. I then started looking for the right Foretravel for us. In May of 2006 I found a 1998 40' Model U320 for sale in Texas. I flew to Texas with a friend, I bought the Foretravel and we drove it back to San Jose. Over 2000 miles in 36 hours. By December of 2006, we had sold our home in Sunnyvale, packed and stored the possessions we could not part with, moved everything else we needed to travel with into the Foretravel and headed out for Jim and Sim's Great Adventure.

When we finish this trip sometime in 2008, we will sell the motor home and move to Thailand to start another great adventure. We will start with the new home in Thailand project and after we settle in there, we plan to travel again. This time around Thailand, and the neighboring countries.