I met a lot of wonderful people in both the chat room and ICQ, some of whom have become lifetime friends. Now while I had never had any real desire to travel to the US, I couldn't help thinking about wanting to meet some of these people that I felt I knew so well. I wanted to collect some of those ((((((((((hugs)))))))))) in real time and sharing that cup of coffee at the kitchen table over a talk.

       To make a long story short I guess I just woke up one morning and decided this was something I really had to do. I got invitations from my friends to come and visit with them. And without this behind me I could never have undertaken such a trip. So the planning started, first tentatively, then as things started to fall into place the planning became more earnest.

       I did realize early in the planning stages that I would not be able to visit EVERYONE that had extended an invitation, due both to the time factor and cost involved in getting to where they lived.
So I had to plan an effective route that would take me to as many destinations as possible.

       I think I did pretty well to accomplish as much as I did given the limited funds and time to work with. Again I could never have done this without the support and generosity of my wonderful friends. They did so much to help me and took such good care of me while I was with them. 
I love these special people so much and will be forever grateful that they made it all possible. 

       I visited 14 states and drove through several others and was in 3 different countries , if I count Japan , where I overnighted, all in 7 weeks . 4 countries if I include Australia.

       I have put toghther some photos from each place and written a little about the time I spent there.
The links to each place are listed below.

I am really happy you have stopped by to share my experience with my friends and I. And I would encourage everyone thinking about doing something like this to GO FOR IT!!!