Midlothian, Virginia, U.S.A.

  Greetings, my friends. I am in Midlothian, Virginia, outside of Richmond. I originally planned to come to Virginia Beach, because of the fact that it is not too south, not too north, and it had an ocean. Everyone should live part of their life by the ocean. Anyhow, I decided after I left Tennessee in June that I would never spend another winter in Pennsylvania, and that was the reason for coming to Virginia. I expected to stay here long enough to get some things figured out, and then move on to Australia, maybe. As it turns out, this was not part of the *bigger plan. This is where it gets interesting.

  I met this woman, you see...

  I wish I had a dollar for every time I said those words!

  So, anyhow, she lives in Midlothian, and I figured that if I'm going to just go to Virginia without a real plan or place to live (SOP), that it would make just as much sense going to the Richmond area as VA Beach. Since this woman I met lives near Richmond, it was a simple choice. This woman is Beth. Beth Wright. Yeah, same last name. She changed it, though, and it is now actually Alexza Wright DeCroix. Something about witness-protection or something, I don't know. So we are going to spend some time together, and in 6 months or so, we are going to leave here and go across the U.S. to the NW, and then on down to La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Maybe live there for a while, and then go on down to Tierra del Fuego, and work our way back up through South America, one country at a time. We will live lean, and make do with little. We will live off the land, and trade or work for what we need along the way. I'm clever enough to do this. She is, too. We make a good team. We will make plenty of photos and video, and post on here and facebook.

  Why should we sit around punching a time-card, waiting to die? Routine and structure may be ok for some people, but not so much for us. I realize that it simply isn't possible for most people to live the way I do, because of the need for stability and all that, but I know a lot of you probably dream of doing this, and probably never will. So, I kinda feel that I have a duty to do it for you, and write about the adventure along the way. You know- that vicarious thing. I'm incredibly lucky to have found my partner in this adventure. Everything great is only truly great when it is shared.

  So, this is where the real adventure begins. We are getting ourselves prepared and situated for our mission.  It's a bit vague, sometimes, and challenging -to live like this- but it is absolutely worth it. I could never live any other way. Beth and I believe that we were put together for a reason. Not sure exactly what, yet, but we will know - when we need to.