We are Mark and Vicki Sherouse, natives of Miami, Florida, USA, married forty-two years, parents of Rebecca and Rachel. Vicki is a former teacher and librarian. Mark is a former higher education/non-profit administrator. We have lived and worked or studied in Tallahassee, Florida, Boston, Massachusetts, Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, and Missoula, Montana. Missoula is our home. In 2008, having already sold our Montana home, we sold our car, truck and trailer, and sold or donated most of our other belongings, and put the rest in storage.
We are spending the first several years of our retirement traveling. From September, 2008 to March, 2009, we were travelers and trekkers in China, Nepal (including the Everest trek), India, Thailand, Cambodia, Australia, New Zealand (several tramps), and Hawaii. We returned to our base in Montana in March, to regroup and refit, and continued our travels in 2009-10 in Europe. Between April, 2009 and February, 2010, we visited Ireland, northern Germany, most of Scandinavia (as far as the Lofoton Islands and the Nordkapp), northern France, the UK (including the Orkneys and Outer Hebrides), more of northern, western and southern France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Gibraltar. We returned to the States in the spring of 2010, visiting friends and family coast to coast, regrouping and refitting in Idaho, and seeing our elder daughter Rebecca married. We returned to Europe in June, got our camper out of storage in Marseille, and resumed our European travels, first in the Alps in France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, and then in some of the major cities of central and eastern Europe...Munich, Dresden, Cracow, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Bucharest. After three weeks in Romania and Bulgaria, we entered Turkey for a two month stay, getting as far east as Nemrut Dagi and as far south as Antioch. After an extended Christmas break with friends and family in the states, we returned to Europe, picked up our camper after storage near Athens, and continued our travels in Greece, and then Sicily and Italy. Another return to the States in April saw the birth of our first grandchild, Penelope Ellipsis Wohl. At this writing, we are in Tuscany, working our way slowly up the Italian peninsula, expecting to return to the State in July for the August wedding of our daughter Rachel. The camper will stay in Amsterdam, awaiting our return in 2012 for more travels.
 Our home west of Missoula, Montana, sold in April, 2007; not the last best place, just the best
In Asia and the Pacific we traveled light: two day-packs and two back-packs, three sets of clothes, trekking gear, and enough gadgets to keep in touch and get by. We stayed in mid-range or less hotels and hostels, ate and drank with the locals, used budget or public transportation whenever we could, and practiced relative frugality. In Europe, we are traveling in a class B motorhome, a Roadtrek RS Adventurous that we shipped to Bremerhaven in April, 2009. We are experienced backpackers and trekkers as well as RVers. We have read widely in preparation for our travels, both about the places we will visit and about the types of travel we are undertaking.
On Kala Pattar, Everest trek, October, 2008 We have always enjoyed travel, in North America and Europe. We both have humanities backgrounds, and we enjoy the learning, stimulation and adventure travel provides. In Montana, we developed a strong sense of place. Now we are developing a sense of our wider place, a sense of planet. Perhaps eventually we will settle down again, in Montana, or near our children or relatives. Perhaps not.
 Our rig, the Grey Wanderer, on the beach near Sete, France, February, 2010
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