Acknowledgements

A blog isn't a book is it?  But somehow I feel the need for a bit of an acknowledgement section before we really get going (man this detailing is taking forever!).  Because even though this idea seems fairly spur of the moment (followed by 9+ months of research, activity and stress), it really came from ideas & capabilities gained from others over the years...  So in no particular order thanks goes to...

• Richard Spindler and Dona De Mallorca of Latitude 38 for putting the thoughts into my (and to a lesser extent Martha's) head to go on an extended sabbatical.  Though they didn't exactly recommend land cruising, it was their sharing adventures on Profligate with Martha and me over the years that made us see that something like this was possible.  
• Todd Huss and Susan Detwiler for their personal stories of 6 months cruising, 6 months working while homeschooling to make us see that normal, or perhaps extra-normal (because they're adventurers at heart) can do this with their family in a tight space.  
• My son Paul complaining painfully throughout any drive longer than 60 minutes coupled with Martha's desire to regularly explore at the same time we passed by an RV shop in Gilroy, CA to inspire us to rent an RV and have the first decent road trip of our life.  30,000 miles later and at least 3k more to go just in the next week, we're rolling on.  
• The guys who bought the last Landshark from us.  
• Our tenants for signing on and therefore helping fund this trip.  
• Our mechanic Steve for getting us more or less on the road (arrgh re the front heater still being dead...).  
• Our families for eventually understanding this adventure.  
• Geoff for hiring me long ago to join Four11 founded by Larry & Mike.  And Jerry and David for taking a swing at organizing the internet, and then later buying Four11.  
• Dan for putting the bug in my ear about buying property (as opposed to letting it all ride on internet stocks).  And a different Dan for helping me realize that "booms and busts" are truly catastrophic for those caught up amidst them -- and one can and should cash out "a little"  
• David, Adam and Boris for helping me get involved in computers professionally.  And for Mom for getting me involved with computers when I was just 8.  To Wired Magazine for starting to make computers cool.  Finally for Bill hiring me out to revolutionize language learning in Sweden where I met Martha.  
• To all the people we've told this idea to in the last several months who thought it was a cool idea which kept us going.  
• To Martha, Paul, James, Sarah and Molly for all having the faith to join/accept/tolerate a harebrained scheme like this.  

If I missed you in my appreciation, I apologize.  The fact is that you probably fit somewhere in this scheme and I wish I had remembered you on the first pass.  Or maybe I just think you don't want to be somehow blamed if it all goes so very wrong.