Mike: Fishing, cooking.

Karen: Sunning, shopping.

Both: Beaches, travel, reading, hiking.

Platoon (the feel, not the plot - been there/done that), anything with Mel Gibson (except a mug shot), Meryl Street, Bruce Willis or directed by Ron Howard.

Anything but rap and most opera.

I read mostly history, biographies and Karen's pre-read and recommended mysteries (Alex Cross, JP Beaumont, Lucas Davenport, etc.)

Cold beer, smoked pork butt, anything with mudbugs

Down to earth people, making new friends, sharing life, learning new things, open minds

People who understand the difference between being a traveler and being a tourist

Folks who know that north, east and west are directions, but the South is a place in the heart

cold weather

Pretentious people

yankees (just kidding)

general prejudices based on stereotypes rather than personal experience with an individual

closed minds

It's really about us. We are long-married best friends who can both howl at the moon and revel in the glory of a fresh sunrise. We enjoy the company of old friends and meeting new acquaintances who will hopefully become old friends.

Karen - Can be the perfect lady until the devilish imp inside gets loose. Has great taste, with the only lapse having been marrying me 43 years ago - unless her marrying me indicates that I have some redeeming social value. A native of Springfield, MO that I dragged South in 1966. Two children, the baby 33, and no grandchildren to keep us rooted. She retired last year. I'll let Karen change this whenever she finds it.

Mike - All of my people are from the triangle of Cornith, MS/McNairy County, TN/Muscle Shoals, AL. Born in Alabama after Dad got hurt in WWII. As a toddler Mom and Dad sharecropped for a black family outside of Marked Tree, Arkansas, until Dad got a job driving a bus for the CTA in Chicago, where my early years were spent 3 buildings into right field territory at Wrigley (Sheffield Ave).

Went to high school in Springfield, MO, where Karen made the mistake of meeting up with me. After flunking out of college in MO I headed to Jackson, MS, where my folks had moved. A couple of years later Karen joined me and I settled down, finished college and started law school at Ole Miss.

On Karen's advice I let the draft board in MO know where I'd disappeared to so a few months later, 10/68, ended up in the Army since they apparently thougt I'd make a better Recon Sgt in Nam than lawyer. Hopefully I've proven my "friends and neighbors" wrong in the last 38 years.

In 1991 Karen was teaching school when she came home one night as said she hated the lack of seasons in MS (either cold rain or warm rain) and I jumped on the chance and said "let's move". The main thing she wanted was snow, and soon had too much of it and, a rotor cuff and knee later, I gave up skiing and joined her hatred of cold.

So, as of 4/29/10 we will begin the great roadtrip and see where we end up. We know at least a few months of that will be on the Yucatan gulf (now that I know ya'll have fish).