Introduction

Thank you for checking out my new blog. As the title indicates, I will be posting on our summer travels and other trips, the treasures, or special things I find along the way, and the difficulties we might encounter, to the extent that I think our experience can be helpful to others. A note on Treasures: those who know me well, know that my main treasure in life is food. This comes from growing up with a father who was a WWII Japanese POW, and who developed a deep appreciation of food. No crumb or drop was wasted in our home. I learned to eat almost everything, and to be grateful for it. So very often, Treasures will be about food.

Some background info on myself. I am a retired pastor, which was an unintentional second career. I spent 11 years as a real estate paralegal, preparing for and doing real estate closings. Then, in 1992, my dream of getting an education began to be fulfilled. I enrolled in the University of South Florida, Tampa, graduating in 1995, summa cum laude, majoring in religious studies. I was in that department because that is where Ancient Studies was, but I was immediately redirected when they dropped Ancient Studies. I began studying biblical languages, fell in love with Hebrew, and thought my career was set: I was going to be a professor of Hebrew and Bible Background. I went to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where I earned a M.Div. in 1998. I was there to reinforce my faith background (I am not Southern Baptist), because I felt that the next step had to be a Ph.D. from a Jewish School to solidify my Hebrew background. I was amazingly accepted at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, OH, which takes about 10 graduate students a year at that Jewish seminary. Immediately, I knew that was not where I was supposed to be. After 2 years, I withdrew from the program and received a second Masters in Bible and Cognate languages. Immediately upon my withdrawal, the door to ministry opened to me, and the rest is history.

I am married to Ed and we have a combined family of 6 children, 9 grandchildren and a few great grandchildren, scattered all over the country. We are full time RVers, with a home base in Clermont, Florida. We stay there in the fall, winter and early spring months, and travel during the summer. That is all I am saying about myself. This blog will be about all the things we encounter on our travels.