Staying home and reconnecting with my community and friends has been weighing on my mind more and more. It is no wonder I am ready to unpack and reclaim my home.

Since October 2007, we have logged more miles than most, beached from coast to coast, and experienced life in many of our 50 United States.

We spent nearly a couple weeks driving the coast of Ireland in 2007, exploring the coastline, visiting golf courses, eating in local pubs, climbing castles and rocks, staying in B&Bs along the way.

Since then, work has taken us to Ohio, Virginia, Massachusetts, Denver, Michigan, Illinois, and Florida. Work has allowed us to spend considerable blocks of time in various areas, often 6-8 weeks, giving us time to enjoy local flavor, see areas of interest, try new foods, visit like a tourist and act like a local.

We did a music tour stopping in Cleveland, Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans. We walked their downtowns, stopped in local bars to hear music, and toured The Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Graceland, Cleveland Music Hall and so much more.

We spent a couple weeks in Golf Port, Mississippi at a mission to help with Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Touring the region, talking with locals, witnessing the destruction, reconstruction, and the many helping hands that continue today to provide assistance to a region and people deeply impacted by this storm, was a life-changing experience for us.

We did an east coast road trip for work and pleasure that included a drive through Canada stopping at Niagara Falls - -it has come a long way since my last trip through. We visited numerous beaches and sites including Cape Cod, Coast Guard Beach. We visited the many homes of authors in Concord, Mass.  And we hiked around Walden Pond. We walked the 3.5 mile National Recreation Trail Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island along the coast and magnificent mansions. We even took in a Red Sox gamed at Fenway Park.

This past fall, we truly logged miles when we first visited our new grandson in sunny California and walked along Malibu Beach where we witnessed a whale blowing off the coast. Back in Michigan a few weeks later we walked the southern coast of Lake Superior and hiked Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore with friends. Then we were off to the east coast of Florida for work. Before heading back to Michigan, we drove to Key West completing a truly coast-to-coast-to-coast fall trek.

2013 has started off much the same way as other recent years. First enjoying a winters walk on Michigan's beautiful west coast here at home, but then packing up again for Chicago's northshore area and work on the other coast of Lake Michigan.

Home once again, and back on my own beach, I look forward to settling in, reconnecting to life here, and enjoying my own bed for awhile.

But just for a short while...did I mention Jamaica in April?