On January 13, 2008 we left Bedminster, NJ for the SAM Shortline in Cordele, Ga......the first stop on our adventures this year.

During the last few months at Mesa Verde in 2007, we had tried to find jobs at national parks in the south (the only part of the country which has seasonal positions in the winter.) We applied to several positions in Florida ...in the busiest and best known parts of the Everglades and in the western part of the park closer to the Gulf of Mexico....but never heard back.

Unfortunately, trying to find jobs in the National Park Service during the winter months is difficult. There aren't many parks that hire seasonal Rangers and there are lots of people applying to the few jobs that are available. And so we weren't surprised when we never heard back.

Just Checking--front and back!

We had already decided that we wouldn't try to work during the summer of 2008 and that we would go Alaska instead. But we still wanted to find something to do during the winter. And that's when we decided to volunteer at the SAM Shortline in Cordele, GA....a state park which is a train! Essentially, SAM Shortline would give us a place to continue "working" and developing our skills as "interpreters," it offerred us a place to go that is a little warmer than New Jersey, and it gave us a chance to live in and explore another part of the country.

And so on January 13, we left New Jersey and headed to the SAM Shortline and several months of traveling! And as we visit different places and have different experiences, we'll send back letters and pictures and try to keep up this web site as best as we can.

Jan to April 2008---The SAM Shortline in Cordele, GA

Jan to April 2008---The SAM Shortline Route: Leslie, Americus, Plains, and Archery, GA
Jan to April 2008---Weekend Excursions in Georgia and Florida
Jan to April 2008---A Visit to Andersonville and the National POW Museum
Late in March 2008---Sara's Birthday and a Visit by Jimmy Carter