Day 1 - New York - Pennsylvania

Today begins an exciting part of our lives.

Our car is a 1972 VW Westfalia Camper. The crew is my husband, Heinz, 29, me, Ursula, 25, and my twin brother, Wally.

We are starting a journey through North, Central, and South America, following more or less what is called the Pan American Highway. After this journey, we plan to live in New Zealand, where Heinz has a job promised in Christchurch.

We left Queens a little later than planned. Before leaving, I made one last round through our tiny apartment. It looked so peaceful, friendly, and clean. It was a funny feeling to look at everything for the last time and then lock the front door behind us.

Our camper was packed, and Heinz had stowed everything away very neatly and securely. We crossed the ever-so-spectacular Queensboro Bridge and then stopped at Bucherer Jewelers on 5th Avenue to say our last goodbyes to our Swiss friends.

It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day. The streets of Manhattan were crowded as usual, and we drove toward the Lincoln Tunnel. Our farewell from New York could hardly have been more typical. Traffic, people, noise, and all the familiar streets passing by us.

On the New Jersey side, we stopped for a little while and looked back at Manhattan. The newly erected World Trade Center was very impressive from there. We stood looking at the city and knew that we were really leaving now. It was quite an emotional moment.

Then we took Route 80 west toward Chicago. We drove through the Pennsylvania Dutch country and, after a long day on the road, found a campground for our first night.

Wally and I are both a quarter of a century old today. We celebrated our 25th birthday together with dinner and a bottle of Lancers Rosé.

So this is how our great journey begins.Read more