Hi, I’m Terry and my passion is travel. About five years ago, I found the Traveler’s Century Club’s list of 325 countries in the world. When I realized I’d already visited 50 countries, I decided it would be fun to visit 100 countries. My family got interested in the “game” and before we knew it, I had 169 countries! My niece, Kelly (104), and husband, Ken (70), are my most frequent travel companions. Kelly, a middle school orchestra director, will go anywhere with me and Ken – well — not so much. We call him the reluctant traveler. But more about him later.

I hate group tours, cruises and busloads of tourists. I’m far from rich, but like to stay in nice places. I’ve learned how to search out luxuries at a discount and use frequent flyer miles to get free business class tickets around the world.

When friends see me, their first question is always, “where have you been recently?” Everyone says I should write a book about my travel experiences, but I figured a blog would get me started. So, come with me (and Kelly, Ken or another friend) as we travel the world and count those countries.

My other passions are:

• Flying. Since earning my private pilot’s license 30 years ago, I’ve become an aviation geek. A favorite travel memory is flying on the Concord with a ticket I bought on e-Bay for half price! I’m dreaming of flying in one of the new A380s and getting a peek at the shower!
• Art, architecture and collecting art pottery.
• Shopping. What better way to learn about a culture than seeing the crafts and people in local markets and stores.

I just retired almost three years ago after running a marketing and public relations firm for more than 35 years here in Gainesville, Florida.