One year ago exactly today, I left Brooklyn to drive around the world.
Needless to say, there has been a lot of things happening along the way, and it has been the most intense year of my life.
As I was pushing forward, I met many people who provided help and support, and I want to thank them for that. Many of these folks I bumped into on the road became friends and will stay friends for the years to come.
Finally, to the people coming daily on this website to check on me or post a comment, I want to say thanks for sticking around close enough that I feel I am not alone out there.
Nick.
Wow- a year already! I hope the rest of the travel goes smoothly. Thanks for writing about it and taking us along- virtually at least.
Wow. I can’t even remember how I found this site in the first place, but I’ve been following along since before you left and I can’t BELIEVE it’s been a year already. Congrats! It’s been quite a ride for all of us.
Nick,
Thank you for the great blog posts. I have been following you since the first mention on a yahoo news group and it gave me something to look forward to while I have been unemployed for the last 16 months.
I have read every post and stuck pins in a world map following your progress. I have seen the happy and sad in your postings and all the amazing pictures you have shared with us and have been very happy to lived vicariously through them all.
I must say that I do love a great adventure and this trip of yours has been a truly amazing one. I hope one day to meet you and share some great stories and many beers. I think this goes without saying, but enjoy all the great sights, sounds, great food and much easier traveling in South East Asia.
Most of all, thank you for letting us all share in your adventure.
Cheers mate,
Charlie A.
Bonjour, Nick!
November 19, 2009 is when you rolled into West Brook High School and we enjoyed a wonderful
luncheon and discussion with you and our students. I remember all of the posters the students
put up around the school for you and the cute land cruiser cake! This year on November 19, we
will dedicate that day to you and I will show a slide show and give an update on your travels. So
many of the students do not have the internet and constantly ask me for an update. You are such an inspiration and I, too, check this site every day. Thanks for letting us be a part of the trip!
Jolane Bedford
Happy…………o.k…anniversary!
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I hitch-hiked through Europe in 2006 for 6 weeks, that was the loneliest time of my life. No blog, no friends, no money! I wish I had a support team as you do in your journey. It would have made a world of difference. I did meet wonderful people along the way that helped in my plight but in no way as you have. Also the most dramatic part of my life. It had been a life long dream of mine but something you don’t do at the age of 41! those kind of trips should be left for the young as you are.
Book, book, book. I don’t think you will have a choice. And if you play your cards right, it could be your source of income when you return. One thing is to be able to tell your kids and grand kids of your journey, another is to be able to pass down a book about it. Worth much more than the financial gains of a book. I hope you reconsider.
This too has been one of my favorite parts of the world. I have about 20 countries under my belt but nothing in Asia. Maybe one day I will go.
As always, patiently awaiting your next post, which never comes soon enough.
The wheels on the bus(LC) go round and round!
Manolo
Happy travels day my friend.
Happy Anniversary Nick! I too have been following you since before you left Brooklyn. I look forward to checking out your sight each morning and several times throughout the day to read the comments. A GREAT BIG THANK YOU for taking us along on your amazing journey! Its almost like being out there with you and certainly my only opportunity to experience other worlds and cultures, however vicariously. I hope you have a great time the rest of the way and as always, travel safe!
Congratulations on making it out there in the world as you have on 4 wheels for an entire year and never having given up on this part — writing about it.
Looking forward to more.
Nick,
You are the reason why this year has flown by! I look forward every few days to read about your endevours. I have been following you since day one!
Good luck, be safe & God bless and watch over you.
Fiona
Somehow a friend mentioned your tour and I was captivated by the adventure and great stories you tell. I hope when you come to my home state of Utah that the road is smooth.
Congratulations! I look forward to all of your posts. Thanks for keeping us up to date on your adventures.
I found your blog through my mom, and I’ve been really enjoying reading about your adventures. I can’t believe that a year has passed since you left the states!
Good luck on the final leg of your journey. We’re all rooting for you, and praying for safe travels!
Time passes so quickly. Can’t believe a year has passed already, although you may feel differently about that! I too have followed your travels since inception and will actually be sorry when they end. Maybe you could do this again and just take another route : ) Safe travels and as always godspeed.
Happy Birthday Nick! It seems incredible that you were here 8 months ago already! Keep the adventure rolling!
Nick – You are making this trip FOR so many people that the only way I can suggest you might guessthe number is to look up on a cloudless night, far from any city, and start counting the stars. Thank YOU for letting us ride along.
Happy 1-year anniversary and congratulations, Nick! I have not missed a beat or a prayer since reading about your adventure in last year’s newspaper. You have indeed accomplished a year of living dangerously. I look forward to reading all about the last leg of your journey. Enjoy and keep doing “what you do” to stay safe, healthy and aware of your environment. As the saying goes, “not over until the fat lady sings”. Your friend,
-joyMaria
Thank you Nick for sharing your great adventure. Being 67 makes me think through your travels and your courage to dare, I might just do the things I have been afraid to attempt. You have made the world open up to so many. So happy to have found your blog via our newspaper article and have faithfully followed you this past year! WOW.
What I rejoice in for you is thinking of the comments in the beginning from people who said you couldn’t do it! I remember the gentleman who wrote the book of his attempt and he didn’t think you could make it correct? And other naysayers and doubters!
It’s such a lesson for everyone reading this and what a LIFE LESSON for you–that despite obstacles, despite rumors, despite temporary breakdowns of the vehicles, weather, strikes, border crossings, sickness, driving backwards several hundred miles, exhaustion, heat, crazy taxi drivers, money issues, etc etc—LIFE IS A JOURNEY and despite it all we can keep pressing on and triumph over the obstacles. I heard a quote recently that I like, “Life is like Photography–use the negatives to develop some positives.” 🙂
And Helen Keller said, I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.
You’ve accomplished something Great and it’s a lesson even in the small things, that obstacles can be overcome and there is a brighter day waiting–with a beach somewhere. 🙂
Be blessed, Be Safe and Enjoy the Journey!
Beth 🙂
Thanks for bringing the world a little closer to home! Congrats on 1 year and continue to have safe travels!!
What a ride! I’ve followed you since you left, through the accidents, the mistakes, the scary parts and the pleasures. How great you have shared all of it. Wishing you safe travel the rest of the way.
Jan
P.S. Toyota ought to pay you big bucks to use your Land Cruiser for a TV ad.
Keep on trucking: it’s awesome!!
Happy Anniversary! like so many others, i’ve followed you from the very beginning and, yes, it has flown by. thank you so much for sharing your adventure with all of us. though i don’t know where life will take me, it probably won’t afford me to travel around the world. but i did through your eyes and for that you’re very special in my heart. no propaganda; no slant on a story. just travels and blogs from a worldwide adventurer.
very cool and honorable.
cheers 🙂
suzanne
Hey Nick,
About the truck. Have you thought of auctioning off your truck? Maybe ebay? I’m sure there is someone out there who would want a truck with the history that yours will have. (Maybe even Toyota, whether company or a dealership) Not to mention the amount of countries your truck has been through. I can’t imagine too many vehicles that could claim the same. Just a thought.
Manolo
P.S. Write the book! I’m gonna keep bugging you about it.
Thank you, Nick, for taking the time to let all of us come along on this journey with you. You have been an inspiration to me to persevere through times of adversity. There are so many times that I would’ve stopped (for the guys with machine guns in Kenya), or turned back (when you had the wrong currency for the boat in Bangladesh). Your ingenuity and quick thinking has been amazing. Savor each day. I’m praying for your safety.
P.S. I’m so glad you have someone to travel with you for a while.
I can’t even remember how I found this site either. However, I’m glad I did as it made my “Year of Unemployment” a little bit brighter by giving me something to look forward to each day. Through this site, I have been able to do what the adventurer in all of us wants to do, but don’t have the time, the money, or the guts. Thanks so much for letting us accompany you on your trip.
How quickly time flies when you’re having fun.
The Transworld Expedition is my homepage.
I check it daily in anticipation of the next posting.
I can only imagine the stories you have to tell and the pictures you have that you have not been able to share on this site.
Your kids and grandkids will be blown away someday by these adventures.
May God continue to be with you and keep you safe.
Nick,
Write the book, it will be a best seller and you should have no problem getting booked on the Today Show. BTW, I want my first edition autographed.
Thanks Nick for letting us share in your fantastic journey. I have enjoyed following all your adventures and am looking forward to your next destination. This year has gone quickly!
Can’t wait for your book ~ Be safe as you continue your trip!
Judy
Park Ridge, IL
wow, i cant believe its been over a year sence i’ve been following you. I think i first found you through a blog or article on msnbc and i’ve checked your page every day sence then. Its amazing how much you’ve done in a year and for sure this will be a year to remember for you. Just so you know your my hero, I’ve always loved travling and although i dont intend on doing what you did i do intend on travling alot in my future, so thanks for doing this blog and have a awesome trip 🙂
nick its been a good year.hope you keep having a safe trip the rest of the way.
Congratulations on making it to the 1 year mark! Thank you for allowing us to follow you! I believe that I may never leave the United States and thanks to you I am seeing place I never thought I would see! Again Congrats! Janet
Congrats on ‘A Year on the road’
That is quite the accomplishment!
Good luck on the days ahead
Happy travels!
Nick Have followed your journey every day for a year. Its been a great ride. I have two 1989 Toyotas, one pick up and one Land Cruiser. Great trucks after all those miles and years! How many miles are on your odometer currently? Thanks and take care, Tom
Wow, time does fly, and it has been an amazing adventure, which is still to continue. It’s been a wonderful experience following you, I’ve learned interesting facts about the different countries and have seen some beautiful scenery. I, as most of us seem to be, am looking forward to your book (what?? of course you will be writing a book), so I can see so many more pictures and you can share much more than just weekly updated blogs. God’s been good to you my friend, having driven 30,000 miles and having met great people along the way, and always having been able to eventually “get those parts” or get “those papers”. I will continue to follow you home, as a matter of fact, I wouldn’t miss these last miles for anything.
with hugs from home,
Donna
It is a pleasure to follow your adventure since the beginning. Keep driving and documenting at your own pace. See you in NYC
Congrats on the anniversary mark! Out of all the blogs I read, your blog is the only one I have to see AS SOON as it is updated, no matter how busy I am. You are an inspiration to all the adventurous at heart!
I still remember before you left how you talked to Al Podell and he doubted that you’d be able to do it. I know you aren’t done yet, but from reading since the beginning, it’s never crossed my mind that you wouldn’t complete what you started. I’m glad you’ve kept going with everything that has been thrown at you and I’m glad I’ve been able to keep tabs on your adventure each step of the way. It’s great to see the many different faces of our world.
Congratulations Nick!
I have been following faithfully since day one and am allways waiting for a new post. Thank you for taking all of us along on your journey.
I wish you safe journeys!
Nick, I have really enjoyed all your posts. After having read “Who Needs a Road?” several years ago, my imagination was stirred…now with your travels, my imagination has been even more engaged. Perhaps I will someday take a long journey in my 75′ Land Cruiser (but nothing to compare to your fantastic trip)!
Hi Nick,
It has been so great to follow your journey around the world!
I admire people like you because I am like you.
God made this world for us to enjoy,learn,visit… and the end we feel as we are nobody!
We do not know nada!
Anyway,have lots of fun,ok!
Hope there will be a book eventualy!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! What are we followers going to do when this trip is over?? We will all be without our Nicolas adventures. Like several others, I am hoping for a book (an autographed copy at that.) It would be better than making us print out your previous posts for a momento of the trip. I could see the cover being a collage of photos from all over the world. Also, I would not sell the beloved LC to Toyota or anyone else. But at the very least, Toyota would be crazy not to approach you about doing a commercial.
Stay safe during the rest of this trip. You are almost home.
BTW…how has Nadia been? Have you heard from her lately?
I have followed and loved every mile of your trip. When you write the book, I’ll buy it! Thank you so much for letting me travel with you vicariously. I’ve traveled through Southeast Asia and can’t wait to do it again through reading about your adventures. Wish I were young enough and brave enough to do what you are doing. Go for it!
I cannot say anything that hasn’t already been said, just –
Congratulations on your ‘year on the road’, and here’s to safely completing your trip around the world!
Take care! 🙂
Salut Nick!
I’ve been following you since you were building your truck in NYC. I thought you were quite brave to tackle the world on your own and I have to say, you’ve done an amazing job! I also felt like we had something in common, because I’m from Long Island, and I’ve lived in France. You’re out creating an amazing experience for yourself, while the rest of are just reading about it. Congratulations!
What you said today about having comments so that you feel like you’re not alone out there really made me think. This is the first time I’ve commented because I understand now how having comments would feel like a lifeline sometimes, especially when things aren’t going as you planned.
Bonne chance avec la reste! You are doing awesome and your readers are always here cheering you on!
Kristin
Wow, Nick, a year already! I’ve been following you since day one and what a year it has been for you. Thank you so much for sharing your adventure with all of us. Wishing you continued safety and luck through the remainder of your trip.
Yeah! I look forward to reading you blog every week. It’s helped get me by while at work! Thank you for that and safe traveling.
Diana
Hurrah! Nick!
Nick,
Congratulations on your one year anniversary of the expedition! Put me down for a copy of the book. I would love to see all of your pictures. Stay safe and enjoy.
Judy
Thanks so much for blogging. Congratulations! I went around the world in 1985–June 24th – December 21st, thirty-two countries. The trip remains the highlight of my life. My wish is to go to South America, Australia, and Antarctica. I would love to return to some of the places to see how they have changed–or not. I was alone most of the time, but on 17 occasions I met someone I know or someone who knows someone I know. I drove only in Hawaii. But I managed to ride a donkey, elephant, and camel. Usually I was on a train, plane or bus.I kept a journal, wrote everyday, four notebooks. Another of my wishes is to have the tale of my odyssey published. In some instances what was happening then may be more interesting than what is happening now. I took 98 rolls of slides, most with 36 frames per roll. I am in touch with a number of the folks I met. An Australian I met in Singapore left me $10,000.00. One woman sent me a piece of the Berlin Wall because, she said, “you would be the kind of person who would want it.” An Egyptian whom I never met but who recommended a place to stay in Egypt wrote a beautiful card when the Towers fell. I had a $1999 around-the-world ticket; additional traveling costs totaled $4000. The trip cost about $16,000–I kept track of everything I spent, have money and postage from every country I visited. Just writing makes me think I should work harder to get my books published. Anyway, you have yet another person who will keep track of you. I am sorry you no longer have a companion; I wished for one many times, not so much because I was lonely but because I wanted to share the experience with someone who knows me and some of what I value. For instance, I went to the Sea of Galilee with Jews who did not speak English nor value Christianity; I was the only American on a tour of Hiroshima–everyone else spoke Japanese. But I am certain I met many persons because I was alone. I talked to folks I might not have seen had I been with someone. The trip reaffirmed we human beings have far more similarities than dissimilarities. Take care.
Hi Nick,
My young sons and I have enjoyed reading about your travel adventures from the moment you left NY. It was been very interesting to read your impressions of the countries you have visited plus the difficulty in getting from one spot to the other.
Congratulations on sticking with your dream and good luck with the remaining of your journey.
Thanks for sharing
The Weaver family