Tom Telle has occasionally gotten up on a Monday morning and found himself two states away by Tuesday, walking through the Mall of America in Minnesota before dropping in on a Cubs game in Chicago.
Freedom has defined the world of Telle and his wife, Jeanette, since he retired in 1999 from Morse, Harwell, Jiles Insurance.
"I love freedom. I think everybody does," said Telle, adding staying home was never in the cards.
The couple has spent six months in Poplar Bluff and six months on the go since Telle put his 9-to-5 alarm clock away.
"I'd recommend it to anybody," the 78-year-old says of retirement, with a laugh.
Winters in San Antonio, or Gulf Shores, Alabama, or Florida were about enjoying life, one day at a time.
"We never even thought about buying a condo (at first). We just wanted to be free to go to various places in the winter," Telle said. "I think you need to keep moving. If you don't, you have a tendency to decline. It improves your health, if you keep going."
Sometimes it was a spur of the moment day trip to historical locations near Mesa, Arizona, where the couple has spent recent winters.
"We usually make it at least one a week. I just enjoy seeing different things," Telle said.
Other times, it was planned tours of Alaska, and many outside locations.
"The majestic mountains, rivers, landscape, the wild animals, and seeing deer or bison in the wild, elk ... a lot of the trips were memorable. I love nature. I love to be outdoors," he said. "Our goal was ... to just see the different parts of the country."
With 48 states behind them, Telle feels they have been successful.
Telle first came to Poplar Bluff in 1963, accepting a job as a position coach at Poplar Bluff schools under football coach Jim Lohr.
A Perryville native, Telle had played football himself while a student at Southeast Missouri State University.
"I also taught world geography when I taught in high school," Telle said. "I just wish I could have seen these things before I taught it. It would have been more meaningful to (the students)."
In six years as the head football coach, Telle's teams were 43-15-1 and he still owns the highest winning percentage of any Mules coach.
Coaching was a career he loved, but it ended in 1977. That year, Telle brought home $18,000, the same salary a student of his made in their first year after high school.
"I said something's wrong with this picture. That pretty well convinced me I needed to do something else," he said.
He purchased MHJ in January 1978, a career he also enjoyed.
In 1983, he married Jeanette. A second marriage for both, they each had two children and knew each other through their children's school activities.
Their love of traveling was sparked by trips to visit Telle's son in college on the east coast.
Telle stays active now with regular visits to the golf course.
Travel for the couple has slowed down as Jeanette battles health problems, but the connections made with friends across the country remains.