That great advice comes from Joseph and Betty Knoch of Dublin, who have spent the past six years taking roads less traveled in their recreational vehicle.

In the process, they have visited all 49 continental U.S. states.

They bought their RV in September 2001, right after 9/11.

"We had been looking at them before and said to ourselves, 'Nothing has really changed,' so we went ahead and got it," said Mr. Knoch.

At first the couple used the RV in conjunction with their jobs selling orthodontic supplies in a seven-state territory.

"If we were working in western New York, we'd do the work we had to do and then sneak up to Niagara Falls," he said.

But a few years ago, they decided to ditch the working life and concentrate on their true passion, travel.

"We retired on the way to Alaska," Mr. Knoch said.

That trip took three months and covered 18,000 miles, including "every hard (paved) road in the state except one."

"But there are not that many hard roads in Alaska," he said.

"My wife wanted to drive to the Arctic Circle, but that was 300 miles on a dirt road."

Even the Knochs have to draw the line somewhere.

"The farthest we made it was Fairbanks."

They recently bagged their 49th state, Louisiana, on their way to New Mexico.

Although they have visited the 50th state -- Hawaii -- getting there in an RV was out of the question. Besides, there are no RV parks in Hawaii.

That fact, alone, would be no hindrance. They seldom stay in an RV campground, preferring to park at isolated spots along the road where parking is allowed or at that favorite superstore of RVers, Wal-Mart.

The Knochs used to be tent campers.

"The last tent camping we did was in Nova Scotia in November. We looked at the RVs, and they looked awfully warm."

The Knochs said they've met many new friends on the road and always make a point of meeting up with them when their paths converge.

"And now we've got grandkids; we can take them on RV trips," Mr. Knoch said.

"Our 5-year-old (grandson) said he can't wait. I told him we'd take a tent, and he said, 'No, we'll take the camper!' They're spoiled."

The Knochs' favorite places: "Anyplace in southern Utah or Arizona, Nova Scotia, Alaska, the (Florida) Keys."

They also love America's national parks.

"The greatest thing we've ever done is to set these areas aside as parks," Mr. Knoch said. "And only 5 percent of Americans have visited them. That's so sad."

But the couple seems to love the road as much as the many destinations they've visited.

"The most we stayed in one place was Denali (National Park) for six days. We're starting to think we may go someplace and stay and let the engine cool down. Now that we've seen everything, it's like 'Let's go somewhere and sit for three weeks.' "

They are thinking of going to the Yellowstone area and volunteering for the summer.

"I'm not sure if we're capable of not going crazy after a week, but we'll try it out."

Mr. Knoch said he would recommend the RV lifestyle "to anyone with any kind of wanderlust."

"The more trips we take, the more we love it," he said.

And, despite the cost of gasoline, RVing is economical when compared with other means of travel, he said.

"The longer you go and stay in a place, the better the economics. You can cook your meals. You're not paying for a hotel. It's pretty economical if you're not driving 200 to 300 miles a day.

"But you don't buy (an RV) to save money. You buy it to go where you want, when you want, sleep where you want, eat where you want.

"It gives you the ultimate flexibility."

Steve Stephens is the Dispatch travel writer. He can be reached at 614-461-5201 or by e-mail.

sstephens@dispatch.com