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4/23/13

Around the World in a 1928 Graham-Paige

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Top speed 40 mph. After driving their way through Africa, the Zapp family has another continent on their to-do list--Europe. "For the last 13 years, Herman and Candelaria Zapp have traversed the coasts of South and North America, Asia, Australia and Africa in their 85-year-old vehicle which has also been their home. Along the way they have covered almost 200,000 miles and visited more than 40 countries. Oh and they've also had four kids--all born in different countries.
Pampa, ten, was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Tehue, seven, was born in Argentina, Paloma, four, is a native of Vancouver Island, Canada, and little Wallaby, three, is - obviously - from Australia."

A former information technology specialist, "Herman, 42, and his wife Candelaria, 40, set off from Argentina in 2000 and began driving across South and North America, as well as Australia, New Zealand and now Asia. Herman, who was born in San Francisco, California, moved to Argentina to work on his grandfather's cattle ranch when he was a boy. While in Argentina, 10-year-old Herman met his childhood sweet-heart Candelaria when she was only 8, and the couple have been together ever since. They married in 1996. 'My grandfather knew that we wanted to travel and to never stop so he gave me the old Graham-Paige car he used on his farm and gave me some advice. 'He told me, 'If you want to get far, you need to go slowly', so what could be better than a vintage car.' Speaking about their journey so far they told the National Enquirer: 'We have already been in 2,500 homes  -- Amish, Muslims,Jews, rich people, poor people, you name it. The only hard rule the couple have to stick by is the 40 mile per hour speed limit the 83-year old car is restricted to. The Zapp family are always on the move, only stopping for short periods on their journey. They began in 2000, setting off from Patagonia, Argentina to Alaska." More