My Dad and I have long attributed our love of travel to our Gypsy blood. Twelve generations before me, my first ancestor to cross the Atlantic and settle in North America was Augustine BeArce, a Romany Gypsy. Throughout Europe these nomadic people were persecuted and accused of crimes wherever they wandered. Born in France in 1618, Augustine moved to England and at the age of 20 was deported to America with others of his kind because he was a Gypsy. One of 88 passengers on the Confidence of London, Augustine sailed from Southampton, England landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 24, 1638. He settled, married and raised a family at Barnstable, Massachusetts where he became known throughout the community as a man of good character. As I cross the Pacific Ocean and settle for a time on the far side of the sea, it only seems right to give credit to Augustine and the Gypsy blood I inherited from him.