Milestones – Day 181 – Enroute to Chicago

Written Thursday, March 31.

My flight, which was scheduled to depart at 11:35 AM from West Palm Beach, finally departed at 4:05 PM; a five and a half hour delay.  While annoying, it’s just not a big deal when one is retired.  The delay gave me the opportunity to get deeply into Charleston, a novel by John Jakes, and to think about milestones.

As of today, I have been retired for EXACTLY one year - to the day (after 38 years with The Warranty Group – also to the day).  While the earlier “not a big deal” statement implies that I have lots of idle time, in reality this is not the case.  I have been busily engaged in the “business” of retirement since I left the office at 2:00 PM on March 31, 2010.

The first six months were involved preparation for the Great Loop journey and the last six (short by 2 days) have been focused on the journey itself.  I have literally been busy all of the time in cruising and fun activities with Diana, Kodi, old friends and new ones.  Check out the 90 some articles in this blog and you get a sense of the activity level.

Retirement is clearly under-rated.  I’ve never had so much fun.  And the time really flies.

The second milestone is the fact that we are six months into the great adventure.  To date we have traveled 2,424 miles; touched 7 states; stopped in 46 different marinas; explored 25 cities; traversed 26 locks; visited numerous historical sites; experienced the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland, Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers; traveled on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, The Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway; connected with old friends (Becky, Steve, Dakota and Nathaniel, Lesley and Scott, Jim and Sue, Jim and Heidi, Pam, Dick and Kathy [who tragically died a week ago – See "A moment for pause"] Jim and Jane, Jerry and Cathy, Roberta, Diana’s sister-in-law, David and Pat, Mike and Barbara Walsh) and made new friends (Ron and Linda, Darryl and Sue and Marjorie and Dick) and many new acquaintances.

The weather has been cooperative with less than 10 days of rain during the entire journey.  While we have had a few mechanical hiccups with Guided Discovery, we have had little difficulty getting them resolved. 

Of greatest pleasure is the relaxed outdoor healthy life style.  We spend gobs of time walking as that is the nature of living in marinas and keeping the Furry Kid exercised.  Our strategy of staying at marinas close to downtown districts affords us access to services and goods either by walking or riding the bike.  And, with the exception of the Western Rivers, we have been able to get everything we needed including medical services with little difficulty.

Another milestone, which occurred earlier this month (March 10) is we became Florida residents.  Florida has no income tax and limits sales tax on boats to $18,000 regardless of the price of the boat.  Florida residency will afford us the opportunity to buy a bigger boat, which, while not critical, as Guided Discovery is certainly comfortable enough, will simply add to enjoyment of being long term cruisers.

Another decision, call it a milestone, is our decision to cruise to Maine this summer and then return to Florida for the winter.  Our original plan had us back in Chicago in late October, just in time to put the boat into storage and “enjoy” another Chicago winter.  Chicago winters are tolerable when you are working but we could not see the pleasure in being indoors when we can chase the good weather and have a ball doing so.  Except for the December cold that hit Florida, I have worn shorts and a t-shirt every day since then. We now plan on spending the summer of 2012 in Chicago.

On April 6, Kodi will be three and a half years old.  The Furry Kid has been a great addition to our lives and most certainly to mine.  I was initially opposed to having a dog and rigidly held my position for 20 years.  Kodi is a great companion and she helps us stay active.  She is currently staying with Wilma and Monika in Stuart and having a great time.  We hope they give her back when we return next Tuesday.

Finally, Diana and I have never been closer, which you may interpret as simply living in close quarters.  But I do not mean it in that context.  Traveling and working together as a team has greatly improved our relationship.  Now as I travel back to Chicago, I look forward to connecting with Diana and our close friends. 

Life is great!

Written by Les