Tag Archives: Retirement

A Week Or So On The Road

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We left home on a mid-March Monday morning, the van packed with warm-weather clothes and all the essentials. But the first few nights were still chilly. The heat in the van, set at fifty-nine degrees, blessedly kicked on during those nights.

Monday night we spent at a KOA (Kampground of America) in New Jersey. The next morning I took a walk along the road in front of the KOA, while my husband, Mark, ran.

Tuesday night we stayed in Emporia, Virginia, and headed for the Santee Lakes region of South Carolina on Wednesday. We were pleasantly surprised to find a Buc-ee’s along the way! We first came across the Buc-ee’s chain in Texas, but didn’t know they were so far east.

The Santee National Wildlife Refuge was the perfect spot for a walk/run Wednesday afternoon— even though the thought of alligators crossing my path kept me on high alert. 🙂 It was also the site of Fort Watson, a key stronghold taken from the British during the Revolutionary War.

After trekking through the Wildlife Refuge for the afternoon, we checked in at the Santee Lakes KOA in plenty of time for a beautiful sunset.

We returned to the Wildlife Refuge early the next morning before heading off to St. Augustine.

On Friday morning, we walked the grounds around the St. Augustine Lighthouse, then climbed to the top—all two hundred nineteen steps of its metal spiral staircase. I could feel my stomach flipping out and my legs getting shaky, but all was good as long as Mark stayed behind me on the way up and in front of me on the way back down. 🙂

At the top of the lighthouse—surprise! surprise!—Mark found a fellow lover of Treehouse beer. They talked for several minutes while I took in the view.

I spied a tree down below full of birds and asked the guide what I was looking at. He told us there was a rookery nearby at The Alligator Farm. So, we headed back down the spiral staircase in search of birds.

We drove around the block and found the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. But it didn’t seem worth the $35 apiece to enter. So, we walked down the sidewalk to find that the trees we’d seen from atop the lighthouse. They were just on the other side of a fence. We had a much less expensive, but very satisfactory view from the sidewalk. We saw plenty of wood storks, roseate spoonbills, and egrets coming and going.

Mark still needed to get a run in that day, so after the rookery we drove to the St. Augustine State Trail at the Vermont Heights Trailhead. He ran in one direction while I walked in another. A peaceful spot for exercise with the added bonus of restrooms on site.

Friday night, we stayed at a KOA near Kennedy Space Center. Little did we know, a Spacex rocket was scheduled to launch that night. We joined a small crowd gathered at the right spot (according to those in the know) and, sure enough, a fireball shot into the sky just after 8:20 p.m. Too far away for decent pictures, but we all took them anyway.

In the morning we stopped at Brevard Zoo Linear Park in Melbourne, Florida. Mark went for a run while I attended my monthly Poetry Circle via Zoom. After my Zoom meeting, I squeezed in a short walk before we hit the road again.

We spent the weekend with friends in Boca Raton, arriving late Saturday afternoon in time for dinner. Cliff and Susan were gracious hosts and we enjoyed walking/running in their neighborhood, relaxing by their pool, and eating out in Delray Beach on St. Patrick’s Day.

We said goodbye on Monday morning and travelled Alligator Alley (I-75) through The Everglades to Naples where we spent a few days with my dad.

My dad’s condo is right on the water, so I took my morning walks along a 1.25-mile paved path at the edge of the sand. Mark used the path, but ran along Gulf Shore Boulevard, as well. We also walked down the street to the Village Shops on Venetian Bay, went out for dinner at Mr. Big Fish one night, saw Cabrini at a brand-new fancy cinema nearby, and watched the sunset on our last night in Naples. Mark was able to visit with a couple of old friends who were staying in Naples, too.

All in all, we enjoyed the people and places we visited and the wildlife we encountered. We left Naples on a Thursday morning and headed back north, stopping at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary on the way. But that’s a story for another day… 🙂

From Wilmington…to Wilmington…

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Do you know how many places in the United States are named Wilmington? Don’t know? (Don’t care??) Well, if the Google can be trusted, there are thirteen. And many are in the eastern part of the country. So as we set out from Wilmington, MA, on another van trip, we thought it’d be fun to step foot in a few alternate Wilmingtons along the way.

After spending Monday morning packing the van, we headed west on the Mass Pike, stopping at Wells State Park in Sturbridge, MA, for some exercise.

The fresh air prepared us for a long afternoon of driving through Connecticut and New York, and into New Jersey. After getting past a disabled truck on the George Washington Bridge on-ramp, we watched the sunset over NYC from the bridge’s lower deck.

We arrived at our first campsite in Clarksboro, NJ, after dark and settled in for a cold night. Check out our site number. 🙂

On Tuesday morning, we headed toward Wilmington, Delaware. Not sure what we expected, but it was more city-ish and crowded than our own Wilmington.

After that, we crossed into Maryland, drove through Baltimore, and into Virginia.

We had to Google the three beautiful white towers. Turns out they’re part of a huge Mormon temple in Kensington, MD. In Virginia, we stopped at Tyson’s Corner Center to meet my brother, who lives and works nearby, for lunch.

From there, we drove south to Fredericksburg, VA, and camped for the night. We awoke to light rain on Wednesday morning. I’ll leave you with this image of our morning visitor.

More Wilmingtons and trip highlights to come… 🙂

Timing Is Everything

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I’ve said it before (ask my kids) and I’ll say it again (and again): timing is everything!

My husband is retiring — gradually. He plans to work one less day per week in each quarter of 2022. By the end of this year, he should only be working one day a week. But you know how plans go. Work has been crazy and his stress level is rising.

Our retirement plan is to travel around the country in a converted van, visiting National Parks, breweries, wild life sanctuaries, and (if my husband has his way) a few Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives. We bit the bullet at the end of last year and bought a Mercedes Sprinter. Titan Vans in Colorado has been hard at work fitting it with a bed and other amenities. It was supposed to be finished at the end of April. But, since nothing is safe from supply chain woes these days, they’ve been waiting for a single part of a suspension upgrade kit to come in.

Meanwhile, my chorus spent the last few months preparing for our annual regional competition. I say “annual”, but the event was unfortunately cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID concerns. It’s back on this year. But many choruses, including the one I belong to, voted to compete virtually. We planned to record and submit a video package. We set the recording date for May 5. Because of the supply chain issue with the van part, I was able to participate in the video. Timing.

On top of this, one of our adult children is experiencing one of those major life-events that makes you feel like the world is tipping sideways and out of control. This is the second such event in their life in the past six months. I’m glad my husband and I aren’t on the road just yet. Timing.

On another front, my mother has been settling — very slowly — into her new assisted living situation since February. I check on her several times a week to make sure the staff is really doing all that we agreed they’d do. Let’s just say it’s been a learning experience for all involved. My father should be returning from his Florida living at the end of May to join her and also to keep an eye on all the assistance she’s supposed to be getting. That’ll make it easier for me to step back a bit as my husband and I set out on our adventures. Timing.

Spring is in the air and that means gardening and yard work. The strawberries, peas, potatoes, beets, spinach, kale, and lettuce are all coming up already. I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to plant them before we head out to pick up our van. Now to get some netting around the blueberry bushes.Timing.

And we just got word from Titan Vans. The part came in. Timing!