Retirement Begins

Foggy View From Our Cabin

Our first week of retirement at home. Last week, we cabin camped at Bahia Honda State Park with three other couples. Eleven months ago, I had been at the ready on my computer exactly at 9:00 AM and managed to snag two cabins.

By the time I was finished, all the other cabins and all the campsites were reserved. Florida so needs more state park campsites and cabins. And Floridians should get a head start on making reservations.

The Crew at Bagatelles 

The beginning of the week was windy (30 mph) and cold (low 30’s in Fort Lauderdale with frozen iguanas falling out of the trees), so we spent days walking in the sun, and evening happy hours inside the cabins rather than sitting around the fire. One day we visited the Key Deer Refuge. Another one a trip to Key West, tour of the Audubon House or Old Town Trolleys, and dinner at Bagatelle’s, our group having the upper deck all to ourselves 

I am charged with getting cabins for next year. May the goddess of good computer entry be at my side, her energy flowing through my fingertips.

Great Egret

This week we walked Key Biscayne beach every morning with my charging ahead until my timer rings and I head back, picking up Grant, and walking back to our condo at a leisurely pace. Afterwards we’ve gone to my doctor’s appointment to have the stitches taken out of my scalp, picked up new hearing aids for Grant, ate dinner at darling and delicious Balloo (Caribbean Thai Japanese Filipino Fusion),  drove to Windermere to see houses (and may have found one), paper work paper work paper work, turned in Grant’s UM computer and given his boss all the passwords he might need, laundry, had lunch with Patten and Ryann (Pho 79) and with Marjorie (Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza), attended service at our congregation (River of Grass Unitarian Universalist), all in anticipation of our trip Friday to Okinawa, Japan to see Remus Takeo Warner, our grandson born last Friday. Seven pounds, twelve ounces, he and mom Mary both absolutely perfect, big sister Isabella and dad Ryan ecstatic.

The Cat Man
Mallory Square, Sunet

Once we got the call that she was heading to the hospital, I was anxious, not knowing how labor was going. I didn’t even enjoy the Cat Man and his performing cats.

Mary is healthy, and her pregnancy uneventful, but worry is my job. She called a couple of hours later when we were at dinner in Key West so the whole crew passed around the phone to see her and the new baby. Another quick, easy labor. In fact, so quick the antibiotic shot Mary got didn’t have time to work, so she stayed in the hospital an extra day while Remi was observed for any signs of Strep B.

Full Moon

We walked over to the beach to watch the full moon rise. Even though the temperature reached almost 90° today, the ocean breeze cooled the evening air. God, I love being at the beach, just watching the waves. We sat in Adirondack chairs at the private beach we can use because we joined the Key B Community Center. What lucky, lucky people we are.

My day was filled with learning about Medicare and its various permutations. I joined AARP and made an appointment with their long term care insurance sales person. I also made an appointment with SHINE, Florida's program to help elderly people learn about health care. I printed out the UM information on retirement, and I read Schwab articles about re-balancing our portfolio to manage our wealth.

Then I indulged myself and began thinking what 2020 will be like for us. In January, we will have our annual, and maybe last, cabin camping with old friends, this time at Bahia Honda. Then, Okinawa in February to see our new grandchild, due mid-January. As long as we're that far, maybe visit my sister in New Zealand and stop by Hawaii to see friends in Hilo on the way home.

After watching too many You Tube videos about van life, I concluded perhaps we should buy a motor home and tour the US. We could put the rest of our stuff in storage, pick up our Orlando granddaughter when school is out and go. A summer of bison and canyons. I'll need to start making reservations for the big national parks.

I pitched this idea to Grant as we sat at the beach. The full moon finally came out from behind the clouds on the horizon, glowing gold as if in tribute to the 50th anniversary this week of the lunar landing. What a gorgeous sight. However, even in the glow of the moon path, Grant was hesitant to sign onto my plans without seeing spread sheets of projected income and expenses.
I feel like one of those NASA engineers, trying to think of all that could go wrong with our own moon shot, then coming up with a plan to get us there. At least I have a better computer than NASA, in 1969,ever dreamed of.