Why?

Not a total stranger - but nothing more than an acquaintance really, asked "Why?"

Why are you doing this?  This sell most stuff, get the rest to the son's place and then ride off on the motorcycle?

'It's an adventure' wasn't the sort of answer he was wanting.   So, I really didn't know how to answer and the conversation went on from there.  And in the intervening months I've not seen the guy again.  I'm not going back to find him now that I've found the answer.

On this blog - 40on2 - the author told me the answer of why I'm doing this.  I've highlighted the really relevant paragraph.

"Shoot For No Regrets

 

I've spent a lot of time lately visiting my mother who just turned 90 years old.  She lives now at an assisted living residence, or as we used to say "the old folks home."  

Mom’s had a good life, is well loved by her family, and she and my dad traveled quite a lot over the 64 years they were married. 

I like to ask the people I meet at the retirement place about their life and give them a chance to talk.  Often no one really talks to them or asks them much of anything beyond the banal “How are you feeling today?”  

A few, like “Smitty,” who was part of the Anzio landing in WWII, or the very talkative lady who doesn't remember much but remembers performing on Broadway in the 50's, have had pretty amazing lives.  They DID things and saw things that became a part of them, and they remember those things.  And their kids and grandkids and great-grandkids might even remember someday. 

Sadly, most have no great stories, none beyond the fact that they worked and raised kids who hate to visit them now, or worse.  A few wrinkled faces sometimes look regretful about their lack of adventures.  That regretful look is painful to see because there is no way to undo it and they seem know they could have done things, could have had adventures, but didn't.

I believe that long time motorcycle riders have the spirit to do more than merely live.  Try not to be one of those who regrets what they did not do."

 

So... I'm doing the 'no regrets' thing and I'm also gonna have some stories to tell 25 years from now when I can no longer sit astride the bike and go have another wonderful day riding.

Everyone Needs Goals and Purpose

I had not noticed it until lunchtime today, an odd bit of behavior that is.

I’ve been living in San Antonio for 11 years now, since May of 2001.  In that time I’ve found some favorite places to eat.  Some have been and gone, some have remained.

Those that are still around have been getting a visit from me over the past couple months – since it was certain that I would not remain in SA, but move on to other places and other experiences.

So… at lunch I visited another of the favorite restaurants that are local only.  Slurping the great strawberry milkshake I realized that will be part of my quest for the next years – finding other places that make a great milkshake!

It gives my life purpose!

Another Checklist Tick-off

Princess Wu (left) and Genghis Khan have gone on to a new home with new folks to love ‘em.

In a way I’m sad to see them go as they helped me through the darkest hours of early 2011.

In a way I’m happy to see them go as they were starting to be a pain in the ass with their teenager-esk behavior of late.

But… It’s a necessary step toward my being able to move forward.

And I feel really really good with their new ‘parents’ Doug and Lori.  Nice folks with obvious compassion for animals.

The kids are in good hands.

Another Checkmark

I've got the bank check - he's got the car.

Sad in one way - happy in another.

Bye-bye!

2003 VW Jetta TDI

Time To Grow – Again

Bri and I were having a discussion where I was telling her about an epiphany I’d had in the middle of the night.  In just a few weeks I will be homeless – by choice.  We talked about how the unknown and unfamiliar is always scary.

Yeah, I know.  I’ve got the truck and trailer and I’m traveling by choice so in a way I am not really homeless.

But in reality I will be.  I’ll have no fixed address.  No ‘roof’ that I will return to when the travel is over.  Since getting out of the Navy in January of 1978 I have provided a fixed place to call home – rented from a landlord or from the mortgage company – for me and family.  In a few weeks that phase of life will be over – or at least on a lengthy hiatus. 

As Bri wrote in a follow-up email – “Although all this is scary, on the other hand I am convinced you are full of curiosity and anticipation to see new things.  Now your time has come, you had to wait so long for it.  And to live some time as a nomad will bring you so much positive experiences.  Time to 'grow' again."

Smart, insightful lady, my Bridget.

Another Step Closer

Working on getting all my ducks in a row for the June launch of "My Summer Vacation".

Picked up the trailer this morning.

Working on the next steps.

Truck and trailer combination in Texas ranch country.

Clever Animals

We humans are clever animals.  I write this in an aluminum tube speeding westerly at 35,000 feet.  Below I watched the light snakes – car headlights following the twists and turns in the roads – as their drivers and passengers started their work week by driving dozens of miles into the city environs to earn enough lucre to afford to live so far out in the country for their ‘quality’ of life.

Some ‘quality’ – 60 to 90 minutes in pack after pack of cars, all regulated by arbitrary traffic signals so that from on high they look like slowly moving dashes with occasional individual blobs of light between.

___   ..  .       ___     .  .    ___   …        ..    ___

At least 5 days – for some of these poor sods, 5½ or 6 days are needed to just keep up with the rest of the pack, let alone get ahead.  I can’t help but wonder at what level of the corporate hierarchy these moving lights reside?

(click pic to enlarge)

Now we try to outrace the coming dawn, but man cannot easily do this for the sun comes inexorably over the horizon to cast its light upon the land – and for the 2^nd of April its unseasonal heat too.

 

April 1^st and I had to turn the AC on last night to cool and dehumidify the house so I could actually sleep comfortably.  And the skeptics say there is no climate change happening.  Ostriches with their proverbial heads in the sand – or lacking sand, up their behinds.

As the plane moves further west the lights of civilization spread out – obviously few people live here – and I’ll bet they don’t commute into a city.  Most likely their work is right where they live – or close by at least.  Some might call these folks ‘real’ people as opposed to those city dwellers further east – and especially way further west!

But these folks live on the land and appreciate its vagaries and moods.  Those city folks – probably not so much as they commute from their air conditioned homes to their air conditioned offices in their air conditioned cars. 

Now, I will not turn off the AC when it’s needed, but this summer I hope – by riding the MC numerous times and essentially living in a mobile home so small that I’m going to have to be outside in my ‘living room’ – to get a bit more in touch with the variable nature of Mother Gaia.  I look forward to this opportunity.

All this thought as Southwest flight 711 in a Boeing 737 rose from the runway at SAT – San Antonio International Airport.  Over the 11 years I’ve lived in SA I’ve probably flown out of the airport three dozen times – give or take a few.  If my plans run true, this one was the last time out.  One more time in and then I may return to SA a time or three in the future, but this will be the last flight out.

I suppose I could say that the day I was laid off began a new chapter in my life, But the shock of that event took several weeks to work its way out of my consciousness.  Nebulous plans swirled about, misty and hazy things – long term goals and other concepts.  But those weren’t real.  Today, flying to Las Vegas to pay for my next few months transportation is a real event, more concrete – at least in my mind.  Life really is changing.  Stay tuned as the pace will quicken for some weeks before it’s all resolved.

Fluidity

Plans are an amazing human phenomenon.

We make 'em and swear that we're gonna follow 'em.

Maybe the first few steps in the plan go just as - well, you planned.

Then there's a variance - or six, thus "The best-laid plans of mice and men / Often go awry"

Back in an earlier post there was the general idea of divesting myself of 40 years of accumulated manly-man tool 'stuff' and then selling this house and moving on to an apartment to await next year so I could move to Gran Canaria and live happily ever after with Bridget.

Well, that last part is still in the plans - but the rest - we've met the enemy and he is me.

So here's the modification...

As I post this I’m in the middle of selling the house and a significant portion of a 40-year collection of ‘stuff’. Winnowing out what goes and what I keep versus what the son gets – and he’s gonna get a lot of stuff, tools and family memorabilia.

But in a few weeks I’ll be pared down to the true essentials and the son’s stuff. By late May I’ll load all that into a U-Haul and tote it to him in Sacramento. I’m planning to not leave anything behind here in Texas – except my ‘official’ residence for driver’s license and vehicle plates etc. After delivery I’ll fly back to SA.

The plan is for me to buy a small camp trailer (focused on a used one of these - Aliner - The original A-frame travel trailer or perhaps one of these Chalet folding travel trailers.

I’ll tow that behind a long-bed F150 pickup. I purchased a 2005 F150 fancy XL off of eBay on 3/29. Flying to Vegas on Monday 4/2 to pay and drive it back!



The Boulevard will go up a ‘Big Boy aluminum MC ramp’ (Big Boy Motorcycle Loading Ramps ) into the bed of the pickup where it will nestle nicely as we move our ‘home’ from place to place.

So in mid-June I’ll grab what’s left and head back to California, meeting the son and three grandsons in the eastern Sierra’s for a week’s camping.

All this means that by the 7th of July I’m gonna be ready to travel! The idea is to travel 50 to 350 miles in a day with the whole rig. Stay out in the boondocks if possible or find an inexpensive campground and park the whole rig. Stay in some sort of a campground if I’m gonna be riding for a smidgeon of security for the truck and trailer.

Being a native Washingtonian I’m going to go visit the family graveyard and see some old childhood haunts, knowing full well that they’re not as I remember. Visit some still living relatives, as I’ll probably not see them again – at least in this lifetime.

On the MC touring days I’ll unload the MC and ride whatever nearby twisty’s there are whether that takes a day or two. Then I’ll load’em up, wash, rinse and repeat. Don’t have to be at any one place at any time so the schedule can be adjusted as necessary as long as I meet the end date in September to be back in Sacramento.

For some folks this may seem like way too much regimented planning and not enough go-with-the-flow. But this sort of general planning seems to me to outline an idyllic summer holiday.

We'll assess how this plan survives when we meet the 'enemy' of the road.
 

Things

Books.  Clothes.  Tools.  Pots and pans.  Knives.  Frozen food.  Furniture.  Computer gear.  Personal papers.

Just Stuff. 

Moving on from being in one location for years to a new location is an exercise in evaluating the stuff that accumulates as one lives in one place for years.

What is important and what is not?  Hurrumph.  It was all important once.  Now?

How does one sort the stuff that has been life? 

Old directions.  Old hobbies.  Old learning.

That's a perfectly wonderful winter coat, but do I need a heavy winter coat if I do not intend to live in the snow and cold?

All those mundane objects are relatively easy to deal with, but tools.  Tools have been my life - professionally and personally.

Oh, the machinist tools are easy-ish.  Don't need the micrometers and such.  The 3/4" heavy-duty socket set is a no-brainer.  The years and years of accumulated nuts and bolts are gonna go too.  But all these tools going out of my life is like losing an old friend that was always there when needed.

Too much stuff.  Too many memories.  Too little time for a proper goodbye.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

Tonight's meal.  Skinless baked chicken. Green beans and sautéed mushrooms. Cauliflower. Spinach and baby greens salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Red wine.

A few weeks ago I was corresponding with a RV friend and he told me of his leaving all products that contain gluten out of his diet.  He detailed the health benefits he experienced in just two months of foregoing any product that contains cereal grains.  And he loves(d) cinnamon rolls!

I explored the concept of Paleo diets and came to the conclusion that I cannot follow them to the letter but I can emulate the concept as closely as possible.  This is the result.  Doggone tasty too!

 

---

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

---

So...

As a result of my 'forced' retirement my path seems to be diverging from earlier ideas and expectations.

As detailed earlier on this blog, I’ve met a lady – on the internet of course since we’re modern boys and girls – and we’re getting along famously.  Personalities seem very compatible and our point of view on many of the issues of the day seems to closely coincide – not necessarily match mind, but not too disparate.  I’ve visited and she’s gonna visit in April and then I’m planning on spending September with her, and etcetera.

She’d be more than happy to come and spend a decade or two living in a caravan traveling hither and yon, but for the fact that her 16 1/2 year old daughter isn’t out of school just yet. Yes, Bri is a decade younger than me.

One more small issue to deal with – she’s lived on Gran Canaria for the past 25 years.  She’s loathe to leave her job as personal assistant to the CEO of a multinational family owned hotel chain.

Unless some unexpected event or personality quirk derails this train it seems that I’m gonna go spend a bit of time living in Spain and on Gran Canaria island.  Actually, it’s a good thing in my mind.  Not too much to get bored with there – have to learn a new (for me) language – Canarian Spanish – a bit different than ‘regular’ Spanish I’m told.  Bri has to still work so that leaves the entire day for me to play a ‘house husband’ role with the cooking and gardening chores.  And then if I buy a small motorcycle or scooter I can easily explore the small villages along the shore and in the mountains.  So, a new culture to immerse myself in and stuff to see, learn and do.

Another plus is the ability to travel and sightsee in Europe.  Since Bri has been in the same position for 17 years and working for the company for 20, she gets significant vacation time and we can and plan to take some of that time for a week in Spain, a week in the wine country of France, Ireland in August and Italy often.

Now, to paint and sell the house here in SA, get to 62, start the pension and SS, deal with the visas and other red tape that it will take to get into Spain as a resident while keeping all of the paperwork and red tape of the USA at bay.  I expect to move in about 12 months – or just shy.  It’s gonna be an interesting year!

Second Day of Retirement - Bleh!

Sleep?  No so much.  Too many thoughts going way too fast.

Austerity is damn scary.  Witness the riots in countries where it is a societal scourge.

Personal financial austerity is scary too.

Going from a 'comfortable' mid-five figure income that paid the bills and allowed frequent spending on small 'luxuries' to bare bones, think about it for a week, only if it's a necessity spending is stark.

What a change of mindset all in the space of a day.

Whew!

First Day of "Retirement" - Yeah!

A great day!

No alarm!  Yeah!

Sunny and warm!  Yeah!

Motorcycle ride!  Yeah!

Prospects (hope it works out) of a contract job!  Yeah!

Now... Back to the grind of doing what is necessary to make all the plans, hopes and dreams into reality.  This merits a Boo! a Hiss! and then a soft, whispered yeah.