beach:o'clock

   Refections in my mind

Some may call it karma, sh_t happens, fate…whatever…but I believe God has a plan for each of us. If He does, why make plans and set goals? I believe God sets out a big picture plan but gives us latitude in our day to day fumbling. Well if you are like me I have and do fumble a lot and sometimes the big Guy steps in when a correction is needed to get back on course. In charge or not, I still plan, still set goals…cause who knows.

So it is 2017. What is the plan/goals? I guess I should at least set some high level plans and then see how much God laughs as I work through them. We have now been in our new place over 3.5 months and I still don’t feel settled and in a routine. It seemed as soon as we got in the place and started a routine then Thanksgiving hit, Christmas hit, guests came and went, etc…It is very difficult to stay on a routing, stay active, not over eat and drink when visitors are around and you gather for holiday dinners, sugar is around in one form or another everywhere and finally you are blahhhh. 1st plan or goal is to get back on routine, get more regularly active, and reduce much of the blah.

I would really like to travel a little this year. Travel is not cheap though. Actually the traveling part is not bad but the cost once you get there..ouch! Lodging, food, transportation, … you know the drill. I would love to get a trip back to the Seattle area where Katie and Sean live so we can see them and visit old friends. I would love to get a trip to Virginia where Lisa lives to visit her and also do the DC circuit. I would love to take a trip to the Keys, the Caribbean islands, maybe Mexico. Finally I would really like to take a lengthy trip to Spain and Portugal. As you can see this is all just a wish list for now with no plan. I guess I should be happy if I can at least get 1-3 of these accomplished this year.

What about activities? I want to play more tennis and as always get on the beach almost everyday. A little more time in the pool would be nice also. It all sounds great but there are still times where one is board. There is a good chance I will start actively consulting this year. Also I have been asked to & encouraged to write a book. Both the consulting and writing would be somewhat challenging. It is one thing to sit and write a blog post and it may not look like much but it takes a bit of thought and a bit of time. Writing a book is much different though. I am not sure if I have the focus and concentration to stay on topic for the time it would take to put a book together. I get board and distracted easily and quickly. I have the suggested topic so maybe I will see if I can at least get a draft outline. What do you think?

One thing I know is that I truly value my time. I hesitate to do anything to have my time dictated or controlled. If I do an activity it would need to be very very worthwhile. Oh and then there is that God plan thing. I guess in the end it is not my time but His time He is giving me to use. I better allow time for His plan. It would be great if we could get those plans in sync!

2017 may end up very active and busy or maybe kicked back and relaxed. Once I get more clarity on my plans and get them approved by Denise 🙂 then the execution begins. If I am still banging on the keyboard you may hear about some of them. Experiences are more fun when shared, even after the fact.

Do you have plans? Goals? Set some, make them BIG, strive to make them real and then step back and listen for someone laughing. It is most likely the Big Guy enjoying the comedy. Good luck, we can all use it!

As always comments or questions are welcome. I hope you enjoy the attached pictures.

RB

 

Life is about having experiences not things. Well those experiences keep coming!

Around the middle of December, Denise started having some problems with her right eye. We ended up going to the Minute Clinic at CVS drug just before Christmas. She had an infection so the Nurse Practitioner prescribed some drops and things started to get better. After Christmas though it was worse again. Back to the clinic on the 28th, a change of drops and an antibiotic. The Nurse said Denise may need to see an Ophthalmologist if there was no improvement in a day or two and she would call Saturday (New Years Eve) to see how she was doing.

The Nurse was great and followed up by phone on Saturday afternoon. Due to the eye discomfort and worsening condition the nurse told her to go to the emergency room early Sunday (Jan 1) in order to see an Ophthalmologist ASAP. We had a brand new insurance plan that started that morning (1/1/17) so I made sure our nearest hospital was on the plan. We headed to a large regional hospital around 7:30AM. Soon after 8AM they bring us back to an ER room. They administered all the basic initial poking and prodding for weight/height, temp, pressure, family history, Roman history, Chung Dynasty history and finally around 8:20am we were told the doctor would be with us shortly.

Outside at 8AM it may have been 74 degrees but these rooms could double as a morgue, brr…. We sat and sat and finally the Doc came in and did more specific poking and prodding. He said Denise has a Corneal Ulcer (infection) and needs to see an Ophthalmologist ASAP. He said ‘it is a holiday so he will need some time to get someone’. It was just past 9:30AM when the Doctor finally came back in and said they needed to ‘transfer’ us to St. Mary’s Hospital down in Palm Beach because he couldn’t find an Ophthalmologist on staff and St. Mary’s had an Ophthalmology department. He said we needed to see an Ophthalmologist ASAP. He was on the phone speaking directly to the lead ER Doctor at St. Mary’s at around 9:45AM and told him we would arrive at their ER in 45 minutes. The place was a 25-30 minute ride. I said I would bring her down but the doctor said I can’t do that. They have to ‘transport’ her. I guess some kind of liability issue??? So we were told to wait a minute. We waited and waited and waited it was now after 11am and we were frozen so we went to go chase the nurse when all the sudden 2 EMTs show up with a big ambulance gurney. Now remember this was her eye, not a hip, a leg, an ankle or even a big toe. They strapped her in and Denise was off for her very first ambulance ride and I was in the chase car. I couldn’t even ride shotgun 🙁 .

We arrived at St. Mary’s ER around noon and went through all the basic normal poking and prodding again. I guess they need to verify the previous results. We were told to await in the ER room for the doctor, at least it wasn’t an ice box. Finally the doctor from the phone comes in. He double checks all the other doctor’s poking and prodding and says “you need to see an Ophthalmologist ASAP. No Ophthalmologist is here today so first thing Monday morning (1/2/17) call this Ophthalmologist” and he gave us a referral paper… AHGGGGG!!!!!! By now it is around 2PM so we have now wasted 7:30AM to 2PM on New Years day/morning and massive insurance costs just to find out exactly what the Nurse told us at the Minute Clinic. WE NEED TO SEE AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST ASAP!

We left the ER tired and hungry and laughing so we wouldn’t cry. The ER gave Denise a couple more prescriptions for more  & different drops. We have a Walgreen’s close to our home so stopped there only to find out that all the Walgreen’s pharmacies are closed for the Holiday (it is now New Years Day) except one and we would need to go there. Our insurance dictates only Walgreens. We drive all the way there and drop of the script and they said it will take 1.5-2 hours. This was fine as we need to get something to eat. We go back 1.5 hours later and Denise goes in to get the drugs only to be told that they do not carry it in stock. We tried Walmart, CVS, etc…no one carries this drug but it can be ordered with a 2 day wait. We also had called the ‘referred’ Ophthalmologist on Sunday (New Years Day) and left a message in order to get a call back for an appointment as early as possible on Monday morning. Monday came and we waited, but no call back. We called the Ophthalmologist again only to find out that NO ONE is open on Jan 2, Monday, due to the holiday on a weekend and we needed to wait another day.

During this time I tried to call the new insurance company (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) just to make sure we are doing everything right. Well all calls are answered by a call center that is not in the USA (I asked due to the accent). They said we could not go to see the Ophthalmologist without a referral from our primary care doctor (PCP) not the emergency DR.. We have no clue who the PCP is and never saw them since this is day 2 of the policy. They said ‘dems da rules’ and if we went to the specialist without the PCP referral we would have to pay 100%.

On Tuesday morning, Jan 3, we called the number of the ‘referred’ Ophthalmologist and they said they would squeeze her in at 1:15 and asked for our referral number. We said we will call back soon with one. Blue Cross had automatically assigned us a PCP and it was not near where we lived. We called the PCP, told them we had been to ER and needed a referral# to go to an Ophthalmologist that the ER doctor said we needed to see ASAP. They said we could come in at 11AM to get the referral as the doctor needs to see us in order to give one. We called the Ophthalmologist back and said we should be able to make it at 1:15 since we see the PCP at 11AM to get the referral and would bring it with us. The Ophthalmologist nurse asked us to call a number she gave us and they would also give us a number which they need. Our insurance was adamant that we had to get the referral from the PCP or they won’t cover the visit to the specialist. Our PCP office is pretty far south of us so we take off. We get there around 10:45 (early for our appointment). The place was packed with people, we checked in and were told our number would be called shortly. It wasn’t until around noon that we were called back into where the doctor sees people. Guess what, yes, more poking and prodding by the nurse and again we are told to wait for the doctor. Our Ophthalmologist appointment is 1:15. Well at about 12:50 we call the Ophthalmologist to say we are about 15 minutes away but are waiting for our PCP to get a referral and probably will be a little late.

The Ophthalmologist office said they already had the referral from the number they had us call. WHAT!, Shit!, we have been waiting for hours again for???? We get up to walk out of the doctors office when the PCP doctor finally walks in. We explain the story and she said as long as we are there she may as well give us her referral but no we hadn’t needed to wait previously. She did ask us to come back right after the Ophthalmologist so she could process Denise as a patient. We raced out of there at 1:09PM and get to the Ophthalmologist at 1:24 and finally get in. Long story short, okay long story long, The specialist checked her eye, gave her some drugs that now seem to be relieving the discomfort.

So Happy New Year to anyone who read this far. We now have a new ‘new years’ experience to remember. Here also are a few pictures from Christmas.

As always feel free to share the blog, ask any questions, or provide any remarks.

RB.

It has been a while since I have sat down to focus on collecting my thoughts. Maybe because my thoughts have been so scattered lately. But damn, when you start receiving messages wondering if we are Ok, or where are we, just because I haven’t sent a blog posting lately, sheesh, the pressure, and the stress. Well we have been busy.

Our short-term temporary stay in The Villages, Florida came to an end. This was mainly meant as a transition back into the USA from Panama. We were able to visit, get a car, re-establish things like licenses and insurances (Obamacare$$$ is enough to make us leave the country again – what crap!) as well as go through a few items we had in storage. We really hoped to go through more storage stuff but it ended up being impractical at the time.

After a lot of research and searching we ended up finding a longer-term residence at the beach in Jupiter, Florida. Jupiter is a great area. We looked further south in areas such as Boca Raton and Delray Beach but could not find anything at the beach to our liking. Also those areas were quite busy and crowded. They were like cities that, oh by the way had a beach whereas Jupiter feels very much like a beach town. I lived here for most of a year back in 2011 and really enjoyed the miles of beaches and the wonderful Tiki bars i.e. Square Grouper

A new adventure started for us as we prepared to leave The Villages. We rented a big old honkin 26′ truck and loaded up our storage unit. We were in a race. A Race, you ask? Yes a race with Mother Nature. Hurricane Matthew was about to hit right in the Jupiter area. We needed to drive 4 hours south, attend a condo orientation in order to get our keys, and then scramble to empty our truck before the storm hit in 48 hours. We were frickin exhausted but made it. We live on the 3rd floor so it was a bit of an effort making all those trips up and down the small elevator. On day two in Jupiter we were able to return the truck and get a few provisions as we followed the storm track. We were still inside the ‘cone of uncertainty’ for landfall/direct-hit but indications were trending that it would push a little north, and it did.

Hurricane night was pretty fascinating. The rain wasn’t all that bad but the wind was impressive. We felt pretty safe. We were just outside of the mandatory evacuation zone. Our building is 30 years old, 5 floors and pretty solid. It was interesting to watch the wind incrementally increase as the hours went by. Around 10pm, when we lost power, the wind started topping 70+ mph and that was not gusts but continuous. Around 1-2am we were having 100-115mph winds. I expected doors and windows to rattle. They didn’t but the howling was impressive. By the next morning we were back to 40-70mph wind with rain and power came back on. We did not see much damage other than tree branches. Another adventure for the travel logs!

During the weeks that we have been in our new place we have been trying to get set up. We had lots of boxes to empty, things to arrange, and efforts to make us feel at home. Denise had the bulk of the work unfortunately. As any empty unfurnished place, it needed a really good DEEP cleaning before we would feel comfortable. As many guys know that usually falls to the spouse. I am not being sexist, it just usually does. I emptied a lot of boxes and have been assisting Denise in her decorating and arranging tasks. Things like hang drapes, wall hangings, bed skirts (what’s a bed skirt for?), etc…

During my down time, I of course ended up sitting with the Mac for hours until I was ‘needed’. On the positive side, my twitter account, @rbillock, reached over 10K followers and continues to grow. You are invited to follow. On the negative side, I ended up getting caught up on politics on Facebook. I was most likely ‘unfollowed’ by everyone due to the incessant political bullshit shoved in my face and of course my responses. If I were you I would have ‘unfollowed’ me also. Now that that crap is over and we are all possibly socialist commies feel free to re-follow and I will try to be good.

We are starting to enjoy our new home. We really like the location and setup. We have had numerous wonderful beach walks and many nice days/evenings at waterside beach bars. We even found a real nice Irish Pub as well as a very local coffee shop within walking distance. Our tennis game has started back up. We still play AT tennis meaning just back and forth, not keeping score, exercise. Maybe soon we will start to actually play. Even though we have not been keeping track I am sure when we start to keep score Denise, having already tracked our progress, will claim to have won 7 of the last 10 sets!

One of the great things over the last two months besides the weather and beach is that we have gotten to visit with Lisa twice. We met her at Disney Orlando for a few days when she was there for a conference. We was also staying at the Breakers Palm Beach last month so we picked her up and she was the first visitor to stay at our new place. We had a great time at the beach and Tiki Bars. It was so great to see her.

Our new place has a wonderful large balcony that overlooks a swimming pool, pond, and large protected marina. The yachts coming and going are amazing. Panama was a beautiful paradise but Jupiter and our new place is also a wonder of its own. The ‘table with a view’, well it is our patio table I am sitting at right now, drinking my mimosas, and looking out at our new beautiful view.

Here are some new pictures you might enjoy and as always comments, questions, or suggestions are welcome.

BTW…I re-did my blog site. Did you notice? Better? Worse? Do you care?

RB

We have now been back in the USA for 2.5 months. We have been in a short term rental in a place called The Villages, FL. It is very near Ocala in the north center of the state. Denise’s parents and my mom live here. It is a 55+ community with currently about 115,000 people and 540 holes of golf and still growing. There are only approximately 3% of the population in our age group according to demographics from 2014. If you advance about 15+ years older than us then the percentage goes WAY up. Yes, lots of Silver and bald heads but regardless there is lots a person can do.

Denise and I have been trying to get a routine going. We are not feeling as ‘healthy’ or active as we were before getting here. Since we left the beach the tan has toned down a little and my clothes are not fitting as well. I have even greatly reduced my alcohol intake as well as continuing to eat pretty good. There is just something about being at and walking on the beach that just keeps me in much better health/shape. We will be back to the beach soon – more to follow.

We have started playing AT tennis 2-3 times a week. I say ‘AT’ since we are not yet at a stage I would call actually playing the game. It is good exercise though. Especially the part where you have to run outside the fence and chase the ball as well as the constant bending down to pick them up off the ground. We definitely can see an improvement from when we started playing but we don’t keep score, though I wonder if secretly Denise is doing so. She is so competitive. After tennis, Denise and I have been going and sitting on the patio at Dunkin Donuts and having a morning coffee (just coffee) – relaxing and cooling down.

We try to ‘work-out’ 2-3 times a week. There is a park with a rubberized path that we walk  to and in a certain area there is outdoor resistance equipment that uses your own weight as a counter-balance. It is not a lot but it is something. Most residents just use this and almost all other areas as a dog walk. I think it is mandatory that every resident have at least 1-3 dogs.

We try and get to the pool 2-3 times a week. We try to go for at least 1 hour and we take our noodles and float/kick around in the deeper end, 5-8 feet usually. In Panama we never saw a pool that was deeper than 4.5 feet. Most folks are a little shorter there :). You can actually get good exercise doing this. In Panama we were doing this anywhere from 5-7 days a week and sometimes 2X a day. We find that hard to do here. Not just because we need to take the golf cart to get to the pool vs in Panama we just walked up one floor to the roof pool but we find the weather here is being a real detriment to activity. For at least the time we have been here, the weather has been very HOT and very WET. Panama was hot all the time but central Florida does not have the ocean breeze and the humidity can be stifling during the morning/afternoon. I do not think I have ever seen so much rain – EVER. In June it was raining every mid-afternoon so you needed to do things just in the morning and evening. Next it continued having storms in the late afternoon and evening so our evening swimming was interrupted. Why does rain interrupt swimming? This is not just rain but rolling and rumbling continuous thunder and lots of lightening and very heavy cloud bursts. Can’t be in the pool or even out in that stuff. Maybe the season will begin to fade?

Other than that we have been pretty much relegated to being in doors in the A/C. We did go to a lakeside bar called Gator Joes and also saw the old Ma Barker’s hangout where they got taken out by the FBI. Kind of the original Waco. We have also been over to Denise’s folks place a number of times and I also have seen my mom a couple times. It is nice to catch up. We played Shuffleboard with Denise’s parents. The women smoked us guys. We hope to start playing some golf in the evening if the rain allows. We have heard it is the rainy season and we heard this season is more wet than normal but it also seems that we get more rain where we live vs other areas of The Villages. Guess it is just my dark cloud following me.

Denise and I took our first trip down the south east coast to look for an area to live long term while also celebrating our 31st anniversary. We have narrowed our search to Delray Beach and Jupiter/Juno Beach areas. We were able to stop in at the Square Grouper Tiki Bar (my old haunt) and a great Irish bar in Palm Beach. We will go again in a few days to do more in-depth analysis of the areas and maybe find a long term rental home. There is a lot less rain down there.  Our requirements are that the development has a pool(s), tennis court(s), fitness center, a place Denise can work on her mosaics, AND walking or at least biking distance to the beach. We also wanted to be within reasonable distance of a major airport, the cruise terminal, and easy access to the Keys. Thus our focus on the SE coast vs the gulf. Shopping conveniences are important as well as the population mix. We like a diverse mix but we would prefer to be the older ones vs the other way around. We have a lot of in-person research coming up. Our chosen areas looks promising.

It will be great to get settled in a more permanent place especially for Denise. We have a 10×15 storage unit full of what we moved from Washington so we have to move that stuff. She will be happy to get her hands on her own things again. Once we get settled we can then plan for our next adventure and/or maybe entertain guests. All of those that are invited have already received your invitations. Denise personally selected and sent them out to make sure it got done.

Just kidding, nothing was sent out – yet! Well that is it for now. Tennis, pool, park, coffee, blah, blah, blah…I know tuff life. Actually pretty boring for what we had been previously experiencing but hey, somebody has to do crazy and leisurely stuff.

As always, enjoy the pictures and let me know if you have any comments or questions. BTW – what’s with a trampoline event as an olympic sport. The world has gotten so soft!

RB

 

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, off twerk I go. OK after spending the last 1-2 years in deep thought I decided to end ‘recess’ and go back twerk. During this period of contemplation I tried to decide what I would do with my life. I really didn’t want the 8-5 so I thought I would be better off owning my own business. I believe I have come up with a number of good and profitable ideas that also would serve humanity. I believe I can even franchise the business opportunity to others with similar drive and ambition and even take it internationally. I really wanted to do something meaningful and that people would find of great value. Making some extra cocktail change was also a consideration. As I embark on this new endeavor I would really appreciate your patronage to my business(es).

The idea that took top honors stemmed from the fact that over the last 1-2 years living at or near the beach, I almost exclusively did not wear shoes. We were in a perpetual Flip Flop Zone! Flip Flops can be found most anywhere and any decent ones are not terribly cheap. It takes a bit of time to break in a new Flip Flop pair. Once broken in you never want to be without them. Like an old pair of jeans, they become part of you. They may look bad, may smell at times, but they are yours. Denise has said on multiple occasions, ‘those are disgusting, why don’t you throw them away’? NO WAY, until that devastating day when you are walking down a gravel road and BAMM! You have a Flip Flop blow out. Of course Denise says, ‘I told you to get rid of those’!  I then had to walk very painfully in gravel with my Flip Flop dragging behind. I am sure many of you have experienced this tragic event, a good and old friend on Flip Flop life support. This spawned my idea for a great business opportunity.

My business will be a Flip Flop repair shop. It can be an e-business as well as brick and mortar. My business will, for a nominal price, receive your hurting ‘old friends’. We will make them all better (repair), dust them off, treat with disinfectant, and then return them to you for many more days of wear. My company is called ‘Booty And The Beach’. To generate initial interest and business we will run a daily special of ‘free beer tomorrow’. It is a can’t lose opportunity. There are tons of Flip Flops for sale which tells you there must be Flip Flop blow outs happening hundreds and maybe thousands of times a day all over the world. For franchise information and applications visit www.bootyandthebeach.com. I am also accepting outside investors for the low entry price of $25K so get in while the getting is good. Contact us with all you Blow Out needs.

Another equally great idea, but hey I can only do so much at one time, is a water and chemical extraction process. I haven’t yet perfected the process yet (patent pending) but the general idea is to extract certain residual chemicals from drinking and waste water where they are free and then re-introduce those chemicals, concentrated, into new and sought after products. A few examples: in Florida, I would extract Oxycodone from the water. This should be an easy process since there are so many users with the population down here. I would then market new products like OxyTee or maybe a sports drink. Who needs that nasty tasting chamomile tee to calm them when they can have some low cost instant concentrated OxyTee. Also, with it in a sports drink, the athlete will feel less pain from their strenuous weekend activities.

In the Pacific Northwest, I would extract all kinds of good chemicals especially starting with caffeine. Who needs a $4-6 cup of coffee when this can be re-introduced very inexpensively in consumable products that people will love. The PNW also has lots of other great chemicals in their lakes and streams. How do you think they can put up with living in a cloud for 9 months of the year? The opportunities are endless. This idea takes a bit more development and engineering so I have decided to focus on the Flip Flop repair business. Overhead is much lower since duct tape, string, gorilla glue, and lysol are much less capital intensive. Get those Flip Flops repaired now! For add on sales I plan to offer Bikini repair services. This is a mobile service and the repair can be done right on the beach or at the pool at the time of need. Just download the Booty and the Beach mobile App from your favorite App store.

So really now, we have been back in the USA from Panama for just over a month. We are living for 3 more months in The Villages tormenting our parents. Later this year we plan on heading down the southeastern seaboard to find a long-term rental. So far our qualifications are walking distance to the beach, close to a major airport, close to major cruise terminal, easy access to the Keys and other Caribbean Islands. We continue to try and turn old dreams into today’s realities. That area will also be a great location for Booty and the Beast Flip Flop and Bikini repairs! Once settled, some of you are welcome to come and visit.

As always words, phrases, opinions, and comments are mine and mine only. Feel free to send a thought or comment and I will feel free to respond or ignore. Bye – headed to the pool!

RB

A few pictures to share

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This is my beach hat. I have had more comments about this hat than anything I can ever remember. Over the years this hat went through two different Dude Ranch Trips, many trips to the beach, a year at the ocean in Panama, etc… It is well over 10 years old and has traveled many miles. Mostly people say – cool hat, nice hat, I like your hat AND most say where did you get that hat? Well it is hand woven and made from paper. If anyone asks I will tell them that it was handmade by a native on an island in the Caribbean. That’s as close to an answer that folks will get. I like my hat and wear it everyday.

I have always enjoyed adventures, traveling, seeing and experiencing new things, places, food, and people. Well, sometimes maybe not all the people but at least enough to keep it interesting. I seem to get board and an itch for change if I am stationary for too long of a time. I have also come to avoid people if in groups of over about 8. No it is not a magic number but if there are more folks than that you are almost guaranteed that the interaction will be superficial at best, noisy with multiple conversations at once, and no one really paying attention. To me life is too short for these interactions. Ya, just me….

I have, of late, had people toss different labels out saying are you this… are you that…? Everyone always wants to put everyone in a box. Lately I had been labeled a Gringo and an Ex-Pat. One is just slang in Spanish/Latin countries for just about anyone, especially an American, who is not Hispanic or Latino. The other is short for Expatriate that is nothing more than a person who lives outside their native country. I have been guilty on both counts. I guess these labels fit.

On a more grand scale terms like Nomad, Wanderer, and Vagabond have surfaced. Hey just quit calling me names! You must be Racist! 🙂 Sticks and Stones… I guess the good side is these names do have more than 4 letters. I have been called worse. Well I began to wonder, do some of these labels describe me?

A nomad is always a part of a larger group that keeps traveling in search of stuff, mainly food and shelter. So, they have an aim in mind when they travel. Nah, I don’t see me as part of a larger group with a specific aim. A wanderer is someone who will travel without any motive to fulfill. Hmm…this shoe may come closer to fitting. I just like travel, adventure, and change. A vagabond is a person who travels without any destination or time period in mind. No, not me. I almost always have some broad plan and timetable. I do like some structure.

So doesn’t everyone like vacation and travel? These labels refer to more than just the travel of an average Joe (no offense meant Joe). Also vacationing and living somewhere are two very different things. Well for us, we have been quite different than average. I always thought of myself as ‘above’ average but others may have a different opinion. So where am I going with this? It might be good to first know where I (we) came from to know where I am going with this.

We both are originally from Ohio. I always felt Ohio was a good place to be ‘from’. It seems like; many people in Ohio never leave their hometown or have a desire to do so. I believe many Ohioans think they needed a passport to enter the next county (no r). It seemed in Ohio, if you really wanted a job you could eventually find something but the pay was usually just enough to get by on but never enough to leave. This ‘same old..same old..’ environment was quite stifling to me. During that time in Ohio, when old enough, I left for periods of time. I backpacked two different summers through Northern Europe, would often drive to DC and/or Florida just because and frequently would go to Cleveland or Pittsburg Airport and watch the big planes coming and going. Yes there were actually accessible observation decks to watch from. I proved that you don’t need much money to travel. I was just a farm boy saving nickels, dimes, and quarters.

We, yes now it is a ‘we’, left Ohio to live in Virginia for a while. From there we located to Georgia. After experiencing the humidity, mosquitoes and poison ivy we collected up our cotton and peaches and pushed on to Oklahoma (yes I sang the movie song to spell that). Being an Okie was a unique experience but it didn’t take long to get bored of buffalo and prairie dogs. Denise would say, the ‘Sooner’ we leave Oklahoma the better and the best view of Oklahoma is in the rearview mirror. Washington State was the next destination. These moves were largely due to work. Join the Army, travel to exotic lands, meet different and unusual people, and kill them. In those days when Uncle Sam spoke we listened, but there was a bit of choice involved also.

After 10 years in the Army we returned to Ohio. Our families were largely still there. We were gone for quite some time so it was good to become re-acquainted. Well after a couple years the time came and we were on the road again. Utah was next on the list. We spent a couple of years there and after a couple failed conversion attempts we returned to Washington State where we stayed for the longest period of time – 25 years. While in Washington I was able to go to Europe many times for work but also travel around the EU. We also, whenever we possibly could, headed to a beach. This was at times Hawaii as well as Florida. The beach always had a magical draw. That is where my heart feels at home.

After those years in Washington and as the nest began to empty we put our desires together. We always wanted to be at the beach, warm, and have adventure. After research and planning we put things in motion and ended up living right on a tropical beach in Panama. It is hard to explain what we experienced – amazing beauty, object poverty, wonderful simplicity, extreme satisfaction and extreme boredom, a few wonderful folks, and peace. Third world and First world clashes. To steal some words from a fellow traveller, who actually wrote about Costa Rica, this somewhat sums it up for me:

“I love Panama because shoes are always optional. Sunrises and sunsets set my sleep schedule. My neighbors are surfers and sloths (these are animals not individuals). I love Panama because I can drink chocolate for breakfast and call it healthy…It’s totally acceptable to live in a swimsuit, bikini or yoga pants. I love Panama because nature comes first and takes over if I forget. Days move slowly and transformation happens rapidly. Life expresses itself vibrantly. I love Panama because it’s normal to be weird. We can all be different and still live in harmony. I feel safe to be authentically me…Adios for now Panama, you’re forever in my heart.”

We are back in the USA, for now. We are in Florida. Our plans are to set up a ‘home-base’ most likely at the beach somewhere on the SE coast. We want quick and easy access to a major airport. From there we will plan and launch our next adventures. So what (que) am I (are we)? I guess ‘Wanderers’ fit best but remember ‘sticks and stones’!

Enjoy the few pictures and feel free to send questions, comments, or criticisms.

RB

After over a year without a car we had to get one.