Hometown Memories

I wanted to get away from my Ireland obsession and share news from my hometown.

I live in the same community in which I was born and raised. I only moved away for a time for college but still called this small town in southern Illinois home. Although I often bemoan the fact that I still live here I have to say that overall it's been a good place for me and I do love my life here. There are certain disadvantages such as Illinois taxes, slim job opportunities, and being 2 1/2 hours from the nearest major airport or city of any size. But it has been nice to raise my children where I was raised and allow them to be close to their grandparents, to know the history of the place from a personal perspective, and to belong to and participate in the community. Now my parents are gone but all my children have chosen to call this small community home and I have grandchildren close to enjoy and be a part of their lives. My glass has always been the one that's half full. 

One of my favorite things in town is Fort Massac State Park. I was raised only a few blocks from the park and have so many wonderful memories of time spent there. The Park was like my backyard playground. That was in the day when it was safe to let your (older) children wander miles from home looking for fun and adventure. The Park was where we had Girl Scout Day camp, birthday parties, bicycle rides, school picnics and even foxhunting with my Dad. Regardless of the season we always had something to do.

Girl Scout Camp around 1970

Fort Massac was the first state park in Illinois and is the site of Fort Massac or Massiac which was the last French fort built in New France in the 18th century. The Fort is the site where George Rogers Clark came ashore to begin his trip overland to Kaskaskia during the Revolutionary War. It was also a stopping place for the Lewis and Clark Expedition and where Aaron Burr visited when he was hatching his treasonous plot. There were never any battles at the Fort and it fell into disrepair several times. Eventually the timbers were taken for other uses. Now the Park has over 1000 acres of woods with boating, fishing, camping, picnicing and hiking. The Visitor Center has historical artifacts and details as well as an extensive collection of stone tools from a much earlier time period. There is a reproduction of the Fort from the very early 1800s but sadly this reproduction fort has also fallen into disrepair and the buildings are unsafe. Thankfully funding has finally been approved for repair or reconstruction. 

Fort Massac

Today I took a drive through Fort Massac State Park after church to check on the flooding. The water is high but the campground, visitor center and other areas are still open. This happens every year. Another gift from the north! Plus we have had record rainfalls this month too. Flooding affects the city and county also but so far nothing is shut down. But spring isn't even here yet and this will not be the last of the high water we see. Spring flooding is the normal for this community like so many small towns on the Ohio River with some years much harder than others. The community never fails to band together to fight the rising waters with sandbagging efforts throughout town.

the boat ramp under water

Overall I'm just glad that my children and now my grandchildren can enjoy the park as well as all the other things the community has to offer. And hopefully their glass will remain half full also.

Grandkids at the Park

Ireland is Booked !!!

No activity on my blog for 2 weeks but ...
We have finally set dates for the Ireland trip!. Airfare is booked. I was VERY disappointed to find that airfare had gone up considerably from the time I first started looking into traveling to Ireland. I will just have to be more frugal in my other arrangements. I'm not one to usually set a budget but in the future I think this would be a good starting point for planning a vacation. I'm hoping to keep this trip within $3000 per person for everything including food, souvenirs and admissions. 

Priorities for flying to Ireland included shortest flight duration and departing/arrival times. When we flew to Scotland we had so many layovers it was exhausting. It seems we spent all of one day in the airports in the US before boarding an overseas flight. We arrived in Scotland in the early morning. We did NOT sleep great on the flight but I must have napped enough that jet lag was not an issue for me. I don't recall TM complaining about it either. Maybe it's due more to age and never sleeping well. I feel jet lagged every day!

Our flights are on United Airlines and there is only one layover in Toronto, Canada. We will arrive in Ireland at 8:15 a.m. This seemed to work for us last time so I'll try this timing again. My sister and I talked about this recently. She was told that it's good to schedule your arrival late in the evening so you can just go to bed as soon as you get to your destination to sleep off the jet lag and wake feeling refreshed. Something to keep in mind if you have experienced jet lag in the past. I'll bet there's a You Tube video about that!

TM and I talked about upgrading our seats because the economy seats were not comfortable for trying to sleep. Unfortunately with the recent price increase it will be out of the question on this trip. We did opt for  "economy" vs "basic economy" in order to get free checked bags and seat selection. While I am planning to carry-on all my luggage I would like to have the option, especially on the return trip when I may be bringing home souvenirs. 

Next step was planning the 10 days in Ireland. As I mentioned on a previous post I have made a 10 day itinerary. In fact I've made about 6 of them. I can't seem to decide if I want to pack up and move to another B&B almost every night. Which is a bigger waste of time: driving a little farther to sites or packing and loading the car every day? In the end I opted for packing and loading the car because I thought we'd have less car time that way. 

I also looked at  a website that provided arrangements of lodging and car rental. Some attraction discounts were also provided. Initially this sounded like a good deal but when I started checking on prices it wasn't as good as I thought. So I've been internet searching and emailing and finally have all the dates covered. 

Here's my planned itinerary: 
2 nights in Dublin
1 night at Cashel
1 night at Kinsale
1 night at Killarney
2 nights at Dingle
1 night at Doolin
1 night at Galway 
final night close to the airport in Dublin to catch a morning flight

It really wasn't difficult to make these arrangements. Most B&B owners contacted me back within 24 hours. I used recommendations from Rick Steve's guidebook for many of the reservations but also used online searching for Dublin, Galway and Killarney. Rick did not recommend staying in Killarney because it was touristy but the B&B is outside of town and hopefully will not be a problem. I also checked about cancellation policies at each reservation. Next up is car rental and pre-booking some attractions. 

In the meantime I'm still You-Tubing travel tips. I found another great site to recommend: Travel Tips by Laurie on You Tube. She has good tips and presents it like she's talking to her best friend. 

Well the trip is very real at this point and I am WAY too excited about it already. I almost forget I have other plans for the year too. I promise I'll get into those soon. Planning this trip has been priority recently though. I've also thought about adding a health feature once a week since that's what I've done for the last 40 years. So watch for "Wellness Wednesday" in the future!

Adventure Planning

My bucket list, like most peoples, is primarily a listing of all the different places I'd like to visit. There are so many fantastic things I'd love to see in this country in addition to checking off all 50 states. But I also want to visit other countries. I love learning about the history and culture of an area, meeting the locals and getting a feel for how they live, exploring the natural wonders and trying new foods.

This first year my BIG trip will be to Ireland. One of my dearest girlfriends (I'll call her TM) will be my traveling partner. We've vacationed together before and found that it just works. She says I'm the husband of our union because I do all the planning and she just has to show up. Works for me because I love to plan trips.

For European travel, Rick Steves is my go-to authority. Anticipating the Ireland trip I preordered the newest travel guide to Ireland last year so I would get the newest version as soon as it came out. I've read it a few times, taken notes and finally have our itinerary mapped out. I made that sound like an easy task but with my usual flare for overcomplicating everything I actually composed multiple itineraries before settling on anything. Now I just need to plug this in to specific dates. Looks like it's going to be July for us.

TM and I visited Scotland in 2016. We managed pretty well but one thing I didn't count on then was carting heavy luggage up 2-3 flights of stairs. I think only one place had an elevator. So this year I'm going minimalist with one backpack style carry-on and a personal bag. Of course, I couldn't do this without my usual exhaustive research. Seriously, I think I watched at least 25 hours of videos on the best carry-on backpack. I finally decided on the Osprey Fairview 40 which I got from Amazon. I have to say, it looks pretty small but I'm confident my packing cubes (another few hours of research) will manage the small space.

Next I was checking out advice on packing lists. I happened to come across a blog that offered a free downloadable printable checklist. She has traveled to Ireland multiple times and gives a lot of travel advice. If you're planning a trip to Ireland I highly recommend checking out her website, Infinite Ireland. It'll  be listed under my favorites. I believe she is also available to assist with travel plans if you would rather enlist someone's help rather than plan your own trip. Or you may decide, like me, to utilize her awesome packing list and tips.

Another feat that proved a little difficult for me on that trip was driving a manual car on the wrong side of the road. I have often commented how the smell of a burning clutch would forever remind me of Scotland. This time I am going to reserve the automatic up front. It seems the cost of an automatic increased the closer we got to our trip. Which is another good reason to be one of those people that can make decisions quickly and easily. I'd also recommend to anyone renting a car to give it a good lookover before you drive it off. If there is ANY scratch, dent or ding make sure it is recorded on your paperwork. I've noticed there are a lot of articles on what type of insurance is needed that are begging for me to read them. Duty calls!

This will be the biggest trip planned this year but hopefully not the least of all the fun times ahead as I navigate this road of retirement. I hope you'll follow along and see how these "misadventures" progress.


Thought I'd share a few pictures from our Scotland trip in 2016

Eilean Donan Castle

 Edinburgh Castle

 Urquhart Castle

 Fraser Castle

Highland Cows

 Whiskey Distillery Tour

Pictish Stone

Decisions, decisions

I don't know about any of you but I never thought making the decision to retire from work would be so hard. For those of you that have done this already you probably understand. It really is like taking a leap of faith!

I always had it my mind that I would retire at 60. But as my birthday drew near I had no plans for how to do this. My work was going through some changes and I hated to add the burden of losing another employee to an already short staff. But I kept meeting up with old classmates that had been retired for a number of years or were planning to do so soon. I was green with envy. So I took the first step and made an appointment with a well recommended retirement planner. After a few short meetings I found that I really could retire and be reasonably confident I could have the retirement I dreamed of.

Good news! Now to set a date. Wow! It's hard to give up your salary and life as you know it.

I spent a few months or more stewing about should I retire or should I wait. Have I mentioned I have a hard time making decisions? I finally turned in my notice at work. And then I waivered, wondering if I should maybe just cut back my hours for a few years. About this time I met again with my retirement advisor. I mentioned I was thinking about going part time. His advice: Don't do it. He recommended I go for it. He suggested traveling and enjoying myself for a year without work and see how I felt then. Fortunately my nursing background would allow me to go back to work anytime if needed. Well, he's seen many people retire and spent time getting to know me. So I finally decided to trust and follow his advice.

After I accepted this decision I began to see just how great retirement was going to be. My husband had retired 3 years ago and bought an RV that we have barely had time to use. There are so many great road trips we have thought about and now need to begin planning.  I've also made plans for a reunion traveling with my high school girlfriends, a camping trip with my daughter's family, visiting my sister and her family and a trip to Ireland. Interspersed with all that traveling I will be glad to be home for the summer to spend time with my grandkids. I'm already getting a site ready to put in a small garden and I'd like to get in better shape by joining a yoga class and get back into hiking. Plus I promised the hubby I'd have time to golf with him again. Add in my volunteer activities and I will be one busy retiree. Not to worry. I'm planning time to relax too. 

Now I'm counting the days until April 2, my last day to work. No more wavering or second thoughts for me. My husband says one of my biggest challenges will be to stop expecting boxes from Amazon! I do expect to have to make some choices to insure my funds will last but I know I can do it.

Are you sitting on the fence and can't decide? Sometimes you just have to trust you can make it happen. For me it's all about priorities with time for my family and myself topping the list. I'm not getting younger and my grandkids are growing up fast. Time is more precious to me every day. Yes, it's scary making adjustments in my lifestyle but the rewards will be worth it.

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. 

We have only today. Let us begin.” 

Mother Teresa

The journey begins ...

Hi fellow retirees and retiree wannabes

I am about to embark on the adventure of retirement after 40 years of working. I turned 60 last year and had that moment of awareness that there was less time ahead than behind. My first step was to meet with a financial advisor to see if I could feasibly retire and accomplish everything I dreamed for retirement. Thankfully the answer was yes!

This blog is not about achieving financial security so that you can retire. There are numerous websites and videos out there for that. My only suggestion on this is to find a retirement planner that understands you and your goals and then research as much as time allows. Make that bucket list! In the end, trust that your financial advisor will have your personal goals in mind. If not, find another. Then, take a leap of faith.

This blog is about how to truly live a meaningful and enjoyable life after retiring.

One of the main things I plan to do initially in retirement is traveling. I want to get in as much traveling as possible as long as I physically can. To me it's all about making memories. I have to admit I am an internet search and YouTube addict. I love learning new things and studying the best methods. So I immediately turned to the internet for information on where, how, when, etc. I have to say I was disappointed that most of the travel blogs were geared toward a much younger audience. There were very few YouTube videos for seniors such as myself. And, let's face it, there are differences in how we travel. So my journey began with blogging and maybe eventually embarking into the realm of YouTube to bridge that gap.

Besides travel there are plenty of other topics of interest that I'd like to share including cooking, reading, camping, gardening and family life in general.

As a newbie to retirement (and to blogging) I don't have a wealth of experience to share - yet. But if you want to follow my adventures and misadventures as I navigate through unknown territory ahead I welcome you to come along on this ride with me and we can learn together how to live a happy, active life after retirement.