My first few days of retired life have been very pleasant. On Monday, Bubba worked and I had the whole day to myself. I got a pedicure and spent the morning shopping, mostly looking but I did get two new shirts to wear with jeans.
Tuesday, I washed several loads of clothes and spent time going through the boxes of stuff I cleaned out of my office at work. I had a lot of pictures in frames of people I had worked with and I took those out of the frames and put them in an album. Then I discarded a lot of old paperwork that I wouldn't need anymore. I also put out my fall decorations. I walked on the treadmill which is something I'm going to try very hard to make a habit.
Wednesday, we went to Indian Pass to try some surf fishing and Bubba wanted to throw his cast net some. We rode down on the beach which was fun and although we didn't catch any fish, the weather was beautiful and it was nice being outside to enjoy it.
I also walked on the treadmill and we rode our bicycles around the neighborhood some.
Tomorrow is a doctor's appointment for me and then we are going to buy groceries.
I love this life so far. I wake up to the smell of coffee. I have time to enjoy several cups before I get dressed. I just feel free, like anything is a possibility. We are planning our next camping trip and a trip to Baton Rouge to see family. It's a good life. I think I'm adjusting well.
That day I've been waiting for finally arrived on Thursday, October 17, at approximately 10:30 AM. Following a community breakfast event that I had promised my boss I would oversee, I was able to leave work for the last time. The camper was hooked up and loaded. All we had to do was change clothes and head out. We had originally planned to meet Joe and Judy at the East Bank COE Campground but the government shut down caused us to change our plans and we met at Seminole State Park which is one of our favorites anyway.
About a week ago Bubba surprised me with a bicycle as a retirement gift. I've been wanting one for a while. Any one who says that not forgetting how to do something is like "riding a bicycle" is not exactly accurate. I'm wobbly and if I look at something, I head towards it. I'm getting a little better. It is great exercise for me after years of sitting at a desk all day and I'm looking forward to riding around the various campgrounds we stay at on my shiny new orange bicycle.
The weather was pleasant and we spent time around the campfire catching up on all the news.
There were some s'mores and roasted marshmallows and boiled peanuts.
Guess who had marshmallows all over their face.
Our best meal, of course, was the fish that Bubba fried with the aid of his laser thermometer. We had a platter full of flounder and mullet.
It just doesn't get any better than this. Good food, good conversation, good times. What a wonderful way to begin my retirement!
On the way home, we pulled into our favorite truck stop for lunch and discovered that we had another flat tire on the trailer. Luckily we were in a good place for this to happen and it didn't take Bubba long to change it. The trucker parked next to us offered to help although Bubba had the situation under control. He gave me a pint of strawberries that he said were fresh from California. We enjoyed them on our oatmeal later in the week.
This second flat helped us make the decision to replace all the tires on the trailer. They don't have many miles on them, but they are old so that will be a priority next week.
At the end of September, I took an extra day and we headed to Baton Rouge to spend a few days with family. As usual Amelia seemed so happy to see us. She had a tennis lesson scheduled for Thursday afternoon and we were not going to go because last time she was more interested in what I was doing than what her teacher was saying. She really wanted us to go and promised that she would pay attention. It was really fun watching the little kids and their efforts to hit the ball.
She probably is better at this than I would be. I really think her tennis outfit is cute, don't you?
After her lesson we stopped on a little bridge at the park for her to feed the turtles. I've never seen so many turtles in one place before. She was facinated by them.
In addition to watching a tennis lesson, we went to Chuck-E-Cheese on Friday for lunch. I think we all enjoy this. You get a meal and a lot of entertainment with a $20 investment. That night when Amelia said her prayers, she said "And thank you for Chuck-E-Cheese coming and throwing out all those tickets for me to pick up."
Darryl began Saturday morning preparing to watch football in the afternoon. I don't think he will miss a play with this set up.
Saturday evening we took Amelia to see "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" in 3D. I was very proud of Bubba for going. He hates animated movies. I can't say that I loved the movie, but Amelia laughed out loud many times so I know that she did and that was what it was all about.
Our visit was over too soon and we headed home on Sunday. That trip seems to get longer every time we make it. We look forward to seeing them again in November.
