One Huge Step

Copyright 2006 Gary B. Van Voorhis

Double Espresso might seem a strange title for a blog but to caffine junkies who need their 12 or 16oz. fix each morning it's a much easier way to get the motor running. In this case the DoubleEspresso is a metaphor for retiring AND within 11 days leaving the house, the cats and the Florida sunshine for a job as a tour guide in Alaska. Such is life.
Of course this didn't just happen overnight. Last summer my constant companion / overseer / best friend and travel buddy pulled the plug on her career of 31 years, packed her bags and left me to watch the house, the cats and pay the bills while she worked a summer job in Montana's Glacier National Park. Such is life. I survived.
I flew to Montana in mid-September, picked her up and we spent three weeks meandering back to our home and cats. And on the way she was already talking about where to go this year - - with or without me. So here you have it, I was a sort of work-a-holic who enjoyed his job sometimes and talked about retirement without ever pushing the plans too far. But that was before "she who must be obeyed" issued the "velvet" ultimatum: retire or spend another summer carrying on conversations with the cats. DoubleEspresso, Please!
Rule One for surviving: Repeat after me - - Yes, Dear. Hey, I had already set the hook by having her stay home and relax while I supported the house....This was a great stress reliever for both of us. She's mellow (reminder: bring home chocolate regularly); learned how to bake bread and cook dinner - - which sparked some territorial debates as I had one all the cooking for 15 years but you gotta learn to give and take.
And so we sent out resumes together - - although secretly I think she sent out enough extra to hedge her bets in case I got cold feet and backed out of my promise to retire. I admit I needed a bit of prodding..which she is good at in various ways. We hit on a couple of plans, decided to try for jobs in Alaska with Montana as a fall back.
The short story is that within two months I / we had gotten jobs and I gave notice of my impending retirement; put the paperwork in place and began a mad scramble to get everything in place to leave for 6 months.
So here we are, 3,000 miles into a 4,500 mile journey heading to new (summer) jobs in Skagway, Alaska and tonight I can look out the window of the motel in Kalispell, MT and see snow covered mountains and see the trees wave in the 40-degree breeze. Such is life.
Now, if one blog is fun, two is even better...or in some cases might send you looking for a double espresso. Check out lydiahinshaw.blogspot.com for the rest of the story or for her "take" on the day's events.