The Drive to the Finish Line

9/1/2014-9/30/2014- As you can see we don’t have much going on in September.  Our main focus for the month of September is to finish the working career of Brian Sexton and get on with the good life.  This will not happen until September 25^th which is the last day of work at Xerox.  The other focus for us this month is getting FL title and tags and fulltime insurance for the motor home, and getting the condo ready for our granddaughter Jessica and Nicole to move in.  Chippy and I decided to take the kayak out for a spin in Lover’s Key State park on our first weekend back from Myrtle Beach, but didn’t last too long in the gulf as it was about 98 degrees with 98 percent humidity that day.  That Sunday we were picking up our granddaughter Jessica from the Fort Meyers airport so we decided to get up early and set out for Sanibel Island earlier that morning.   It reminded us of Cape Cod with palm trees and was truly beautiful.  We parked and did some shelling on the beach and then took a ride to Captiva before we took off for the airport.   OMG the homes in Captiva made Sanibel look like trailer trash.   These giant mansions on the beach looked more like hotels than single family homes, and most were shuttered for the summer waiting for their snowbird occupants.  

We picked up Jessica and set off to show her new condo and she really loved it. Grabbed some great Mexican food for dinner at Iguana Mia and headed off to the campground for some wine time.   The next week we began to get the condo in order, and Jessica and Nicole set out on the hunt for jobs.  They had a good start and both will begin working part time as the local malls while they keep looking for another part time job.  The second weekend in September turned out to be a waiting game, as our furniture from New Jersey didn’t quite make it to FL as expected.   Originally we expected the furniture to arrive on Friday 9/12, but didn’t arrive until Saturday 9/13 but they informed us that the 18 wheeler could not possibly maneuver the gated community and would have to reload onto a smaller truck and deliver on Sunday 9/14.  To my chagrin, I got the call from the movers Sunday morning at 9:00am when I was only on the 15^th hole of the local golf course.  Sadly I had to leave the course in the middle of my best round of the year to meet them at the condo and the rest of the day Chippy, Jessica and I spent the day unpacking and making the condo a home.  The results were amazing, and the weekend ended on a very happy note, except for the mysterious infection Chippy picked up in her big toe.  In preparation for our upcoming visit to the Key’s, our snorkeling gear arrived in the mail and Chippy excitedly tried everything on, now she just needs to learn how to swim, thank goodness the kayak came with water wings.  (PIC)

I have managed to get in a few rounds of golf between exploring and working and I have to say, there are a lot more hazards here than the courses in New Jersey.

That gator wants my ball

What goes in the water stays

Weekend three in September we explored Naples, and discovered where the millionaires all lived in the Historic section of Naples along the coast, more decadent wealth.  Half of these mansions were shuttered for the season, probably only used for four months a year.  We found our comfort zone in “Tin City” a historic area on the waterfront with small shops and restaurants, much more our speed.  Then off to the Naples Zoo and Botanical Gardens for the afternoon.  Pretty nice zoo, but the gardens were really amazing.  

We finished off the weekend with a restaurant deal of the century at Café Luna….two entrees and a bottle of wine for $19.99 and the food and wine were very good, don’t know how they do it, but the place was packed.  Finally the longest month is coming to an end along with my working career, seems like the longest month of my life, but at last the countdown is zero and I am finally RETIRED.  I wasted no time shipping my laptop back to Xerox as soon as I logged off for the last time.  9/26/2014..Happy 62^nd Birthday Brian…Still doesn’t seem real, but I am sure I will get used to it quickly as I sit here on my first day of unemployment in 52 years.  I will miss the people but not the job, it has been a miserable couple of years as I have slowly seen people leaving the company voluntarily or by layoff as the jobs have quickly transferred to India.  I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with so many talented people all of my life, first at ShopRite and then at TP/EDS/HP/Xerox and am blessed with many memories.  BRING ON THE GOLDEN YEARS!!!!!  Wrapped up the week celebrating my birthday with a great lunch with Chippy on Friday, dinner with Chippy and Jessica on Saturday night and shopping with Chippy and Jessica on Sunday.  Sunday evening was ruined by the Eagles stinking up the place against the niners, but I guess the luck can only last so long.  Monday and Tuesday will be spent getting ready for our departure from our home base and off to the Keys…Chippy is ready...LOL

stay tuned for more adventures in October. 

Myrtle Beach

8/23 – 9/1/2014 – Packed up and moved on to Myrtle Beach for some R&R after the busy week at Disney.  Looking forward to a lazy week of swimming, surfing, chilling, beachcombing, shopping, dining, drinking and of course a bit of golfing sprinkled in.  Saturday was just spent setting up camp for the week and touring the campground.  The campground was about 40% occupied but by Sunday night it was down to about 25% which made is really nice using the indoor pool, outdoor pool and lazy river.  The beach was not crowded either and the tropical storm early in the week which was out to sea made for some good boogie boarding.  The weather was really fantastic all week in the mid to high 80’s and sunny every day.  Did get in three rounds of golf during the week at some really great prices compared to New Jersey golf fees and there are so many courses to choose from.  The serenity was over by Friday as the crowds started moving in and filled the campground to capacity for Labor Day weekend.   It was a really fantastic week with the family and gave us some wonderful memories which need to carry us until we see them all in 10 months.  The kids had to leave on Saturday morning as Erik and Lauren had to be back to work on Tuesday and the kids all had to get ready to head back to school.  The final weekend did warm up and the humidity was very high, so we did some shopping and went out to dinner on Saturday and Sunday night to celebrate Arlene’s and my birthdays.  The only down side of the week was that Jack and Arlene had mechanical problems on the way down and again when they got ready to leave on Labor Day.  That kind of put a damper on their trip, but that is just another part of the adventure of RVing.  All in all the two weeks at Disney and Myrtle Beach will be fondly remembered by all and very well cataloged by our fantastic photographers Erik and Lauren.  Thanks for the great pics, Chippy and I will need them to carry us through until we see you all again next July.