The Not-Left-The-Dock-Yet Bender Blog October 2008

Who’d think retirement could be so busy!!!???? For a brief recapitulation, our home in Greenville sold in June. We had 5 weeks to decide what to keep, what to pitch, what to store, and get moved. That was an intense undertaking. We stored a minimal amount and kept very little. We’re in a 10 X 10 foot climate controlled unit and occupy about 2/3 of that. In June, Laura moved aboard Kindred Spirit III in Charleston, SC, and Bill commuted 3 hours back to Michelin every Monday and returned home (Charleston) on Fridays until his September retirement. We enjoyed several Happy Retirement parties but the guys he worked with said they weren’t really throwing the big one for a couple of months till they were sure he was really gone! On Labor Day, in anticipation of the big hurricane that never happened, and to have scheduled maintenance preformed, we had our home (KS III) hauled out of the water. Since we had no where to lay our heads, we spent a month on the west coast beginning in Victoria, BC, and ending in San Diego. Then we took a quick trip along the Gulf coast from Mobile to Destin. We returned home October 6, and, even though we had a wonderful time, “there’s no place like home”. A month of daily eating out did a terrible disservice to our waistlines!! Bill’s finally getting the hang of this retirement. He often asked, “You mean I don’t have to go back to work tomorrow?” After all these years of planning and dreaming, anticipating and talking about “that day” (he’d been employed for 44 years), the reality of getting out of the gerbil exercise wheel is huge to him. We’re frantically putting on the finishing touches for our November departure —casting off our lines forever to become Sea Gypsies and following where the pointy end of our home leads us. Bill had taken the U.S. Power Squadron courses, but felt that taking the Sea School course for his US Coast Guard captain’s license would be a great review/enlightenment for him. He’s completing that today and will take his exams next week. As a Captain, does he need to be saluted? If so, how should he pay homage to Admiral Laura? Our very loose itinerary is to spend a week or two in Shelter Cove, Hilton Head Island, on our way south. Had hoped to be in the Exumas before Christmas but we’ve met deadlines for years and we’re not going to hurry nor have a set schedule for each day. We’ll get there when we get there. We’ve really been fortunate to have friends come down, not only from Greenville, but other cities as well, for a visit and to see our new life. Each and every one of you who have visited us here was a cherished treat that we’ll always treasure. This is it for October and we will endeavor to keep these entries short(er) and sweet---to minimize the risk of boring you. Fondly, Bill, Laura, and Bailey Dawg Kindred Spirit III Charleston, SC