I'm Retiring!!!!!!

[cumberlandreds]

So WE really need a vacation somewhere where we can just relax, unwind, and RECHARGE. I figure sitting on a beach or on a hotel balcony, looking out over the ocean, is a solid way to do it.

So if anyone has any solid info or suggestions about the area, I'd appreciate the input.

Most any beach is good place to go and unwind. One we have been to that is fairly secluded is Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. You have to take a ferry to it from Hatteras. The trip on the ferry is about 45 minutes and is very relaxing just to get out of the car and take in the sea breeze. It is also a free ride. There are bed and breakfast places to stay on the island. The beaches are along the road on your way to the town of Ocracoke. You can literally have a good stretch of beach to yourself. It's really just amazing. I'm not sure there are too many places like this left in America.

[TRF]

Abilene is a toilet.

I mean I believe there is some historical something something to it, but overall?

It's a toilet.

If you go there, expect monumental disappointment. But at least it isn't Lubbock.

[RFS62]

Abilene is a toilet.

I mean I believe there is some historical something something to it, but overall?

It's a toilet.

If you go there, expect monumental disappointment. But at least it isn't Lubbock.

Isn't that what the sign coming into town says... "Abilene....at least we're not Lubbock"


Congratulations Greg!!!!

That's fantastic news.

Get an RV and travel the National Park and golf trails all over the country,.

You're a Griswold at heart, embract it!!!

[marcshoe]

Abilene is a toilet.

I mean I believe there is some historical something something to it, but overall?

It's a toilet.

If you go there, expect monumental disappointment. But at least it isn't Lubbock.

Having now been to both Abilene TX and Abilene KS, I can say with confidence that the "prettiest town I ever seen" song was about the one in Kansas.

[marcshoe]

Here's the thing gentlemen .....

When it comes to those western states (Utah, Wyoming, Oregon, etc), my only "exposure" to the vast, natural beauty of those states, for my entire life, has been through reading/watching NG and other such media. And always telling myself "Someday!" (LOL). Well that "day" has arrived.

I'm not only a huge, huge western movie fan, but also a history buff of the old west (the real west). I want to travel to some of those towns, like Dodge City, Abilene, Tombstone, etc. I've had family and friends, in their travels, who have been through those towns and tell me "You'll be disappointed". But it's not like I'm expecting Dodge City (for example) to be something out of Gunsmoke (LOL). I'm going mainly for the experience, just to set foot in those towns, and the history that's connected to them.

But I think our first "vacation" this Spring will be to Florida. We've never been to the Keys. Know nothing about them either, other then their location (LOL). But my wife and I have had a very emotionally burdensome last few months ... especially my wife, and it's still kind of ongoing .... her Mom passed away two weeks ago after several months of illness. Her Dad (91) survives, as well as an older sister who is disabled. They all lived together in a condo in Columbus. Mom has passed, but Dad and her sister need constant care. So my wife's sister, who just retired and temporarily moved in the condo, and my wife, are assuming legal custody, and they have to find a better situation for them both.

Then, last week, my wife found out her older brother's cancer (colon) came back, and the situation doesn't look good. So yeah, when it rains it pours. But it really has been emotionally draining on my wife.

So WE really need a vacation somewhere where we can just relax, unwind, and RECHARGE. I figure sitting on a beach or on a hotel balcony, looking out over the ocean, is a solid way to do it.

So if anyone has any solid info or suggestions about the area, I'd appreciate the input.

I drove to Vegas and back in June, mostly to unwind. I went out through Kansas and Utah, and intended to come back through Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, etc. On the way back I got a call telling me to avoid OKC because of flooding, so I stayed the night in Albuquerque, checked a map, and headed north. There were two routes that looked about the same length, so I took the one through Dodge City. Unfortunately, I got there right as everything was shutting down, and I would have stayed the night, but I'd already booked a hotel in Lawrence. From what I could see at the close of the day, there wasn't as much authentic stuff as I'd hoped. Still, it was interesting, and as a side, I took the Santa Fe Trail from Santa Fe on up, past grazing longhorn cattle. Here's what I was able to see at the close of the day:









The Dennis Weaver handprints were the coolest bit, but I wished they'd got the rest of the cast, too. Quint and Newly are the only ones left now, and Quint seems to barely be hanging on.

If you like Old Western movies, Monument Valley, where John Ford used to film with John Wayne is worth the trip. It is a bit out of the way, out on the reservation, but it's an experience. Back when we were there, I got locked in at closing time and had to follow a Navajo lady in a truck through a field.

I'd much rather drive than fly. Enjoy the trip as much as the destination.

[SunDeck]

Wow, Congratulations GAC! How is Honda going to survive without you?

[KittyDuran]

Congrats & good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GAC]

Thanks for the info and photos marcshoe. Neat stuff! I also want to see the Black Hills and Deadwood. Heard it was worth the visit.

Wow, Congratulations GAC! How is Honda going to survive without you?

They'll find a way (they'll have to)

[Larkin Fan]

Congratulations Greg! You've earned it buddy.

Just think, now you're going to have all the time in the world to track all of those moles.

[Reds Fanatic]

Thanks for the info and photos marcshoe. Neat stuff! I also want to see the Black Hills and Deadwood. Heard it was worth the visit.

Just got back from the Black Hills a few days back. I highly recommend that area. Did not get up to Deadwood as I had to cut a day off vacation due to a kidney stone right the day we were supposed to leave but the area is beautiful. Stayed at a hotel K Bar S Lodge in Keystone with a view of Mt. Rushmore right from our room's balcony. Mt. Rushmore, Badlands National park and Custer State Park which is a huge state park loaded with wildlife and some great scenic drives. Congrats on your retirement!

[oneupper]

Oh Man, GAC! Congrats! I think.

I'm surprised you're retiring now. I remember meeting you in 2007 and you looked terrible then. You must look like 100 now! (jk... a bit).
Lot's of mileage, maybe some new tires are due or a re-tread.

But I've read you're stuff here so I know you're mostly sensible and logical in financial matters (other stuff...not so much )
I imagine you're getting medical benefits from Honda until Medicare kicks in.

Maybe I'll retire some day too. Lots of people think I already am, so I don't know if I'd know the difference.

[GAC]

Thank you oneupper, that means a lot to me. Especially coming from a guy from the backwoods of Venezuela LOL

[WrongVerb]

Congratulations GAC! I hope retirement is awesome for you!

[RedsBaron]

Congrats GAC! When I get to be as old as you I hope I can retire!
You mentioned the Keys in an earlier post. Perhaps the best drive I ever took was going from Miami to Key West in a rented Jaguar convertible. It's about a 4 hour drive but such a beautiful drive on a ribbon of highway surrounded by blue Gulf waters, and Key West itself was terrific. Highly recommended.
As for trips out west, my favorite trip was our 2015 sojourn to Jackson Hole/The Grand Tetons/Yellowstone. Photos do not do that area justice. If you make one trip out west, that would be my pick.
Other places in the west I've loved include Durango, CO [ride the Durango & Silverton RR], Sedona, AZ, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Springs, and the South Dakota Badlands.
I visited Dodge City years ago and was a bit disappointed. I was also in Deadwood, but that was so many decades ago I don't recall much about it.
I enjoyed San Antonio.
If you like presidential history, the drive on I-70 between Independence, MO and Abilene, KN let's you cover a couple of decades at the Truman and Eisenhower museums.

[marcshoe]

Quint and Newly are the only ones left now, and Quint seems to barely be hanging on.

So much for that.