What a year so far, we retired in February and slipped into our new lifestyle very easily. We are what young people here call 'wrinkly's' in their facebook posts, I would love to dispute the description, but looking in the mirror I can see the accuracy of their observation. Body parts that once pointed North now sadly look down, young skin is now replaced with, well, wrinkles. Daily walks, hikes and biking became our daily routine. Working (not really an accurate word) in our garden, mowing grass daily even though weekly is enough, in other words, being outside, enjoying the beauty of our surroundings. This has to be something 'city people' miss out on. Not for us a Frappachino double latte dark roast grande, holding a personal device for instant communication, sat in a shopping mall with piped music and people in every direction, that is just not us.
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| the smile of retirement |
One thing we always wanted was to spend the winter somewhere warm. Not because I hate winter, far from it, I used to ski daily and really had a lot of fun with snow sports. But as we get a bit older, and having spent 33 winters in Northern Manitoba, it is time to remove ourselves from the terrible cold and spend the winter months where we can still walk, hike and bike without looking, and feeling, like 'Nanook of the North'.
To make that happen we are leaving tomorrow to spend 4 months in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Not that this is without stress, leaving your home for that long is worrying. We have great neighbours who are checking our house, we are having the water lines drained in case the heat goes off, had the furnace checked, we have checked, double checked and triple checked everything, but we still worry. It is our home of over 20 years after all, and not easy to leave for so long. But we are......
Packing is easy, suitcases are out and plastic tubs are in, and with the bike rack on back of car with our bikes and jam sandwiches we have all we need. Jam sandwiches? This food is the secret to travelling. In my life I have travelled many thousands of km's, flown endlessly and sat waiting for planes, buses, cars and heaven knows what mode of local transportation. Eating any terminal food is just that in my opinion, terminal, or potentially terminal. Sickness caused by 'Delhi belly' is both excruciatingly painful and draining, literally. Definitely a condition to be avoided.
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| soft, delicious and perfect. |
A nice soft jam sandwich is perfect, always moist, retains it's flavor for literally days, easy to eat and comforting. I have perfected the art of staying in hotels that offer buffet style breakfasts and make my travelling jam sandwich, cut into small, bite size pieces with the care and precision of a surgeon. slipped into the mouth while driving, the sugary tasting, fruit laden jam slides down with no effort, washed down with bottled water and driving becomes a gastronomical delight of sensory pleasure.
Tomorrow we have a nice easy drive to Saskatoon, where we will stay overnight before moving on to Medicine Hat, Alberta. Then we cross the border on Sunday, point the car South and drive. With jam sandwiches in hand, never mind the miles per gallon, or litres per km, this looks like being a ten sandwich trip, never mind the miles, just count the sarnies!
More to follow.....
