Last week I had the good fortune of being on a ‘Staycation’, something I hadn’t really ever done. And, according to some great fellow bloggers; like Fritz over at retirementmanifesto.com and mr1500, days like this are what retirement is all about.
Well, if that’s retirement, then I want in the club!
But, I’m not quite there yet, maybe 3-4 years!
Now, I’m not naive enough to think that every week of retirement would be as relaxing as my Staycation week, after all, life gets complicated even in retirement. It just happened to have been less complicated last week. Something I’m exceptionally grateful for.
One of the things I did while on Staycation was I took the long road while running errands; or to give M. Scott Peck a nod; I took the ‘Road Less Traveled’.
One of the ‘Road Less Traveled’ errands I took was when I picked up our dog at doggy daycare, I chose the ‘gravel bottom’, rather than the conventional route.
The gravel ‘bottom’ is a make-shift thoroughfare which joins two paved roads together. This thoroughfare is left as a gravel roadbed because of it’s low-lying topography, and is almost impassible in the spring when it’s overwhelmed with rain water.
So unfavorable in-fact, that our county locks the gates on both sides of the paved roads to keep the towns ‘dare-devils’ Yea-hoos from going through and getting themselves stuck in precarious situations.
In December though, the thoroughfare is usually pretty unobstructed; so being the risk taker I am, I decided I’d chance it, so on I went.
Halfway though, at likely the lowest elevation of the thoroughfare, an eerie feeling of being in the Forbidden Forest overcame me. Outside was this view of the thawing creek-bottom water, mixed with the warm humid air, which created a setting reminiscent of a scene straight out of a Harry Potter movie.
See what you think…
All I had was my trusty iPhone 11, which still takes remarkably good pictures I might add. With it, I was able to snap this picture. The dense fog, shimmering over the water, was just majestic. I’m betting, there’s only once or twice a year where the atmospheric conditions allow for such a unique setting.
It makes me feel lucky to have been here at this time with the ability to take a reasonably good picture, with a cotton-pickin phone, I must say. Truly 15 minutes on either side of the clock could have made for a totally different view. So, my timing was perfect.
Which brings me to some of my ‘FI community friends’ who’ve also taken the Road Less Traveled during their blogging careers and shared their experience with their readers. Since it’s the beginning of a new year, I thought it was fitting to reminisce about some of their past experiences.
‘Roads Less Traveled; FI Community
FreddieSmidlap says to avoid being the richest guy in the graveyard, and enjoy some of the fruits of your labor now.
Create yourself a ‘Reverse Bucket List’ to help you focus on the accomplishments you have had, cause you know, some of them are really worthy. It worked well for Dave at AccidentalFire
Create an Asset with a side hustle, not a job! Here is how Michael at Financially Alert did it.
Be like the Jess and Corey at theFioneers; trick out a Van and travel the US, all while designing a life you never want to retire from.
Be like Craig over at retirebeforedad and ‘hang up the cleats’ on an IT career and become a full time finance blogger
Then there’s Jim over at RoutetoRetire who moved his family to Panama, and fell in love with it.
Michelle over at Making Sense of Cents shows us how the Jeremy and Winnie from Go Curry Cracker took the ‘road less traveled’ by retiring in their 30’s to traveled around the world.
These are all inspiring stories from interesting people, so if you haven’t yet discovered their blogs, head on over and tell them I sent ya!
Health Goals for 2023
I’ve been swimming laps for over 20 years, but have never consistently tracked each swim session. I’d like to see if I can improve my time, burn more calories, and better my heart rate.
So in 2023, in an effort to remain accountable, and maybe even train for Fritz’s 3 mile lake swim, I am tracking each and every swim session. Here are my first three swims of 2023:
What are your health goals for 2023?