We’re at our home-away-from-home, a Marriott hotel, this time in Seattle.  We took the train from Portland yesterday afternoon, checked-in, and had dinner.  As we were riding up the elevator with another man, my wife was reading the Club Lounge schedule, and I bemoaned, “it’s never open on the weekends.” She replied, “well, it’s Thursday,” laughed and said to our elevator companion, “my husband’s retired and never knows what day it is.”  He looked at me with envy and noted, “I can’t wait to get there myself.”

I’m not sure I could describe the feeling of retirement any better than this simple elevator conversation.  It’s hard for me to communicate to others without using the traditional days of the week. In my world, however, they really don’t exist any more, because every day is the same.   I don’t know what day it is and I don’t care.  It’s calendars and schedules that you have to adhere to that bring me back to reality.  I was glad it was only Thursday and that the lounge was open.  It also meant we could have free breakfast this morning while everyone else headed off to work.  My wife was initially planning to make some business calls this morning, but her working day changed into a vacation day; free to explore Seattle with me.  We plan to go to the Museum of Pop Culture.

Wherever in the world we travel, Marriott is always our first choice.  We’re lifetime Platinum members and a Marriott Vacation Club owner, so we have both hotel and club points to use throughout the year.  It’s our second home, but not confined to the same location each time.  We don’t have to decorate, mow the lawn, or even make the bed.  In my opinion, it’s one step up from the condo life that we enjoy when we’re not traveling.  We do pay a monthly maintenance fee to Marriott for this privilege, but have at least a “free” week every quarter at a luxury resort anywhere in the world and another 3 nights monthly in a Marriott hotel.  It’s all part of the travel plan that we’ve put together for retirement that will really kick-in five years from now when my wife also retires.  In the meantime, I can join her on her short business trips to Seattle, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York.

My wife and I have more leisurely plans over the next few days here in Seattle (See Post #213), but today has turned out to be a Friday vacation day for her.  For me, it’s just like any other day of retirement, but I’m in my home-away-from-home.  I did my run along the waterfront and eventually through the “Hempfest” display, where the air smelled a bit funny.  I was laughing as I left the park for some odd reason.  She wants to go to the Aquarium, after seeing a sign that showed two otters holding hands, with the tag line, “We hold hands when we sleep, so we don’t drift apart.” It’s another Emerald City romance like “Sleepless in Seattle.”  I think I just want to go back to “Hempfest” for another breath of fresh air.

 

 

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