Category: Oregon State Beavers (Page 4 of 4)

Florida still ranks as one of our top retirement prospects.  My wife and I are still searching for that ideal “Golden Years” haven, (see post #138: Where to?) and have had several discussions recently about our future options.  It’s not surprising that we both feel a sense of comfort about the state of Florida and its warm beaches. Many Midwest families, where we both are originally from. vacation along the Gulf Coasts of Florida and Alabama every winter.  My grandparents had a retirement mobile home there, and my wife’s parents spent some of their winters at Gulf Shores, Alabama, just beyond the Florida border. My parents spent their retirement years in that same vicinity, along what is fondly referred to as the “Redneck Riviera.”  Likewise my son and his family chose the Florida Gulf and live there now, while his mother’s parents still joke about being some of the original settlers of the Gulf.

If we do end up there eventually, life will have gone full-circle.   As a kid growing up, my parents would pack up the station wagon with the four of us and spend at least one or two weeks in Florida every year crammed like sardines into my grandparents’ glorified trailer.  There were also a couple of times that we thankfully flew into Tampa, spending at least one night in a comfortable motel room rather than the hot metal box that my grandparents called their winter home.  The Florida vacation trend continued with my son, as we’d take our van to Disney World to see Mickey Mouse several times each year and pick up house plants for my ex-wife’s floral business on the way back.  At one time, she and I invested in a Siesta Key condominium with plans to spend more and more time in Florida.  Her parents, both remarried, were also owners in the same complex, and continue to spend at least half of their retirement time there.  Although Siesta Key is world-renowned for it’s crystal-clear water and white sandy beaches, I find the powdery sand, reminiscent of Al Pacino with a straw, sticky and annoying.  It’s drawn to you like a magnet and seems to rub those painful sun-burned spots on your body like sandpaper.  I prefer a grainier sand that’s more prevalent in northern Florida.

My son was particularly fascinated with Florida, specifically Miami.  The Miami Dolphins completed their perfect season two years before he was born, but the team’s popularity persisted throughout his childhood.   The Dolphins won a lot of games as he was growing up, but he never saw them win a Super Bowl.  I don’t think he ever took off his Dan Marino jersey.  He also became a fan of the Miami Hurricanes, Miami Vice, and Miami Beach, and was so excited when I took him to Miami for the first time.  I had business with Levitz Furniture based in Boca Raton.  It was back in the time when clients were actually receptive to meeting you face-to-face, as opposed to the impersonal Skype and e-mail encounters  in today’s business world.  I booked a room at the famous Fountainebleau on Miami Beach, expecting the ultimate in luxury suitable for any Mafioso head. Instead we got construction, including the signature fountain and swimming pool.  Even the beach was under excavation.  It was a noisy mess and a big disappointment.  I found an expensive women’s diamond wristwatch in the room that someone had carelessly left behind.  My first thought was no wonder they could justify the pricey room rates:  Get a dusty room and we’ll give you a free watch!

My current wife of sixteen years, who’s a definite keeper, is still passionate about her career that has taken us from Indiana, to Illinois, to Texas, and finally to Oregon.   Illinois, I should clarify, was definitely more my doing and ultimately my career downfall, but I enjoyed living there as a big fish in a small pond.  She is a beach-lover, and the only sand in Illinois is around Lake Michigan, so it would never have qualified as a retirement possibility.  We did a thoroughly check of  the Texas Gulf beaches and are still in the process of exploring the Oregon coast.  Texas was too hot and the water murky, and Oregon is too cold and windy.   Together we’ve visited Hilton Head, New York City, Savannah, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Virginia Beach, Tampa, Washington, and New Orleans, just to mention a few beach-front locations.  We’ve compared climates, water clarity, sand quality,  congestion, and prices.  Florida and California are the stand-outs.

I’m headed back to Florida in a few weeks.  One of our Portland disc-jockeys who moved here from Florida, constantly makes fun of the questionable mentality of its residents:  Flori-dah! is her take.  I think it’s just the heat!  Despite this concern, my son and I still plan to attend the M.L.B. All-Star baseball weekend in Miami.  He’ll get to spend a few more days in the city of his dreams, where we also experienced the inaugural game at Marlins Park a few years back.  I was never much of a Miami fan, as is typical with most father-son relationships.  I was hoping that his love of Miami would motivate him to attend college at “The U.”  Instead, he saved me a bunch of money on out-of-state tuition, and all I ever had to buy was that lucky #13 Marino jersey.  As a Chicago Bears fan, living in Indianapolis, home of the Colts, all I recall about the Miami Dolphins was being jealous of their winning ways: “Squish The Fish” was our cheer!

Florida was top-of-mind today for several reasons.  First, it is one of our top retirement choices, more specifically the Northern Florida panhandle, where the humidity isn’t as bad.  The beaches are great for walking, the water turquoise-blue and calm, and the temperatures more tolerable. Secondly, the Cubs are playing the Marlins again today in Miami, hoping for another win.  Finally, the University of Florida is the only other undefeated team in the College World Series, other than our Oregon State Beavers.   As an Oregon resident, I’ve been following the team all season, and plan to watch today as part of “Lunch Day.”  Maybe I should order fish?