Today is my 320th day of retirement and the 340th blog post, keeping well ahead of my first-year goal of one-a-day.  I booked my next travel adventure yesterday, but it sure feels good to have been home all day today.  I had promised my son and his family a January visit to their home in Florida, so I began to search for cheap flights. It takes a lot out of me to travel east, navigating between three time zones.  Typically, it’s an overnight flight and I arrive after only a few hours of restless sleep. Flying into Orlando is the least expensive and most accessible route, but a much longer drive for my son to pick me up at the airport, as opposed to Tampa or Ft. Myers.  I’ll also probably get stuck in a center seat, wedged between two massive human beings.

It will be the first travel of 2018, looking to amass at least 50,000 miles each year of my retirement, and a million miles by the time I call it quits.  There’s a lot to see in this world, and jet transportation brings distant lands closer.  It’s a definite travel advantage of my generation that will live longer and see more sights than any other in history.  Someday, it will be space travel, but for now the moon and stars are not on my bucket list.

My wife will be traveling to Las Vegas without me later this month. It’s business and I’m not invited, plus the dogs need me.  We were married at the Bellagio, so it’s always a special place for us.  It makes her angry that we’re not able to travel together, but I’m content with being a homebody.  2018 will mark our 17th wedding anniversary.  Furniture is the suggested gift, but this does not fit in the categories that I have been taught to follow (See Post #145). We’ve already agreed that our 20th anniversary will be spent in China, since it cleverly fits the gift theme for that year.  However, we will need to spend some time in Vegas together in the near future.

I also need to book our trip to Steamboat Springs in February.  One of our good friends is celebrating a 65th birthday, and has invited us to stay in their new home.  Ski lodging is expensive, so this is both an affordable way to get to the slopes, and enjoy the companionship of close friends.  My wife doesn’t ski and would probably rather not go, but I’m hoping to convince her that I don’t need to ski every day anymore, especially at my age.  She just bought a new ski coat, so I’m taking that as a positive sign.  I purchased some new ski equipment two years ago and planned to buy a Senior Citizen season lift pass, but I really haven’t found anyone to go with me, and the shuttle leaves very early in the morning.   Mount Hood is only about an hour drive from where we live, and hopefully I can take advantage of the proximity to get some use out of my skis.  I always admired the “older” skiers, and now I am one!

I continue to read Michael Connelly’s Two Kinds of Truth, one of the better Harry Bosch novels in my opinion. Since Ken Follet’s latest, A Column of Fire, was the equivalent of four books, I’m averaging about a book a week in retirement. It’s on my list of personal retirement goals, that is certainly worth reviewing from Post #95:

  • Run three miles every day, but at least one mile regardless of the circumstances.
  • Attend at least one exercise class every week.
  • Get at least 7 hours sleep every night.
  • Talk or write with my son and grandchildren each week.  Contribute to their education and expenses.
  • Post at least one article every day on www.blog.johnstonwrites.com
  • Write at least one poem each week.
  • Spend at least $2,500 monthly on travel (as opposed to save for the future – well, the future is here)
  • Learn something new every day.
  • Read a book each week
  • Win at Spider Solitaire every day – just for fun.
  • Complete a Seven Little Words puzzle every day – keep my brain sharp
  • Weigh myself every day, hoping to lose 5 more pounds.
  • Add to my collection(s) each week. (baseball cards, Limoges boxes, stamps, coins, sports memorabilia)
  • Celebrate with my wife weekly on our Wednesday Date Night.
  • Enjoy some time with the dogs (and cat) each day.
  • Call my sister every Monday (a habit established with my parents before they passed away).
  • Cook dinner every Tuesday night.
  • See the beauty in life each day
  • Take my Grandchildren someplace special each year.
  • Pay off my credit cards each month without fail (debit card priority)

I can say that I follow each of these goals religiously, with the exception of number 2.  We did not join an exercise club or Country Club as planned, but I do get plenty of exercise.  My friends and I get together each Friday for what we jokingly call  a “Leadership Luncheon.”  All we do is eat wings and drink beer, but it is a healthy way to maintain friendship and exercise social skills.  It’s something I look forward to each week, as we discuss business, sports, theater, books, music, and concerts.  Some might call it “male-bonding,” but women are more than welcome to attend.  We’re accumulating Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin’ Rewards points to use for our first annual holiday Leadership Convention.  We currently have about 10,000 points.