The building cost estimates are mostly in, and it’s clear that we will be over budget on our new home by about 20%. With this in mind, another chunk of our retirement savings will shift from travel to being retired homebodies. Granted, there will be lots to do in our resort community, but seeing all the corners of the world may not be a possibility. We’ve already committed to Viking cruises from Spain to Norway and Russia to Finland, but we may have to stick primarily to Marriott Vacation Club locations in the future. This is a more affordable option, as we begin to make subsequent journey reservations. 

Yesterday, we a very active day for me. It started with the traditional 5k run (day #4,271) in the hot morning sun. This was followed with 9-holes of golf with my grand kids, and ax-throwing with my daughter-in-law. I did my best imitation of singer Ed Ames on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, hurling a tomahawk at the outline of a plywood cowboy. It really showed my age when I brought this up to the owners of the Ax Haus, who didn’t have a clue about this great TV moment in comedy.  They immediately pulled it up on YouTube, and watched Ed stick the weapon in the cowboy’s crotch, along with Johnny’s humorous comments. It is often referred to as the funniest moment in boob tube history, but only because of the prudish standards of the TV industry at that time. There were no incidents from our ax-throwing competition, although I did have some initial problems getting my tosses to stick in the thick plywood targets. 

Today, my arms are a little stiff from the combination of golf and ax throwing. My stomach is also a bit queasy from another heavy meal at Outback Steakhouse last night. All of our family dinners were not exactly wholesome. We were, however, lucky in each case to find seating together for seven, considering the robust dining business here in South Florida. It;s now been over two-and-a-half weeks since we’ve had home-cooking, unless you count the three visits to Cracker Barrel. This afternoon we head to Ft. Myers and a flight tomorrow morning back to Portland. Life will finally be back to normal, as we’ll continue to make plans for the rest of our Florida move next March. Packing and moving arrangements will need to be made, adding to the withdrawals from our savings. Overall, I’m not surprised that we’re over budget, I just wish we weren’t.