Soliloquy

To Retire or not to Re-tire?

          That is the question.

          Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous dealer prices, or to take arms against a sea of boredom, And, by 0pposing, try and figure out where to spend a few bucks while on a fixed income.

(In a) Hamlet (by-the-Sea) Act III Scene 1 (South Padre Island, Texas)

          Bill borrowed this quote from me when he wrote probably his most famous work, Hamlet. He took it out of context and was trying to decide if Hamlet should live with all of his problems or just end it all.

          I was talking about finally getting to retirement age, trying my best to keep busy, and having to eventually buy new tires for the motorhome.

          His work went to press before mine, so he gets credit for a cool quotation. Such is life.

       

           We were sitting on the deck of our “Site” at the KOA RV Resort on the southern tip of South Padre Island in Texas when my daughter, Lorelyn, called.

          Lorleyn – “Hi there!  Priority Z”

          (We came up with this Priority System years ago because invariably Lorelyn would call me from wherever she was and when I would see her name pop up, get nervous that she needed some assistance. It seems like Lorelyn left home in 6^th grade or something like that because she was always in some god-forsaken part of the world. Usually when she called, I was working, and the deal was if she got on the phone and said ‘Priority A, B, C,’ I would stop what I was doing and continue the call. If the Priority were ‘Z,’ then it could wait.)

          Me – “Hi, we’re sitting on our deck under some palm trees, at a Resort on South Padre Island in Texas, looking at egrets in a mangrove marshland, while having some cheese and fruit.”

          Lorleyn – “That’s what I always thought retirement was supposed to be, sounds like you finally got this thing down pat.”

          Me – Pausing for a moment and looking over at Paula who smiled and nodded in agreement, “I think that you’re right, this is what it should be like!”

          So here we are in sunny and tropical south Texas. This place reminds me of LBI. Not because of the palm trees and balmy breezes, but because it is a barrier island and we needed to go over a Causeway to get here. South Padre Island is the last island in the 100+ mile island chain on the Gulf of Mexico in southern Texas. If you embarked on a boat and sailed due east you would come ashore right around Naples, Florida after covering about 950 miles.

          The RV Resort could not be any nicer. The place is spotless, the staff very friendly and helpful, and the setting is awesome! Water views all around, especially if your site is on the perimeter like ours is. This is a “pull-in” site (instead of the usual back-in)  because all the views are forward-facing. We all have these gigantic windshields to look out of, so why not utilize them! On top of that, each site has its own deck complete with patio furniture. The palm trees add a little shade as the sun marches across the sky.  Our “neighbors” are nice, we’ve had small conversations with them so far, you know, “Where’re ya from?” and motorhome talk, things like that. I can see where we would get to know them a bit better if we were to stay for an extended length of time. Walking around and looking at other motorhomes is fun too. Newer, older, classics, they are all here. Seeing what people bring with them for outside/patio use has been informative also.

          This would be the kind of place that one would try (try being the operative word here) to book for an extended stay over the colder months. The “Snowbird” life as it were. I have not yet asked if there are any open slots in their reservations for this year, but I suspect that they are probably booked solid. But no harm in asking. This place is about a seven-hour drive from Brenham. We did it in two days to break it up a bit. We find that if we leave sometime in the afternoon, drive for a few hours, and then find the local Wal-Mart lot or Harvest Hosts to spend the night, and continue the next day, that it makes the trip a lot more enjoyable. We figure that we realistically need to add about 15 minutes to every hour that a trip would take by car. So, a 4-hour car trip is about 5 hours for us. If the driving is all highway, then it is closer in time.

          This area has all the things to do that a seaside resort has to offer. Tiki-bars, bike rentals, surf shops, golf cart rentals, (not for golf mind you, but for transportation. These forward-thinking areas have decided that having tons of golf carts zooming around is far better than having tons of cars zooming around. Much like the retirement villages that abound in Florida and Arizona.) There are also way too many good-looking restaurants to patronize in our short stay. Hence, we need to come back!

          That is one of the conundrums of retirement on that aforementioned dirty phrase, Fixed Income. One of the advantages of dragging your home around with you to environs such as this, is that you get to have your meals “at home” which we all know is a lot less expensive than going out for them. But it is a lot less fun also. Balancing the going out vs. staying in has become a favorite pastime. Coming from the restaurant business and serving folks for the last hundred years or so, I find it wonderful to go out and have someone else serve me! Not only that, but I revel in a well-run establishment. I thoroughly enjoy just sitting there and absorbing the heartbeat, rhythm, and cacophony of sounds that you can only appreciate if you have been in the business. All of you Chatterbox folks know what I am talking about!

          So, Restaurant Reviews by Paula and Don will be forthcoming as they (and funds) become available!

          Meanwhile we will be squirreling away a few sheckles for those new tires!