Work Optional in Arizona

March 28, 2024March 29, 2024 ~ If You Want My Opinion ~ 2 Comments

My wife and I are at a point in our careers where we are mostly working because we want to and not out of absolute necessity. We have not reached the age to be eligible for full social security and Medicare, but we’re close. Yes, continuing to work makes sense given how the average life span of Americans has increased for our generation. We all must consider how long we will depend on social security, pensions, retirement savings, investments, and other assets. However, we want to spend fewer hours in the office and more time with each other involved in activities that are rewarding, fulfilling, and fun! So, we have pulled back to part time status and consulting gigs as a way to make this happen. A term we heard a few years back that adequately describes this stage in our lives is “work optional.” We like it.

View of Phoenix, AZ, from South Mountain

I have written in previous posts about several of our trips to Arizona, specifically the Phoenix area, which is where my wife lived for nineteen years of her adult life. She built relationships there that she has maintained over the years, and now, I consider her friends in Arizona my friends as well. They certainly make me feel welcome and embrace me as a life partner to someone they obviously adore. As we made our way through the last quarter of our professional lives, we often dreamed about spending several weeks a year in Arizona, a place that still feels like home to my wife and one that has enchanted me since the first time I felt that soft desert air and radiant sunshine. Starting this year, we took the plunge. We loaded up the car and drove 1,253 miles from our home in Springfield, Missouri to Phoenix, stopping for overnight stays in Amarillo, Texas and Gallup, New Mexico. It was a comfortable pace, and driving allowed us to see the countryside as we made our way through Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, New Mexico, and into Arizona. We also made good use of the hours together in the car planning future trips and dreaming about how our days might look once we fully retire.

We intentionally designed this first extended stay in Arizona to be a time of relaxation and restoration, but we ended up fitting in some great side trips and fun excursions around the greater Phoenix area. The location of the house we rented was convenient and close to shopping, restaurants, grocery stores, and hiking trails in the city (and there are plenty). The house was within a few blocks of the base of Camelback Mountain, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Phoenix valley. We found some fine restaurants, not so much high-end but such good food. We scoped out several different venues that support live music and host open mic nights, and I played at three of those locations. It was a blast. Of course, we entertained ourselves with reading, going to movies, walking, and just being together. Most importantly, we were able to spend quality time with close friends and their families, some of whom we saw several times while we were there. We even went to a youth community theater production with close friends whose daughter was working backstage – it was wonderful.

The following photos illustrate some of the highlights of our time in Arizona this year. We have trips planned to several different locations, domestic and foreign, over the next eighteen months, and we look forward to many more extended vacations in Arizona in the years ahead.

Annexus Pro-Am Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, AZ

Chicago Cubs Spring Training at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ

Kansas City Royals Spring Training in Surprise, AZ

Reconsidering the Gulf Coast

October 30, 2023 ~ If You Want My Opinion ~ Leave a comment

On several occasions I have written about my strong attraction to the coast, how it grounds me and is so good for my soul. My first love in this regard was the Atlantic along the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, simply because I was raised in the Southeast. Places such as Myrtle Beach, Isle of Palms, Hilton Head, Tybee Island, St. Simons, Jekyll, Sapelo Island, Amelia Island, St. Augustine, Ormond, and Daytona are all popular vacation destinations. I have fond memories from summer and early fall trips to all these locations, from within the last few years and going all the way back to my childhood.

In the last decade or so I have had several opportunities to visit the west coast in San Diego, Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, San Francisco, and multiple locations in northern Oregon. It’s a completely different experience from the Atlantic, but no less enjoyable and with some spectacular landscape features you don’t see in Florida or Georgia.

Growing up, my family sometimes went to beaches along the Gulf Coast, and I even went there with friends in college, places such as Panama City Beach and Clearwater. However, I never found the Gulf Coast beaches as attractive as the Atlantic ones. The waves were usually much smaller, and the beaches were not as wide, both of which were important because I typically spent my days as a child and a young man either body surfing in the breakers or baking my skin on the sand. The atmosphere was probably thicker and provided more protection back in the day, and my skin was much more resilient to the sun’s rays. I tanned well and rarely burned much. Those days are over, even for this generation’s youngsters.

Living in the great state of Missouri now, a quick trip to the Gulf is much more manageable, even when flying. We have short direct flights that get us close to multiple Gulf beaches. We tried out Galveston in Texas a few years back, and I was pleasantly surprised how great it was experiencing the beach from the deck chairs at the house we rented with family and friends. Come to think of it, when we took a pre-Christmas holiday trip to Jamaica in 2015, we spent very little time out on the beach but certainly feasted on the views from the expansive balcony of our hotel room.

One place I had never seen was the stretch of the Gulf known as the Emerald Coast that lies west of Panama City and covers about 100 miles of seashore featuring destinations such as Navarre Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, and Miramar Beach. My wife and I were in Destin for a memorial service in February of 2023, and while we were there, we took a few walks out on the beaches. The contrast of the brilliant white sand against the blue-green water makes for a breathtaking vista that goes on forever. It is magnificent.

When I planned a solo trip for September this year, I decided to give the Emerald Coast a try. My wife, who also graciously serves as our ever-resourceful travel planner, was kind enough to book my flight, rent a car for me, and reserve a fourth-floor condo unit at a lovely complex just across the road from the beach called the Mediterranea. It was conveniently located to restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and retailers, many within walking distance. It was a perfect getaway. I was able to take long strolls on the white sand and on paved walkways just across the street. Although I didn’t take advantage of it, the pool was beautiful and added to the overall aesthetic. The view from the balcony was easy on my eyes whenever I looked up from the book I spent so much time reading while smelling the salty air and feeling the constant breeze on my skin.

It’s a good idea to break away from traditions and time-worn habits to explore other possibilities, especially when traveling. We have discovered all kinds of unexpected adventures and curiosities by going in new directions. I am certain we will return to the Emerald Coast, but there are so many other beaches to see, trails to walk, and sights to behold. As we approach the “work optional” stage of our lives, we plan to spend a whole lot more time doing just that.

Oceanfront at Laguna Beach, California

October 29, 2022 ~ If You Want My Opinion ~ Leave a comment

My wife and I try to get to the beach at least once a year. In the past, most of our coastal visits have been to the Atlantic side of Florida; however, we have occasionally made it to other surfside destinations in Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, Oregon, and California. For the summer of 2022, we decided to spend a few nights at Laguna Beach as part of a trip to San Diego and Joshua Tree National Park. We booked two nights at Surf and Sand Resort because it looked like a really nice place where we could get an oceanfront room with a balcony, something that has become an absolute must for us.

We have learned the hard way the difference between oceanfront and ocean “view” when it comes to beach accommodations. Ocean view only means that some fragment of sand and water will be in your field of vision when you are looking out from a window or balcony. If we want to sit outside our room and gaze at the beach, waves, and water (and we do), we book an oceanfront room. When Surf and Sand Resort promises you this type of room, they really come through in a big way. Our room was on the fourth floor, and it was so close to the ocean that when we were looking out the sliding-glass door from inside, we couldn’t even see the resort’s namesake: surf and sand. The view was more like looking out of the cabin of a cruise ship on the high seas!

On our first night, we ate dinner at the resort’s restaurant at a table located on a terrace within a few yards of the breakers. The sounds, smells, and feel of the breeze on our skin all combined to make dinner something more than just a meal. The next morning we walked a few blocks to a charming breakfast spot that served the regular fare, along with some specialty dishes and incredibly delicious fresh fruit. For lunch we dined outside at a nearby Mexican restaurant that specialized in providing way more food than we could eat, but it was fantastic. Later that day we took a walk on the beach, which is bordered north and south by massive rocky ledges that jet out into the ocean, both of which were visible from our balcony. That evening we walked again a few blocks to a dinner spot that was on a deck right at the beach, offering stunning views of the sun sinking toward the flat line of the horizon.

Yes, we did spend a lot of time eating, but we also relished hours relaxing with books and magazines on our balcony. We took naps in the room. We sat for long stretches on the balcony just watching the magnificent Pacific Ocean and the various ships, boats, jet skis, and surfers that crossed our field of vision. The room was comfortable even though it was not equipped with air conditioning. We really didn’t need it. We kept our sliding glass door open the entire time we were there, day and night, listening to the crashing surf. I never saw an insect – not one. That would never happen on the Atlantic coast. Laguna Beach is truly a gem and worth the splurge. I hope we can go back sometime.