Technology updates…new items, photos, prices…

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Note:  Please keep scrolling down to the end of the post as you read.  Copying photos and descriptions from other web sites prevents easy editing.   

Without a normal mailing address, other than our mailing service in Las Vegas Nevada, fulfilling our needs for specific equipment not generally found at local computer stores presented us in a quandary.

The best solution was to order our equipment now, head to Las Vegas next week as planned to visit family, and get to our mailing service’s office to pick up our awaiting equipment.  If, a few items don’t arrive by the time we return to Scottsdale, we can pick it up when we return to Las Vegas a month later for the holidays.

Before we arrived in Scottsdale, we contemplated a few options for receiving the items we wanted, not sure as to the situation until we actually arrived. There was a waiting list for a PO box at the Scottsdale post offices and we didn’t want to incur the cost of yet another mailing service for the short period in Arizona.

As a result, it was necessary to hustle to do the research in the past few days to determine which newer products have hit the market since researching months ago.  A few new item had in fact be released, much to our delight. (Ah, my delight.  Tom doesn’t seem to get so enthused over this stuff).

With the learning curve for Windows 8, transferring over all of our files we hadn’t placed in Dropbox (now to be transferred to Windows Sky Drive) and the difficulty I encountered getting all of my Outlook folders containing all of our travel information, confirmations and contracts, I was concerned. 

To facilitate the process, I made an appointment and brought my old and new laptops to the Microsoft Store in the Fashion Square Mall in Scottsdale for a 15 minute $49 session.  Arriving on time, hauling both laptops through Nordstrom’s, I made it right at 10 am, when they opened. Tom had offered to go along and carry but, I insisted I could go alone. 

Waiting for my turn for over 20 minutes, the tech seemed annoyed when I told him my plight with Outlook.  He said if he couldn’t fix it in 15 minutes, I’d have to leave both laptops resulting in the price going up substantially.  

OK.  In a situation like this, after calculating the prospect of $196 hourly rate increasing “substantially,” I decided to recall the value of Minnesota nice with a dash of warmth and charm that I’ve called upon in the past to have a good end result in a win-win for everyone.

Fifty minutes later, after considerable chatter and chuckles the tech sent me on my way, both laptops in their respective bags, one on each shoulder ouch) and…he waived the bill!  No charge!  No bill!  No $49 fee! Thanks, tech! 

By the way, on my way out of the mall, I stopped in that Nordstrom’s store when a table of sale handbags caught my eye.  All of my bags were sold at the sale, except for a few smaller bags and the awful bag I had been using since leaving Minnesota.  I needed a huge fully zippered leather bag and had yet to have time to look for one suitable for travel. 

My new roomy, fully zippered leather handbag ideal for travel.

Ah, success!  Minutes later I walked out the door, a laptop bag on each shoulder and a Nordstrom’s shopping bag in my hand containing my new purse, on sale for $99, as opposed to its regular price of $249.  Designer name, I didn’t notice.  Quality and function, I did. 

Hurrying back to our “home,” Tom still sitting in the same spot as when I left him, he picked up his head from his new laptop long enough to say “Hi, Sweetie” with a big grin on his face when I told him about the $49…and the new purse.  He didn’t ask about the price of the new purse.  He never does. I never offer it. (Its a girl thing).

Immediately getting to work online to continue the search for a few more digital items for our world travels, most of which I have mentioned in the past in this blog, knowing precisely where and what to purchase:

1. Mini portable projector, purchased for $269 (no tax, no shipping) at B & H Photo, that we will plug into our laptops, find the external hard drive and project the TV show or movie on to a wall for up to an 80″ viewing area.

The manufacturer claims the resolution is so good that one can project a movie on the back of the seat in front of you while flying in an airplane.  We shall see about that.

(Please bear with the inconsistent editing on the photos and information from the three items below.  Copying and pasting from other websites is discouraged and thus, doing so is cumbersome).

Price: $248.00

Product Highlights

  • 50 Lumens
  • 1024 x 600 Resolution
  • 15,000 Hour LEDs
  • 60+ Minute Battery Charge
  • Full Function MP4 Player
  • Full Size HDMI Port
  • 1W Audio
  • USB Host Reader
  • Smaller than Two Stacked Smart Phones
  • Headphone Jack x 1

For the purpose of watching the  many movies and TV shows we’re downloading now from Graboid, a web site that, for $19.95 a month, allows downloads of unlimited movies, TVs, and Audiobooks.

We’ve begun the process of downloading videos onto our new “My Passport,” the two terabyte external hard drive we purchased a few days ago at Costco for $159.95 with tax at 9.5% totaled (as mentioned in a previous post), $175.19.

Our new external hard drive, My Passport.

If we download videos, as opposed to streaming, we can watch them without an Internet connection at our own pace.

2.  Mini Portable Scanner, purchased from Amazon.com for $196.27, no tax, free shipping.  We’ll be keeping records of all of our travel expenses.  Traveling with hundreds of receipts for every expense is bulky and ridiculous.  Every few days, we’ll wirelessly scan (Bluetooth) all of our receipts directly into the app Evernote on my computer where we’ll keep all of our travel records going forward. 

This app is also available on mobile phones.  Once we get our new phones, I will download Evernote and be able to scan receipts while sitting in restaurant, right to my smart phone while we’re sitting in the restaurant.  Cool, eh? (The printer and scanner will fit into my new purse!)

Doxie Go - Cordless / Mobile Paper Scanner


Doxie Go – Cordless / Mobile
Paper Scanner

by Doxie



List Price: $199.00
Price: $196.27 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
   

 

 

Product Features

  • Doxie Go delivers smart and simple scanning you can take anywhere – no
    computer required
  • Doxie’s tiny size makes it easy to scan at your desk or on the go – just
    insert your paper. Scan full color pages in just 8 seconds
  • Scan up to 600 pages (2400 photos) with built-in memory, or insert an SD
    card or USB flash drive for additional storage
  • Award-winning ABBYY® OCR technology recognizes the text in your document and
    creates searchable PDFs
  • Doxie 2.0 included: Amazing scanners deserve amazing software. Doxie 2.0
    syncs scans, creates multi-page stacks, and sends directly to your favorite apps

3.  Portable mini printer, purchased at Amazon.com, for $176.51, with no tax and free shipping:  Since we won’t be staying in hotels very often (in between cruises for a night) we won’t have access to the hotels printer to print boarding passes, itinerary and copies of our legal documents that some countries require in order to gain entry at the time of arrival.  The thought of finding our way to a printer is outrageous both in cost and time.  We found a tiny paper storing mini printer that is amazing. 

PS900 USB ONLY MOBILE PRINTER
PAPER CARTRIDGE INCL

by Planon
Systems

Be
the first to review this item | Like (1)
Planon Printstik PS900 Portable Thermal Printer
Printstik PS900 Portable Thermal Printer
  • Battery Powered
  • USB Interface & Charging
  • Compact & Durable Design
  • No Ink or Toner
List Price: $199.00
Price: $176.51
You Save: $22.49 (11%)
 

We’ll share our own photos once we receive the scanner and printer.  Now I am wondering if we’ll need some type of mini sound system since the external hard drive doesn’t have external speakers.  But then, maybe the sound will come out of the laptop while it plays.  Of course, we’ll test it all before we leave the US in 54 days. Any suggestions would be appreciated.   

Hummm…more on the “to do” list.

Blog clarification…

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Since arriving in Scottsdale, its been a flurry of daily activities getting our future technological needs under way.  Luckily, Tom has had a little time to relax and play with his new computer.  After all, he’s the one that just retired after 42 years, only eight days ago. 

Being the techie (the nerd) in the family, I’ve taken it upon myself to work diligently to get as much done as possible with time to leave the US running out by the minute.

Brains mushy, I realized after several readers kindly contacted me today, that I failed to clarify “signing up” for notification emails, if you’d like, to be informed of all new post as they are uploaded. 

Please, rest assured:  IT IS NOT REQUIRED THAT YOU SIGN UP TO CONTINUE TO READ THIS BLOG.  Simply view the blog as you have in the past by clicking on your bookmark or entering this web address:  www.worldwidewaftage.com

If you kindly choose to sign up for the ease of finding it, you’ll receive an email each time I upload a post.  You can read it, delete it or forward it to someone you know who may be interested in our content.

There are two ways to sign up (remember, your email will not be used for other purposes):

1.  Click on the link under mine and Tom’s photo, under “FOLLOWERS” on the right side on the page that says, “JOIN THIS SITE with Google Friend Connect.”  Entering your info here takes two minutes to set up.

Or…

2.  Further down on the page is the quickest method,  Scroll down with an eye on the right side of the page to “FOLLOW BY EMAIL” which is located after the “SEARCH” button, (located below the archives from March 2012).  Place your email directly into this spot, complete the little squiggly thing of letters (used to avoid spammers) and you’re done!

Readers have asked, “Why bother when we can just read it as usual?”

Answer:  Its helps our blog become optimized, moving further up in Google and other search engine and…helps us build relationships with advertisers offering specials and promotions to our readers who may be interested in travel and products we use at reduced costs, as we have been so fortunate to do.

The more “signed up” followers we have, as opposed to readers in the background (which we have in the 1000’s), the more opportunities we will all be able to enjoy.

Feel free to email me (JessicaBLyman@gmail.com) with any comments or questions now or at any time or, if you prefer post a comment for the public to see at the bottom of each post.  We love hearing your suggestions and opinions.

Thanks to all of you who brought this to my attention today as I sat in the middle of a pile of computers, cables and devices, up to my you-know-what in technology, some of which is way over my head!

Getting familiar in a whole new world…

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Thanks to our reader’s patience as we continue to work on our new look.  Its a work in progress and we’ll continue to refine it as we move along.

Whew!  These past five days in Scottsdale have been a whirlwind as we experience life outside of our familiar and well equipped past. We now realize how spoiled we’ve been as we try to adjust to our remaining 56 days in the US, living in our Scottsdale condo.

Here’s what conveniences we’re missing the most:
1.  No TV in the kitchen:  Intended to entertain me while I whittle away with the dullest knife on the planet, preparing our homemade gluten free, starch free, low carb, sugar free and grain free meals. 
2.  HBO and Showtime:  We miss watching Boardwalk Empire, Dexter and Homeland and, being able to record shows for later viewing.
3.  Finding my way around:  I have no sense of direction. Unable to get a signal on Maps on my smart phone, anywhere in Scottsdale, I ended up driving around for 40 minutes looking for LA Fitness, my new temporary health club.  Logical solution:  Have Tom go out with me (love this!) or, send directions from my new Windows 8 laptop to my email on my phone. Tom doesn’t seem to have trouble finding his way around. What’s the deal??
4.  Lack of gas stations:  Apparently, Scottsdale doesn’t like the look of gas stations in its pristine neighborhoods.  Tom misses his Super America “double coupon Tuesdays,” let alone being able to find a gas station.  Prices are an average of $3.59 a gallon here as opposed to $3.29 a gallon we paid on our road trip.
5.  Our comfy chairs:  Nary a comfy chair in this condo, we both are nearly doubled over with aching backs.  Add the “hard as nails bed” and we are definitely reminded that we’re senior citizens.  (Ha!  Living in Arizona to boot!)
6. Mail: When we rented this condo, it was explained that we would not be able to access the mailbox or receive packages.  Prepared for the eventuality of this outside the US, we are dependent upon making any purchases in retail stores and by receiving our snail mail at our mailing service, located in Las Vegas, MailLink.  In checking with the Scottsdale post office, they have a waiting list for PO boxes, another dilemma for retirees. It wasn’t worth the time or the money to set up a nearby mailing service for the short time we’re here.  Expecting some checks in the mail, we are sending deposit slips and envelopes for the our Nevada mailing service to mail checks directly to our bank (our national bank provided us with deposit slips and pre-printed envelopes).

Here’s what we do like at this point:
1.  Both retired at the same time:  If we thought we were “glued at the hip” before Tom’s retirement, oh my.  Look at us now.  Retirement, no matter how much it’s filled with pleasant activities, is an adjustment for any couple.  Luckily, our even tempers and relatively cheerful dispositions have made this transition fairly easy for us.  Surely, from time to time, we’ll need to take a break from one another and we’ll manage to take it.
2.  The weather:  The past three days have been over 90 degrees. Much to our amazement its not uncomfortable.  Dry heat.  Nice.  AC helps at night.
3.  Close to everything:  Five minutes to Costco. (It was a half hour drive in Minnesota). We’ve shopped there twice already, once to buy our two new Acer Windows 8 touch screen laptops and secondly, yesterday to purchase our two terabyte My Passport external hard drive (more on that later). 
4. Restaurants: There are several dozen restaurants within a mile.  In our old area, we’d have to drive for at least 25 minutes to get close to a dozen restaurants. 
5.  No mail:  How nice it is to avoid rifling through stacks of garbage mail each day, mostly unsolicited advertising. 
6.  Less cleaning and laundry: Our prior home required an enormous amount of cleaning each day. This small one bedroom condo takes just minutes to clean. Sweeping the floor yesterday, I chuckled.  It took a total of 60 seconds. Without Tom working on the railroad, our laundry is more than cut in half.  Although I love doing laundry, this different has been instrumental in giving my bad shoulder a break, especially with Tom helping. 

This morning, we walked to the Staples store (yes, Tom walked!) to return the external hard drive we purchased on Sunday after deciding it was too heavy for travel, replacing it with the lightweight, My Passport.  (The price at Amazon.com was $179.  At Costco we paid, $159.99 plus 9.5% Arizona Tax for a total of $175.19, still slightly less than any prices we saw online with tax, if applicable and shipping. 

Yesterday morning at 8:30 am, we attended a Microsoft class for Windows 8 at the Microsoft store.  Class, free.  Beverages, free. Cost of 450 page instruction manual, free. Distance, two miles. Nice perk. 

So, we’re settling in.  We’re enjoying our busy days, time spent together and the ongoing challenge of our technological needs going forward.  Next post, we’ll share what we accomplished thus far.

Thanks for “listening.”

Our new look…request to our readers…

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Hello, Readers,

We hope everyone finds our new look easier to read and follow.  As I mentioned yesterday, we still have some work to do to get it where we want it to be, to ensure it’s easier for our followers all over the world.

To complete our optimization in Google and other search engines, the more “followers” we have the easier it will be to find us when we leave the US in 57 days. 

In addition, we’d like some of the companies who’s products we’ve mentioned to be easily available to you, if and only if, you want more information.  We will continue to share bargains, coupons, budgeting and financial tips with you as we encounter them.  Some of these will be time sensitive.

In order to accomplish this, we need to show the scope of our already 1000’s of readers on the right side of the page via “JOIN THIS SITE” by our readers entering their email addresses.  It won’t take more than two minutes to complete.

What does this mean to you? This prevents you from having to check each day to see if there is a new post.  Instead you will receive an email in your INBOX with the day’s post (s). 

Since we’ll be writing more frequently, perhaps twice in one day, everyday or… in some cases, less when we are unable to get online in remote areas, this prevents our readers from having to look for new posts.

Our readers email will not be used for any other purpose other than to notify you of posts on this blog.

We are so pleased and surprised that we have readers from all over the world.  Here’s an example of our readers over the past week directly from our stats section in Blogger:
United States
668
Russia
42
France
15
Poland
6
Canada
5
United Kingdom
5
Germany
4
Slovakia
4
Finland
3
China
2

We look forward to growing our site, providing what we hope will prove to be interesting and useful information to both seniors like ourselves and of course, the younger generation. 

Please take a moment to enter your email in “JOIN THIS SITE” on the right side of the page to ensure we are always able to share our journey with you.

Thanks so much,
Jess & Tom

Changes to this site tonight…

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Dear Readers,
Perfectionist that I attempt to be, I’ve not been happy with the look of this site.  It has been cumbersome for us and for our readers to find particular topics.

As a result we have sought the services of a blog design company, Smitten Blog Designs who will upload our new site tonight during the night. 

You will see changes over the next several days as I drive these qualified web designers absolutely crazy getting it to our liking.  The only way this can be done is to upload it to the Internet allowing me to make changes.

As I have mentioned in the past, I have virtually (no pun intended) skills in web design.  As a matter of fact, I have avoided learning since it is not something I am interested in knowing how to do. 

Remember, the entire purpose of our blog is to share with you that which we love to do including its invariable complications and obstacles that surely occur in the process.  Thus, this next few days, may fall into the “complications” category.  Please be aware I am working fast and furiously in the background correcting any issues.

In the end, you’ll not only see the current day’s post on the homepage, as you’ve done all along, but you will also see tabs for topics in past posts, more photos when we soon purchase a new camera and more frequent updates.

Thank you for your patience and thanks for sharing this adventure with us.

Warmest regards,

Jess & Tom

Settled into Scottsdale…two new Windows 8 touchscreen laptops…

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We purchased two Acer laptops with Windows 8 touchscreen.  What a time to learn a new operating system!

We’ve moved into the vacation home in Scottsdale on Saturday afternoon.  The property, exactly as shown in photos is not only clean but, in very good condition, equipped well beyond our expectations. 

Overlooking the clear blue water of a well maintained swimming pool, this older condo is located in the heart of downtown Scottsdale, navigable by a trolley we can catch only a short block away. 

We unloaded the car of the six orange Antler bags, the two carry on bags, clothes for here, clothes for cooler Las Vegas, two laptops and various household items, all in tact after my obsessive security precautions as described in previous posts.

It all worked:  the stickers on the windows warning of a upgraded security system, the indestructible Kryptonite bike locks securing 350 pounds of luggage together, the over-sized black tablecloth that covered it all. 

We never used “The Club” to lock the steering wheel.  We never felt it was necessary.  Still unopened, I’ll either return it to Amazon or sell it on eBay. 

Opening the orange Antler bags now is intimidating.  In essence, we could avoid opening them at all until after we leave the US in less than 60 days.  But, my goal is to repack everything resulting in one or two bags each with items exclusively to be used while cruising.  This will avoid us rifling through so many bags while in the tiny cabin. 

We plan to do the repacking mid December before we leave for our eight days in Henderson, Nevada over Christmas, returning here to Scottsdale on the 28th, heading to San Diego on January 1st or 2nd, to spend a night or two with niece Kely (yes, spelled correctly) and her husband. Dennis.

After unloading the car, a wave of exhaustion washed over me.  We had no food for dinner, had eaten little all day and I had absolutely no energy to go grocery shopping to cook dinner. 

Searching online for a nearby restaurant, we discovered the highly reviewed Citizen Public House, a charming gastro-pub offering a wide array of local brews with a somewhat small menu of uniquely seasoned and presented foods.

Not much in the way of beer drinkers, we each tried unusual ales.  Tom and I swapped our beer after the first taste.  Moments later, the ambitious and attentive server willingly traded in mine for a more moderate and traditional light beer. 

The food, cooked to perfection, couldn’t have been more perfect, mine buttermilk baked chicken breast with roasted Brussels sprouts and Tom’s, a liqueur seasoned meat loaf with mashed parsnips and smashed red potatoes. The service?  Impeccable!

And this condo, after two days, what do we think?  Although not considered upscale, it’s decorated with well maintained comfortable furnishings, acceptable towels, pots, pans and dishes, outdated TV’s (we brought a 32″Toshiba flat screen with us for this leg of the trip.  Good thing!).  With no Vikings games on TV here, we downloaded the NFL app to Tom’s phone.  We’ll plug the phone into the TV to watch it as it becomes available after the broadcast.

Also, the view overlooking the pool is scrumptious. But, the bed is hard.  It hurts my shoulder. Lots of tradeoffs.  We knew this going in.

The temperature was 91 yesterday and should be 93 today.  Yum!  Maybe we’ll grab a lawn chair by the pool one day. Ha!  Not so quick.  Yesterday, we purchased our two new Acer 15.6 Windows 8 laptops with touch screen. The learning curve for an entirely new operating system is cumbersome although both of us are grasping is fairly quickly. 

Tom is not quite a digital kind of guy. His determination to learn to use technology always surprises me.  

Here, I am writing my first blog on my new lightweight laptop while noticing a few features are missing and need to be discovered, i.e., accidentally delete a sentence and then normally left clicking for “undo” to put it back in place. 

Anyone out there know how to do this in Windows 8?  If not, I’ll find the answer somewhere online.  Where are the days of a tidy manual that provides all the answers?  Ugh!

Yesterday, when we purchased the two identical laptops at Costco for only $799 each, a steal with new Windows 8 touchscreens, we dismissed our original plans of purchasing more sturdy industrial type laptops. But, we decided lightweight laptops were more important than durability, especially now that we’ve had the experience of hauling the bags this past week. 

Today is a busy day.  We already visited Starbuck’s for coffee, had the oil changed in the SUV, arranged with the maintenance guy to repair the  problematic wireless connection (done!) in the condo, picked up the five boxes we shipped to the UPS store a few miles away and now, my task is to empty them putting everything in its place. 

Next task, go sign up at a health club and work out, doing my usual HIIT (high intensity interval training).  Perhaps after all of this, there will be time to begin the process of “chilling out” in this 93 degree weather.

Our first hotel and restaurant review…

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This quaint old fashioned motel, the Sandia Peak Inn Motel run by the most charming woman on the planet was well worth the $100 (plus 13% tax) nightly rate.

Halfway to Albuquerque by 1:00 pm, we searched for a hotel on my Android smart phone during the intermittent times we had a signal. Driving across the barren lands of Texas we expected to settle down for the night around 5 pm after another 525 mile day.

Only one day from Scottsdale, our destination for the next two months until we leave the US, we were pleased that we had traveled about 1300 miles in a little over two days.  

Our original plan had been to take our time getting to Scottsdale by the 4th, the day our vacation condo is ready.  On a whim, the day before we left I called Spencer, the real estate agent, asking if we could get in a day early.  We could. 
Searching for an Albuquerque hotel was slow and laborious, continually losing the connection as we traveled across Texas and New Mexico. Anxious to ensure we had a comfortable place to stay when we were able to connect, I selected an old fashioned motel a few minutes from  Highway 40 in Albuquerque’s Old Town. 

We agreed that the price of $100 for a motel, the Sandia Peak Inn Motel seemed on the high side but the reviews online were astounding, as high as a 9.5 at Trip Advisor.  We signed up online for the $100 king room.  
Delightful Kate, manager of the Sandia  Peak Inn Motel, hugged me when we checked out, moments later running out to our car to hand us a crisp red apple along with well wishes.
No words can describe the delightful property manager Kate, other than “wow.”  She couldn’t do enough for us!  Her charming demeanor and concern for our comfort reminding me of times past.  
The adorable motel and our king room, not a disappointment in any manner, was reminiscent of the 50’s and yet updated with modern conveniences including HD TV, working wireless Internet and a newer over-sized Jacuzzi tub . Our room was spotless, spacious and comfortable. We couldn’t stop smiling over this surprising find. My painful shoulder thanked the Jacuzzi.
Starved by the time we were situated, Kate recommended a Mexican restaurant that we hesitated to consider, based on it’s 9.5 miles from the motel.  She insisted we wouldn’t be disappointed. Easy to locate using “Maps.” we found our way there in less than 15 minutes.  

Kate was right. Garduno’s of Mexico, Restaurant and Cantina was exactly what we needed; an extraordinary environment, fresh succulent Mexican fare, cold beer, and yes, we cheated…all you can eat  homemade crispy corn tortilla chips with lip puckering salsa.  

The atmosphere was astounding, a cleverly designed replica of a Mexican restaurant in a warehouse district with high ceilings and a tasteful decor.  The servers, although busy, were pleasant and knowledgeable about the menu, doing their best to accommodate their multiple tables, mostly occupied by seniors, like us.  

Us old-timers can be quite demanding at times. Tom and I made a pact to make every effort to be gracious wherever we may be, the US or abroad.  The old stereotype of the “ugly American” will not apply to us!

Determined to stay as close to our limited diets as possible, I ordered the shrimp fajitas, skipping the tortilla.  Although I don’t normally eat starchy foods, after a few handful of chips and a cold light beer, my reserve went out the window resulting in my devouring half of the re-fried beans.  It was well worth it!
My fajitas dinner minus the tortilla. Fabulous!

Tom had the tender pot roast stuffed corn tacos, although “Mr. Picky” won’t eat Mexican beans or rice.  What a waste.

After a good night’s sleep in the comfortable king bed, we decided to hit the road early this morning while it was still dark.  

An hour into the drive on Highway 40 we were rerouted to famous Route 66, when a tanker truck overturned ahead of us spewing a dark cloud of some toxic chemical requiring  Hazmat trucks, fire trucks, police cars and ambulances speeding to the scene.  Luckily, we made it safely out of the area with only a half hour delay.

Another productive day of driving behind us, we made it to Scottsdale around 2:00 PM.  We were confused about the time change, referring to our phones for accuracy.  Arizona, (most of it) does not acknowledge Daylight Savings time.

There’s a one hour time difference between New Mexico and Arizona. Plus, the clocks change tonight but, not here in Scottsdale.  In our tired condition, it was difficult to figure out the time. We’ll go with whatever our phones say in the morning.

The last time we changed clocks was the first time I wrote this blog, March 14, 2012.  If you’ve yet to read from this blog from beginning, this date is listed in the archives on the right side of this page.  
Contained in those archives since March 14th, we share with our readers the long process of getting to this point. Today, we are exactly two months from the date of January 3, 2013 when we officially leave the US.  

I deleted the Retirement Countdown Free app on my phone.  We no longer are counting the hours, the days, the weeks and the months.  Every moment will be treasured now that we are free, together at long last.

Organized layers…on to Albuquerque…

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Yesterday, it was 82 degrees in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at 5:30 PM when we checked in to our hotel, a newer Comfort Inn & Suites.  Never having stayed in a Comfort Inn, I was tentative at the low price of $79 a night including tax. We’d decided when we began this journey that nicer hotels would be reserved for our future travels, not for getting us to Scottsdale.

Surprisingly, the room was a clean mini-suite with living room,  comfortable sofa, spacious bath, mini refrigerator, microwave, flat screen TV and free wireless although unsecured Internet.  

We left Des Moines Iowa at 9 am, stopping twice for gas with two additional stops  to stretch our legs, mine particularly cramped from sharing the passenger floor space with the cooler.  

Since starting our low carb, gluten free, sugar free way of eating 15 months ago, we no longer are hungry for lunch.  We saved at least an hour by not stopping for meals.  It was a good day, our first official fully retired day for both of us together.

Frequently we glanced at one another in a state of awe.  We did it!  We left! We said our goodbyes to loved ones with tear filled eyes. We let go of all of the entanglements one acquires in their lives, the stuff… and we left.  Sadly?  Yes. Easily? No.  But we did it.  And, we can’t stop smiling.

During the day, I received a text message from Verizon reminding me that I’ve used up most of my allowed text messages with three days left until the end of the billing period.  Ah, who cares? 

Along the way, my fingers flew across the tiny keyboard on my Android phone (soon to be replaced by two unlocked international smart phones) chatting back and forth with family and friends. See, we aren’t going to be so far away!

Tom and I chatted.  We laughed. We silently contemplated our lives.  We enjoyed the driving, not anticipating the future as much as reveling in the moment, coming to a single conclusion:  We are on a permanent vacation that may never end. 

No longer will we have angst on Wednesdays as a week’s vacation rolls into its mid point. No more will we be dreading the mail accumulating in the box (we cut our snail mail down to a few pieces a month, now going to our new mailing address in Las Vegas).  No newspaper to call to resume the delivery. No sense of dread on Sunday evening anticipating Monday morning’s tough reality. How in the world can this be?

How in the world did this happen?  The first discussion, flippantly spewed from Tom to me, resulting in us both surprisingly saying “yes” at the same time, seems as if were a lifetime ago, when in fact it was only 11 months ago.

And this morning, as we packed the organized layers of only that which we need in the hotel room, not a stitch more, we’re already in step as to who does what. 

In these few short days we’ve developed a routine, so familiar, so comfortable that, oddly in itself, begins to feel like “home.”