Football day in the neighborhood…Planning for the future…

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On this date in 2016, we were in Sydney, Australia, about to board our ship for a 14-night cruise to Auckland, New Zealand. Our hearts go out to all of the people of Australia who are dealing with the horrific fires throughout the continent and to all of the firefighters and first responders who sacrifice their lives in an attempt to extinguish the rampant fires. For more photos from this date, please click here.

Yesterday, we attended the 3:00 pm party by the pool. When it started, it was a pleasant 70F (21C), but by 4:30 when the sun was no longer shining on our table of eight, and the temperature was dropping rapidly. 


We’d dressed for the warmer temperature, but when the sun wafted away, and we were left in the shade, we decided to head back to our “park model” (as they call the permanent homes in RV parks). It was simply too cold to sit there the way we were dressed.

Tom picked up Margie at the Mesa airport at around 10:30 pm to return from her granddaughter’s wedding in Minnesota on New Year’s Eve. I stayed behind when he left to pick her up at almost 10:20 (her plane was late) while Eugene accompanied him.

They all met at Colleen’s place to catch up with Margie and eat chicken and coleslaw at 11:00 pm when they returned. Tom returned to our place by 1:00 am, and I awoke immediately to greet him. We both fell asleep in no time.

Today is another Minnesota Vikings football day with the game broadcast on local TV. We won’t get together with everyone today since it’s easier for all of us to watch it, if interested, on our TV. There will be plenty of gathering in the upcoming weeks.

Watching football isn’t my favorite pastime, but I do enjoy watching the Vikings play, perhaps because I know how much Tom wants it and my two sons, Richard and Greg, who both are quite enthusiasts.

Today is an otherwise quiet day for me. Tom will watch other football games for which I have little interest. To keep busy, I’ll continue to work on the new 2020 travel spreadsheet, transferring pertinent data and conducting more research for the six months we’ll spend in Europe this coming spring and summer.

We’ve decided we’ll stay in Spain and Portugal during our last two-plus months and now must decide where we’ll stay in the first four months, most likely in and around the UK, to avoid the Schengen visa requirements.

At this point, the possibilities that appeal to us are Scotland and the island of Jersey, where we could easily spend two months in each location. Today, I’ll begin researching these areas. We’ve already found several great possibilities in Spain and Portugal.

Once we decide on the itinerary and appealing holiday homes, we’ll begin booking the locations. As much as we enjoyed moving every few weeks in England this past fall, we’ll welcome staying put a month or two at a time after the constant moving while in India.

Sunday dinner will be easy today, a spiral sliced ham, rice for Tom, green beans, and salad. To avoid drying out the ham, we’ll only warm small sections at a time since it’s already cooked. Spiral sliced ham may become dry when baked in the oven to reheat. It will be a quiet day, relatively uneventful, which can “change on a dime” and fast become another day of socializing. We’ll see how it all rolls out.

May you have a restful and peaceful Sunday!

Photo from one year ago today, January 5, 2019:

We drove for five hours to Kathy and Don’s home in Pretoria, South Africa. Don, on his birthday, knocked lemons off the tree in their yard for us to take back to Marloth Park. We stayed for four nights at their lovely home. For more details, please click here.

Seven years ago…Accomplishing tasks feels good!…

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On this date in 2014, similar to the main photo in this post of December 14th, once again, we looked toward the driveway to discover giraffes coming our way. What a glorious sight! Click here for the post from this date.

We knew we embarked on a long journey when we left Minnesota to begin our world travel on October 31, 2012. We never imagined we’d be traveling in 2020 or beyond.

We began a road trip to Arizona, where we rented a holiday home for two months, thinking it might be a good idea to stay for future reference. Would we consider Arizona as a possible permanent home when we decided to end our journey? 

We stayed in Old Towne in a condo where we worked on the balance of the tasks we had ahead of us for two months before we could officially leave the US on January 3, 2013, seven years ago. 

Yesterday, Tom reminded me of this fact after I’d already uploaded the post. At that time, we didn’t know how to take photos and barely included photos in our posts until later on.
As a result, we decided to write this story today.
During this period, we also rented another holiday home in Henderson, Nevada, where Tom’s sisters and spouses stayed with us during Christmas while other family members came to spend time with us: son Richard from Henderson, cousin Phyllis from Massachusetts, and her two adult daughters, Robin and Wendy and, my sister Julie, all from California. We had a fantastic time.

After the holidays we returned to the condo in Arizona and spent the remainder of December continuing to complete the tasks we had on the agenda including purchasing and setting up new digital equipment.

On New Year’s Day, we headed to San Diego and spent two nights with niece Kely and her husband Dennis at their lovely home in San Diego where our first cruise on the Celebrity Century was sailing away on January 3, 2013.

We’d never been on a cruise, but as boaters in Minnesota, we had no doubt we’d enjoy being on the water. Also, we were confident we’d never be seasick. Our assessment was correct. We love cruising and have never been seasick.

Here’s the link to the day we boarded our first cruise.

Our mouths were agape during the entire cruise. Not only were we in awe of the outstanding itinerary and beautiful ship, but we were also enthralled by the social interactions that continued day after day. 

Those first few days, we were so naive about cruising we booked tables for two at dinner in the main dining room. We were having a great time together, but in only a few days, we got into the groove and started booking “shared dining” in the main dining room, and the good times escalated.

If you’d like to read about this first cruise, please click the above link or visit our archives on the right side of the page beginning January 3, 2013. You will easily be able to read through the excitement of that first cruise which ultimately shaped our opinion of cruises which hasn’t changed much over the years.

As a part of my tasks mentioned in yesterday’s post, I needed to start updating our new 2020 Excel spreadsheet, including a page for cruises only. At this point, we have five cruises booked, including the upcoming cruise from Mumbai, India on April 3, 2020, which ends in London on May 2, 2010, an entire 29-day cruise.

We cringed when it was required to pay for the entire expensive Mumbai cruise fare at the time of the booking, but now, we’re happy to have that behind us. Now, it’s imperative to begin booking holiday homes for the six-months between the Mumbai cruise and the cruise returning to Africa for which we’ve yet to be provided a visa waiver. 

On Monday, with the holiday season over, we’ll start making phone calls to find an immigration lawyer in South Africa to assist us with the issue. That item was on yesterday’s to-do list. The time difference is quite an issue.

As a matter of fact, from the seven items we’d listed in yesterday’s post, we are down to only four things when we immediately got to work accomplishing these tasks. More on this later.

Last night, we had a happy hour get-together at our place with the family and our two new neighbors. Today, there’s a party by the pool at 3:00 pm, which we’ll attend with the family and other locals who’ll gather around our table.

And then, there were nine! Tonight, at 10:00 pm, we’ll pick up Margie from the Mesa airport, and our family group of seven will be complete. However, within the next few weeks, another of Tom’s sisters, Rita, will arrive from South Dakota and, Mary and Eugene’s son Kevin (Tom’s nephew) will also come. The good times continue.

May you be experiencing good times with your family and friends in the New Year!

Photo from one year ago today, January 4, 2019:

One year ago today, we spotted young zebras running around a circular path playfully chasing one another. For more photos, please click here.

Making a list…Checkin’ it twice!…

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On this date in 2016, we posted this photo of a vegetable stand where we purchased most of our produce during the 28-day stay in Pacific Harbour, Fiji. For more from that date, including final expenses for Fiji, please click here.

With the new year upon us and only 26 days remaining until we leave for India, we’ve begun to put the wheels in motion to get everything for our departure.

Last night, I began compiling for our departure, including the following:

1. Compile a box of cold weather clothing and ship it to our mailing service in Nevada to hold until we need it again. We are glad we’d purchased warm items in Minnesota, Nevada, and Arizona with the cold weather. This morning it was 35F (1.7C). It makes no sense to bring these items to India, but we may need them again during the year.
2. Order the box of supplies we have awaiting us at the mailing service in Nevada.
3. Contact an immigration attorney to begin working on our visa waiver for South Africa.
4. Contact United Healthcare Global with questions, and purchase an annual health insurance policy for the two of us.
5. Reorganize our supplies suitcase to lighten the load.
6. Purchase a list of items we’ll need for India and in the future; socks for both of us, a belt for Tom, and cool summery tops for me.
7. Start transferring data from our current Excel spreadsheet to our new workbook that is relevant for 2020 only.

Each of these items could take some time, but I must get to work with the days ticking down. The list falls into the categories of tasks that I perform, not Tom. He has “other fish to fry,” and his time will come soon enough to get to work.

Traveling the world isn’t a laid back as some may perceive. Last night while we had Shark Tank on the TV in the background, I scrolled through over 500 listings in Homeaway.com for Portugal. 

With our next cruise departing from Lisbon, it makes sense to spend the last few months near Portugal before we sail away on November 10th. Last night’s research proved fruitful when I found dozens of possibilities in and around Lisbon. Today, Tom and I will go through these together.

With the European Schengen visa restrictions, we have to be very careful not to stay in Europe too long, especially when part of the cruise will be visiting a few ports of call in the Schengen area that count toward our total allowable days.

It was these restrictions that caused us an immigration problem in Australia when we’d been on the continent a few days too long due to being on a cruise. The cruise was considered a “closed-loop” when sailing from Perth to Sydney (with several ports of call in New Zealand), and all the days we were cruising counted toward our maximum time on the continent. We won’t let this happen again.

They are making lists that have always been helpful to me. Although they are hardly New Year’s resolutions, our timing precipitates getting them done.

Today, we’ll work on more research, and I’ll try to knock off a few items on the “to do” list. So far, there are no plans for social activities tonight, but one never knows. They often pop up at the last minute in this senior community.

May your New Year list provides you with a sense of accomplishment we’re looking forward to over the next several days.

Photo from one year ago today, January 3, 2019:

In Marloth Park, one year ago today, one of our two favorite frogs took up residence in this cute little decorative basket near the pool on the veranda. We couldn’t stop laughing! For more photos, please click here.

Part 2…2020…A new year…a new decade…Our travels, a year in review…

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At the New Year’s Eve party a few nights ago.

Today’s post is late. Since this morning, we have been distracted when we met our new neighbors who moved into the unit behind us. Coincidentally, they are also from Minnesota, and it was fun sharing stories with the two of them.

View of hotels along the beach from the ship on our way back to the US in Nassau, the Bahamas from this post.

No doubt, we’ll see them both again soon. The socialization at the park is over the top. No less than three or four evenings a week, we get together with family and new friends to chat, laugh, and share stories.

Socializing is different here than it is on a cruise ship when most passengers are frequent travelers from all over the world. All the seniors (55+) we’ve met thus far are from all over the US, many from the Midwest and other cold climate locations.

Out to dinner With dear friends Karen and Rich for a “thank you for hosting us at your home” at Gianni’s Restaurant in Wayzata, Minnesota. For more from this post, please click here.

A few nights ago, we met a lovely couple from Arkansas while standing in line for the New Year’s Eve party, where winter climates are temperate. However, the draw of this simple life is appealing to seniors from all over the country.

And now, as we have rolled into the New Year, with more and more people coming here to stay for the winter, no doubt we’ll meet more residents, and like the couple we met this morning, those staying in a rental unit such as ours.

Tom won the last game, Bingo Coverall, winning $200 when we were out to lunch with Karen and Rich, where bingo is played at a bar on Saturdays mornings only. He looks tired from little sleep from coughing all night while in Minnesota. For this post, please click here.

For the remainder of the year, Today’s photos were all while we have been in the US since November 8, 2019, almost two months ago. Being in the US during this time has been great, seeing family and friends.

Now we’re gearing up to leave the US again and most likely won’t return for another two years. We have many worlds left to see and look forward to the next leg of our journey.

As mentioned yesterday, 2019 was the most challenging of our seven years of world travel. We’ll never forget what we went through, but we take the memories with us and hopefully have learned from our experiences as we move into the future.
Our next stop was Nevada, where I had the opportunity to visit my sister Susan. This is her pup, Chase, an adorable little guy. See the post here.

Sure, there’s a bit of trepidation in the future. Will we be close to competent medical care? Are the risks of future issues with my health going to hold us back in any way? We could easily make ourselves stressed contemplating these raw facts.

However, we choose to free our minds from stress and to focus on the good fortune we’ve had in discovering my heart issues in time to avert a possible life-changing event and, of course, our ability to continue.

Tonight, we’ll lay low and enjoy our delicious leftovers from last night’s successful dinner party. The sisters and brothers-in-law came to our house around 3:30 pm and stayed until close to 9:00 pm. 

It was wonderful to meet up with old friends Jerry and Vicki. It was amazing to see them so many years later when we’d met in Kauai in 2015. For this post, please click here.

As often the case, the conversation was filled with stories of experiences they all shared about their years of growing up in a large family. They are quite an entertaining group. 

We’re attending another party at 3:00 pm on Saturday by the fire pit. It’s warmed up a bit, and when the sun is shining, it’s pretty comfortable being outdoors. Tom is picking up Margie at the Mesa airport on Saturday. It will be great to have her back with the six of us.

Have a wonderful day!

Photo from one year ago today, January 2, 2018:

Last year on this date, we posted “year in review” with this photo of two female rhinos on the trail of a nearby male. See this link here for more from the date this photo was taken. Click here for the year-ago post.

Part 1…2020…A new year…a new decade…Our travels, a year in review…

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In Devon on a farm, Tom had the unusual experience of shepherding 150 lambs. For that post, please click here.

Since we’ve posted so many photos from Africa, we’ve decided not to post favorite photos from 2019 that include our time in Africa. Our readers have seen them over and over again. We appreciate your patience and interest.

While in Ireland, we got a good shot of this pair of cows, most likely a mom and baby, from this post.

Instead, today (with more to follow tomorrow), as mentioned in yesterday’s post (click here), we’ll review where we’ve traveled over the last 12 months. Based on the fact my open heart surgery was in February, and we weren’t able to do much during the remaining three months we spent in Marloth park while I recovered thus, the dates are as follows:

January to May – Marloth Park, South Africa 
May to August – Connemara, Ireland (three months)
August – Flight to Amsterdam, where we spent two nights
August – September – Baltic Cruise – 12 nights
September to October – Stayed in four locations in the UK: Falmouth, Witheridge, Devon, England and, Chepstow, Wales, two of which included living in the English countryside on working farms.
October – Drove to Southampton, England, where we spent two nights and then boarded a ship for a 15-night cruise to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
November to December – Minneapolis, Minnesota, the USA to visit family (3 weeks)
November to December – Henderson/Las Vegas, Nevada, the USA to visit family (11 nights)
December – Apache Junction, Arizona, USA – the balance of December has been spent visiting family (Tom’s sisters and spouses)

While in Amsterdam wished we could post the identity of all of these great highlights on our canal boat tour, but it wasn’t possible as the boat moved along. For this post, please click here.
  • Number of Flights: 5 
  • Number of Cruises: 2 
  • Number of Vacation Home Rentals: 7
  • Number of nights in hotels: 4
  • Number of nights spent with family or friends: 32 (with friend Karen in Minnesota and son Richard in Henderson)
  • Number of Rental Cars: 5 
The luxury in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg was indescribable. See the post here.

Considering the awful condition I was in until October, unable to walk from the surgeries and dreadful medications I later stopped taking. Then the dreadful virus we both caught on the cruise back to the US traveled quite a bit.

In Tiverton, Devon, these birds reminded us of the Helmeted Guinea-fowl we had in our garden in Marloth Park. For this post, please click here.

Now that we are both feeling well, we’re finally able to relax and focus our time with Tom’s family members and preparing for our upcoming trip to India in a mere four weeks from today.

In some ways, it was a good year. In other ways, it was frightening and disheartening. As the year ended last night at midnight, when we stood on the dance floor at the party here at the resort and shared a long kiss, we couldn’t help but smile for the New Year to come. 

This is the view from our veranda in Falmouth, England. For this post, please click here.

No, we can’t dismiss what we’ve been through this past year, but we can and have embraced a feeling of gratefulness and good fortune, to have made our way through a challenging time.

In the rain on the farm in Witheridge, Tom was using the wheelbarrow to bring the wood to Pond Cottage. See the post here.

The party last night was fine. We could have done a few nuances without, such as eating prime rib (which was good) with a plastic fork and knife. But, the people were relatively friendly, and the two of us had a good time together as always. 

Friends Linda and Ken from South Africa came to visit us while we were in Chepstow, Wales. Here’s a photo of the four of us, and here’s the post from that date.

We couldn’t resist staying until the stroke of midnight to hear and sing the traditional song, Auld Lang Syne. Oddly, one of the participants on the dance floor collapsed right at midnight. Shortly after the song ended, an ambulance came to take the poor woman to the hospital. We never heard what had transpired.

The tabletop is a plain white blank canvas, making such colorful presentations possible while we dined on the ship experiencing Le Lewtit Chef a digital dining experience. For that post, please click here.

Back at our park model (as they are called) by 12:15, we unloaded our bag of beverages and went off to bed. We both slept reasonably well,,, awakening to a new year, a new decade, and a new journey we’ll continue with joy in our hearts.

Today, we’re making dinner for the family: baby back ribs, mashed garlic potatoes, sweet corn, dinner rolls, salad, and dessert. Based on time constraints, we’ll continue this post tomorrow. Please check back.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Photo from one year ago today, January 1, 2019:

This is a two-year-old Rock Hopper Penguin on New Island in the Falkland Islands,,, yet to grow his full plumage when we visited Antarctica. Last year on this date, we posted favorite photos from 2018.Last year on this date, we posted favorite photos from 2018.Last year on this date, we posted favorite photos from 2018. Please click here for more photos.

Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone!…A new year, a new decade, a new beginning…

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On this date in 2013, this foot-long insect on the wall by the bathroom door in the master bedroom made us cringe.  Sleep didn’t come easy the remainder of that night, fearing that the rains of the previous few days may have brought more of these ugly things indoors. Tom, as always, disposed of it outdoors, but of course, didn’t kill it.  For more photos from that date, please click here.

Many times in the past seven years, we’ve chronicled our year in review on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. In tomorrow’s post, we’ll list where we traveled in 2019 with snippets of what transpired during those travels. 

As our readers know so well, this has been a tough year for us when on February 12th, I had triple coronary bypass surgery with many complications. We won’t get into all of that. 

We’ve said enough and appreciate the patience of our readers who saw us through that difficult time and stayed with us, continuing to read our daily posts. That month I only uploaded 16 posts when I could not prepare posts during the first two weeks after surgery. 

In tomorrow’s post, we‘ll breeze by that period when in May we were “on the move” once again, albeit with a certain amount of trepidation and fear.

Instead, now, we look to the future with hope and optimism that we’ll be able to continue for years to come. But, we’ve both decided over the past few months that we cannot and will not dwell on fear or apprehension of what could happen. 

We could all get caught up in this state of mind, even those in great health. None of us know what the future holds and we can only do our best to maintain good health and a good attitude which ultimately may be instrumental in our quality of life and longevity.

Most of us can look back at our prior year and recall various circumstances causing us to worry and be concerned for ourselves, our loved ones, our circumstances. No one is exempt.

And, most of us choose to move forward, learn from our experiences, good and bad, and continue on the path we’ve chosen for our lives or in some cases choose a new path as we had done over seven years ago. It changed everything.

Rather than New Year’s resolutions, we find it helpful to look back over the past year to determine what we have learned, changes we have made and the changes we need to make going forward. 

It’s highly individual and we cannot imply or suggest that any of our readers/friends follow such a path. But, we find a sense of comfort moving into the New Year knowing we are doing the best we can to maintain a quality of life that brings us both joy and contentment. 

That being said, we wish each and every one of our readers a meaningful and purposeful New Year that fulfills your needs and wishes and brings you joy and contentment as well.

Happy New Year!

Photo from one year ago, December 31, 2019:

Adorable giraffe at rest in Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here 

Another birthday celebration…This time at the bar entitled, “What the Hell”…Finally, rental car issue resolved…

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I was painting on the wall outside a sushi restaurant in Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on this date in 2017. For more photos, please click here.

Seniors seem to prefer going out during the day as opposed to at night in the dark. I suppose we are no exception. With crazy drivers on the roads at night, many of whom may have been drinking, daytime visibility is beneficial. That’s not to say daytime drivers are competent or sober.

This fact is especially relevant as we approach New Year’s Eve. For this very reason, we were prompted to spend New Year’s Eve at the party here at the resort rather than venture out to any other locations.

Over the years, our interest in New Year’s Eve has diminished considerably. Still, when the opportunity to attend the party came up a few nights ago at a great price, we negotiated for two tickets, it was hard to turn it down. See yesterday’s post for details.

Yesterday, we brought the egg dish and blueberry muffins to Colleen and Gene’s home for brunch. Afterward, we watched the disappointing Minnesota Vikings Game, returning to our house around 3:30 pm with little to do but relax and unwind.

We should have started to tackle prospects for future bookings, but Tom was determined to watch football for the rest of the day and evening once we returned.

I busied myself with a variety of tasks, including making a light dinner at 6:30 pm. This morning before beginning the post, my time has been spent online checking credit card balances for the first-of-the-month payments. 

Since we’re leaving at 1:30 pm to pick up Colleen and Gena (it’s her birthday today) to head to “What the Hell Bar and Grill” to celebrate her birthday, we have little time to get wrapped up in any research for future travels.

This morning, Tom received an email from rentalcars.com, a site we’ve used since the onset of our travels and will continue to use for the best pricing on cars worldwide. They finally credited us for the issue we ran into when we arrived in Las Vegas on November 28, 2019.

When we approached the rental desk at the Alamo airport, we were informed we couldn’t receive the car we’d rented online due to some technical error between them and rentalcars.com.

However, Alamo booked another car for us at an even better price, which we accepted. But, the issue remained to apply for a credit for the car we didn’t get, and Alamo stated we’d have to do so through rentalcars.com.

We were receiving the credit turned into a convoluted mess of endless email messages and instructions to apply for the credit online (which didn’t work), with a high degree of frustration on our end. We didn’t give up. We kept pressing.

Finally, today, they wrote to us stating the credit will be processed and appear on our credit card within ten business days. Plus, they offered us a complimentary three-day rental next time we use the service by using a code they included in the message. 

We’ll keep checking the credit card and use the code next time we rent a car which should be once we arrive in London in May, after the cruise from Mumbai in April.

Now that we have all of the annoying issues resolved hanging over our heads, we can freely move forward in our planning for the future.

Have a fabulous day!

Photo from one year ago today, December 30, 2018:

Puff adders are commonly seen in Marloth Park. This photo was taken while we were at snake school in March.  Click here for the link to when the photo was taken. Click here for the post one year ago.

Social nirvana into the New Year…

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We often encountered beautiful flowers when we walked the neighborhood in Pacific Harbor, Fiji, on this date in 2015.

We knew that staying in Apache Junction would provide us with an opportunity to spend enjoyable times with Tom’s sisters and spouses and with other resort residents we’d meet along the way.

Yesterday at 3:00 pm was no exception. When Colleen and Mary were invited to an afternoon “happy hour,” of course, they ensured we were included as well.

When we arrived at Sue and Ed’s lovely park home, we were heartily welcomed. As the afternoon wore on, word got out, and four others showed up, all of whom we’d met at other parties over the past three weeks. The group of eight of us engaged in lively conversation.

The 12 of us were a lively group, and there was no shortage of chatter in the room. How they managed to squeeze enough chairs into the space to accommodate everyone baffled me. I guess groups this size must be a common occurrence with all the socializing.

When we’d brought up New Year’s Eve to Tom’s sibling, none sounded enthused to going out to celebrate. Tom also hesitated to plan anything, yet I’d have loved to go out to celebrate, especially if we could do so nearby.

There’s a New Year’s Eve party planned at the resort, but we’d heard the tickets were sold out. Ironically, last night a couple, Sue and Mike, mentioned they were trying to sell their two tickets to the New Year’s Eve party, for which they paid $64. They preferred to attend another party at a nearby resort.

The husband, Mike, was open for negotiations on the price of the tickets. He agreed to $50 for the pair. I offered $40. He decided to pay $45. I stuck to my guns at $40, and eventually, he agreed, knowing it would be unlikely he could sell them at this late a date. After all, the party occurs in only two days.

Hostess Sue (lots of Sue’s here) suggested we sit with them and hang out with them at the party. We may know a few others in attendance, but this plan was most preferred.

This morning I baked blueberry muffins and just took an enormous egg, sausage, mushroom, and onion bake out of the oven to bring to Colleen and Gene’s home for brunch for the six of us. We’ll be watching the Minnesota Vikings game from Tom’s laptop on their big-screen TV using our HDMI cord.

Tomorrow, we’ll all celebrate Colleen’s birthday at the local bar, and the next night we’ll attend the New Year’s Eve party. It’s pretty fun being here. We’re enjoying every moment.

Have a fantastic day, dear readers! Go Vikings!

Photo from one year ago today, December 29, 2018:

Tom took this photo of two hadeda birds on the roof of a neighboring property. Click here to hear the sounds they make, which result in their name. They are known as the loudest birds in South Africa. For more photos, please click here.

Researching the future…We’re behind schedule…

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Taking this photo without zoom on this date in 2013 gives a perspective of the small size of this island, somehow appealing to her for its varied vegetation. For more photos from that date, please click here.

Since we arrived in the US on November 8th, we’ve been preoccupied with visiting family and planning for our upcoming two months in India. We’ve yet to begin booking where we’ll stay after our 29-night cruise from Mumbai to London, which ends on May 2, 2020.

It may seem to be a long time away, but in our world, four or five months fly by in a flash, especially when we are having a great time. As much as we’d like to postpone the time it takes to conduct an in-depth search, the time has come for us to get to work.

The hardest part of booking the six months we have to fill between the end of the cruise until the next cruise in November is where exactly we’d like to travel.

With the Schengen visa requirement that we can only stay in Europe for 90 days out of 180 days, it makes sense for us to spend more time in the UK that doesn’t fall into the Schengen requirements. 

There appear to be several available options for the summer months. Undoubtedly, it makes sense to stay in Scotland (a part of the UK) for a period that neither of us has visited. But, certainly, we’d better get something booked soon.

It’s still hanging up in the air concerning our return to South Africa at the end of the November cruise. But one thing we have decided is we won’t stay in South Africa over the holidays due to increased seasonal rental costs and excessive power outages, especially when there are so many people in Marloth Park. They are experiencing such issues now, as we’ve mentioned many times on Facebook.

Instead, we’re contemplating getting off the ship a few days before the end of the cruise when the ship docks in a port of call in Luderitz or Walvis Bay, Namibia, and stay there for a few months while awaiting the end of the holiday season in South Africa. This makes a lot of sense to us.

After the first of January, we’ll be contacting an immigration attorney in South Africa to assist us in getting the waiver we applied for, which has yet to be approved.  

It’s been almost eight months since we applied and yet had no response. Without the waiver, we won’t be able to return to South Africa until May 2024. That’s too far out for any planning at this point.

This morning, we visited Mary, Eugene, Colleen, and Gene (Margie returned to Minnesota for a few weeks to attend her granddaughter’s wedding on New Year’s Eve). No one seems interested in doing anything out and about on New Year’s Eve, but a few activities transpire in the next few days.

Tomorrow, before noon, we’ll get together for the Minnesota Vikings Game at Colleen and Gene’s home, where we’ll hook up Tom’s laptop via the HDMI cord to their large TV. I am making an egg, mushroom, onions, and sausage casserole to bring for brunch.

On Monday, it’s Colleen’s birthday, and the six of us will go out for a happy hour and a bite to eat at a local pub, “What’s the Hell.” It will be fun to celebrate with her as we did over Tom’s birthday on Monday.

Now, I’m off to the market once more for a few items. We’ll spend a quiet day and evening at our place, having dinner and perhaps watching a movie in the evening. We’ve already completed our walk now that the rain has stopped.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, December 28, 2018:

It’s easier for male kudus to eat this way instead of bending down with those giant horns. Wildebeest Willie waits in the background for his turn. For more details, please click here.

A perspective from the inside…Aging gracefully…

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This photo was posted in 2014 when our family visited Mount Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This was my favorite shot of the evening with the backdrop of the glow of the lava.

After a great night’s sleep last night, both of us are feeling well. What a relief! At this point, with the recent virus gone and my ongoing recovery from last February’s dreadful experience, I am feeling better than I have in over ten months.

I prefer not to be overly optimistic and proceed with caution, realizing that some days may not be as good as others. Then again, most of us have good and bad days about how we feel, especially as we age.

Living in this senior community for 18 nights thus far with a total of 51 nights for the duration has allowed us to see how other seniors live; their health concerns; their worries; their relationship issues; and the affordability (or not) of living in this pleasant, modern RV park.

Surprisingly, most people we’ve met have been very candid about their personal lives. Many have discussed their memory issues and health challenges in some detail. 

However, from what we can ascertain, a substantial number of residents are healthy, active, and full of vitality. In either case, no one we’ve met to date appears to judge those with health or emotional issues. Overall, the residents appear happy to be here, many of whom have lived here for as many as 20 years. Sure, some express concerns over the Park’s management, but this is to be expected. 

It’s easy to get caught in the loop of observing management’s handling of the facility and subsequently making comments or observations of how various situations could improve. However, few seem to express these concerns to the corporate office.

The park appears to be well run. It’s clean, well maintained, and has a robust variety of services and activities in which residents may participate or not. Most events result in an easy social experience suitable for singles and married couples. 

Some individuals lost their spouses and remained in the park during the winter months or throughout the year. Tom’s sister, Margie, lived here during the winter months with her husband Charlie, who sadly passed away in 2008, and yet she still spends her winters here to avoid the cold weather in Minnesota.

For her, the benefit of having two of her sisters living here is a big draw as well. Most residents make an effort to make friends in the park with whom they develop close relationships. Fortunately, we’ve had an opportunity to meet many of Tom’s sister’s friends, all of whom are lovely people.

Many residents have homes they return to in the spring, not returning until October, November, or later and leaving as soon as the weather warms in their home states.

The Arizona summer weather can be daunting, for example:
“In Phoenix and the surrounding suburbs, the summers are sweltering and dry, the winters are cool, and it is mostly clear year-round. Over the year, the temperature typically varies from 44°F (6.7C) to 106°F (41C) and is rarely below 36°F (2.2C) or above 111°F (44C). The record high-temperature is 122°F (50C).”

It’s not surprising that few seniors prefer to stay here in the summer months, but many no longer have second homes out of state and, due to affordability and convenience, will stay through the hot summer months.

No doubt, we’re enjoying our time here meeting new people and spending quality time with Tom’s three sisters and two brothers-in-law. During our quiet time, we busy ourselves with household tasks, research for future travels, and of course, preparing each day’s post.

In only four days, the New Year will be upon us. May you enjoy the planning and preparations for what may be most suitable for you to ring in the New Year.

Photo from one year ago today, December 27, 2018:

Elephants were coming down the hill to the Crocodile River. It’s hot and dry, and water is sparse for them. For more photos, please click here.