Our upcoming itinerary…The next 801 days is here…Scroll to end of post to see…

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The beach in front of our villa this morning, cloudy, wavy, and cool in the ’70s.

Our itinerary is in a state of flux as we await the postings of upcoming cruises. Cruise lines post a portion of their cruises approximately 18 months in advance and others at 12 months.  We’ll see a cruise listed for 2013 or 2014, hoping it will recur again in 2015.  However, many do not repeat the following year.

Our more imminent concern is a cruise posting to get us out of South Africa around March 2014 to travel along the safer western coast of the continent.  If it is never posted we’ll fly from Nelspruit, South Africa back to Europe. 

With our upcoming lightened luggage load on April 13th which we’ll handle when our ship docks in Miami for the day, we’re more comfortable with flying as necessary.  We’ll pay for the allowable two bags each as required, neither of which will be overweight. 

We’ll always prefer to travel by cruise provided the daily expense stays within our budget.  There are many cruises available that meet our needs to get from one location to another. Unfortunately, the cost is often prohibitive, at times upwards of $10,000 for 14 to 15 days!  That’s not for us!

With political unrest in many parts of the world, we remain in close contact with the US Department of State as to the safety of visiting any of the countries in our itinerary.  We’re not foolhardy. If there is an imminent danger, we’ll change our plans, regardless of the potential loss of any deposits paid.

Should this happen, we’ll rebook the time period for a location, we’ll enjoy as much and go on with the remainder of our plans.  We’d decided this strategy when we began our research.  Of course, we’ll post changes as soon as they occur.

As you can see our current bookings end on May 14, 2015.  This is NOT the end of our journey.  As we travel on we’ll continue our research, which we both find quite entertaining.  We’ll make decisions for traveling on, health providing.
In 801 days, we’ll have only experienced the “tip of the iceberg,” speaking of which…perhaps Antarctica is on the agenda.

So here it is folks, our next days with more to follow.  Items marked in turquoise are booked cruises.

Locations # Days Dates
Belize Rental 62 2/5/2013-4/9/2013
Cruise Belize
to Miami  		 4 4/9/2013 – 4/13/2013
Cruise Miami
to Miami		 7 4/13/2013-4/20/2013
Cruise Miami
to Barcelona 		 11 4/20/2013 -5/1/2013
Cruise
Barcelona to Barcelona		 4 5/1/2013 – 5/5/2013
Barcelona
Hotel 		 1 5/5/2013 – 5/6/2013
Cruise
Barcelona to Dubai		 15 5/6/2012 – 5/21/2013
Dubai Hotel   13 5/21/2013 – 6/3/2013
Flight Dubai to Barcelona 0 6/3/2013-6/3/2013
Hotel Barcelona 1 6/3/2013-6/4/2013
Cruise Barcelona to
Venice 		 12 6/4/2013-6/16/2013
Venice to Tuscany – Train 0 6/16/2013
Tuscany Rental – 17th century
villa		 76 6/16/2013 – 8/30/2013
Tuscany to Rome – Train 0 8/31/2013
Rome to Kenya – Flight 2 9/1/2013
Kenya Rental – Diani Beach
house		 90 9/1/2013 -11/30/2013
Kenya to South Africa –
Flight		 1 11/30/2013
South Africa Rental – Kruger
National Park – House		 116 12/1/2013-3/26/2014
Kruger National Park to
Durban, South Africa – driver		 0 3/26/2014
Cruise Durban
to Capetown – waiting to book		 4 3/26/2014 – 3/30/2014
Cruise Cape
Town to Genoa Italy  – waiting to book		 18 3/30/2014 – 4/17/2014
Drive Genoa,
Italy along French Riviera to Cannes		 1 4/17/2014 – 4/18/2014
Cannes to
16th Century Stone House, Cajarc, France		 30 4/18/2014 – 5/17/2014
Stone House
to Lisbon – Flight to Madeira		 1 5/18/2014
Madeira, Portugal 76 5/18/2014-7/31/2014
Spain, London, France, Portugul (free time to explore) 66 7/31/2014-10/26/2014
Cruise
Barcelona to Miami 		 14 10/26/2012-11/9/2013
Cruise Miami
to Miami  		 7 11/9/2014 – 11/16/2014
Miami Hotel  1 11/16/2014 -11/17/2014
Cruise Miami
to Los Angeles – Will book 6/1/2013		 13 11/17/2014 -11/30/2014
Hawaii Rental
– Big Island		 46 11/30/2014 – 1/14/2015
Kauai Condo
Rental		 120 1/15/2015-5/14/2015
Estimated
Days Remaining from 3/5/2013		 801
5/14/2015 on…we’ll begin adding to the end as soon as bookings become  available

Countries we’ll visit, real estate to explore, plus photos…

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Famous long sidewalk in Placencia Village with houses scattered along the way.

After spending most of my career as a real estate broker in Minnesota, USA, real estate in Belize peaked my curiosity and Tom’s as well.  With our possible plan to “settle somewhere” when and if we tire of traveling, we’ve decided to research real estate when we find an area particularly appealing. 

An excellent example of local property design, the restaurant, the “Caribbean Breeze Coolspot,” offers sweeping views of the lagoon and the mountains from the deck.

With our newly discovered wanderlust, we can’t imagine living in one locale for an extended period.  But, let’s face it, advancing age may require a fixed location some time down the road

House along the drive into Placencia Village.

How can we make this potential eventuality fun and exciting, rather than a dreaded eventuality of aging?  Taking care of our health is firmly implanted in our lives.  As we all know, unforeseen medical issues can occur in a flash, no matter the attempts one has made to avert it.  We’re products of our genes, our environment, and past bad habits, that can haunt our DNA for a lifetime.

House on the way to Placencia Village.  There’s a tremendous amount of poverty in Belize.

Keeping a positive attitude isn’t a guaranty either, as much as we’d like to believe it is.  So, we’ve decided to live now, as if we’ll live long and healthy lives, full of energy, full of passion, and full of hope.

House we see each time we walk along the beach heading south on the Placencia peninsula.

This hope precipitates a desire to explore what options will be available to us for not only our pleasure but also for a certain degree of ease of living.  Would Belize fill that bill?  We don’t know.  We’re yet to define a frame of reference from one locale to another.

Occupied house near the pier at Monkey River.

We will have visited the following countries including many of their cities and regions in the next two-plus years. Health providing, we’ll add many more in the years to come.  With a three and a half month unplanned gap in Europe in 2014 and a plan to explore more countries during that time, perhaps we’ll add three to four more countries to this list.  (These are listed in no particular order).
1.      USA
2.      Belize
3.      France
4.      Italy
5.      Spain
6.      Turkey
7.      Greece
8.      United Arab Emirates
9.      US Virgin islands
10.  Honduras
11.  Grand Cayman
12.  Bahamas
13.  Puerto Rico
14.  Grand Turks and Caicos
15.  Portugal
16.  Egypt
17.  Jordan
18.  Kenya
19.  South Africa
20. Panama
21. Mexico
22. Guatemala
23. Costa Rica
24. Columbia

With ten upcoming cruises from April 2013 to November 2014, we’ll have an opportunity to look at properties while in port along the way, both for sale and for rent. This process may not give us a definitive view of our eventual long term location but may inspire us to return to live in a particular locale for a number of months to better acquaint ourselves with the lifestyle.

House along the canal leading to the lagoon, leading to the Caribbean Sea.

So often, while on vacation, we’ve all fantasized about moving to the location to live an idyllic life lounging on a pristine sandy beach, with the waves lapping at our feet. 

In only a short time, we’ve come to realize in our own naivety, that however romantic and inviting a location maybe, in time, we all settle into the comfortable and the familiar which hopefully brings us a sense of contentment, fulfillment, and a certain degree of happiness.

Cruising right along…4th day aboard ship…

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I’ve started drinking coffee again after a six-month hiatus. Honesty, I don’t know why I ever stopped drinking coffee. I just did.

Now, as I sit overlooking the sea, the gentle sensation of the ship rolling my chair to and fro, my big mug filled to the brim with a slightly too strong brew, I am content. 
Tom reminds me, “We are not on vacation. This is now our lives.”
A smile planted on my face, I try to grasp this reality. This is our lives. Right now, until the end of January except for a short few days respite in Boca Raton Florida with friend Carol, we’ll live at sea, 23 days aboard ship in January 2013. We’ll always remember this.
Or perhaps, we won’t remember if over time this new life of ours has days blending into one another as we did in the past. We remember tidbits. We remember special occasions.  We remember sorrowful events. We remember laughing so hard we snorted and cried. Do we
remember all of the days in between? Not so much.
So, how do we ensure that these days, simple in their nature, stay alive and meaningful in years to come?  Live in the moment.  Document them here.
Yesterday, we anchored in Cabo San Lucas.  We didn’t go ashore on the tiny tendered
boats in choppy waters to be dropped off at a mile-long stretch of one shop after another, luring tourists, beaconing passengers to spend, spend, spend. That’s not us. No trinkets, we agreed. No jewelry to attract attention.  No home for which to bring baskets, artwork, handmade rugs, and pottery. 

We stayed onboard when perhaps 70% of the passengers went ashore. The average cost of an excursion off the ship was $200 per couple at each port of call.  There were six such events on this cruise.  We did the math. Our eight cruises with an average of six excursions would total $9600, not in our budget. We’ll wander, if we so chose to the various ports-of-call on our
own.

We are cruising as a means of transportation, to do exactly what appeals to us. Today, we’ll go to church at 10 am, have an assessment by a personal trainer/physical therapist at 11 am, have lunch at the fabulous buffet, attend another class on the Panama Canal (coming up in our itinerary in a few days), spend one hour in the sun as we did yesterday building a base tan without burning.   

By then, it will be almost 4 PM.  We’ll relax in our cabin, catching up on email and Facebook, shower, and go to dinner whenever we’re hungry. We’ll dine in the fancy included-in-our-fare
dining room, once again trying new foods.

Last night, we watched the disappointing Minnesota Vikings game in our cabin with dinner on our laps. On Friday night, Tom enjoyed two appetizers; Carpaccio and gluten-free fried frogs legs. He liked them. He’s trying new things. Outside the box. I’d already made these items at different times in our old lives, Tom always turning up his nose. But, I didn’t complain when he tried them on the ship enjoying each item.

Soon, we’re getting off the ship to wander about Puerto Vallarta on our own. We’ll report back what we’ve discovered.
This is our lives. No expectations. Our only stress is moving from one means of travel to another, the bags, not so bad now, definitely to be reduced in the future. We’re OK for now.
This is our lives.

Big Itinerary change!…Part 2…

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Here is the fabulous condo we will be renting for 13 nights, after arriving by cruise ship (as listed in the last post on November 12, 2012) in Dubai on May 21, 2013. 

With only six months until our arrival date, we felt it was imperative to lock in a location, having noticed that many of the properties we’ve chosen thus far seem to get snapped up quickly as vacations are planned all over the world.

Prices are high in Dubai.  When we began looking at our favorite vacation rentals sites (before we booked the cruise to ensure it would be an affordable month), Vacation Home Rentals and Home Away, we became discouraged that maybe this cruise wasn’t right for us at this time.

Many of the properties, in great locations close to the notorious Palm Island as shown on the map, were $300-$500 a night or more, way out of our budget.  As always, a little negotiating and perseverance prevailed.  We found this ideal property at the newer Elite Residence Tower, the 2nd tallest residential tower in the world at 91 stories.

Here is the link to the rental property. Notice the location of this property on the map in relation to Palm Jumiera, the world famous man made island represented with palm fronds of exclusive properties.

The owner writes, in describing the location:

“This location is in the middle of most of the tourist attractions of Dubai. Such as Palm Jumeira, Atlantis Hotel, JBR Walk, beach, Mall of Emirates, indoor ski resort, Wild Wadi, Burj Al Arab, Dubai Marina Mall, etc.  There are an array of restaurants serving multi-national cuisines such as Chinese, Italian, Indian, Persian, Lebenese, Japanese, Pakistani, Mexican, Continental, etc.

Read more at http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3484936#rkgAyAl7uPtKmT9l.99 ”

Need I say we are pleased with our “home body selves” for taking on this added adventure.  “What’s happening here,” some family members ask?  “Have you gone completely mad in your advancing age?”

No, not at all.  Each day while living in Scottsdale until the end of the year, we complete paperwork, taxes, digital equipment needs,  Nevada residency, new driver’s licenses and our 2nd passports (will explain that soon), we stretch to challenge ourselves in little ways we never attempted in the past, such as:

  1. Attending a Windows 8 computer class.  Stubborn that we were, we always took more time to teach ourselves, rather than go out to a class.
  2. Going to a sports bar in the morning to watch the Vikings Game.  Only once in our years together, did we ever go to a bar to watch a game.
  3. Dining out and trying new foods (that comply with our way of eating, of course).
  4. Jess, drinking beer when we’ve gone out to dinner. Getting drunk after one beer I’ve hesitated to drink.  What the heck?  Live it up!  So what if Tom has to carry me out to the car after drinking one Michelob Ultra (low carb)!
  5. Walking, actually going for a structured walk.  All these years I asked Tom to go for a walk with me.  Never did he walk further down the road than to our friends Chip and Sue’s home for happy hour or dinner, only four doors away.  Now we go for walks in our temporary neighborhood.  After all, when we’re traveling, we won’t have a car most of the time.  Walk, we shall!  (Tom can’t believe he’s walking.  I knew he eventually would!)
  6. Shopping together.  I can count on one hand how many times over the years that Tom has gone into a grocery store, let alone a department store.  Yep, we do both together now.  That’s change.

Some of our family members ask, “Are you doing anything different than you did before?” (Which meant for us, staying home and enjoying every minute of our lives).  Yes, we are family!

Yes, we are sitting at our new computers in our temporary home, fast and furiously doing tons of preparation necessary to travel the world without a home for the next 5-10 years.  It’s a daunting task. 

We spend about two hours each day doing research for upcoming trips, locations and cruises, one hour of paperwork, two more hours setting up and learning our new laptops (Windows 8), two hours in household tasks (laundry, cleaning, doing dishes, etc.), two hours out and about shopping and researching our digital equipment, one hour walking, two hours a day dining, and one hour of happy hour commiserating over the previous 13 hours, totaling 14 hours plus…

Yes, family, at night after dinner, pooped from the days activities, we do the dreaded, sit in a chair (definitely not comfy as our old chairs) and “veg out” snacking on sugar free candy, nuts and low carb protein bars and…the most awful…watching mindless drivel on TV, all the while with a smile on our faces, often looking at one another with a new found intrigue while excited, grateful and in love.

Belize;  get your lawn chairs ready. Egypt, we’ll ride camels on the way to see your Great Pyramids and Dubai, we’ll research your history.  Tuscany, we’re ready to walk your open markets, living amongst your citizens for an entire summer.  Africa, we’ll live with your animals in Marloth/Kruger Park, we’ll go to see the Great Migration as it crosses the land to the Masai Mara, perhaps in a hot air balloon.

The south of France: we’ll drive along your coast to Cannes, staying overnight in a fancy hotel and then, we’ll live in a little stone house in Cajarc where there are few tourists.  The island of Madeira, Portugal; we’ll live in a huge contemporary house overlooking your sea for the an entire summer and ride bicycles in to your town filled with history.  Hey Europe, we’ll spend five months roaming around without a plan until we leave for our five scheduled months in Hawaii.

Chill out, family.  We’re not bored for a second and don’t think for a minute, that we’re sitting here doing a thing

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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.”

Today’s the day! Happy Halloween…Off we go!

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Tom went to work at 5:40 this morning for the last time after 42 years, to sign his final papers and get the traditional frosting laden train decorated cake. 

In minute he’ll walk in the door of friend Karen’s home to begin the process of packing “way too much stuff” into his SUV and head to Scottsdale, Arizona to begin the first leg of our year’s long journey.  

Most likely it will take an hour or two and we’ll be off.  One third of the stuff we’re bringing on the road trip will be ditched when we leave the US in two months. Mostly, its includes some snacks, a few remnants we couldn’t part with for now, my tea pot, my Genius chopper, sugar free peanut butter, and four bottles of Courviosier he received as gifts at his party.

Tom just walked in the door, frustrated and angry that his last day on the BNSF railroad, after 42 years of hard work, was dismissed in a few ways.  One, the usual jacket retirees receive on their last day was no where to be found and two, his departing cake had “Marty” written on it.  One would think after all these years, they could get his name right!  Marty!  Good grief! (Poor Marty. He must have “Tom” on his cake!)

Ah, let it go my love.  Your name “Tom,” was on your cake last Saturday night at your retirement party with over one hundred railroad guys and gals in attendance to celebrate YOU!  

Now, its close to 1:00 PM.  After nearly two hours, the car is loaded, the Kryptonite bike locks are entwined in the handles of the six suitcases, the over-sized black tablecloth covers it all and we’re just about ready to go.  

Surprisingly everything fits, except for the cooler which I’ll keep on the floor near my feet.  Whew!  My bad shoulder is killing me but maybe, just maybe, the manual labor will be at a minimum over the next four days as we waft our way across half of our beautiful USA.  

Goodbye, family.  Goodbye, friends.  Goodbye, Minnesota. 

Hello, New Life… the life of two traditional baby boomers, aches and pains in tow, wrinkles and gray hair escalating by the minute, hearts filled with love, hope and anticipation, embarking on the journey of our lives.  Stay tuned.

Aboard ship for 59 days in the first 5 months…

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On January 3, 2013 we’ll leave the US to embark on our first cruise. Over the next five months we’ll experience a total of seven cruises totaling 59 days at sea. Later, we’ll post more details about these upcoming cruises and house rentals.

First 5 months after leaving the US:

Cruises                                  #Days          Start Date        End Date
San Diego to Panama to Miami    15              01/03/13        01/18/13
Fort Lauderdale to Belize Cruise    8              01/21/13        01/29/13
Belize to Miami Cruise                  3              04/09/13        04/13/13
Miami to the Caribbean                7               04/13/13       04/20/13
Miami to Barcelona                     11              04/20/13        05/01/13
Barcelona to Mallorca                   3               05/01/13       05/04/13
Barcelona to Venice                    12              06/04/13        06/16/13
Total cruise days                        59
Homes included in above dates:
Placencia, Belize                         60              01/29/13         03/29/13
Ambergris Caye, Belize                 9               03/29/13        04/09/13
Majorca, Spain                           30               05/04/13        06/04/13We’ll spend November and December, 2012 living in a lovely first floor condo overlooking the pool in Scottsdale Arizona, a commitment we’d made long before we decided to travel the world. That commitment created extra expense and inconvenience but we chose to honor our agreement.
We’ve decided to utilize these two months in Scottsdale to purchase and set up our new laptops (awaiting Windows 8 release soon), our new unlocked smart phones (being released into the market in November) and other technological devices that we’ll describe later upon purchase.

To take advantage of these two months we’ll prepare as much as we can of our 2012 taxes, forwarding everything to our accountant in Minnesota. We’ll get new passport photos taken (outdated after six months), apply for our second passports and visas, download 100 or more movies onto our portable external hard drive and get Tom’s new eyeglasses at Costco (great deal).

With the condo only 25 minutes from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, we’ve decided to follow our doctor’s orders and arrange appointment for Tom in gastroenterology for one last check (as recommended every few years) when one has IBS and Celiac Disease. Although he is symptom free due to our diet these two tests can confirm provide us with peace of mind; a colonoscopy and an endoscopy.

Tom’s sisters spend the winters in Arizona, about an hour’s drive and we’ll visit them. In the first half of November we’ll drive to Nevada to establish residency, apply for NV driver’s licenses and visit family, later to spend eight days at Christmas in a house we’ve rented in Henderson to be close to family and friends for one last time.

We’ll celebrate Thanksgiving in Arizona. In Nevada, on December 20th we’ll have our teeth cleaned. We’ll observe the Mayan Calendar’s End of Time on December 21st (hopefully, not really the end!), Tom’s 60th birthday on December 23rd, and of course, Christmas, away from “home,” the first time as true vagabonds.

A year ago, we would have laughed aloud at the thought of leaving behind everyone we love and everything we own, except for a gaggle of suitcases and hearts full of memories. 

Here we are, packed to the gills, totes filled with memorabilia currently scattered about the house for our kids to store for us. Our paperwork and photos are scanned, our documents and spreadsheets bursting with pertinent data stored in Dropbox for safekeeping, accessible from anywhere in the world.

Yesterday I spent an entire hour scanning a lengthy booklet from our well known national bank on wire transfer procedures, accounts which we’ve set up in both of our names. I inquired as to whether this booklet was online to be downloaded. “No, not yet,” they say. “Gee…kind of behind the times,” I thought.

It’s this little tasks that fill up substantial portions of my everyday. As I sit here in my comfy chair, writing this today, I tapped my Android smart phone (on its last days) to take yet another peek at the handy app on my home screen, Retirement Countdown Free and today, it reads: “1 Month 18 Days.”

One month and eighteen days from today we close the door to our home one last time. We leave behind our loved ones, the lives that we’ve known, our three little dogs buried in the yard, the friends on the peninsula, the eagle swooping in the trees in the summer, the coyotes hovering hungrily in the winter and the gentle fluttering call of the loons.

On a lighter note, we joyfully leave behind six foot snow drifts often trapping us for days and, mountains of goose poop. Yes, mountains of goose poop!

Our Las Vegas vacation home! Photos included…

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After searching the various vacation home websites for several hours, we found this house in the Green Valley Ranch area in Henderson Nevada, a highly desirable location, about 20 minutes (10.5 miles) to the Las Vegas strip and about 10 minutes (5.6 miles) to the airport.  

Based on requesting a rental for this prime season dates, December 21 to December 28, 2012 (our “vacation within a vacation” since we’ll still have the Scottsdale condo, soon to be posted), we didn’t make any effort to negotiate the price.

Why did we choose a vacation home as opposed to a hotel room on the strip? Cost was the major motivator.  Also, its more conveniently located to our family and friends, great shopping at The District (.4 miles), restaurants and theaters, all of which we will particularly enjoy during the holiday week.   

There were few affordable homes available in this prime area during the holiday week due to the fact that many owners preferring to spend their holidays in their own vacation property. 

Although not as exciting as many of our future rentals, this house will serve our needs, provide room for our visiting family members and keep us from the necessity of dining in restaurants each day.

Here are the estimated costs for one week, house verses hotel, assuming the nightly rates are the same:
     Vacation Home____                    __________Hotel___________
Rent:            $1,330.00                   Rate:                      $1,330.00
Groceries:          600.00                   Hotel Taxes & Tips:       332.50
Dining Out:        275.00                   Valet Parking:               280.00

Total:          $2,205.00                   Dining, Tax, Tips:       1,820.00
                                                      Total:                    $3,762.50   

Total Potential Savings:      $1,557.50  

Having calculated dining out for two dinners for the two of us, we factored in the cost of groceries for five of us (or more) including the additional expense of Christmas Eve (traditionally, steak and lobster) and a special (yet to be determined) Christmas Day dinner.

Yes, there is the ease of staying in a hotel with the prospect of feeling pampered. As we plan for the future, our desire to be pampered has “wafted” away as we look forward to our world travels over the next number of years.  

Both Tom and I have thoroughly enjoyed pampering one another over these many years together and this, I assure you, we’ll continue to do so wherever we’ll live.

Did I mention the $1000’s we’ll save without easy access to the gambling tables and slot machines???

Charming House with Pool, Spa, Bbq, Wireless InternetGreen Valley, Henderson, Nevada Vacation Rental by Owner Listing 301335http://www.vrbo.com/301335

Pool and SpaPool and spa
Master bedroom
Living room
Living room
Casual spot
First bedroom
2nd Living room
2nd Living room
3rd bedroom
3rd bedroom
Pool Table
Pool Table
Kitchen
Kitchen
Living room
Living room

Fine tuning the itinerary…

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There are some gaps in our itinerary. It’s unavoidable. We’ve tried to book our vacation rentals as tightly as possible around our cruises. Many owners have a preconceived notion that booking their properties from Saturdays to Sundays or from the 1st or the 15th of any given month, results in a more desirable scenario for the next renter. 

With our far-reaching bookings, some of which are all the way into May 2015, we have found the owners feel more secure in sticking to these notions to ensure what they see as more desirable availability in the future.  We understand. 

By negotiating amazing rental prices we have been able to maintain a $1667 a month average, with many of the homes in the $1100-$1200 month range, to the one month high of $4651 in Hawaii for our family gathering at Christmas 2014.  (Although this Hawaii rental sounds outrageously high, it actually breaks down to a mere $155 a night, a bargain rate for Hawaii during the high season. Most often, a basic single king room with an ocean view will start at $225 a night)!

However, this entire adventure would be impossible for us if we were staying in hotels at $155 a night and eating all of our meals in restaurants as most of us have done when taking one or two-week vacations.  

Thus, with our overall nightly rate average of $54.82 for the rental homes, we aren’t complaining when we see a gap of a few nights.  We will either stay in a mid-range hotel or,  ask the owner of the vacation rental to accommodate the additional nights at a prorated amount if the house is available. These additional potential hotel costs have already been factored into the above monthly rental rates.

Originally, we had promised ourselves to keep the monthly rental average to no higher than $1500.  However, adding the higher one month in Hawaii plus the five additional following months in Kauai at $2000 per month, our numbers were thrown off for 2014.  

When we depart on October 31, 2012, we’ll begin to breakdown these numbers, year by year, as they actually accrue rather than by our current estimated “running total” for the entire period.  For now, this has aided us in keeping a lid on the costs.

We have created multiple spreadsheets for all of these estimated costs which will be changing constantly knowing full well at this point, other than the fixed rental amounts, the numbers are estimated.  

We will continue along this path in the next post this upcoming Sunday. We have an eleven-day gap in Belize, three when we arrive by a cruise in Belize City on 1/29/2013 (our rental begins 2/1/2013) and eight when our rental ends on 3/31/2013 when the cruise ship comes back to Belize taking us back to Miami. We need a plan for these dates at both ends.  

Our options:
1. As mentioned above, we can ask the owner to extend the rental, if it is available on these dates prorating the rent.  This plan is the most cost-effective.

2.  Find a reasonably priced hotel in Belize City near the port and check out the local attractions while there.  Unfortunately, Belize City doesn’t sound like a safe and desirable place to vacation for three days.  

3.  Travel to another area, such as Ambergris Caye (highly desirable, very expensive) to incur additional transportation costs, pricey hotel rates, and the necessity of dining out for each meal.  

Do we choose “easy” or “adventuresome?”  Or, is living out of a suitcase for 949 days so far, not having a permanent home, being away from our family, friends, doctor and dentist “adventuresome” enough for two 60-somethings like ourselves used to “sitting in our comfy chairs, watching endless TV, rarely dining out” and amazingly enjoying it all?

Any suggestions?