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Well we have officially reached the last month till retirement.
Many of the plans for the first trip are made including some reservations we thought were necessary. Much of the first trip will be very flexible as we do not intend to be locked into a particular place for a particular time. But some locations don't work well for that "flying by the seat of your pants" attitude. In those cases we wanted to make sure we had a place to stop instead of a holding pattern driving around trying to find somewhere to stay. In most areas that is not an issue. There is almost always a free spot somewhere near where we intend to stop during our travels.
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Well home is where we park but we are back at Avalon Landing. Bounded out of bed early to get moved before the rain got any worse. By the time we got to the interstate it was raining and has not stopped. Setup in the rain is not a lot of fun but we made the best of it. Snug and dry inside but a little tired.
We had a great last day on the island. A bike ride to the Fort and back. Along the way we came by an Osprey nest. Dad on the limb near by and Mom on the nest. I think she was not amused by our attention. At the fort I took this 180 degree picture from one of the gun emplacements looking out to the Gulf.  After lunch we went back to the beach for a couple of hours. A pod of Mother dolphins and babies came along. If you look close to the left you can see both baby's dorsal fins.  We finished off the day visiting family for dinner. Maggie and Evan came to the beach for a few days. It was really nice to spend some time visiting with them. It has been a wonderful week.
Back to regular life tomorrow. We met Kevin, Martha, and Antonio at the Fort to watch the Blue Angels practice. The sea wall around the Fort gave us a great view of the Blues as they made turns over head. More time on the beach this afternoon, riding the 4 to 6 foot waves. Lots of fun. We felt like kids. For a little while then reality kicked in and we were exhausted.
Great dinner with Kevin, Martha, and Antonio. Then some time in the condo hot tub and pool. Good time talking about so many things and reminiscing. After a short (1.5 mile) bike ride we returned to the camper to have the Blue Angels make turns over the RV. With the weather clearing some... off to the beach.    180 degree view from our spot on the beach this afternoon.  Dinner then "Bands on the Beach" with Kevin, Martha, and Antonio   Great end to the day. The band "Mr. Big & The Rhythm Sisters" was fantastic! Visiting with Kevin, Martha, and Antonio was great.
Arrived at the Fort Pickens campground. Very cloudy day but the temps were great with a light breeze. Setup went well after a bit of a problem backing in and lining up. After a few minutes we had everything set.  We went out to the beach to sit and relax. Cloudy with a breeze but even an overcast day at Pensacola Beach is good. The national park service may have branched out into non-human rangers. The Crane below after people next to us had gone in the water walked up and seemed to be making sure everything (food) was put away properly. He was completely unconcerned that we were 10 ft away. 
In preparation for our upcoming trip we decided to clear and clean our fresh water tank. It turns out overfilling the fresh tank is not a good idea. I expected the fill tube to indicate that I had the tank all the way full. Well it turns out the overfill at the tank just flows out the top of the tank. All over the place. Should have know to check better since this was the first time I had tried to fill to the top. Usually we just fill about half full. Hope nothing was damaged.
The moral, if there is one, is that when you are so exhausted you can't think straight don't try something you have never done before. Well we decided that all the work in preparation to retire was too much and we will be taking a week off from work to recover... LOL... A camping trip next week.
Our current plan is to travel up to the Smoky Mountains. Smoky Mountains site
Onto West Virginia and then to Washington DC. After that back down the east coast to visit family in North Carolina. Then on to Florida where we will spend some time with the big mouse at WDW. After that Christmas with family near Titusville, Fl. The details are in flux but that's the point when you're retired. Be flexible. Don't hurry. Never sweat the small stuff. We are putting together our last few items before the first big trip. Some are pricier than others but most are needed to have a safer journey.
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April 2024
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