Happy Hour and Manatees

It was off the the beach last evening for Happy Hour. It had been a successful day and a respite before we begin accessing and unpacking the PODS. I managed to find gas for $3.359/gl and both of the vehicles which made the drive from Maryland were filled and prepped for the travel ahead associated with retrieving our belongings from the PODS. We have been driving our Florida car, the Camry, which had a full tank of gas and was ready to get out of the garage after four-and-a-half months of storage. 

Manatee off Jupiter Island
Jupiter Island, FL
September 6, 2022

As we walked down to the ocean's edge, I noticed large brown shapes moving in the water about 100 yards offshore. There were groups of large brown objects, about 20 of them. They were moving with and against the waves. There were no fins and so I determined they were not sharks or dolphins. It finally came to me, manatees. We watched them off the shore for a while until they moved off. It was amazing how they were spread out but also moving in small groups. It was truly an aggregation of manatees. 

Some excitement to end the day before we headed home to make dinner. It had been years since we had seen manatees off Jupiter Island.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Alle-gator (AG) on Patrol

 

Map of My Bike Ride
Tequesta, FL
September 5, 2022

I managed a Labor Day 17 mile bike ride yesterday. It was good to be back in the saddle on a serious ride. My guide toured me through developments that I have not visited before and in one area the wildlife was active and fin to watch. 

The ride meandered through Tequesta into Jupiter. The most interesting part of the ride was through a large housing development in the initial stages of building but where the infrastructure is mostly in place from a failed development a few years ago. It winds into wild areas and I saw deer, rabbits, many species of birds, lizards, and one alligator hanging out in the pond, or is it large enough to be a lake?

Lake or Pond? You Make the Call
Jupiter, FL
September 5, 2022

I sometimes have difficulty determining the difference between lakes and ponds. 

In this case I think it is a lake, but the gator in the lake thinks that it owns the waterfront. BTW, the object in the image to the left is not the gator, that is the fountain. I zoomed in on the gator could tell that it is searching for its next meal. 

Alligator on Patrol
Jupiter, FL
September 5, 2022

Biking through undeveloped areas is a lot of fun because of the wildlife. I saw four deer race across open fields. I knew that within a few years those fields would be filled with houses--but, for now they were open areas. 

Most of the ride was in neighborhoods where the houses start at well above $1M and go upwards from there because of they are either on the river or lakefront property. Yes, they are nice houses, but way out of my desire for a mortgage. I am looking to be mortgage free by the end of September and so buying a house on the Loxahatchee River, while a pleasing thought, is not in the plan unless I win the lottery. Only problem there is you have to play to win. 

It was a beautiful morning to be out on the bike and I am looking forward to many more. The total time of the ride, with stops, was 1h33m with an average speed of 12.3 mph. I have to admit that at the end of the ride there is a small hill (compared to some I rode in Maryland) and I was out of gas in the tank. I went about as far as I could for the second ride after my return.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Monday Musings - Labor Day 2022

 

1. This is the first Monday of September 2022. There are 16 Mondays remaining in the year. 

2. Happy Labor Day 2022. My how the world has changed during the past few years and we are beginning to get back to normal.

New Mattress Installed
Tequesta, FL
September 4, 2022

3. Get your booster!

4. Chris and I took delivery of a new mattress yesterday, our first new one in over 25 years. It was about time. It was one of the first things we wanted to do upon arriving back at our home in Florida, and we did! It was interesting that the installers took pictures of the various stages of the installation for proof of delivery. 

5. Enjoy Labor Day and remember our military and the first responders who are on watch to protect all of us! 

6. Why does it seem that we, as a nation, have lost the concept of tolerance? Everyone seems to be trying to mold everyone else into their vision of life and liberty. 

6. Today in History. On September 5, 1836, Sam Houston is elected as president of the Republic of Texas, which earned its independence from Mexico in a successful military rebellion.

Born in Virginia in 1793, Houston moved with his family to rural Tennesseeafter his father’s death; as a teenager, he ran away and lived for several years with the Cherokee tribe. Houston served in the War of 1812 and was later appointed by the U.S. government to manage the removal of the Cherokee from Tennessee to a reservation in Arkansas Territory. He practiced law in Nashville and from 1823 to 1827 served as a U.S. congressman before being elected governor of Tennessee in 1827.

Dollar Strength Lifts Americans’ Relative Spending Power - The Wall Street Journal

Ukraine’s Zelensky Hails Small Advances in South, East - The Wall Street Journal

Markets Struggle to Walk Tightrope With Focus on Fed - The Wall Street Journal

Manhunt underway after at least 10 killed in Canada stabbings - CNN

Las Vegas isn't betting on Mother Nature to solve its water problems. Here's how it intends to win - CNN

Labor Day 2022: Almost everything will be closed except these retailers - CNN

Britain's Truss expected to be named Conservative leader, new PM - Reuters

Afghanistan earthquake kills eight, more casualties feared - Reuters

South Korea braces for 'very strong' typhoon, businesses curb operations - Reuters

Two Russian embassy staff dead, 11 hurt in suicide bomb blast in Kabul - Reuters

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Back in the Saddle

 

Sun-Kissed Cloud
Tequesta, FL
September 4, 2022

Chris and I managed a short ride bike outing yesterday. It was great to be back on the road again and touring the neighborhoods in our vicinity. We rode some streets that we had not ridden before and enjoyed a relatively short 30 minute ride just to check out our conditioning and reacquaint ourselves with our bikes after riding sparingly for the past four months in Maryland. I have to admit, I enjoyed riding the flat streets a lot more than the continuous hills of my Elkridge neighborhood.

Radar of the Large Cloud
Tequesta, FL
September 4, 2022

We have a respite from unpacking until Wednesday. We cannot access our PODS until then and begin the processes of unpacking, sorting, disposing, storing, and using the treasures we moved from Maryland. 

This morning as I looked out from the patio, I saw a huge sun-kissed cloud heading my way. Dark Skies predicted rain imminently, but that never materialized. The radar image of the cloud was impressive and somewhere very close saw a heavy, brief downpour.

I am glad the storm missed my location.

And the holiday weekend continues. Chris and I have been busy and we have also been relaxing a bit. Good friends invited us for dinner and a swim last evening and it was great fun. 

We are definitely "back in the saddle" with its multiple connotations.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

September and a Deep Breath

 

Evening Storm Clouds
Jupiter, FL
September 1, 2022

It was a strange coincidence that as the new month began, so did the next chapter in our journey. 

It was hard to leave, but exciting to arrive and we have already begun to resume the life we left behind during mid-April when we relocated to Maryland. 

It is freeing and scary. 

I am recovering from my fire ant encounter. The itching woke me during the night, but slathering the spots with cortisone and Benadryl reduced the urge to scrape the skin off my foot to a manageable level. 

The weather is hot, but not as hot nor humid as what we had been experiencing in Maryland. The morning and evening were both comfortable enough to be outside. Chris and I spent the day unpacking, organizing, and obtaining the essential items we needed to live comfortably. We prepared a salmon dinner at home last evening and even our furry family members adjusted to the new pace and relaxed from the past months of continual upheaval.

While I would like to say, "It is over," there remain more than a few tings to accomplish. We need to be reunited with the PODS and assimilate those treasures into the home. We have decided that we will require a storage room even though the weeding process will continue. Many more things will be thrown off the raft, but more than a few will be retained--at least for a while.

Now is the time to take a deep breath and move forward in an unhurried, but deliberate manner. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Moving--Arrived

Happy Hour on the Beach
Jupiter, FL
September 1, 2022

 After a two-day road trip, the two-car caravan arrived safely in Tequesta about 1:30PM yesterday. We spent a couple hours unpacking the cars and moving back into our Beach House which is now home and received some great help from Fran and Mary. 

I was exhausted! I could hardly think when I arrived because Riordin meowed the entire second-day drive and it was all I could do not to open the window and offer him the escape from the car that he was seeking. But I didn't. 

We managed to miss the thunderstorms that have been pounding the South and only had to drive through one significant rainstorm within 20 minutes of our destination. 

My Fire Ant Ravaged Foot
Tequesta, FL
September 2, 2022

The only mishap was my run-in with fire ants yesterday morning in South Carolina. It was dark when I took the dogs out and I did not see a small mound--suffice it to say, I am now itching ferociously my right foot. I probably will not stop for the night again in South Carolina as a result. 

I had forgotten about the low season here in South Florida. I wondered where all the traffic had gone, but was reminded that we were last here during high season. 

I had not, however, forgotten about Happy Hour on the beach and it was a fantastic ending to the trip. We enjoyed the water and the sand and our friends. OK, there may have been some adult beverages as well, but being back on one of our favorite beaches was the perfect exclamation point to the trip. 

Now the work begins. We need to assimilate a lot of treasures into an already complete house and transform it all into a home. 

And so the day begins, bright, sunny, and relatively low humidity as compared with the conditions we have been experiencing in Maryland. 

I realized, just now, that I might never, or only rarely ever, sign my blog from Elkridge, MD again.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Under the Cover of Darkness

Empty and Dark
Elkridge, MD
August 30, 2022

 Chris and I departed our house in Elkridge for likely the last time early this morning. The world was dark as we drove the streets that had been our local neighborhood for more than two decades. The good-byes had been tearful, but we know not permanent. It is sad that sometimes we don't appreciate the people we know until it is time to say good-bye.

The last item that I sold was my tractor and I have to admit that more than a few tears fell as I mowed the lawn for the last time and remembered everything we had done during the past 22 summers. Wow. And it really does seem like just yesterday that we moved into the house that became a fantastic home which is again a house waiting for a family to make it a home.

We are on our way home. Where we are headed is no longer our beach house, but it is our home. Chris and I have spent much of the day talking about transforming our Florida townhouse from a vacation place to our home. We have many plans and ideas. 

We should arrive in Tequesta tomorrow during the bright part of the day to start our lives there. I expect to be on the beach tomorrow night celebrating a new beginning.

-- Bob Doan, Yemassee, SC

Clock Delivery

 

Our Ithaca Grandfather Clock's New Home
Odenton, MD
August 29, 2022

Yesterday marked another point along the journey of relocation. For the first time in over 30 years there are no grandfather clocks in our house. I awoke this morning and the reassuring chimes to which I have become accustomed were not heard as our three (yes, three) grandfather clocks have been re-homed. 

It was no small task and I can report that two of them are happily ticking in their new homes, while the other seems a bit off. I will have to make a quick call on it this afternoon to see if I can straighten out the problem, which likely involves the escapement. This clock did have a bit of a problem in during transit and actually required a more extensive set-up than expected. It is also on a carpet which has a lot of pile and so that may be causing some issues because the clock rocks a bit when the pendulum sways.

We have a busy day planned completing the final tasks before departure. Although our drive-away date is not cast in stone, we have a hotel reservation about halfway because we are caravanning with two vehicles and three furry friends. It should be a challenging two days on the road. But the driving will be easier. We are planning to get over halfway the first day leaving a shorter drive the second.

At least the clocks are in their new homes.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 29, 2022

 

1. Monday has arrived again. This is the final of five August Mondays. It has been a long, hot month. There are 18 Mondays remaining in the year.

Closing the Pool for the Last Time
Elkridge, MD
August 27, 2022

2. Things are winding down at our Elkridge house. It is hard to believe we have only a few days remaining here. The pool is closed, which was a sad day's work--but, it is for the best as there will be no one to manage it until the buyers become the owners. I will mow the lawn one last time today. And we will begin removing all of the remaining non-essential items tomorrow. 

The Brothers Working Together
August 28, 2022
ELkridge, MD

3. Brakes again. Ugh. Actually changing a bad brake line that presented a large number of challenges. The brothers got it done. It was fun supervising and watching the brothers work together. I did get my hands dirty as we tackled some of the tricky and potentially disastrous problems the brake line presented. We got it done, even in the heat of the day.

4. The United States is preparing to send humans back to the moon, Hopefully the Artemis 1 rehearsal mission goes well today. To infinity and beyond! I am amazed at how many countries are in a space race to the moon. NASA, South Korea, India and China are currently exploring the Moon and its environs.

5. Because some important people cannot keep their ideas secret, the future pain of fighting inflation has become real pain due to stock market speculation.

6. Today in History. Hurricane Katrina makes landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, as a Category 3 hurricane on August 29, 2005. Despite being only the third most powerful storm of the 2005 hurricane season, Katrina was among the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States. In the wake of the storm, there were over 50 failures of the levees and flood walls around New Orleans and its suburbs. The levee and flood wall failures caused widespread flooding.

After briefly coming ashore in southern Florida on August 25 as a Category 1 hurricane, Katrina gained strength before slamming into the Gulf Coast on August 29. In addition to bringing devastation to the New Orleans area, the hurricane caused damage along the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, as well as other parts of Louisiana.

NASA to Launch Artemis I Moon Mission - The Wall Street Journal

Stock Futures Point to Further Losses on Rate Concerns - The Wall Street Journal

U.N. Inspectors Head to Ukraine Nuclear Plant as Safety Fears Grow - The Wall Street Journal

The unexpected impact of Western sanctions on Russia - CNN

Pakistan pleads for international help as parts of country 'resemble a small ocean' - CNN

Mississippi residents are once again fleeing rising river waters - CNN

Analysis: Pain of breaking inflation will reverberate around the globe - Reuters

Dollar hits 20-year high as markets hunker down for higher rates for longer - Reuters

Taiwan says 12 Chinese fighters crossed Taiwan Strait median line - Reuters

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Moving - Watching the Action

Riordin in the Empty Cupboard
Elkridge, MD
August 27, 2022

 Pets are very sensitive to the activities around the house. They get anxious when they see suitcases coming out of closets and being filled with clothes. They are even more anxious now, I believe, trying to understand why the house is empty and all of the places and things they were accustomed to are now gone.

The house is very empty, it echos.

Yet, there is a lot of activity and people coming and going. The activity and people also indicate to the furry friends that we live with that something is happening out of the ordinary. That has made the three of them, Riordin, Finnegan, and Makayla anxious. 

Riordin took the opportunity the climb into an empty cupboard yesterday and keep tabs on the activity. Riordin is generally not far from me. Like now, as I write this, he curled up right next to me on the futon. One of the last remaining pieces of furniture in the house. He will likely freak out on Tuesday as the futon departs along with the last remaining coffee table, end tables, and lamps which have been designated for disposal. At that point the living room will be empty.

The time remaining in the house is growing short, but the transition from a home to  house is effectively complete. 

And the pets are just hoping they don't get left behind. They stay close and remind us of their presence continuously. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD