Riding the Circuit

 

15 mile Ride
Tequesta and Jupiter, FL
September 21, 2022

With the biking that I have been doing, I have developed a basic route from which I can take branches and sequels to increase both the distance and the enjoyment of the ride. The basic circuit is about 8 miles from our home around Tequesta.

North Fork Loxahatchee River
Tequesta, FL
September 21, 2022

Yesterday, Chris and I went for a ride and I determined to push Chris a bit by accomplishing a 15 mile ride. She completed an 11 mile ride on Tuesday and I wanted to push her just a bit more. That was easily done by adding a stretch on what is called Island Way, which is a long connecting street which remains mostly undeveloped and provides a nice ride. 

Chris was game and in the end we enjoyed a nice ride and she accomplished her longest ride to date. I was as pleased as she was to complete the trek. 

I am looking to push her more and get her into the 20 mile range soon so we can do even more difficult rides and she has the necessary confidence to complete them. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Feeling the Stress Evaporate

Across the Sand
Jupiter Island, FL
September 20, 2022

Chris and I made it to the beach last evening to enjoy some solitary time and Happy Hour. I noticed that as I crested the top of the sand upon which the mighty Atlantic was crashing waves and stood looking at the waves that the stress of the past few days melted away. It was magical.

Yesterday was a busy. We started at the Palm Beach County Tax Collector's office registering the Highlander and cutting our last ties to Maryland Department of Transportation. We no longer have vehicles registered in Maryland. We had a 9:15 AM appointment and were happy to be out of there with everything complete and new license plate in hand by about 10 AM. Not too bad, all-in-all.

Then I had more stuff to relocate to the storage room, which is getting full. We have, as best as I can compute, about 400 cubic feet of storage. I believe we have about 300 cubic feet already stored. Of course, there is no way to use all of the space--but as you might suspect--places to put new stuff are becoming hard to find.

The afternoon was taken with an appointment to sign the settlement papers on the house. That process went smoothly, but was long and I have to admit there are some really weird questions and, without the aid of a lawyer, more than a couple were hard to interpret. The notary was very pleasant and we all enjoyed some of Chris's newly baked banana bread upon completion of the signing. I watched the notary scan the signed documents for review on a very cool high speed scanner. I mean, wow--42 pages scanned in about one minute. Chris made a point of noting that while the machine was really neat, I don't need one. LOL. That doesn't mean I don't want one!

And so, after a busy and emotional day, standing there on the sand with the ocean crashing just a few feet away, I could feel all of the stress leave my body and I was refreshed!

I need to do this more often.

-- Bob Doan,. Tequesta, FL

Monday Evening Happy Hour

Jupiter Lighthouse
From the Square Grouper, Jupiter, FL
September 19, 2022

 It was a welcome Monday afternoon Happy Hour at one of our favorite watering holes in Jupiter, the Square Grouper. The Grouper is situated along the Loxahatchee River and on a beautiful afternoon it is blessed with a nice breeze and the outdoor tables are shaded by tall palm trees. 

We met our friends for an afternoon adult beverage, or two, and great conversation along the river at The Grouper. I was unable to tarry for long as I had a board meeting at 6 PM. Sadly, the one-hour scheduled meeting lasted almost two hours!

The weather was much less humid yesterday than it has been, although I spent most of the day in front of the television watching the State Funeral for Queen Elizabeth--and when I say most of the day I mean the day began before 5 AM and continued into the afternoon. It was quite an historic event to watch. As a result, I did not make it out for my usual bike ride. And I probably will not ride today as we have an early morning appointment to register our only remaining Maryland-plated car in Florida. 

Busy days!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, MD

Monday Musings - September 19, 2022

 

1. The third Monday of September has arrived! There are only 14 Mondays remaining in 2022.

2. I got up early this morning to watch Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. 

3. Family Football Results. It was not a good week for most of the family's teams. Interestingly, they all are now 1-1.

   Ravens (1-1) lost to Dolphins (2-0), 38-42

   Commanders (1-1) lost to Lions (1-1), 26-37

   Steelers (1-1) lost to Patriots (1-1), 14-17

. . . and the bright spot of the week with a stunning last minute field goal

   Cowboys (1-1) defeat Bengals (0-2), 20-17

Rail to Nowhere
Tequesta, FL
September 18, 2022

4. Tracks to nowhere. Building an additional rail line at an intersection near my house seems to have run amok. The tracks crossing the road connect to nowhere. They are supposed to be in support of a new passenger rail service between Miami and Orlando. A lot of track has been laid, but there seems to be something missing at this intersection.

5. Lazy weekends are the best. I was able to watch two complete football games yesterday and enjoy some relaxing time. I did get some work done in the garage. I found a way to mount the bikes to the wall, which clears some floor space for other uses. It was tough tripping over the bikes all of the time. I still feel as if we are getting 15 pounds of potatoes into a 10 pound bag. There remain more containers to relocate to storage. \

6. Today in History. On September 19, 1957, the United States detonates a 1.7-kiloton nuclear weapon in an underground tunnel at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), a 1,375-square-mile research center located 65 miles north of Las Vegas. The test, known as Rainier, was the first fully contained underground detonation and produced no radioactive fallout. A modified W-25 warhead weighing 218 pounds and measuring 25.7 inches in diameter and 17.4 inches in length was used for the test. Rainier was part of a series of 29 nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons safety tests known as Operation Plumbbob that were conducted at the NTS between May 28, 1957, and October 7, 1957.

live updates The Queen's state funeral is underway in the majestic surroundings of Westminster Abbey - CNN

Analysis: Winter is fast approaching in Ukraine. Here's what comes next for the conflict - CNN

Hurricane Fiona hits Dominican Republic, leaves heavy rain, flooding and power outages behind in Puerto Rico - CNN

Biden says U.S. forces would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion - Reuters

Russia says ready for U.S. prisoner swap talks but scolds embassy - Reuters

Shelling of Donetsk city kills 13 - Russian-backed separatist mayor - Reuters

Stock Futures Fall as Investors Eye Federal Reserve - The Wall Street Journal

U.S. Return-to-Office Rates Hit a Pandemic High - The Wall Street Journal

Putin’s Energy War With Europe Seems to Falter - The Wall Street Journal

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Learning About Tomorrow

 I learned a lesson about tomorrow, yesterday. Yes, I learned it when yesterday was today and today was tomorrow.

Possible New End Table
Stuart, FL
September 17, 2022

Chris and I had a busy day. We were able to sneak out for a short 9 mile bike ride in between rainstorms that got the kinks out. We also took time to drive 22 miles to a furniture store in Stuart, FL. We are beginning the next phase of updating the living room from the furniture that came with the house to something different with more of a coastal theme. 

Maravilla Positioning
Tequesta, FL
September 18, 2022

Then, we decided to join friends on the beach for Happy Hour, but due to the impending storms (which never arrived) we met at our house for the evening. It was an awesome evening of wine and talking and pizza! I even received some much needed assistance in where to hang one of my favorite fine art prints which we brought from Maryland--The Maravilla by John Kelly. 

Because of the time we spent on those endeavors, I was unable to complete some of the projects that I had scheduled. I began to get stressed about the failure. 

Then, it dawned upon me that since I am retired, I have tomorrow. Duh!

So, I will be doing yesterday's projects today. (or is it tomorrow?)

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Phase 1 of Move-in--Complete

The Fully Loaded PODS
Elkridge, MD
August 24, 2022

 

Yesterday was a momentous day in the saga of the move.

Chris and I completed Phase 1 of the Move-in. It may not seem like much, but we emptied the PODS and turned it back over to the company. All of our belongings are now either in our house or in a small storage unit we are renting. 

We are working very hard not to over-stuff the house. I think we had more space for storage than we believed, but we still need the storage unit to hold the overflow. 

A note about PODS. What a great idea. It worked exactly as advertised. Chris and I loaded it at our leisure over the course of two weeks, we got to pick the time, and it was available at the PODS center for our access when we wanted it to be. Had we been moving to a home and not a condo community we could have had it delivered to the house. About breakage--we had only one item break and that was due to poor placement in the PODS. Everything else arrived in great shape. 

I did strap the load every 4 feet to help stabilize it from moving around. 

As the PODS facility was a 30 minute drive each way, we are very excited that it is empty and we no longer need to make the trek.

And now comes the harder part of moving--the assimilation: incorporating the treasures we brought with us into the fully furnished house.

 And that is Phase 2 of the move-in.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

It is Alive! - Finally

Yeedi at Work
Tequesta, FL
September 15, 2022

 Although I know it is an inanimate object, I discovered yesterday that our robot vacuum, it is a Yeedi, is happy to be back in Florida. I write that because I attempted to use it in Maryland while we were there and it stopped working. It would not move and I tried almost all of the troubleshooting techniques to get the machine to work. I even contacted the company and they provided a detailed plan to get the wheels working again. I never had time to follow through on that.

Yesterday, however, I pulled the Yeedi from the box of stuff destined for the trash and gave it one more chance. I found the detailed process provided by the company and was prepared to follow through to see if the little robot could be revived. I plugged it in and activated the iPhone app. Upon doing so, I received a notice that the firmware needed updating. I was excited because I felt this might solve the problem.

I went through the firmware updating process and amazingly the Yeedi came to life, moved, and vacuumed the entire first level of the house. Yay, success. And it was a lot easier than following the process the factory had sent to reboot the wheels.  

It is alive!

I have to admit, having a robot to vacuum during the night is far better than sweeping or vacuuming during the day!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Truth in Advertising

 It is the season for the "elect me" commercials on TV and in my mailbox.

I have noticed that most of the ads deviate significantly from the truth. 

In fact, many of the ads present untruths and twisted facts. It is scary that there does not have to be truth in advertising when it comes to political commercials. If businesses led with commercials containing so many untruths they would be sued and the commercials removed from the airwaves. 

Why are political ads not held to the same standard? I  believe that there should be an independent review of the commercials for lies and untruths before they are allowed to be aired. 

It is no wonder that we cannot elect truthful leaders; they get elected by lying.

Enjoy the commercials until early-November and play a game. See if you can discern who is telling the truth!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Party Crashers

Party Crashers
Carlin Park Beach, FL
September 12, 2022

 

There we were. 

On the beach, enjoying a great Happy Hour with friends. There were a multitude of appetizers and some adult beverages along with spirited conversation while reveling in a glorious beach evening.

And then the party crashers arrived.

The birds. 

Almost like a scene out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Birds of multiple species: seagulls, terns, sanderlings, and Fish Crows. They gathered around us in hopes of enjoying a morsel being dropped or provided for their enjoyment. 

We actually enjoy having the birds join us, but sometimes there are too many of them flying around. It was fun to identify the different species, but some of them get a bit too close at times. 

I enjoy the wildlife, they provide comic relief.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Ocean Power

Morning Beach Walk
Jupiter Island, FL
September 12, 2022

 

In a near futile attempt to get back into a kind of normal rhythm, Chris and I attempted a morning walk on the beach yesterday. It was a beautiful morning. Stunningly clear blue sky and moderate temperatures and humidity. A seemingly great day for a beach walk.

Except . . . 

The tide was high and the ocean was strong. The waves were rolling up over the ridge of sand on the beach making ponds along the base of the dunes. The sand was soft and hard to traverse. We managed only about a .8 mile walk, far short of our usual 1.5-2.0 mile walk. 

The ocean was magnificent in its beauty. The rolling waves contained such power as they washed up over the sand. I ended the water as it rushed over my feet.

And we were alone on the beach as far as our eyes could see. 

Is there a better way to begin the day?

I think not. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL