Saturday, August 26, 2017

Leaving for Our Last Vacation

We're leaving Sunday for our last vacation.  Yes, you read it right:  our last vacation--from work, that is.  That's because we are officially retiring in November.  From then on, our travels will be a vacation from our permanent vacation, a.k.a. retirement.  It just feels so good after 36 years, especially with such a wonderful team replacing us. We love what we do, our clients, and colleagues, but not being tied down. Above all, Ron's health scare last October was a wake up call that life is too short.  Our health, time, and each other are our most precious resources.

Shanti & Alan from London, John & Babette from Austrailia


We've heard many good things about Morocco, so when the opportunity presented itself, we jumped at the chance.  We're taking a three-week tour with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT), which includes camping in the Sahara Desert for a couple of nights.  On our way home we'll stay in Paris for a few days with daughter Shanti and her boyfriend Alan who live in London.

Since we returned from our 40th anniversary family celebration in Alaska, it's been a fun summer on our road to Morocco.  Shanti and Alan and Alan's Australian parents visited us. We camped on the coast and near Mt. St. Helens,  and enjoyed concerts at wineries.
On the way towards Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center from
Toutle, WA.  The ride back was exhilarating!

Shore Acres St. Park near Coos Bay









Kathy resumed playing tennis after several years of absence, Ron resumed lap swimming after his shoulder healed and set a PR on pushups and overhand pullups.  We said hello to a new Jeep and goodbye to our beloved VW diesel Touareg with a generous settlement buyback by Volkswagen.
Cascade Head with brother Neal
Our campground on Lake Simistus, OR
Totality
(near Madras, OR)

However, our highlight was a five-day Airstream rally with over 300 Airstreamers in Central Oregon for the eclipse. Like the millions of people who experienced this awesome communal event it in the path of totality, we'll never forget it.


Courtesy of our friend Maris Avots
Just a microcosm of eclipse spectators all over the US


Official Rally T-Shirt

Beam us up for the eclipse, Scotty
We don't know what kind of connectivity and time we'll have to post blogs, but we'll try if the opportunities present themselves.  Best wishes for a good September!