Before we start the VanGo Adventure around the country, thought we had better do a bit more exploring in our own area. That brought us to Kernville one last time, and oh did we find a beautiful, never done before, Trail for this February hike! Shedding all outerwear as the day was beautiful, we didn’t complete the 22 mile trail, because the brewery was calling, and the sun was going down soon.
Best part of the hike, of course, was being with family, friends and dogs. The dogs had a great time, sticking their noses into all kinds of little holes during the hike, but the best part were puppy patties that they served at the Brewery. The original Kernville Brewery Restaurant has delicious food. My advice is to eat at the older one, and then go down to the newer one and sit out on the deck where the tables are perfect for playing banana grams or whatever else game that you prefer while enjoying another beer or two while the pups sit exhausted at your feet under the table.
This post does not have to do with the official VanGo trip that will begin in less than a month (February 2023), however since, retirement plays a big part. namely John’s on February 16th, I just thought I’d go back and write about the day I retired…
Day 1 of Retirement was matching podiatry appointments with Dr. Lee at UCLA Podiatry group. Not before John created a crime scene by the dripping blood as he hopped off the table. He did not heed the Doctor’s advice to not pressure on his ingrown toenail incision. That’s what feeling no pain from the numbing, combined with a cortisone shot to the same foot( 2nd metatarsal) will do for you-blood mess as you walk out of the medical facility – not good for business. More bandage comprehension and a bit more attention to carrying out the post-procedure instructions from the Doctor and we were headed out the door to South Carlsbad State Beach – a last minute cancellation scored us beachfront and as seen below in Sweet Spot Photo #1
Sweet Spot Contemplation. Why am I taking the time to do this? First, I think it will be very comforting in years to come to go back and look and remember via words and photos. Not only that, it may be therapeutic if dementia or Alzheimer’s starts to take hold. As I have reached the last of my 50’s, like my counterparts, the memory has slipped dramatically in the last 3-5 years. Yes, I was still able to function, but there was a noticeable decline and some of the specialized vocabulary that had only been swirling into my brain for the last 5 years – just would not surface when I needed it. Like Ma deciding at 90 that she would no longer drive, I too decided time for me to retire and use my brainpower to concentrate on family and camping, not MIDs messages and counting vacation days. Although similar aged friends also complain of hurrying into a room and then once there not remembering what it was you came for, it is perplexing and worrisome. But I’m still able to learn new things like how to operate a spiralizer to make my own zoodles (zucchini noodles) or coodles (carrot noodles) and now after encouragement from my technological supportive Son-In-Law, Mackie I am learning this new Journaling App – so it’s not all grim. I can learn new stuff! Second, is that when my body needs to do the rocking chair thing for most of the day, I don’t ever want to be a geriatric news watcher, so mentally unhealthy. I want to be able to look back at my journals, photos and slideshows and remember all the good times, so I had better get busy creating new content and for that matter organizing the content of the last 59 years. That’s a lot to do.
Retirement gifts to myself included an Apple Watch with no security violation anxiety about wearing it into the lab accidentally …luckily I remembered to put it in sleep mode so that at 1:30 in the morning it wouldn’t vibrate and tell me to Stand. I have a new IPhone ProMax 12 with photo extraordinaire capabilities.. And tonight it will be not “whistling in the dark”, but “photoing it in the dark” – that’s where this new phone shines! I will be ready to take all those photos and keep them organized!
Before we start the VanGo Adventure around the country, thought we had better do a bit more exploring in our own area. That brought us to Kernville one last time, and oh did we find a beautiful, never done before, Trail for this February hike! Shedding all outerwear as the day was beautiful, we didn’t…
This post does not have to do with the official VanGo trip that will begin in less than a month (February 2023), however since, retirement plays a big part. namely John’s on February 16th, I just thought I’d go back and write about the day I retired… Day 1 of Retirement was matching podiatry appointments …
Just trying to squeeze bit of content out of WordPress before I get stuck again. You need to have content to do some of the cool thing in WordPress so here is my first blog post showing exactly how I feel. Evidently you can categorize your posts and be able to pull up all posts…
Just trying to squeeze bit of content out of WordPress before I get stuck again. You need to have content to do some of the cool thing in WordPress so here is my first blog post showing exactly how I feel. Evidently you can categorize your posts and be able to pull up all posts that have a certain category. But first you need to have a post so I will categorize as a “Reflection” on how difficult it has been. So, I will make some semi-meaningful Posts under different categories, and they will do with things here in Ridgecrest. Hopefully this works
Travels with Vinny VanGo 