A natural assumption about retirement is that you're free to do whatever, whenever. Good in theory, but there are always other considerations. While we had every intention of planning an overseas trip, events took over the schedule. They were opportunistic; other trips, house-sitting opportunities and some family obligations.
It kicked off with Martha first taking a trip to Norfolk along with her college friends, after which she turned around and went to San Diego to visit with some Castle Park friends.
I kept our agenda moving along, booking a performance of the Richmond Symphony where, I swear, we were the youngest in the audience; and took a class in pour-painting at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art studio. And as a member of Richmond's Clean City Commission, I helped out with the clean-up of the Cannon Creek Greenway.
Right after Martha got back, we had a house sit in Charlotte, NC. A sad, old Golden and two stunning Rag Doll Cats. A beautiful townhouse that offered another glimpse of retirement living in a different environment. And we could check out Charlotte; a booming and dynamic city with a hip downtown.
In April we headed down to Murfreesboro, TN to watch son Nathan in a water-skiing event. He founded the Middle Tennessee State team and we wanted to see what all the hype was about. And it gave us a chance to see his girlfriend, Katrina, and meet Juliette, her mother.
From there we were engaged for another house-sit in Ashville. But along the way, we planned a stop in Chattanooga. It has a reputation as an up-and-coming smaller town with some Civil War history. It was a pleasant surprise. A beautiful riverfront, some topography, a lively art scene and dynamic downtown. It's what Richmond could become.
On to Ashville for our house-sit. Our charge was a needy little dachshund but Martha picked up this sit because the house was gorgeous. The owners were older and art collectors. Specifically, glass art and it gave me a new sense of sculpture, especially what can be done with glass..
From there we drove back to Richmond.....and then a week later drove BACK to Nashville for Nathan's graduation from MTSU; this time with his brothers.
After his graduation Nathan came back to Richmond. Then a week later, in early May, he and I launched a cross-country drive to Anacortes, Washington where he took up a gig as an ocean kayak guide for the summer.
In between trips in Richmond we thrilled to the querky Richmond Squirrels baseball team (Go Nuts!), wandered through Bryan Park to the Richmond Symphony and Martha, the pickleball fanatic, guilted us into family matches.
In June it was off to Castle Park; our schedule being dictated by the wedding of niece Kelly Karagas (my sister Mary's daughter). Jamie, Chris and Patrick joined us for the extravagant event. We rented an ABB in Chicago and dressed in suits we'd (I'd) specifically bought for them...all black, with black ties. The Gay-Pride celebration was going on in Chicago that afternoon and the streets were packed. Our Uber driver couldn't get close to our condo, so we all had to sprint through crowds in formal attire to a rendezvous point with him. Some in the crowd gawked at us running through past and said, 'what are you guys supposed to be, 'Men in Black?' I responded 'no, the Blues Brothers.' It was a high falutin, memorable time.
During our time in Chicago the boys took the opportunity to visit their grandmother and I brought Patrick to Andy's, one of my favorite jazz clubs. Then the boys went back to Richmond and we headed back to
Castle Park until early August. In July, though, we had to go back to Chicago for the laborious task of emptying out my mother-in-law's apartment in Evanston. She'd moved into a nursing home and we needed to dispose of her furniture and clean the place out. Martha and I primarily cleaned it out, and I rented a U-Haul to get some of it back to Castle Park.
All the while, we were getting pictures from Nathan of his kayak-guiding with a mix of concern and jealousy. Both Patrick and Katrina went out to visit him and got the full ocean-kayak, Cascade mountains experience.
In Castle Park, beyond tending to the cottage, we checked out the Meyer-May/Frank Lloyd Wright house in Grand Rapids with sister-in-law Betsy and had the proud thrill of hosting Nathan & Katrina for a brief spell. We also spent a couple weeks taking care of Ted Parker's FOUR dogs and a cat. They were sweet dogs....but a lot to handle.
After getting home from Michigan in mid-August we had a few weeks break and made a day trip in early September to Colonial Williamsburg. Though we've lived in this area for years, I've never been. A contrived colonial town with a good-hearted attempt at historical authenticity and not quite the Disneyfication I'd feared.
In September, off to another house-sit in Queenstown, Maryland, near Easton on the Eastern Shore. Another sweet old Golden and rather homely cat. But the house was on the water and we took the opportunity to kayak and enjoy the environs. Martha played pickleball with a neighbor and we enjoyed Bay seafood. Martha also arranged for an excursion on a saiboat tour of the harbor and out into the Bay.
The house was beautiful and huge, as was the whole property. There was a lot of land, a pool, gardens and rooms filled with.... stuff. The couple were retired and I had to wonder why they'd continue to live there with so much to maintain. To each his own.
Ten days later we picked up ANOTHER house-sit in Southern Pines, North Carolina. This time it was a young couple about to have their first child. He was an Army Ranger based at Fort Liberty (formerly Ft. Bragg) and about to go on a months long deployment. The charges were a sweet cat who came and went outdoors and a surly old dog who slept most of the day and required medicine each evening. I hadn't been familiar with the area, but it included Pinehurst, home of a prestigious country club on the PGA tour. The whole area is unusually sandy, with makes it ideal for golf courses. There are many of them and I took time for a round. The village of Pinehurst was picturesque and charming and I could see living there, though its small size might become confining. We also took in a performance at a horse show.
Martha also arranged a luncheon with some old friends from Oak Park; Allison and Joe Keeber, whose son, Alex, had been good friends with Jamie when they were kids. And Martha had always been good friends with Allison. Joe was a professor at North Carolina State and Alex was now in medical school. Time just flies by.
Back to Richmond for twelve days, during which we caught a one-off gig of Patrick's playing with an Amy Winehouse dedication band.
Then back to Evanston at the end of October for two weeks. Martha's sister, Betsy, was going out-of-town and wanted someone there to check on their mother. Now that she's in a nursing home it's not completely necessary, in my opinion, but whatever. As we have in the past, we stayed in Betsy's condo, conveniently located in downtown Evanston. Northwestern University is across the street, the Lake is two blocks away and the downtown is so walkable it invites casual strolls and exploring.
While there we caught a performance of The Blue Man Group and a show at Second City featuring our neice, Samantha (sister Mary's daughter) and had an 'early Thanksgiving' hosted by Mary and husband Tony at their home in Grayslake.
On the actual day of Thanksgiving Martha cajoled Patrick, Nathan and me out for more pickleball matches. And the end of the year saw a family stop at the historic Jefferson Hotel in Richmond and holiday services at Emmanual Episcopal choreographed by Patrick, their new Music Director.
So, as much as we would have liked an overseas adventure in the mix, events took over. Mostly good, though, and all added to the flavor of experience and appreciation.
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