What is retirement without a retirement gift to myself? Well to that end I decided that a vacation rental somewhere warmer than home is just what I needed. I had been looking on VRBO casually starting in October once I decided that late December is when I would leave work for good. I wasn't committed to any one place and searched in California, Arizona, and Florida. All would have weather that was better than where I live and worked.
As luck would have it I was walking back to work after my lunch break where I met a colleague of mine in the gallery of Hydro Place. I stopped to say hi and found out in our brief conversation that she was anxiously waiting for her husband to pick up paperwork he was takng down to Clearwater, Florida to seal the deal of the condominium they had just purchased. Not missing an opportunity I had mentioned that I was looking for a place and if they were planning on renting it out when they were not there themselves. A deal was struck. As it turned out I booked my time at thier new condo from January 15 to the end of February.
When I sealed the deal all was well in my world. I had my health, I had Norm, and I was comfortable in my decision to retire, and more so comfortable with my status in life: I was single, happy, and had the freedom of adequate financial resources to do almost anything I chose to do with my soon to be significantly more spare time. Then that all changed in October when the love of my life with whom I was separated from for three years came back into my life. As noted I was happy where I was in my life and content in my singleness. However I was happier still having the love of my life back in my life. A great life change for me that I hope lasts for a long, long time. However with that was the realization that six weeks away wasn't the great escape I originally anticipated it would be when I made the deal. Now I had others that I would very much miss while away. I realized that my previous trips abroad (India, Timor, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia) where all when I was single. Suddenly the thought process was completely different, good for sure, but different. While another blog in and of itself, thinking of others was also something new to me. Well that's a story for another time, either way my packing was done and I departed early on January 10th for the 3,300km journey to Clearwater, Florida. When I left it was -21c as I headed south to my first stop: Sioux Falls, SD. Thankfully the journey was uneventful, clear skies, and clear roads, staight south on I29. What struck me is how little snow there was, getting more and more sparse as I went south. I arrived in Sioux Falls deliberately early to be able to watch two key NFL playoff games. It was -5c in Sioux Falls. I was ahead of the temperature curve already by 16 degrees. After an uneventful, short visit to Sioux Falls I was on the road again early to my next scheduled stop in St. Louis, MO. Following I29 still south to Kansas City, MO. From Kansas City I found my exit to I70 that would take me due east to St Loius, MO. A couple of notes: the snow was gone prior to getting to Kansas City, these are big cities only a few hours away from each other, and weather finally found me in Kansas City with cloud and rain that would stay with me until just south of Gainsville, FL.Once you hit this part of the United States the rural plains are gone, replaced by large significant populations throughout the rest of the journey. Suddenly the sense of a population of some 330 million souls becomes apparent.
Unfortunately this was a longer day than the previous leg and I found myself arriving in St Louis in the dark in a driving rain storm, as I tried to navigate myself to the east side of the city on multilane freeways where visibility was at a premium. This is a big, big city. Good news I found a hotel and arrived, despite the rain to 1c, the weather getting a little bit better with each leg of my journey.
Day three of my journey took me east on I64 to Mount Vernon where I joined I57, to connect to I24 that would take me to Atlanta, Ga. This was a particularly interesting drive as you see the environment around you change to more temperate areas. From lack of growth typical of winter to areas not so hibernated. While not green, it wasn't dead for the season either. On my journey my first gas stop happened to be in Nashville, Tn. While I didn't see anything of the city I got a taste of being somewhere else at the truck stop where I bought gas. First off it is different getting gas here than at home: pay at the pump, or pay inside. If you choose the latter you must first go in the store and either give cash or credit card with an amount specified. Not a big deal if you are just putting in $20 bucks, more difficult if your filling the tank as I was. As gas is much cheaper here (everywhere was in the $1.90 - $2.00 range/US on my journey down south) a fill that normally cost me $40 now cost about $20 (albeit in US dollars carrying a 25% premium to the Cdn dollar). I arrived in Atlanta, much to my chagrin right at rush hour, and Atlanta happens to have a particularly actute rush hour. As it turns out the freeway I needed to be on went right thru downtown and I found myself on a 6 lane (one way) freeway that was clogged solid with commuters on their way home, Unfortunately, the fog/cloud/rain that started in Kansas City the day before continued through Atlanta, so despite being downtown I saw nothing of it as the fog was thick. What I find fascinated is that suddenly the stop and go traffic on a freeway that has no traffic lights goes from complete grid lock to starting to move at a faster and faster pace. I drove further with the idea of getting to east side of the city and thus not having to drive thru the city in the morning. I found my hotel in what turned out to be McDonnah, Ga., though I thought it was still Atlanta.
After three nights in three different cities this was that last leg of my long journey. This final leg of approximately 450 miles took me east and south on I75.
I really enjoyed this drive for several reasons: one, the temperatures were getting warmer: from 10c in Atlanta, to about 17c at the Florida - Georgia border, to about 24 degrees at Tampa Bay. Two, the terrain changed dramatically, to progressively more and more green, to changes of soil from dark earth to bright brown, almost sand like looking soil through the Georgia peanut and peach groves. Of course the best sighting was of the first palm tree shortly after crossing the Florida border.
Again population becomes apparent as there never really seems to be any break from civilization from Gainsville to Tampa Bay. The other thing that struck me was the billboards that line the interstates, mostly hocking fast food, but also legal, real estate, and tourist traps to stop at. One of my favorite was a banner for Ozarkland. What it was I can't really tell you - but a very effective billboard: all orange, the bottom was a banner detailing the exit to take and direction, in the center just large letters proclaiming Ozarkland. The top banner had a sample of items to be purchased: three things: candy, gifts, knives. Really? Only in America it seems. Having indulged in fast food for the last three days, the last thing I wanted was more fast food.
This final drive was pleasant and went quickly as the visual landscape kept me occupied. Also going back to the population, the interstate from Atlanta all the way to Tampa was a minimum of three lane in each direction (though that was restricted to two during a stretch of construction) and sometimes more.
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