OUR RETIRED ADVENTURE
qUEREMOS VIVIR AL SOL
KSha
Costa Rica is amazing! Beauty abounds.
Panama is "home" for now. Loving life!
South America is next! Columbia here we come.
Costa Rica is amazing! Beauty abounds.
Panama is "home" for now. Loving life!
South America is next! Columbia here we come.
Hello family and friends! It has been a year since Sharon and I retired and I posted anything; and quite a year it has been. After returning from Costa Rica last year, my back, was not in good condition. More on that in a minute.
Our return was just in time for NGG's birthday and the Taste of EP, where we got reacquainted with family (Chi town) and friends. Our niece and my goddaughter, married the love of her life Josh on September 5! We also got to spend multiple days watching great-nephew John play soccer and then hitting the game table for marbles and cards at the Kolb's; we even taught them Cribbage, which is a lot of fun! John's graduation party was a great time and another chance to see all the Chi town family. Hotdog cart and pizza truck were super cool. John is a Plebe at West Point Academy this Fall. How proud we all are of him! Dinners with the nephews, Kyle, Michael and Ian were always entertaining and great to catch up on what's happening in each of their busy lives. Kyle also came to visit us a couple of times for game-filled days and a late night playing some great board games. Bob and Nancy's neighbor must have thought we moved in with all the time we spent at their pool this summer. They held the bash of the summer hosting Melanie's 30th birthday party with DJ, dancing and a Taco truck. Bowsie, aka Lisa Marie, and Bob were busy moving into their new house. We had a great tour of their place, bbq, and a fantastic evening of talking and laughing. Speaking of new places, nephew Chris and his wife Kelly had the family over to see their new house and have some pulled pork and a Shanghai tournament. Stiff competition and no holds barred. Harrison might have to give me some lessons because I didn't fair well. While recovering my strength from the briefly aforementioned medical issues; we spent 11 wonderful days in the state of Georgia with NGG's life-long friend from first grade Randi and her partner Ed. Many awesome days were spent taking a 2 minute golf cart ride to the dock to hop in the pontoon boat for a tour of the lake and some fishing. To top that off, the 4 of us drove through Savannah Ga. (spent the day--the history of this area is amazing) and ended in a condo on the beach on Tybee Island for 2 days. While there, we toured Fort Pulaski which was a highlight. I was continually amazed (seashells played a huge part in the filtration of clean water for the soldiers) at the way they constructed this fort and how it played a significant role in our Civil War. NGG has been mowing the grass all summer, and all of the heavy lifting. Sorry love. We have enjoyed multiple concerts in the EP Village Circle (the Beatles' band had a huge crowd). Had many great dinners with friends, and really enjoyed the Chicago summer weather. NGG has been a lucky girl this summer as well. We have always loved going downtown to the Theater District to see the shows that come to Chicago. Multiple theaters held lottery drawings to win $25 tickets to shows this summer. NGG entered 3 drawings and won 3 times! We were able to see, Ain't Too Proud, the story of the Temptations, Six, the story of Henry VIII's wives, and My Fair Lady. We even got to share the Temptation experience with nephew Ken, who actual knew a lead actor/singer and introduced us after the show. At Six, we ran into great-niece Rachel and her beau Ben. All-in-all it has been a wonderful summer. We just returned (end of July) from a 5 day trip to Door County (first time-shame on us). What beautiful country. We went for a wedding, stayed a little longer for the sights. Kelsey and Tyler's wedding was wonderful as we watched them tie the knot on the point with the water behind them. The La Familia was back together! Exploring the area; it was so relaxing slowly driving the roads along the water and gawking at the mansions that had views hard to describe. We also continued to fully embrace our retired life taking morning walks (I don't move as fast as I used to), tan prepping for Central America and engaging in a massive Cribbage championship (I believe I am up 57-55). That's how we have been enjoying our Chicago summer days. Now let's return back to the back. After 46 years from my original spinal fusion surgery, I was finally in need of a tuneup. As the scans, x-rays and tests were being done in preparation for the new surgeries (found out I needed 2), they discovered a nodule in one of my adrenal glands. That was bad...but it was also good. The bad you can probably figure out...back surgery postponed, more doctor visits, more tests and scans. Found out the right adrenal gland was not playing nicely with everyone else--so he's got to go. Another surgery. Damn. The good part was, that it was found. It would have been very dangerous to have done my back surgery with this condition as the naughty guy was reeking havoc on my blood pressure. It was a rare pheochromocytoma that is only seen a handful of times across the country. A genetic analysis was done as well to determine if siblings were vulnerable; all good bros!! So, a couple of new scars on my gut, no biggie. Chicks dig the scars! One down (unintended), one to go. My back surgeries were a little more complicated. They were done on a Wednesday and a Friday last February. I had one of the nicest rooms during my stay at NW. Corner room with a view of the lake and the city (didn't appreciate it until about day 4 of 8). Wednesday totaled about 7 hours, with the hope that I would walk a little on my day off. That didn't happen as my blood pressure was high and I was in some distress. Friday, I think was about 5 hours, and before I knew it I was back in my room.. Saturday, I got up and walked a bit. I am sure I was the poster child for the elderly as I took ginger steps in my beautiful hospital gown and slippers with my walker! I would not have faired very well through these trials had it not been for the love of my life! Although she is not a nurse, she plays one on TV ( the "new" Clara Barton, a.k.a. CB) and was the best support and comfort I could have asked for. She was the wedge placer so I would be in a correct position for sleeping. She was the putter on'r of my socks and shoes, the picker upper if I dropped something, and she even had to carry the milk jug for me for awhile. I'm pretty sure she didn't sign up for this assignment! It's pretty cool when you have someone that's all-in with love. It's hard to express how good that makes me feel. That includes most of the activity highlights, although I'm sure I missed a few. Heading4thesun.com is not just a title for our blog, it's what we are looking for. We plan to live in Central America! In planning for that, our house is in the final stages of the sale of our property at the time of this writing. We are leaving for Costa Rica 3 days after our sale closes for 79 days in Playa del Coco. We are testing out one location in Costa Rica this time to ensure we have all available needs in this community, and can live an active and stress-free life. del Coco is on the northern west coast and was near our first stay during last year's trip. We really liked the climate and the walkability to all parts of "town". Stay tuned for updates regarding that trip starting August 11th. In doing our research in finding a great place to retire to, Panama has always been on our list as well. We will be traveling to Panama in November for 3 months, 2 weeks after our return from Costa Rica to engage in a scouting trip. This will be similar to what we did in Costa Rica. We plan to move from Panama City, along the southern coast, a brief stay in the mountains and then to the Caribbean northern coast to stay in the islands of Bocas del Toro for 3 weeks before returning to Panama City and back to the U.S. Back to the back, had my 6 month checkin with my spine surgeon and got the thumb's up that everything is as it should be! Keep walking boy! So that is what's what... Sha and I are so grateful to be able to live the dream we've dreamt together. Well, the Taste of Elmwood Park is coming up again next week and CB's birthday follows that. Two days later we'll be in Costa Rica, where I'll work on being fancier with some pictures. Te veo luego!
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