Tuesday, October 26, 2010 (Yemassee, SC)

Today is our anniversary...we have been on the road for 4 months now and have travelled 11,606 kms! I still have a hard time believing we are actually doing this! We are loving every minute of it! Along the way we have had great visits with family and friends, met some wonderful people and seen some beautiful places. And we’ve only just begun...so much more to see!
I’m going to “let the cat out of the bag” today...yesterday I booked flights home for us. We leave from Savannah, Georgia tomorrow afternoon.

The main reason for flying home is my Mom’s condition. She has been failing quickly over the past week and is not expected to last much longer. I was very close to my Mom and spent a lot of time with her, particularly during the last 4 years since my Dad passed away. When Steve and I embarked upon our retirement dream 4 months ago, I left her knowing that she was in the best place possible for her and being well taken care of. I said goodbye to her then knowing that it was unlikely that I would see her again.

The secondary reason for flying home is to attend the ‘Retirement Gala’ Thursday night at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver. This is an annual event that BC Assessment puts on for all retirees during the year. I was very disappointed that I would not be able to attend particularly since there are 5 wonderful women that I have worked with for many years who also retired this year. I so wanted to join them in celebrating our retirement!

Since we knew that Mom’s passing is just a matter of days now and we would be flying home anyway, we decided to go ahead and book our flights so that we could attend the Gala. Of course, I contacted the organizers to ensure they could make room for us on such short notice. No problem...thank-you Sue and John! I then decided that I really wanted to surprise my co-workers...that’s why the secrecy. I doubt whether they will read today’s blog entry prior to the banquet...mind you, I may not actually get it posted before we leave.

Today was spent preparing for our departure. We have arranged to store our truck and 5th wheel here at Point South KOA. They have a storage area but it is very unlevel and we need to have a fairly level spot so we could keep the fridge/freezer running. They finally decided on a spot for it...it might just be a little interesting getting it backed into the spot tomorrow before we leave. Steve also had to trim some low branches. Hopefully, all will go well in the morning.

This afternoon, a woman from Enterprise Car Rental picked us up and drove us to their Beaufort office so that we could pick up a rental car. The Savannah airport is about an hour’s drive south and renting a car from Beaufort and dropping it off at the airport seemed to be the only way of getting there. Mind you, the one-way drop off fee they charge is tough to take...oh well...”it is what it is”...our new favourite saying!

I spent the rest of the afternoon inside the air-conditioned trailer packing while Steve was outside preparing the trailer for moving tomorrow. It is so hot and humid outside!! The temperatures have been in the mid 80’s with the humidity making it feel like the mid 90’s. Don’t know why I even try to straighten my hair...one step outside and it looks like a big brillo pad! I think we are going to freeze once we land in Vancouver tomorrow night...we’re looking at a 30 degree drop in temperature!!

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