I want to go back to the island,
Where the shrimp boats tie up to the pilin'.
Give me oysters and beer for dinner every day of the year,
And I'll feel fine, I'll feel fine.
'Cause I want to be there,
I want to go back down and lie beside the sea there.
With a tin cup for a chalice
Fill it up with good red wine,
And I'm-a chewin' on a honeysuckle vine.
Yeah, now the sun goes slidin' 'cross the water;
Sailboats, they go searchin' for the breeze.
Salt air it ain't thin,
It can stick right to your skin,
And make you feel fine.
It makes you feel fine.
'Cause I want to be there,
I want to go back down and lie beside the sea there.
With a tin cup for a chalice
Fill it up with good red wine,
And I'm-a chewin' on a honeysuckle vine.
Yes, and now you heard my strange proposal;
Get that Packard up and let's move.
I want to be there before the day
Tries to steal away and leave us behind;
I've made up my mind;
'Cause I want to be there,
I want to go back down and lie beside the sea there.
With a tin cup for a chalice
Fill it up with good red wine,
And I'm-a chewin' on a honeysuckle vine.
Ever since we have been home I've had Jimmy Buffett blasting on the stereo. There is just something so good about his music. No matter what kind of mood you are in, his music always seems to make it feel better. I mean who else can get you dancing as you do the dishes or scrub the floor !
Have I told you how good it feels to be home. Jim and I are still in the" pinch me do we really live here mode" ! And now with most of the summer visitors gone things have quieted down quite a bit. We spent last night watching a few shooting stars and lots of lightening flashes. The breeze blew like a trade wind and felt so go after those suffocating nights at Long Key. Note to myself-no summer camping in the Keys !
This first week home has been lazy days and quiet nights. Reality sets in ,just momentarily, on Monday. We are heading to our storage unit to clean and organize. Once that is done, we will spit shine Ruby and put her on the lot for storage for a few months. And while I try to live in the present moment and we try to make our travels spontaneous-there is some planning involved for next year's trip. We have to figure out a route so we can visit some family and friends before we head up to the Maritimes in Canada. Then we have to plan some kind of loosey goosey route so we can make a ferry reservation. Once we have that established then I'm going to start searching for anyone and everyone who knows anyone to try and get me to Sable Island, Nova Scotia-more about that in a future blog. Packing will be a challenge since we will be dealing with all 4 seasons. We will be leaving in early Spring and returning home in early Winter . I've been living in flip flops and shorts so I guess I'll have to go in search of blue jeans and sweaters and rain coats .
Can I tell you how grateful I am that my biggest challenge is finding my sweaters ? I am,so very grateful and so very blessed. We really didn't understand completely what we were getting into when we took on this lifestyle in our retirement. We never realized how it was going to feel to not have to work; to not have a set schedule; to eat,sleep and drink when we wanted. And guess what we don't feel guilty at all. Our only regret is that our family is not along with us for the ride. They are with us in heart and spirit but it sure would be nice to have them sitting alongside us in Ruby !
Is life just a bowl of cherries ? Not all the time, we still have the same issues-paying bills,fixing appliances,finding doctors-but honestly it is all much easier when you don't have a job to report to.
Jim and I had a conversation the other night -talking about wishing we had a little boat or a Hobie Cat for sailing,when I stopped dead in my tracks and said what am I talking about-we have a roof over our head in a place people would kill to live in and we have the means to drive around the country in a fabulous Roadtrek , why is it so challenging to let go of that "want more toys" syndrome ? I'm definitely working on that.
And on the health front-Jim is good,just a little tennis elbow or since he doesn't play tennis I call it fly fisherman's elbow. And I think my pacemaker is okay-my heart rate seems to be staying consistent-will find out if all is well in October-fingers crossed.
The rhythm of life goes on...walking on the beach each morning I check on the turtle nests-there are only a few left and I'm guessing they could all be gone by the end of September. It's reassuring to see them come back to the same spot year in and year out-kind of the feeling I get in returning home from our travels.
Happy Trails and safe travels to my little turtles out there.
