The day has almost arrived. Very soon, we will take up occupancy in our Florida home, a process that from the first thoughts to completion has happened in less than a year. When we drove down to Panama City, Florida, from Longmont, Colorado, as the 2024 July Fourth weekend came to an end, little did we know that with just a little bit of shaking, a building lot in an area we liked, became available.
Folks
we know watch the HGTV show, 100 days, and for Margo and me, from the day we
watched the first survey of our lot to when construction ended was just on120
days. Yes, we have had to be patient while other homes were completed as the
developer releases finished homes in batches to minimize (as much as possible)
the impact of further development along the street.
However,
this post is not about our future home. You will just have to wait to the next
post when we can provide further insights into how our desires mapped to a finished
product. Entering the home will be giving us a blank canvas and for those who
know us well, it is all about coloring in the spaces and providing detail for
the story our new home will tell. What this post will be about is the story of
continuous movement., perpetual momentum, if you like, a subject covered a
while back in our business coverage.
Coming
from a mountainous state like Colorado, where mountain peaks dominate the
western skyline, looking out onto almost nothingness, a flat vista to the
horizon no matter where you turn, is something that will prove challenging. As
a couple who simply likes to drive, we will miss the opportunities to make
tracks up and down the many canyon roads abundantly scattered along the front
ranges of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.
If
this vehicle next to our primary shopping cart is unfamiliar it is because it’s
appearance in the US came as a surprise. It is an Ineos SUV and comes to us via
a design in Austria, manufacture in France, engine by BMW and all put together
on a new production line by a German vendor who overseas all Mercedes Benz
manufacturing, worldwide. Abat+ is a software house and their solutions –
including the management of modern robots – is operational on HPE NonStop
systems.
Forget
about being the driving force behind the support of credit and debit plastic
worldwide as the very same 24 x 7 fault tolerant systems have been and continue
to be running happily within manufacturing plants and with Ineos, being brand
new, choosing to go with what drives Mercedes Benz, it’s a positive sign
indicating where NonStop systems are headed. For more, check out my recent
column published in the bimonthly NonStop publication, The Connection -https://connect2nonstop.com/real-time-view-9/
Hearing
about news that led to us seeing an Ineos means we travel a lot. Worldwide,
there are numerous trade shows focused on NonStop that we attend. Most
recently, you would have seen us present at an event in Tampa, Florida. An
event under the banner of SunTUG – a continuation when such events were branded
by the locals as being a Tandem event and hence Tandem User Group. A reminder of the past certainly, but it’s a
reminder too of how NonStop, formerly Tandem Computers, recently celebrated its
golden anniversary – fifty years of building systems for a really tough
audience.
Our
journey to Tampa came about as we drove from Longmont, Colorado, back to
Florida. As is our normal practice we try to keep our overnight stays limited
to just one of two proprietors. In this case it was with Marriott where the
Courtyard we stayed in was on of the first five ever built. Or so the pamphlets
said. And yes, it was old but it had its charm. For Margo and me, we do a lot
of cruising and have become used to walking down long corridors so it didn’t come
as a shock to see the very same halls-to-infinity present in this Courtyard.
The
landmarks we associate with our travels have always been the establishments we
support when it comes to meal times. Oftentimes, we return to the same place
time and time again. Some cities however don’t support the venues we like and
it opens up opportunities to try something different. A few years ago, when our
journey took us through Nashville, we paid a visit to newly-opened Eddie V’s
Prime Seafood restaurant and truly enjoyed the experience. Dive into the post I
wrote at the time to read more of this –
https://buckle-up-travel.blogspot.com/2021/06/springtime-and-its-time-did-someone-say.html
It
should not come as a surprise to read of how, while in Tampa having already
dined at Ocean Prime, we paid a visit the local Tampa Eddie V’s restaurant and
were not disappointed in any way at all. Steak tartare tossed tableside and
then served the way Margo likes it. Prawn cocktail? Good for consideration as a
dish served for two. In the knowledge that we will be commuting between Florida
and Colorado for many more years to come, it’s a safe bet to make that it will
be dining experiences that dominate the routes we chose.
What
Margo and I are enjoying most of all following the decision to base ourselves
in Florida is that we will enjoy more mileage than years. For nearly three
decades, we have opted to drive whenever the need arises to be somewhere else
in the US. Or, Canada – was just as likely to happen as well. The road to
California to popular sites, west, is well trodden just as the road to Toronto
and many other points, east. In other words, east or west, there’s no
boundaries we aren’t prepared to cross no matter the time of year or the total
distance to be covered.
Many
of the deep and, indeed, most meaningful conversations between the two of us, have
been enjoyed while driving. If it is the Corvette then of late, we have had to
embrace headsets so as to be heard over road noise. Most folks we pass on the
highway think we are talking on the phone – a natural assumption these days –
but they would probably be surprised to learn the conversations was limited to
just the occupants in the car. We haven’t always enjoyed smooth sailing when
conversing with differences to occur, but by the time we pulled into a hotel
for an overnight stay, we have solved the world’s problems. And in time to
enjoy a fine meal!
There
may be good cocktails over which to continue these conversations and there’s no
harm in that. Bubble and Berries from Ocean Prime are always an option for
Margo and a great way to unwind from the road. But there’s a lot more to be
said then simply talking when crossing continental America. I have touched on
it many times in the past but what I have warmed to of late is just how uniform
America becomes when we all hit the road to go somewhere. Anywhere. There are
those driving of questionable experience just as there are those whose drivers
licenses probably should never have been granted.
And
yet, the highways are a great normalization. To my Australian, English and
Canadian friends, don’t be too quick to dismiss the reality that is the USA as,
getting behind the wheel of a car – especially when it is a ragtop roadster –
is an education unto itself. The only recent development of late that bothers
both Margo and me is the lessening in etiquette when it comes time to pump gas.
When did it be considered OK to finish filling your car with gas and then
walking away from it to go shopping? On more than one occasion we have pulled
into a gas station only to find all pumps occupied even as none of the vehicles
were (occupied)!
For
now, though, it’s back to packing. Thank goodness for the ubiquitous black base
/ yellow cover storage containers. On our return trip from Tampa, we stopped by
the Tallahassee Costco store and loaded up. We have movers arriving shortly to
help us with the move from our rental cottage to our new home, a distance of
less than two miles. They will be charged with moving the heavy stuff while
Margo and my collection of glassware, meaningful (to us) objet d'art,
and our office equipment will all ride in style in our Jaguar SUV. As we have
the Corvette and the golf cart here, and with the new home’s three car garage,
moving our personal stuff will likely involve all three vehicles.
There
was a time a long, long time ago that we wrestled with problems that owning six
cars created. Each time however, once they were moved and following a heavy
albeit a reluctant sigh, we parred down the inventory settling for three or
four vehicles. We often argued that having two residences, which we did
throughout the first decade of 2000s, we needed two in each location, one
“commute SUV,” and yes, a fun vehicle for track days. Nice – and quite
reasonable, we argued. Then again, what were we thinking? Going forward we will
have one car in each location together with the commute SUV.
What
we will also have are Florida licenses. This we will obtain shortly as we apply
for Florida residence status but it did throw up the quite obvious discussion.
Do we carry forward our endorsements for motorcycles. The conversation that
followed was indeed very brief. Why not? After all the pain we went through to
obtain these endorsements as well as all the time we spent and the distances we
covered, perhaps it would be a bad sign to simply give up in our relative
tender youth?
The
countdown continues. Not just for moving but for all that follows. An
adjustment in our lifestyles well, more than an adjustment, as it is an
acceptance that living at sea level, hurricanes and tornadoes notwithstanding,
has its upside when simply breathing is taken into consideration. Almost one
year on, and our enjoyment of our Windsor Colorado home beginning to take hold
of what we pursued, our lives were upended in an unexpected way. So much so,
that it wasn’t simply the upending, but rather the speed in which the actions
that followed occurred.
Not
much more than a week passed before offers came in for our Windsor home. Then
an opportunity to purchase a condo from an extended family member that was
close by our grandkids, had us on the move in a matter of weeks. A trip to
Florida and we settled on where next to take up residence. Multiple storage
facilities some planned some forced followed and then, here we are. Buying more
furniture, checking color schemes, deciding on the final details and adding a
pool and spa combination. Watching out for alligators native to this area; fun,
right. Hmm, perhaps not so much …
Then
again, as every Floridian reminds us, the natives are friendly as is the fauna!
Just a reminder from a social media posting a short time ago –
We
will make it all work for us. Our work continues and our time spent with the
NonStop community will not lessen. There will be flights to events worldwide
even as there will be short cruises during planned downtime. All the while, we
will be writing and posting even as, looking back at when the opportunity to
retire was contemplated, we decided retirement wasn’t for us and that just
keeping on was what motivated us and has kept us youthful. And we have every
reason, living in Florida, to keep our wits about us as the creatures of the
night remain the nightmares from childhood.
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