WHOO HOO, I AM RETIRED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 The day we have been looking forward to for the last 25 years is finally here.  I am officially retired from nursing.  I have had an amazing career.  I loved being a nurse. I will greatly miss taking care of patients. I have experienced the beginning of life and the end of life with many people.  It has been tough at times, but overall nursing has been a rewarding career. The best part of nursing has been the coworkers I have worked with. The St. Dominic team was more like family than coworkers. St. D has been an awesome place to work. I could not ask for a better manager or coworkers.

  This all being said, I am looking forward to retirement, and so is Lauren. He no longer has to get my grumpy butt  up at 5 am, (actually last wake up call was 5:20 am).  I am looking forward to the next couple of months of staying at the Rez and walking, riding my bicycle, and fishing for white perch.   It will be nice not to have to plan my life around a work schedule.

                                     "HAPPY 55TH BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!!"

  The ones that have been following our blog since 2012, know that we love to travel. Our travels will be posted on our blog. If interested,sign up for e-mail notifications from our blog at http://sinceretiring.blogspot.com/.

Day 8 (7-16-15 - Home Sweet Home)

                                                   Flower Garden at Best Western




It was a nice, cool, 75 degrees when we left Cartersville, Ga. this morning.  It was a hot, humid, 95 degrees when we arrived at the Rez 7 hours later.  We traveled 422 miles today.

We traveled a total of 2,447 miles  in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, & Tennessee.  It was a fantastic trip.

Fernykat was happy to see us for just a couple of minutes after we got home.   Then she was done with us.  After I fed her, she didn't want anything to do with us. She did not appreciate being part of our selfie. She is in the bedroom, as far away from us as she can be, sleeping on my shirt.  I hope she doesn't hold a grudge too long.

                                                          We made it home....


Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/JNpsktJtj97sPoPd7

Day 7 (7-15-15 - Georgia )

                                                        Dreary start to the day

Lauren always surprises me.  We left around 9 am this morning.  I expected him to haul butt toward Mississippi.  Unexpectedly, we just cruised  around.

We cruised through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and realized why we don't come here more often. In a word TRAFFIC.

We started the day with temperatures in the low 70's and ended the day with temperatures in the upper 80's.  Might as well get use to it.  We headed to South Mississippi tomorrow.

                                                     All sorts of things to see

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/um9MjPBwMTmQ9tjaA

Day 6 (7-14-15 - Heading South)

                                                       Do we really have to go home?
                                               


We traveled about 300  miles today.  We had a few miles of interstate so we could gain some ground. But, most of the day, we traveled winding country roads, in the middle of no where.  It was a very relaxing day.

The temperature was in the low to mid 80's. We have not broke a sweat since last Thursday.  We are heading toward the hot, humid, weather tomorrow.  Wish we could bring this weather with us.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/Ex9kXTfEKTEpeUWm8

Day 5 (7-13-15 - Skyline Drive Bucket List Complete)

                                                   Foggy, wet and cold on Skyline Dr.



We opened the curtains at the hotel this morning, and found rain.  Not what we were expecting.  It stopped raining around 10 am and we headed for Skyline Drive.

We made it to the parkway without rain.  Things changed real quick. We stayed in pea soup fog for most of the ride.  We got a soaking for a 100 plus miles.  It is the wettest $15 we ever spent.  When we had  35 miles left to travel on the Skyline Drive, we were thinking about getting off the parkway. The weather cleared.  We decided to continue on.  It wasn't long we were wetter than ever, then the last 10 miles were clear and enjoyable.

After we got off the parkway, we took a tour of Front Royal, Virginia.  We contemplated if we should go north to Gettysburg or east to Virginia Beach.  After looking at the rainy forecast for the next couple of days, we headed south.

We have completed our bucket list of riding the beginning of the  Blue Ridge Parkway to the end of Skyline Drive. ChaChing!!!!!

                                                     
                                                         It cleared up some, finally



Pictures:  https://goo.gl/photos/D1eLWdEGo1Hne3Jx6

Day 4 (7-12-15 - Mayberry to End of Blue Ridge Parkway)

We decided to take another tour of Mayberry this morning.  Yesterday, it was crowded.  We went back this morning and it was a ghost town.

I found myself whistling the theme to the Andy Griffith show as we walked down Main Street. Lauren joined in for a few seconds, then advised me to stop.  I whistle worse than I sing.

We have completed the last 200 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We always heard that the North end is not as pretty as the South end.  We think both ends are unique and beautiful.

We plan to ride the  Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park tomorrow.  I hate to write this but, I hope we are not as cold as we were today.

                                                                      That's a Fact!!!!!

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/UboCoyy58j1VNZqb8

Day 3 (7-11-15 - Mayberry)

We started our beautiful day with fresh baked blueberry pound cake for breakfast this morning at Parkview Lodge. Shortly after we left, it turned into a cold, overcast, morning. I was glad that I had rain pants handy to put over my short pants.

We ate lunch at Station's Restaurant, a great motorcycle resort with good food and a good band. We went to Crossroads Harley Davidson in Wilkesboro, North Carolina to get a shirt.

We decided to get off the Blue Ridge and take a tour of Mayberry and are staying at the Best Western at Mt. Airy.  We will head out again tomorrow for the last 200 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It has been an awesome 224 miles today.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/jtyachWB5V9P9M6FA