Strange Addictions

You'd laugh if you saw me now, trying to satisfy my internet addiction...
I'm sitting in front of a beachfront condo owned by an acquaintance. I'm here for a couple odd reasons...
The neighbor that used to have wifi has moved, so I can no longer mooch his signal.
Another neighbor that still has wifi is five condos away and I cannot receive his signal from our unit. He doesn't mind me using his system, and in fact provided the "WEP code" to use it, but his wife resents others using their signal so he's asked me to use it surreptitiously. So here I am, in front of another friends condo two doors away from the wifi transmitter, sneaking, trying to avoid his wife seeing me on the computer. What fun!

We're having a great time. We've had a little rain, but most days have been sunny at least half the day. Sara Jean has been on the beach every day and is brown as a dark caramel. I spent 90 minutes with her three days ago and did such a lousy job applying my sunscreen that I got sunburned in interesting patterns on interesting parts of my body. It's not enough to be miserable, just enough to remind me to be more careful next time.

We've eaten too much. And as always, adult beverages disappear more quickly here than elsewhere... (I still think elves are involved in that somehow).

Mom spent four days with us and enjoyed her "pelician observation post". I took her home Wednesday and then since I had not been there in 30 years, stopped by NAS Pensacola to visit the Naval Aviation Museum. A friend and I joined a tour guided by a retired Naval Aviator, and in a little over two hours we saw maybe a tenth of the museum. Fascinating. I now realize the next time I come South I'll need to devote one FULL day to touring the Museum. If you like flying things, make the Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola a "MUST SEE".

I have to be at work Monday morning at O-Dark-Thirty, so we've decided to leave tomorrow in order to have Sunday to get home "honey-do's" under control. I imagine my grass will be knee high, so I'll get that under control while Sara Jean unpacks and gets the indoor chaos under control. Sitting here listening to the surf roar against the beach, it's a little sad to think about returning home and resuming the normal chores.

But the reason for coming was to recharge. The word "recreation" is an odd one that I've studied from time to time. When your schedule is so full that life ceases being fun, you finally realize that your body does in fact "recreate" something at your core when you relax and enjoy yourself as we have these days overlooking the Emerald water and sugar-white sand. I'm ready to go back to work.

Retirement used to seem like a dream...
Now it's a comforting "within reach" reality.
To all who have commented... THANK YOU!