It was 30 years ago next June that a young and eager Sharon and Kenney left New Jersey in our blue Mustang for Hawaii and what turned out to be a life of travel and adventure in distant lands. We are now home in South Carolina, retired from our careers in overseas education at age 53, and comfortably ensconced in our apartment overlooking the waterfront at Yacht Cove on Lake Murray. After more or less 30 years away from "home," we have managed to achieve our life's dream: to experience as much as possible of what the world has to offer, get paid for it, and then retire early!
During our years abroad, we had incredible experiences that make the shows on the Travel Channel seem as if they were our home movies. "Been there, done that" has become as much our mantra as "On the Road Again" is our theme song. Now our memory banks are filled with images of exotic cultures and locales, adventures that either make us smile with nostalgia or cause our hair to stand on end. It's been an exceptional run, and we have absolutely no regrets for the path we chose or the decisions we made. Now if we can only avoid getting Alzheimer's.....
This past year has been a mixed bag, and, as Dickens wrote, it was the best of times; it was the worst of times. We knew early on that, after six years in Prague, it was time to go. We were both burned out professionally and in need of a change, but our deal was so good that we felt as if we were in a golden cage. However, we also realized that my father was ailing and, at 84 years of age, he did not have much will left to continue. Thus, the call to "go home" was strong. Despite a fantastic Christmas/New Year's holiday in southern Spain (See Sharon's photo above), we also felt that we had "done" Europe as well as our interests and energy would allow. Even the thought of skiing in Austria no longer thrilled us as it once did.
By the time Spring had arrived, we had to convince ourselves each day that staying for another year was in our best interests. Then, after a few incidents with particularly obnoxious parents at school, we looked at each other and said, "Y'know, we don't have to put up with this crap anymore!" As it turned out, our investments over the years had reached a level that would allow us to live in basic comfort without working. Thus, the die was cast, and in typical Vogel fashion, we resigned our jobs precipitously, sold almost everything, threw away most of our clothes, and left Europe within two weeks of our decision in June, with only a few suitcases of essentials to burden us. We felt very, very free!
Our next move was to head for Florida where we were able to spend two months of "quality time" with my parents, attending to various details, such as helping my mother buy a new car. It was also clear that my father was failing rapidly, and we did our best to aid at this trying time, preparing for the inevitable. In the meantime, our tenants moved out of our Columbia apartment, so we shuttled back and forth between Florida and South Carolina until my father finally passed away in October. He was the last of his generation in the Vogel family, the patriarch, but, more importantly, he was an exemplary husband and father, and he lived a long and fruitful life. No regrets.
So now we have taken up residence in the States, with a list of things to do that will take us more time than we have available to us. We have purchased a 24 foot pontoon boat, which serves as both transportation for exploring and as a platform for Happy Hours and watching the sun set behind the islands that dot our lake. We have just completed a Boating Skills and Seamanship course through the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and we are enrolling in a golfing course soon through the local community college. We have also taken frequent excursions in the Southeast, such as renting a cottage on Key Largo, spending time at the beach near Sarasota, enjoying Oktoberfest in Helen, Georgia, visiting Charleston and the northern SC coast, spending Thanksgiving in Hilton Head, viewing the fall colors in the Smokey Mountains, and checking out the ski areas on Beech Mountain in North Carolina where we will soon take to the slopes. As you can see, we have not allowed the moss to collect on our bottoms.
What does the future hold? We're not exactly sure, but uncertainty has been a constant companion during our days together, and it fits well into our lifestyle. More travel will definitely be on the horizon, but probably confined to the North American continent. We still have a taste for the exotic so Mexico has been calling of late, with a visit to Lake Chapala this summer as a most likely first candidate. Perhaps New England and French Canada will also be explored in the near future.
As for personal development, we will add to our skills by taking up golf, working on our tennis game, and learning how to fish freshwater. There are a bunch of striped bass out there with our names on them! I will also pursue my writing with travel articles, perhaps a memoir, or a novel that has been percolating in the back of my brain. Sharon has a business idea that she may put into place soon as well.
Although we no longer need to work for a living, we will always be open to adventures and opportunities that may arise, and, as usual, we can make no predictions as to what we will be doing or where we will be next year. We will take things as they come, without stress or strain, and, hopefully, we will have many years of fulfillment awaiting us. The important thing that we have learned after our many years of living and working abroad is: Always have a Plan B!
Love to y'all from us,
Ken & Sharon
PS: Our apartment has a nice guest room ready for anyone interested in visiting for a spell.
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