Update From SteveR

[SteveR]

I have not been on this forum in quite a while. I have dropped in from time to time to get a quick snapshot of what is going on but have not posted in a long time. Over the past couple of years I have received a number of PMs from a few members checking on me and I do appreciate their concerns and updates on the forum.

So by popular demand ; here is my update of my Life After Fire.

The past couple of years have been busy for us. The motorhome odometer now reads a bit North of 30,000 miles and we have been coast to coast more than twice so far. I am in a campground in East Tennessee as I write this. We visited family during Thanksgiving and I am on my way to the Tiffin Service Center for some work on the coach before my warranty expires. The DW flew out for a week for the family visit but needed to stay in town to take care of business (more on that later). So I am doing a 4000 mile round trip solo. I plan on being back home around Christmas unless I get stuck in the snow somewhere.

Our most recent RV trip was to spend some time on the Calif. coast. The trip included Salt Lake City, Reno, Napa, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Monterrey, Morro Bay and then some time with family in the Fresno area. We had a great time. Our next trip back that way will be North along the coast up through Oregon and Washington.

We will be in Quartzsite, AZ in late January for the RV and Sports show and to visit some friends and family that attend the event every year.

Other than the RV trips we have also been busy in other ways.

After a nearly 25 year hiatus from scuba diving I jumped back in to it; so to speak. I am all geared up and have done a few ocean trips as well as the local diving (yes there are lakes in the desert). My last trip was to Cozumel for a week of reef diving. It does not get any better than that in North America. Prior to that I did some lobster hunting off the coast of Catalina off a dive boat for three days. I also managed to get my Advanced Open Water certification along the way.

DW has been busy as well. In January she had surgery to fix a constriction in her kidney. The surgery was a partial success but more surgery may be needed to do additional repair work. She also decided that it was time to live out a life-long dream of hers and own her very own Boutique. We stumbled across one that was a steal and I ran out of reasons to say No. We (she) are the owners of an exclusive women's boutique in the historic district of town. She is having a ball. I am doing the books and helping out with the "man stuff" i.e., fixing broken fixtures, replacing light bulbs, replacing floors, hanging racks etc. etc. She is having far more fun that I am but seeing her enjoy life is worth the minor aggravation of accounting, taxes and maintenance. She is moving her life into a whole new direction and is loving it. We have a couple of part time ladies who do most of the heavy lifting so her job is mostly buying stuff and what woman would not love to do that all day long? We are still building the business and hope to see some actual income sometime next year if the economy continues to slowly slug forward.

Those are the highlights of what our FIRE life has become in the past couple of years. There is far more we have done but I don't want to gloat ...As you can see we have not been sitting in rocking chairs watching the grass grow.

For those already FIREd, enjoy your life; we never know what tomorrow holds for us. For those still planning on FIRE, keep to your plan and allow some real fudge factors in your calculations. These past couple of years have not been kind to many of us. Planning never ends...it just changes on what you plan to plan after you retire.

Good luck and may the FIRE be with you.

SteveR

 

[REWahoo]

Hey there SteveR! Nice to hear from you.

Try to cut the interval down between posting, OK?

 

[bbbamI]

Yay Steve... It's SO wonderful to hear from you. 'What do you do all day', my hiney!

 

[calmloki]

Hey Steve - i may be hallucinating (again) but think i remember when your avatar lost a screw and gained an ER - sounds like busy and good times.

 

[Bestwifeever]

So there you are! Good to read the update. Some of us might like to visit the DW's shop if we're ever in the neighborhood--any details about where it is?

 

[Moemg]

Wow ! I am really impressed with your retirement ! Any discounts at the boutique for forum members ?

 

[Brat]

Our next trip back that way will be North along the coast up through Oregon and Washington.

SteveR

Plan your route so that you drive the Oregon coast southbound. That way when you stop to enjoy a viewpoint you won't have to cross traffic.

Don't overlook Crater Lake, Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood either. There is a suggestion list of great places to visit in another thread.

 

[MasterBlaster]

SteveR:

So there is more to life in ER than this forum ?

For the forum's info, here is a link to SteveR's swan song post upon retirement:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f30/what-im-looking-forward-to-27588.html

 

[Darryl]

Steve, great to hear from you again. Thanks for the update.

 

[SteveR]

Hey Steve - i may be hallucinating (again) but think i remember when your avatar lost a screw and gained an ER - sounds like busy and good times.

Yes, the screw came out 5/18/2007. It seems like more than 3 years since I was up to my a$$ in alligators.

So there you are! Good to read the update. Some of us might like to visit the DW's shop if we're ever in the neighborhood--any details about where it is?

The shop is Bella Donna Boutique in St George, UT it is located in Ancestor Square on Main street. You and any forum members are welcome to stop by the shop and part with some of your tight fisted retiree dollars.

Wow ! I am really impressed with your retirement ! Any discounts at the boutique for forum members ?

Discounts can be arranged with prior notice.
We would love to see any of your guys. Come on down and enjoy the mild Winter, Spring and Fall. (Summer is a bit toasty )

Plan your route so that you drive the Oregon coast southbound. That way when you stop to enjoy a viewpoint you won't have to cross traffic.

Don't overlook Crater Lake, Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood either. There is a suggestion list of great places to visit in another thread.

Thanks, Brat. We have done the trip South along US 1 in most of Oregon but have not seen some of the other sites in your post. We have been to Bend and Sisters and came over the mountains to Newport and then down the coast.

SteveR:

So there is more to life in ER than this forum ?

For the forum's info, here is a link to SteveR's swan song post upon retirement:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f30/what-im-looking-forward-to-27588.html

Wow...I had but all that out of my mind these past 3 years. I get sick to my stomach just reading all that again.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

So by popular demand ; here is my update of my Life After Fire.

Great hearing from you, Steve. The lack of RV-related content (the vehicle) is reassuring considering the bad luck you had with your original one, if I recall correctly. DW and I have been enjoying our Itaska Suncruiser, albeit in a much more limited way than you.

We've done Florida campgrounds from Key West to Destin. Give a holler if you get down this way.

 

[SteveR]

Great hearing from you, Steve. The lack of RV-related content (the vehicle) is reassuring considering the bad luck you had with your original one, if I recall correctly. DW and I have been enjoying our Itaska Suncruiser, albeit in a much more limited way than you.

We've done Florida campgrounds from Key West to Destin. Give a holler if you get down this way.

Hi Rich, nice to hear from you again. The RV is now a bit over 3 years old and is currently at the factory service center for the final warranty visit. The Tiffin Allegro Bus is going strong, but like any house bouncing down the road at 65 mph it has had it's issues from time to time. We talked with a Prevost conversion owner ($1.2MM) and even he said they rarely go on a trip where something does not break or malfunction in some way.

We have not ventured down into FL further than the panhandle so far but if we ever do I will be sure to give you a ring. I would like to meet you. If you ever get out to Southern Utah let me know as well.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

We have not ventured down into FL further than the panhandle so far but if we ever do I will be sure to give you a ring. I would like to meet you. If you ever get out to Southern Utah let me know as well.

I am spending about 5 days a month in Las Vegas doing some consulting. Close enough to warrant a visit one of these days and the DW often accompanies me. How far to your base camp from there?

 

[SteveR]

I am spending about 5 days a month in Las Vegas doing some consulting. Close enough to warrant a visit one of these days and the DW often accompanies me. How far to your base camp from there?

We are about 120 miles East of Las Vegas. Plenty of space for both of you. Let us know and we will dust off the Welcome mat.

 

[Martha]

Steve! So nice to hear from you. I am glad to hear this mh is plugging along just fine. And I love the name of your wife's shop.

 

[HFWR]

Great to hear from you, SteveR!

 

[Gumby]

Hi Steve! Nice of you to drop in and let us know how things are going. Sounds like you are enjoying life.

 

[brewer12345]

Wow, Steve, great to hear from you. I was just wondering what ever became of you the other day. Sounds like you are busy getting an A+ in enjoying life. Kudos on a successful retirement.

 

[73ss454]

Now don't go driving off into the sunset again.

 

[NW-Bound]

Hi there Steve. Even though I came here after you were gone, I saw some of your earlier posts.

Hey Steve - i may be hallucinating (again)

Heh heh heh.... The truth will out.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f52/poll-legalizing-marijuana-53417.html#post1007240

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Hey Steve - i may be hallucinating (again) but think i remember when your avatar lost a screw and gained an ER - sounds like busy and good times.

I think the avatar gained a few pounds, too.

 

[SteveR]

I think the avatar gained a few pounds, too.

Well, losing the screw left quite a hole. These are the heavy loads we carry. Once ER began the hole was filled with many new things that eventually over-flowed the original hole left by the screw. These new things are not burdens and they have much less weight so while I may be bigger I am not heavier...lighter by far now that the heavy burdens are gone.

Actually I have lost a few pounds in ER. I don't stress eat anymore and my diet is much better. I have time to cook things that are actually health. I tend to do more physically so that also keeps the weight down a bit.

The funny thing about retirement is you have more time to do things but for some reason you are always too busy to get them all done as fast as you think you can do them. I think this is a retirement time warp phenomenon; more time to do things but because new things are added to the list there is less time to do the original things on your list so they keep moving to the bottom of the pile. Of course the fun stuff keeps floating to the top of the list so those items get attention first. But that is WHAT retirement is all about...doing the fun stuff first.

 

[Dawg52]

But that is WHAT retirement is all about...doing the fun stuff first.

My philosophy too. Still playing golf but will eventually do some of those chores around the house. Good hearing from you again.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

It is like the old saying: "I had nothing to do today and I didn't get half of it done."

 

[Lusitan]

Glad to hear things are going well for you, SteveR. Just the other day, for no particular reason, I was thinking back to that old avatar you used to have with that cartoon guy with the screw through his chest, and wondered what you were up to these days.