A little obituary realism :o

[riverrat]

Just checked the obits today and my name wasn't there - so far so good! 8)

[ESRBob]

I think Cut-Throat had another point which kinda got put aside in this thread: Carpe Diem -- grab today by the nuts and shake the sucker until something good happens! I dont want to ER in order to sit around worrying about my portfolio and doing chores around the house all day. I want to go places (France in a few days with the family for a few weeks cruising on a self-hire barge in the canals of Burgundy) and meet people and try new stuff (as long as it aint illegal!) and learn new stuff and so on... Challenges, fun, something new.

That's why I ER'd, so I'd have time to do that. I think we all can always benefit from any sort of inspirational stories about lives well-lived, like my neighbor who is 95 and sits on the Governor's Task Force on geriatric mental health, flies up to Albany 6x a year, has her mac's email inbox bulging with white papers on mental health etc etc. She is sharp as a tack and an inspiration to all of us who know her.

I want 50 more years like that!

ESRBob

[Hyperborea]

Quote:

I want to go places (France in a few days with the family for a few weeks cruising on a self-hire barge in the canals of Burgundy)

If you could provide some information on this and perhaps a trip report when you get back that would be much appreciated. *The canal boats in France are tied with a Thailand/Malaysia/Singapore by train vacation as the next big trip plan in our household.

We can only scrape up enough vacation for one big trip (3 weeks plus) every other year (we've got family far away in two different locations) and this year it's Italy in the fall so that the earliest would be 2006 for us but the info would be useful.

Thanks

[renferme]

The obits tell very little, I think you have to look at family history to get an idea how long you'll live.
My mother died at age 80, was a smoker and I believe might still be alive today had she not smoked. My Dad is still alive, almost 88 now; and gave up smoking some 30 years or so ago. In any case I based my monetary plans on living 40 more years or until about age 97 or 98. Don't want to outlive my savings.

What the obits tell me is that I have already
outlived a helluva lot of people.

John Galt

[ESRBob]

Quote:

If you could provide some information on this and perhaps a trip report when you get back that would be much appreciated. Thanks

Hyperborea;
We are getting our boat from Locaboat, probably the biggest operator of its kind all over Europe.
http://www.locaboat.com/index_en_tarif.html

We actually rented, at these rates, from an English agent named Emma James, at: www.burgundy-canal.com

We rented a house for the week following the canal trip at: www.athominfrance.com . Americans based out of Oregon, and very easy to work with through all the preparation steps.

Enjoy,
ESRBob

[Hyperborea]

ESRBob,

Thank you for the links. I've had a quick look over them and I'll file them away for the trip planning after we get back from Italy (by train from Napoli to Venice with a lot of stops on the way). Any repots on the trip when you return would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[ESRBob]

Quote:

ESRBob, after we get back from Italy (by train from Napoli to Venice with a lot of stops on the way). * Thanks

Hyperborea;
Don't know if you'll get south of Naples, but we really enjoyed Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast a few years back. (Pompeis is an hour or so south of Naples). If you go to Pompeii, I'd urge you to spring for an english-speaking guide, as they will really bring the place alive for you. We were just sort of stariing at a bunch of old rocks until we hired the guide, and it turned out to be one of our most memorable experiences in Italy. 'Course the kids still rib me about not springing for a real gondola ride in Venice, but at $75 or $80 for a half-hour I told them their old man was too cheap, and they'd need to come back to Venice themselves one day and buy their own. Still not sure if I made the right decision, but at least we're teaching them a little bit about budgeting!

Enjoy Italia...

ESRBob

[wabmester]

I did the gondola ride in Venice several years ago. * I saw a giant rat scurrying along the side of the canal and exclaimed "HOLY SH*T!" *I scared a couple of nuns in the process.

The people and food in Italy are both wonderful, but the rats -- both the scurrying and the flying kind -- are monsters.

[Hyperborea]

ESRBob,

We were thinking about spending 3 nights in Napoli - 1st night we arrive and sleep; second day either in Napoli or go for the day to Pompei (we'll check into the tour guide - thanks); and third day we do what we didn't do on the second day. On the morning of the fourth day we will head to Rome. We have no plans on this trip to head further south. After we retire we'll probably go back and hang out for a few months.

In Venice I wasn't planning on taking a gondola ride - probably the vaporetto instead. ;-)

Thanks