Do you just "bum around town" as a retired person?

[brucethebroker]

We also love road trips! DW and I recently volunteered to drive the second car of relatives to San Antonio from their former home in DC. We have wanted to visit the Mississippi gulf coast area and were waiting for a good excuse (and free gas money!). Spent a day and a night checking out Buloxi, Gulfport and the Pass Christian areas, while on SR 90. Great oceanfront scenery plus found a really nice seafood restaurant (Aunt Jenny's Catfish, in Ocean Springs). Spent a night in San Antonio, then flew home. Really nice "mini" vacation. Relatives think we are good Samaritans! Win-win!

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead When I saw this thread it reminded my of the old guys I see walking the aisles at Walmart with no particular intent. I will not spend my golden years walking around Walmart. I can tell you that.

Sometimes they are killing time while their old gals shop!

In Mexico, the Walmart is next to The Autozone, so we just set a time to be back at the car. At Costco, there is a nice grassy area with big trees in the parking lot.

[PawPrint53]

I lived in Seattle for about 2.5 years recently and loved walking through all the neighborhoods that I'd never visited growing up there in the 60s. So many lovely parks, quaint shops and great restaurants. Riding the ferry to Bainbridge and walking on the beach trail was wonderful. Getting a bus pass allowed me to explore areas that I couldn't walk to from our Ballard neighborhood, although 12 mile days were the norm for me. Great exercise, too. I got so I was able to walk up Queen Anne hill without breathing heavily. So, yeah, bumming around town can be a lot of fun.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead When I saw this thread it reminded my of the old guys I see walking the aisles at Walmart with no particular intent. I will not spend my golden years walking around Walmart. I can tell you that.

Then why do you spend time there now? You'd probably be better off staying away from that place, given your above report of what you see there. Sounds pretty awful to me.

I don't doubt what you are saying at all, although I have no idea of what goes on there these days. Personally I don't like the ambience so I don't go there. There are other stores, both bricks'n'mortar and online, at which to shop and prices at Wal-Mart just aren't low enough to persuade me that I want to go there.

[Nodak]

I love just bumming around.

[rodi]

When I first retired I did a lot of bumming around. Mostly local, but I live in a tourist destination, and I now had the time to do the touristy stuff with non-weekend/summer crowds.

I don't do as much bumming around anymore... tending to repeat the things I enjoyed that first year.... Free museums on Tuesdays, free beach walks with the dog most mornings, low cost community college classes that are interesting to me (but not career enhancing in any way.)....

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Then why do you spend time there now? You'd probably be better off staying away from that place, given your above report of what you see there. Sounds pretty awful to me. I don't doubt what you are saying at all, although I have no idea of what goes on there these days. Personally I don't like the ambience so I don't go there. There are other stores, both bricks'n'mortar and online, at which to shop and prices at Wal-Mart just aren't low enough to persuade me that I want to go there.

What an odd response.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elbata The best part of these trips is realizing how much I enjoy being home.

Kind of sounds like beating yourself on the head with a hammer because it feels so good when you stop.

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead What an odd response.

It seemed even to me.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB It seemed even to me.

Speaking as a well balanced Libran, I..........

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead What an odd response.] Quote: Originally Posted by MichaelB It seemed even to me. Quote: Originally Posted by Nemo2 Speaking as a well balanced Libran, I..........

Let me try again. I'm sure I'll do better this time..... Here we go, just like down at the casino, see image below.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Let me try again. I'm sure I'll do better this time..... Here we go, just like down at the casino, see image below.

FWIW: If you ever see a pair of dice like that at a craps table, gather up your chips and run away as something is very wrong. Opposite faces should always add up to 7.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem FWIW: If you ever see a pair of dice like that at a craps table, gather up your chips and run away. Opposite faces should always add up to 7.

But we can't see the opposite faces in the photo? Obviously I'm not a very good/experienced gambler although we do the quarter slots sometimes.

Edited to add - - OH, I get it. Nice observational skills! We can see the 3 plus the 4, so they aren't on opposite sides. Here, try these:

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R But we can't see the opposite faces in the photo? Obviously I'm not a very good/experienced gambler although we do the quarter slots sometimes. Edited to add - - OH, I get it. Nice observational skills! We can see the 3 plus the 4, so they aren't on opposite sides. Here, try these:

Right, the second set could be legit. The first ones are like a quirky exotic vacation: a strange paradise. (uggh)

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem FWIW: If you ever see a pair of dice like that at a craps table, gather up your chips and run away as something is very wrong. Opposite faces should always add up to 7.

I never knew that. I wonder where those images came from that had "bad dice".

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational I never knew that. I wonder where those images came from that had "bad dice".

I looked at Google Images, searching on "dice", trying to find images where the dice had not landed yet and so the even-ness or odd-ness was indeterminate. This image was one of the first couple of dozen images that came up. It was from this page, a page dedicated to the topic of how to load dice. I should be more careful!


How to Load Dice | How to do it

[antmary]

I love to bum around...let my thoughts flow like seaweed...! But, I have to engage my mind and body in purposeful ways to maintain an "edge."

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead What an odd response.

Not sure what's odd about it- I feel the same way about Wal-Mart and almost never shop there.

[NW-Bound]

There's a Walmart not too far from home. We never shopped there until we got an RV, went on treks, and of course stopped at Walmarts overnight while en-route. So, we decided to walk through the store to get groceries and provisions, and hey, what do you know, they carry the same brands as other grocery chains. And it does not hurt that the prices are lower. I do not see scary shoppers like photos we all have seen on the Internet, or more accurately stated, the shoppers are not any scarier than at Safeway, or Fry's. Many Walmarts I have gone through are clean, well-lit, and organized. I have not seen the run-down stores as I am sure exist in some parts of the country.

So, Walmart is now my goto-place when I need to get service parts for my cars, or some household products. We do not go there much for food, but there's another reason for that. For electronics, clothes, appliances, there are better specialty stores with larger selections. In short, Walmart is not that scary.

Anyway, back to bumming, I think the consensus is that retirees love bumming. It's a big part of what retirement is all about: to be able to go bumming when the rest are at work. Even if you don't go, just knowing that you can makes it great. Just be sure to head back home before the rush hour.

[MRG]

Go bum around in retirement? Some at Megacorp might suggest nothing has changed.