Memoirs of a Geezer!
Reflections and Observations -- A Bright Passage from the Fantasies of Youth
to Illuminations of Advanced Maturity!
This Episode: The Art of Making Great Gobs of Money... Spending It Wisely...!!
I have no idea how to make great gobs of money! It's a concept that's eluded me most of my life. However, I know a few people who have or still do make great piles of the stuff. But that's not the point. This piece is really about taking holidays or vacations affordably, inexpensively... you know, on the cheap (if and when possible... sadly, many lack the necessary financial privileges...)! So I figured the title might be provocative enough to generate some readership... maybe?!?
In July of this year, for example, we spent a week in Florider. You know the place... where every other transplant Flaridian from the Eastern Seaboard is wearing a loud, flowery tunic or a moo moo. On our first full day in the Sunshine (about 90 or more degrees of glorious heat!), we actually witnessed a rocket launch, right from the sandy shores of Cocoa Beach -- not the rocket launching from that beach, but our viewing point of said rocket! -- where SweetHeart's cousin (with siblings!) owns a condominium. She, a sweet and generous soul, allows us to rent the place quite affordably, for which we are most grateful. The rocket launch was a thrilling thing to behold. It departed the earth from Cape Kennedy Space Center, some 15 or so miles north of Cocoa!
I waived stupidly at the thing, as if expecting some lunatic riding on its nose to waive back. "Give our regards to Jupiter," I hollered fecklessly! SweetHeart took pictures, or was it our Sweet Alie...?!
And a couple of days later, we went boating on the Banana River, a 30-mile-long lagoon fed by the Atlantic and other sources. Captain Quinn was the boat master, a seasoned and well-schooled Skipper who knows where to find manatees and dolphins! Wonderful day on the water! Not terribly expensive. Oh, and he offers a bit of fishing and shell collecting... beautiful conch shells in the main, collected from a small island! Alie, Tad, Coen, Lucy, SweetHeart and I thoroughly enjoyed the voyage!
"What's that place?" I asked at one point during the cruise.
"Oh... that's a boat, barge and tug rehab center," the captain answered. "They install a huge inflatable balloon-like device under the barge or boat to be rehab'ed, and then they sort of roll it onto the shore of that island we're looking at to begin repairs and rebuilding. It's quite an amazing technology."
I responded: "Something akin to what pyramid builders used, I reckon, eh?!"
"What...?"
SweetHeart and I tend NOT to gravitate to the more obvious, "family" and "child-oriented" touristy destinations. We prefer "Eco-Tour Travel and Eco-Adventures." On one of our visits to Mexico, we learned about the "Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve!" Extraordinary place! We get bussed to a jumping off point near Tulum, board an open boat and then race across a surprisingly large lagoon. As we approach what looks like land fall, most of us "crew members" are terrified of crashing into said land fall because we aren't slowing... the pilot does slow eventually and takes us through a serpentine channel into another enormously large lagoon... (Several passengers have near seizures... gasping... mumbling...!)
We speed across that lagoon at the same insanely urgent pace, and finally come to a halt at a pier or wharf. We disembark and all of us don life jackets.
"What are we doing here?" I ask.
"We're going for a swim," answers our superb Mexican guide, one "Quetzalcan," also known as "Kukulkán Quetzal." He's a citizen of Mexico, a product of Chilean and Argentinean parentage, a fine-looking and splendidly well-informed individual, a delight in whose company and tutelage we enjoy the entire adventure!
But I digress... We then plunge into a smaller body of water. It's steady, modest, a "few kilometers-per-hour" current floats us pleasantly along a narrow and beautiful channel through mangroves, past verdant vegetation. The entire "float" lasts about half an hour. We swim over at least one manta ray and many tropical fish before coming at last to a wooden pier. We then climb onto the pier connected to a long board walk that leads us through bogs and prairie back to the place at which we first took the plunge! A remarkably fine Eco-Tour, a truly beautiful experience!!
Back on the bus, we motor off to Muyil, site of a well-preserved Mayan ruin, consisting of an enormous castillo, temples, dwellings... where we wander about listening to our guide's presentation of the site's history and preservation efforts. And then a traditional Mexican feast at a seaside restaurant follows. In all, a truly magnificent day's outing!!
In Door County, Wisconsin, a more recent adventure, we witnessed the solar eclipse from
Newport State Park. The special glasses were in extremely limited supply, but the "eclipse-niks" with whom we shared the experience were exceptionally thoughtful and generous, each sharing glasses with her or his fellow viewer. And what a sight it was, the eclipse, that is!
Bethie, Seany, Phi Phi, SweetHeart and I shared an old log cabin in Ephraim, dark interior but welcoming, commodious and comfortable. We swam in the waters of Green Bay at a beach in Sister Bay. The younger travelers kayak'ed and paddle boarded. We biked for 10 miles in Peninsula State Park, to Nicolet Bay Beach and back to the Fish Creek entrance. Oh, and we ate a lot at DC's many fine dining establishments, including Julie's, Wild Tomato, La Puerta and others! (I believe I may have contracted permanent indigestion and breath issues!!)
Following a brief but beautiful cruise aboard one of the County's fabled passenger and auto ferries -- this trip aboard the Arni J. Richter, I believe! -- Elaine and Jim introduced us to some of the attractions on Washington Island we had previously not experienced -- School House Beach (one of the very best locations for skipping stones!!), the Art and Nature Center, a newly refurbished 100-plus-year-old hotel, the grounds and site of the annual Lavender Festival... Much more to that island on the other side of Death's Door (or is it actually floating in Death's Door?) than one can imagine. The ferry ride back to the mainland was equally enchanting, if a bit brisk for some voyagers!
If there's a point to this piece (What? Finally...?), it's the idea that one can enjoy relatively modest travel adventures to destinations that are affordable and not so far off as to bankrupt the traveler. Particularly important, delightful and gratifying is travel with one's family members, viewing the sights and sounds through the "fresh eyes" of children and those for whom the experience is brand new, fun-filled and exhilarating. The larger point? Travel is among the best medicines to maintain healthy Geezerhood!! Dog or cat therapy is another...!!
Oh! Almost forgot another "must" destination for a great many DC devotees: Wilson's! They have ice cream -- like peppermint stick and "Cookie Doug" -- popcorn too! It's in Ephraim. Some ice cream consumers fancy flavors such as blue moon and caramel collision, I'm told! (Asked to hold onto cones by certain smaller persons who race to use the area "jungle gym," I find that Blue moon has a tendency to drip and leave stains on a person's white sockies! Stickiness too! I prefer the popcorn!)
(Special Note of Dedication: The perpetrator dedicates this posting to his beloved traveling companions... SweetHeart, Alie, Bethie, Tad, Coen, Seany, Lucy and Phi Phi, Rob and Sue, without whose companionship the aforementioned travel adventures would not be nearly as rewarding, laugh-filled or suffused with delights, discoveries and edification, even!! I once learned about "dirty grids" during a particular travel experience, but that's a subject for another story entirely! Thank you, and Good Day, Good Night and Happy Traveling!!)
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| The famous Pier at Cocoa Beach. Good food, shops, volleyball, fish, big waves... swimming, more shops, beer! |
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| The Rocket's Tail... Up There!... Above Our Heads!! |
In July of this year, for example, we spent a week in Florider. You know the place... where every other transplant Flaridian from the Eastern Seaboard is wearing a loud, flowery tunic or a moo moo. On our first full day in the Sunshine (about 90 or more degrees of glorious heat!), we actually witnessed a rocket launch, right from the sandy shores of Cocoa Beach -- not the rocket launching from that beach, but our viewing point of said rocket! -- where SweetHeart's cousin (with siblings!) owns a condominium. She, a sweet and generous soul, allows us to rent the place quite affordably, for which we are most grateful. The rocket launch was a thrilling thing to behold. It departed the earth from Cape Kennedy Space Center, some 15 or so miles north of Cocoa!
I waived stupidly at the thing, as if expecting some lunatic riding on its nose to waive back. "Give our regards to Jupiter," I hollered fecklessly! SweetHeart took pictures, or was it our Sweet Alie...?!
 |
| The actual rocket that flew on July 5th launched from Cape Kennedy... It carried a communications satellite! |
And a couple of days later, we went boating on the Banana River, a 30-mile-long lagoon fed by the Atlantic and other sources. Captain Quinn was the boat master, a seasoned and well-schooled Skipper who knows where to find manatees and dolphins! Wonderful day on the water! Not terribly expensive. Oh, and he offers a bit of fishing and shell collecting... beautiful conch shells in the main, collected from a small island! Alie, Tad, Coen, Lucy, SweetHeart and I thoroughly enjoyed the voyage!
 |
| Tug fully restored for quick sale! |
"What's that place?" I asked at one point during the cruise.
"Oh... that's a boat, barge and tug rehab center," the captain answered. "They install a huge inflatable balloon-like device under the barge or boat to be rehab'ed, and then they sort of roll it onto the shore of that island we're looking at to begin repairs and rebuilding. It's quite an amazing technology."
I responded: "Something akin to what pyramid builders used, I reckon, eh?!"
"What...?"
We speed across that lagoon at the same insanely urgent pace, and finally come to a halt at a pier or wharf. We disembark and all of us don life jackets.
"What are we doing here?" I ask.
"We're going for a swim," answers our superb Mexican guide, one "Quetzalcan," also known as "Kukulkán Quetzal." He's a citizen of Mexico, a product of Chilean and Argentinean parentage, a fine-looking and splendidly well-informed individual, a delight in whose company and tutelage we enjoy the entire adventure!
 |
| We didn't see those fish... We might have if the boat had slowed down! |
But I digress... We then plunge into a smaller body of water. It's steady, modest, a "few kilometers-per-hour" current floats us pleasantly along a narrow and beautiful channel through mangroves, past verdant vegetation. The entire "float" lasts about half an hour. We swim over at least one manta ray and many tropical fish before coming at last to a wooden pier. We then climb onto the pier connected to a long board walk that leads us through bogs and prairie back to the place at which we first took the plunge! A remarkably fine Eco-Tour, a truly beautiful experience!!
Back on the bus, we motor off to Muyil, site of a well-preserved Mayan ruin, consisting of an enormous castillo, temples, dwellings... where we wander about listening to our guide's presentation of the site's history and preservation efforts. And then a traditional Mexican feast at a seaside restaurant follows. In all, a truly magnificent day's outing!!
In Door County, Wisconsin, a more recent adventure, we witnessed the solar eclipse from
 |
| An actual eclipse as seen from special glasses that enable viewers to see the spectacle safely! |
Bethie, Seany, Phi Phi, SweetHeart and I shared an old log cabin in Ephraim, dark interior but welcoming, commodious and comfortable. We swam in the waters of Green Bay at a beach in Sister Bay. The younger travelers kayak'ed and paddle boarded. We biked for 10 miles in Peninsula State Park, to Nicolet Bay Beach and back to the Fish Creek entrance. Oh, and we ate a lot at DC's many fine dining establishments, including Julie's, Wild Tomato, La Puerta and others! (I believe I may have contracted permanent indigestion and breath issues!!)
Following a brief but beautiful cruise aboard one of the County's fabled passenger and auto ferries -- this trip aboard the Arni J. Richter, I believe! -- Elaine and Jim introduced us to some of the attractions on Washington Island we had previously not experienced -- School House Beach (one of the very best locations for skipping stones!!), the Art and Nature Center, a newly refurbished 100-plus-year-old hotel, the grounds and site of the annual Lavender Festival... Much more to that island on the other side of Death's Door (or is it actually floating in Death's Door?) than one can imagine. The ferry ride back to the mainland was equally enchanting, if a bit brisk for some voyagers!
If there's a point to this piece (What? Finally...?), it's the idea that one can enjoy relatively modest travel adventures to destinations that are affordable and not so far off as to bankrupt the traveler. Particularly important, delightful and gratifying is travel with one's family members, viewing the sights and sounds through the "fresh eyes" of children and those for whom the experience is brand new, fun-filled and exhilarating. The larger point? Travel is among the best medicines to maintain healthy Geezerhood!! Dog or cat therapy is another...!!
Oh! Almost forgot another "must" destination for a great many DC devotees: Wilson's! They have ice cream -- like peppermint stick and "Cookie Doug" -- popcorn too! It's in Ephraim. Some ice cream consumers fancy flavors such as blue moon and caramel collision, I'm told! (Asked to hold onto cones by certain smaller persons who race to use the area "jungle gym," I find that Blue moon has a tendency to drip and leave stains on a person's white sockies! Stickiness too! I prefer the popcorn!) (Special Note of Dedication: The perpetrator dedicates this posting to his beloved traveling companions... SweetHeart, Alie, Bethie, Tad, Coen, Seany, Lucy and Phi Phi, Rob and Sue, without whose companionship the aforementioned travel adventures would not be nearly as rewarding, laugh-filled or suffused with delights, discoveries and edification, even!! I once learned about "dirty grids" during a particular travel experience, but that's a subject for another story entirely! Thank you, and Good Day, Good Night and Happy Traveling!!)
Humbly Submitted, 08-29-17 -- Joel K.
