Saturday

We rode out to Honeymoon Island on our bikes after lunch today. It was 72 degrees. 

 

 

 

Toby spent the morning in his crate while we walked the causeway and again for our bike trip to Honeymoon Island. It's counter-intuitive but he seems to do better when he has some alone time during the day. John and I laughed that our dog needs time away from us.

 

We drove Toby to the community center for a walk after our bike ride to get him some exercise.

After our causeway walk this morning, we walked Toby in the neighborhood, all the way down to the Pinellas Trail. The scenes above and below are from Stirling Park, which runs along the trail and leads to our neighborhood. It looks a lot different after the city removed the growth around the ponds. It's a great place to walk a dog.

 

 

The temperature was in the upper 50s when we started our causeway walk this morning around 9:00, but it warmed up to the low 60s by the time we finished. Today the winds were light. 

 

 

Last walk of the day

 

 

Today's Bike Route to Honeymoon Island (We rode in circles helping a couple find their lost car key. We rode to the lost and found and back.)

We’ve decided that we need our early morning causeway walk. It’s the closest thing we have to an obligation like a job. It takes time and energy. It gets us out of the house. We feel like we have accomplished something when we’re through. And we feel good physically afterwards and ready for lunch. Every job should end at noon!

We talked about a house being a prison if you never leave. The best thing about a home is the feeling you have when you come home. I guess you have to leave it to appreciate it.

We’re slowly developing a routine that works for us and Toby.

After the morning walk, everything else is negotiable. Sometimes a nap is in order. Sometimes neighborhood walks suffice. Sometimes a bike ride is the ticket; at other times a car ride.

It’s nice to make it up as we go. And there are so many places to go. 

Experts say that anyone can be happy in retirement the first two years; it’s what you find after that that determines a successful retirement. Some people get bored and feel a need to return to work to find meaning and fulfillment. 

Only time will tell. But today I definitely do not miss work and I feel no diminishment in my self-esteem or sense of purpose. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Tonight we got a takeout burger from the Sandbar Grill in the Causeway Plaza. No fries.

Miles walked: 12.8
Miles biked: 12.39