Five-Figure Retirement

Whether we’ve amassed the nest egg that we need to live out our years or only that “paltry” five figures, retirement still affords us great benefit. One of the most under-appreciated and overlooked is freedom – the freedom (dum, da, daa, daa, daa, daaaa) to express who we are. The freedom (dum, da, daa, daa, daa, daaaa) to dress and wear our hair as we please.

When you take the time to appreciate it, the fact that we are out from under the control of a company, corporation or string of bosses is, in a word… refreshing.

Please watch as I babble on about this in my car…

Went on a “Date Night” with my wife. Watch the video to see how it went… (Not the actual date night… the morning after)…

That was so much fun, we’re gonna do it again next month. Anyone got a coupon for Hooters they’re not using?

My wife Nancy and I are on vacation in Hawaii (Oct 6, 2010 – Oct 24, 2010).

Not such an unusual story – but the fact is that we also run a business selling guinea pig cages when we’re back home in Detroit. So, when we travel, we not only have to foot the bill for the vacation; but we also loose money from our business when we’re not running it – a two-pronged financial problem.

Our solution was two-fold. a) we came to Hawaii on frequent flyer miles to keep the cost down and b) we are still running our business “on the road”.

We built 30 extra “vacation stock” cages before leaving home. Then we arranged with our UPS guy to ship them out whenever we received an order.

The beauty of an online business is that you can run it from anywhere that has Internet access and room to set down a netbook or laptop – maybe a condo balcony in Kona, Hawaii for instance…

By now, if you are of boomer or of retirement age (or both), I’m sure many of you are aware of the many disadvantages of taking your kids on vacation.

They make a lot of noise. They pack a lot of stuff that has to be carried around. They complain. They are an additional expense. They make a lot of noise. They argue. They don’t necessarily want to do what you want to do. They make a lot of noise. They get bored. They make a lot of noise…

But there can also be a disavantage to not taking your kids on vacation. F’rinstance – we left ours at home – back in Michigan – and our son got in a car accident today. Don’t worry – he’s okay… (so no need to clutch your chest on our behalf). But the car’s in bad shape.

We had planned to drive Waimea Canyon here on Kauai today – but, we had to stay within cell phone range in order to monitor the situation as it unfolded back home with the kid, the police, the insurance company, the towing company… yada, yada, yada…

So – we just hung out in town and enjoyed Hawaii – enjoyed Kapaa, Kauai. We can do that… After all… it’s Hawaii…

Interesting fact: When I think of Hawaii, I immediately think of beautiful, sandy, expansive beaches. But that seems to be the exception – not the rule. Many beaches in Hawaii are thin little strips of sand or worse – jagged, lava rock shorelines – especially, it seems on Kauai.

And while they may not be the greatest beaches for sunning yourself – the beaches and shorelines of Kauai make for some of the most beautiful and dramatic scenery you have ever seen…

Want lay out in the sun? Go to Maui. Want dramatic and beautiful scenery? Kauai is your place – especially in the South and along the NaPali coast.

We set out to explore the north shore of Kauai yesterday including the reknowned town of Honalei – which you may have heard of from the Peter Paul and Mary song from years ago – Puff the Magic Dragon.

In fact, if you go to the town of Honalei, you can see Puff. Just as in the song, Puff is a mighty sleeping dragon that lives by the sea.

In actuality this sleeping dragon is made of stone and is formed by a long, curving, U-shaped jagged mountain ridge that folds back on itself. If you follow the massive ridge from the shoreline, up into the mountains and back down to the sea you can make out the figure of the dragon as it curls around the valley formed by its sleeping form.

Most of Kauai is inaccessible by road – and when I say most – I mean most – as in 90% most.

So, if don’t want to miss some of the cool stuff (like, f”rinstance, that picturesque waterfall in the movie Jurassic Park) you have to free yourself from the confinement of those roads and take to the air.

So Nancy and I “hopped a chopper” and flew the friendly skies with Blue-Hawaiian Helicopters. Ya, I know – “Blue-Hawaiian” – sounds more like a cocktail than an aviation company. No matter, I would highly recommend. (We flew them 10 years ago on the Big Island and they were good then).

Ya, Kauai is beautiful. The landscape is stunning. Everywhere you look, you see beauty - probably the prettiest island in Hawaii. But…

The chickens! What’s up with the chickens?!!

We left Waikiki and Honolulu – in fact, we left the island of Oahu altogether – for an island with a much slower pace: Kauai.

Something like 80% of the residents of Hawaii live on the island of Oahu. The other 20% are spread out across the other seven major Hawaiian islands. As such, Oahu is a hustling, bustling, er… muscling? Uh… no… not muscling. Rustling? No… Anyway… you know – it’s busy. And we’re leaving Oahu for peace, quiet and scenery – dramatic, stunning, tropical mountain and seashore scenery.

Our first views of Kauai’s dramatic coastline come to us from the window of our airliner – in the fading light of dusk. Our other first-day views of Kauai are from the inside of our condo…