Day 1 of retirement

If this is what it's like to be retired, then sign me up!

My trip was delayed due to my cancelled flight last night, but my morning flight was lovely and uneventful. I was surprised to see the ticket agent had upgraded me to first class, but then again, first class is a pretty loose use of those terms when there are only 6 seats on the plane devoted to that section. The flight from Chicago to Charlotte, NC, and Charlotte to Naples are only about 2 hours each, so it's not as if it was a transatlantic flight where I needed to stretch out and it was too early to drink (even for me!), so my upgrade was pretty useless. Nevertheless, it was a lovely surprise gesture and it got me through security faster -I love those priority lanes --yes I know, I'm kind of an elitist, but I do enjoy the privilege occasionally!

Anyway, even though I woke up at 3:30 (AM!) for my flight, I've had a very enjoyable day. Naples is beautiful (in the weird Florida kind of way -sorry Floridians!) and the weather has been lovely. It's not very hot, but it's my kind of weather -the kind where you can wear jeans, a sleeveless shirt and flip flops! I did some shopping today and discovered many things about being with the retirement community that I quite enjoy. When shopping sales, you're not really competing for the same great deals as your fellow shoppers. As I was perusing the (very on sale) sale shoe rack, I was reaching for all the heels while everyone else was looking for the comfortable orthopedics. But, it's very strange when you have them comment on your purchases. I was in lingerie and had a couple of ladies tell me how lovely the underwear was that I was looking at... needless to say, I immediately put it back.

Another enjoyable thing -driving. It's hard to get lost here and even if you do, it's very easy to find a place to turn around. The streets are wide with multiple lanes and turning cut outs and the street signs are HUGE! I think I could take my contacts out and still be able to read them. AND, the signs are illuminated at night -how easy is that? I grew up in Boston where you were lucky if streets had signs... and if they did they were written in type 12 font.

Anyway, day 1 of living with the retirees has been great... lets see if I survive the rest.