May 18, 2017
Transitions
So just why did I originally subtitle this title 'The retirement tour' and then change this to 'The nearly first retirement tour'? Here's the background. As folks who have followed along with us for awhile know, we're both (especially me) on the upper end of the age spectrum. We retired out of Oregon's pension system several years ago, but have continued working at our old IT jobs on a part time basis ever since. We're two of the notorious 'double-dippers' that some in the state get enraged about, but we've prided ourselves on thinking the state is getting a good deal on their investment by keeping our institutional knowledge around.
Anyway, when we first planned this tour, we thought it likely that we would both fully quit at the start of this one. Rachael's contract was due to expire yesterday, and we thought I would just stop when she did. Hence the original title.
Two things changed since then though: her contract was extended until the end of June (the end of the state's fiscal year), so she's still got two weeks of work to return to when we get back from Utah. And, I changed my mind - I'm going to cut back even further, but not fully quit yet after all. There's still too much going on at the office that I care about, and I don't want to miss out on all the fun.
So, this is only a tour celebrating Rachael's retirement, not mine. And, she's only nearly retired.
Whatever. It will be great, a cause to celebrate, and it still leaves us with a real first retirement tour and a second retirement tour to look forward to. Too much information about us, I'm sure. Let's get back to biking!
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The flight to Saint George was relaxed and short: we left Portland at 1:30, transferred in SLC, and arrived in Saint George at 6, and checked into our hotel a half hour later. After years of long overseas flights and jet lag it's almost disorienting to arrive so soon and so refreshed.
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We're sleeping tonight steeped in Utah's unique history. Seven Wives Inn s in the heart of Saint George's small historic district, which is of course dominated by the Mormon emigration. Across the street from our inn is the beautiful Brigham Young residence. The main building of Seven Wives Inn, built in 1873, gets its name from its history - it was used a shelter for polygamists, who were hidden in its attic after the practice was outlawed in 1882. One of them, an ancestor of the original innkeepers, really did have seven wives. The inn was the first registered bed and breakfast in Utah.
We aren't staying in the main building though - we're next door in the also impressive President's House, named because it hosted some of the early Presidents of the LDS church. The rooms of the inn are named after the Wives, and we are (coincidentally or by design) lodged in Rachel's room.
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