Prepare to Embark

It’s our last night here in Naples. I can’t say that it’s our last night in Florida just yet, since tomorrow we’ll be in Tallahassee. But we’ve certainly enjoyed our time here, not just during our stay at my parents’ place, but during the whole last decade and then some. Hopefully our next decade and beyond will be every bit as enjoyable, profitable and educational — if not more so.

It felt like being on vacation today. Nothing wrong with that, as it was New Year’s Day, after all. As a final gift for us before our departure, Naples delivered picture-perfect weather, enabling us to enjoy every meal on the lanai. It’s uncanny how quiet this house is — even when you’re sitting outside watching the cars drive by, they’re always just far enough away that you don’t really hear them much. My mom jokingly described being in this house as similar to being inside a hermetically-sealed bag. The only time I heard anything was last night, when distant fireworks and choruses of music filtered their way into our bedroom.

Thanks to the Yelp iPad app, we’ve already found the restaurants we intend to patronize for dinner during our road trip. We also activated 30 days’ worth of 3G coverage on the device, so it will be just as useful to us on the go as it’s been here at home. With our trip being split evenly into three easy-to-travel days of about seven hours each, it should afford us plenty of time to sightsee, stop and stretch our legs, or (God forbid) encounter any unforeseen holiday traffic. After a month full of crazy, though, taking things easy for a little while sounds like exactly my speed.

We’re getting a semi-early start tomorrow, so I’ll wrap this up. More posts undoubtedly to come.