My hubby, Mike, is the kind of guy that doesn’t like a lot of attention. “Doesn’t like” is putting it mildly. That’s why he retired with seemingly little fanfare. No party. No big family gathering. No big shindig at the office. No real hullabaloo of any sort. But his co-workers apparently were not about to let him slink away without making sure they’d clearly conveyed to Mike how much they liked and appreciated him, both as a person and for his work.
The lingering COVID pandemic limited the options for in-person gatherings. But that’s good. He would have hated any kind of surprise party. Really.
They tried to have a celebration, tossing out various ideas like a virtual happy hour, group lunch, etc., but he wasn’t budging. He didn’t want to be the guy in the spotlight. And this is despite his being the guy who was counting down, literally, for the last five years. He wasn’t at all shy about letting people know he’d be retiring soon, either. I heard him say it often during meetings with co-workers, team calls, one-on-one chats with colleagues, etc. (For a while, he was “updating” one of his youngest co-workers at the start of each week on just how many Mondays Mike had left to work.)
Anyway… when he went into his office to return his equipment and stuff, his plan was to say his goodbyes discretely and skedaddle. I think he was probably terrified that someone was going to surprise him with a party. In the end, they did surprise him, but in a very lovely and inconspicuous way. Many employees in the Engineering Department pitched in and presented him (both of us, really) with a very generous $700 worth of Camping World gift certificates. His division — Southland Mid-Atlantic — gifted us with two super-nice Yeti® folding lawn chairs (we both really, really like those!). Individual co-workers presented him with various, more-personal gifts. Numerous other colleagues communicated their thoughts via phone or e-mail; each of those communications were gifts in their own right, too.
All in all, it was the perfect send-off for Mike. He was so happy with and surprised by the generosity of his co-workers and superiors, who really didn’t owe him anything more than a “see you later dude” and a final paycheck, respectively. Honestly, he was really very touched. So was I.
Mike loved working for that company and with those people. He’d only just joined them late in 2008, and only worked for them just under 13 years, but the experience was life-changing for him. For me and the rest of the family, too, because he was so much happier working at Southland. Seriously, Mike flat-out loved working at Southland.
I was going to send his former boss, Scott, a nice e-mail thank you, but I decided pictures would be better. Saying thanks is one thing, but seeing is even better.
So here’s the collection of images I’ve been working on capturing to not only demonstrate how much Mike and I appreciate the thoughtful and generous gifts, but also to answer what I’m sure folks have been wondering… what is Mike actually doing? Is he enjoying retirement?
The first thing we did during Mike’s retirement, and the first time we used the awesome Yeti chairs, was go see my favorite band, Mipso, in concert (their first LIVE show since the start of the pandemic) just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Just 10 days later, we were loading up the RV as we completed all the final steps required to sell the Warrenton house and hand it over to the new owners.
Did I mention how much we like our Yeti chairs?
We enjoyed a few days of much-needed relaxation at Gifford Pinchot State Park (just north of York) before moving to Pinch Pond Campground in Manheim, Pennsylvania. We chose Pinch Pond due to its proximity to my Dad’s house. My Dad passed away, unexpectedly, on April 23, and there were things I needed to do to get his house ready to sell.
It’s good we didn’t have time for outdoorsy stuff at Pinch Pond. Brood X of the 17-year cicadas were just emerging during our stay there. We left before their singing started.
Our next stop was North Carolina to visit with the grandchildren. We got to stay with them for over a week while their parents enjoyed a much-needed vacation in Key West, Florida.
From there, we headed south to Ebenezer Park, a county-owned campground near Rock Hill, SC, just south of and across the state line from Charlotte, NC.
I really enjoyed the lake at Ebenezer Park. I am more of a water person than Mike, but he enjoyed the lovely campground in his own way (bicycling, reading, napping, etc.).
From Ebenezer Park, we went south and east, heading to Florida. But first, we stopped just outside of Savannah, Georgia for a couple of days. We stayed at the Savannah South KOA in Richmond Hill, Georgia. That campground has a lovely 37-acre lake where we got to see lots of wildlife.
After that, it was on to Yellow Jacket RV Resort (YJRR) near Old Town, Florida. It didn’t make sense to me not to spend some “fun” time in Florida. Mike agreed, but insisted I find a campground with shade. That’s how we ended up at YJRR. Finding shady spots in FL, with little notice, seemed like a pretty tall order, but I did it.
It was a lovely site right on the bank of the Suwannee River. The boat launch was right next to our site, which meant we got to see lots of people coming and going with their boats. It was also convenient for me and Belle to swim in the river. Unfortunately, the water in the river is very dark in color due to the cypress trees alongs its banks. I was too leery of not being able to see approaching alligators, snakes, and snapping turtles to have a relaxing swim, so I used the pool instead. I’m not sure yet if Belle likes swimming or just does it to humor me, so I decided not to risk her life for my amusement.
We got to watch nature there, too. We saw birds, lizards, giant grasshoppers, turtles, snakes, and frogs. We did not see any alligators while at the campground. We did, however, see some pretty big Gulf Sturgeon jumping in the river, which was very cool.
The site gave us a great view of the river. Even from inside of the coach, which was good because it rained a lot while we were there. We also had plenty of nice weather, which is when we really enjoyed being able to just sit outside and watch for fish and other critters.
The campground was beautiful, tucked under what seemed like an endless canopy of Live Oak trees draped in Spanish Moss. It was very relaxing.
We enjoyed YJRR so much, we decided to return for the entire month of December! We are also going to spend January at another campground about 25 minutes from YJRR, which features one of Florida’s many fresh-water springs. That’s where the Manatees tend to hang out in the winter, because the water in the springs is a constant 73 degrees F (about 23 C) year-round. If you want to learn more about the springs, you’ll have to follow along for future posts.
After a very, very enjoyable eight days at YJRR, we left for the mountains of southwestern Virginia. We drove halfway on Saturday and spent Saturday night in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel in Chattanooga, Tennessee. On Sunday morning, we continued the drive to Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
The campground is actually within the town of Big Stone Gap, adjacent to the town’s very nice greenbelt biking trail.
The Big Stone Gap Greenbelt is about three miles (4.8 km) long and goes around and through town. About half of the trail runs along one branch of the Powell River or another. Most of the trail is in the shade. There are a few spots that provide handicap-accessible fishing, too.
We ended up buying a bunch of cool stuff with the gift certificates: the screen house, a tablecloth, fancy quick-dry towels, camping guide book (state parks), a pie iron and cookbook (for campfire cooking), the adjustable step, and roof vent covers (so we can keep vents open when raining and when driving). And we still have about $100 left!
To the folks at Southland, a great big thanks from both of us. Y’all really went above and beyond to kick-start Mike’s retirement.
He and I both really appreciate everything. If you’d like to follow along and keep tabs on our whereabouts, sign up for e-mail alerts letting you know when new posts are published. Look for the link to the right (if you are viewing this on a computer or other wide screen) or scroll down to see SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW POST ALERTS. Feel free to dig through older posts, and don’t be shy about leaving comments.
We are in Big Stone Gap for seven more nights, then will be off to Pocahontas State Park near Richmond. If you’re in the neighborhood and want to meet up, let us know.
