The Spirit of Learning

So, we have learned a few things. As I stood outside the most beautiful library I have seen on a college campus, I reflected on where we have been. We learned we can't tolerate cold. We learned we miss our friends. We learned we are not comfortable moving an almost 90 year old from a place he loves. We learned the dollar for dollar value in SW Florida is pretty good. We learned ALOT about the real estate market in Oklahoma and yes, even a bit about improving ranch land.

And, in the end, we are becoming Floridians again very soon. We intend to head back around the first of April and will close on our house around the 20th. We are ready to be settled again. The story comes full circle. Now we know what we would really need to have a successful ranch. We are glad we made the trip. And glad to be heading back to a state I NEVER thought I would be happy to return to.

On a side note: these pictures are of the University of Oklahoma. This library is beautiful. What a gorgeous campus. I am happy to have had the chance to see it. If you are ever in the area of Norman, Oklahoma, take the time to see it. And stop at Campus Corner for a Freebird Burrito.

And remember: if you are thinking of doing something. Do it. Try it. Don't be afraid of it. Have fun with it. As my friend Barbara said to me during one of her last conversations with me: "Life is just too short to be doing something you don't want to do". Good advice. Thank you, Barbara.

The Boys

Look at those faces. Beamer and Rocky. Our cat hosts in Fort Myers. I am sure they wondered what the heck their former neighbors were doing living in their cabana and conducting business from their kitchen island. All in all, for being creatures of habit and not necessarily embracing change, they were pretty good hosts. I'd like to think they were even sad when we accomplished what we came for and said adios for awhile.

Thank you guys, for sharing your space. See you soon!

Florihoma

What's this? A palm tree in Oklahoma? Well, turns out we weren't in Oklahoma for this recent picture. Did we take a cruise as we have other times we were homeless and jobless? No. Did we buy back in 2 doors down like we have been known to do? No. Did we look at each other one cold, dreary, damp day in Norman and ask each other what we were REALLY doing? Yep. Within hours we found Ashley, a lovely pet sitter who actually spent the first 5 years of her life in Fort Myers and we were on the road within another day. First the obligatory stop at Donut King, then with 14 hours of driving on day one, and 11 on day two, we were at the doorstep of our great friends and past neighbors, Terry and Larry to mooch some hospitality. We arrived with a suitcase each and vodka in hand. We knew they had this great cabana bedroom and it was more than ready for company. The next day we looked at about 20 properties....the day after that some more. And within 5 days we were under contract for a 2217 sq foot home in Caloosa Yacht and Racquet Club with tennis courts, kayak lake, riverfront marina and a fabulous private restaurant.

What? What happened to the grass fed ranching business? Maybe in the future....maybe on a much smaller scale, and maybe that smaller scale will happen right in SW Florida. What it comes down to is that the ranches we saw last fall all had been sold. Nothing new was coming on the market and we realized even if it did come on the market, we might not hear about it. We would have had to buy further and further out from Norman. Now we would be hours away from Rick's dad if he moved, too. And we started to be very uncomfortable with the idea of moving his dad.

And sometimes you don't know the beauty of something until you step away.... Oh, yeah, and you don't remember how much you REALLY like to see the sun, or how bad the arthritis can feel in cold, damp weather. I guess I should start using the term "I". I love water. I love warm weather. I love the sun. I love green landscaping. Rick loves to be able to move his knees and play tennis, and drool over sailboats. And Matt loves the idea of staying put where he seems to be satisfied with his "institution", knows how to drive to Walmart, and is working on getting a new girlfriend. And bottom line, we are still capitalists. We really like what we can get for our money in SW Florida real estate wise. All that added up one cold obnoxious day in Oklahoma when we made the decision to stay Floridians. Not a bad life. In fact, a pretty good one. We realized we had to "get away" to see the forest for the trees.

Now, we can relax. And get ready to move. Again. For awhile. For now.