January 3, 2013, 10:44 CST, just over the Alabama line from Florida on Hwy 10W

Last night Tommy the Turtle (@wordlyturtle on Twitter) sat on the beach in a blowing an  howling wind, to see our last Florida sunset on this trip.  I wanted to let him put his flippers in the sand, and we both ended up covered in sand but joyous at the experience, nonetheless. It was another gorgeous sunset over the ocean. There is simply nothing as beautiful as that, in my book at least.

Last night winter storm Hercules made his way up the Eastern Seaboard, and his tail whipped and blew sand and cold air the whole night. I woke several times to the sound of the howling winds seeding through every crack and crevice in the doors around the condo. Being on the top floor, we saw more than our fair share of the winds, I think, with the gusts around 40 MPH at times. It was a terrific sight to see the sand on the Beach blowing like we were in the Sahara. I think it was the most wind I have ever experienced first-hand while at the beach.

Today we are driving back and plan to stop at the USS Alabama to tour it for a hour or two. I have not seen it before, although Sweetie has toured it once previously. It  be a windy and cold day for a tour, but I’m up for the challenge, plus I’ll do just about anything to add one or two more hours to our great week off.

We truly enjoyed the condo at Navarre Towers. It was the perfect location on the beach, and it was much larger than I thought it would be. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much space we all had, and it was nice to have a full kitchen and washer/dryer so that we could cook and do laundry. That will make for a heavier pocketbook and less to do when we arrive at home.  Having so much space really allowed us all to hang out and not get in each other’s way as well, which was nice.  Because it was larger than our current rental, that made it even better.

Now, back to home, back to work, back to school for Regan. It has been a wonderful and well-deserved week off. I did highly consider locking myself in the bathroom today just so I could stay, but I know I have to go back to work so that I can afford to travel again soon. I think my work is simply a means to an end, not th  end itself. I didn’t read my emails or anything from my day job while I was gone, and it felt great. Not having a break from it all has been really difficult  the past few years.  I am glad to see the tide turning where companies, such as Goldman Sachs, make their employees disconnect when the take off work. It makes for a happier and more productive employee when he is back at work. I plan to keep that up with my staff as well.