The first weeks of retirement...

After an extremely busy month, things are finally starting to feel a bit more settled.  Today was a big day for us - we signed the closing documents on the Virginia house after a 2 week delay and our internet was turned on!

We had originally expected to close on April 11, before we left Virginia. However, the title work discovered that two loans, which had been paid off years ago, were still showing up as liens.  The oldest was with a lender that no longer exists.  We did not have a certificate of satisfaction so it took some time for the title company to clear things up.  If you have ever refinanced your house, I would suggest making sure you have a release or certification of satisfaction.   It may save you from the delays we experienced with our closing.

We did not let the delay in closing change our moving plans.  The packers came on April 8th and the movers picked up everything on the 9th.  We ended up with many more boxes than originally estimated (153 instead of 100) and the equipment from Brett's workshop was a challenge for even the professional movers, but it all got to Maine in good shape.  We used United Van Lines and they had someone from their local office near Bangor handle the move.  We were very pleased with the service we received and would recommend them, particularly if you are doing a long distance move.

The unpacking is coming along.  The house is mostly done.  I have my office all set up in the basement.  Internet was a great addition this morning and 3mbps DSL is better than I expected!  The picture below was taken in my office. The water visible through the trees is Grand Marsh Bay.  The beds below the window are planted with hostas.  I am looking forward to them waking up from their winter nap.

My desk view

We still don't have an exact delivery date for our camper.  We know that it is built and will be on the next truck from Oregon to the dealer in New Hampshire.  Hopefully within the next week or so.  We plan to pick it up and take it south in a couple of weeks.  We are going to North Carolina for the weekend of May 10th and will be in Connecticut the following weekend for a wedding shower.  We plan to stop in Virginia to see Drew on the way down and are hoping to do some camping with our new toy on the way back north.  

So far, retirement is keeping us busier than we when we were working.  I am looking forward to having some fun adventures to share in the next post.