I’ve been “away” for some time.

We took delivery of our Tesla Model S in February and took an electric road trip to Southern California hopping from supercharger to supercharger. The trip was uneventful. Our car is so comfortable that the trip went by very quickly and the stops were at interesting places or outlet shops. The Tesla is our pre-retirement gift to eachother. The Model S is expensive and not for everyone. It is an amazing car for the first bottom up design coming from Tesla.

There is nothing quite like plugging your car in in the evening and having a full charge in the morning. No more stops at gas stations. No more smell of oil and/or gasoline. There is no noise as the car accelerates (practically none) and with regenerative breaking I hardly ever use the breaks to stop. Well done Tesla! There are other electric cars “out there”. I think the Fiat 500e is a good choice for around town, though it lacks the Model S’s range, power, speed, or stunning lines. Still I am so taken by the electric “revolution” that I may just look at a Fiat to replace my other car. Waiting for Tesla’s E3 is another option though.

Local financial circumstances are conspiring to accelerate our retirement plans. My wife will quit work this year and I won’t be that far behind. Once we actually dial back work, our travel plans will ramp up. That’s when our website and blog will become interesting and informative. I plan to share our plans here and critique our experiences as they happen and/or after the fact.

I believe relatively inexpensive travel to and withing Europe, Asia, and South and Central America can done without sacrifice. Sure we will not be staying at five star hotels, but that is the point. We will rent an apartment or a home and live as a native for a few months and soak in the culture, restaurants, and sights slowly. Taking our time to get to know some locals and to truely experience what it means to live “there”, and not just visit.

Check out “Home Sweet Anywhere” by Lynne Martin that just came out. Lynne and her husband, Tim, sold “everything they owned” and travelled. Unfortunately Tim did most of the planning and that part of their journey is noticeably missing. The book is a fun light-hearted read. They also posted on a blog during their journey, which I have not read. I do recommend the book. I’ve read about half of the book and I’ve learned three things that make the book worthwhile for me.

I expect our blog, “elder gypsies”, will provide a similar dialog for our travels, but it will include our planning and execution as well as anecdotes along the way. We are so close to leaving our day-to-day responsibilities behind and “sailing off into the sunset”.

Follow your dreams wherever they lead you. Know the difference between your dreams and your reality (aka be aware of your surroundings).

Ron