To my father,
You have been questioned for years (ten at least, by my count) by multiple sources the same question, "When are you going to retire?". At the beginning, I heard you say "five years". Five years after that you were still working but yet, you were continually asked that same question. The response I heard at that point was, "Maybe in a couple years". I noticed that your answer had become significantly more vague. This is completely understandable. You had so much on your plate with so many people depending on you to get the job done. Well, in early 2018, I heard you state, "This is the year". You picked a date and spread the word. Though the date of the ceremony went through a couple or revisions, the idea remained the same. We were very honored to attend your retirement ceremony on October 26, 2018 at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. amidst your esteemed colleagues and closest friends. You have earned the respect, admiration, and loyalty of countless people throughout your 44 years of military service. You were an incredible example to me of dedication, integrity, professionalism, and leadership that I strive to exemplify in every job that I have held. You taught me, more than anything, to do my best in everything I do because any less is not worth my time. You have given me so much to emulate throughout your career. Thank you for your service to your country and your family. With loving admiration, Will
1 Comment
A lot has happened since our last blog post. We fell out of the blogging lifestyle for a little bit and therefore wanted to catch everyone up.
Due to Hurricane Michael hitting the Florida panhandle at the beginning of October, we took a mini-vacation to Alabama where we had the opportunity to visit Gwendylan's great-grandmother's resting place in Selma. Gwendylan is named for this amazing woman so it was nice to introduce her to her namesake. We spent the night in Montgomery amidst a torrential downpour and on our way back to Florida, enjoyed an autumn celebration at Holland Farms. Once back in Florida, we celebrated Carolyn's birthday, enjoyed fresh seafood from the Gulf, toured historic downtown Pensacola, enjoyed bird-watching, and astronomy on the beach, and celebrated the sale of our house! Our last morning provided a stunning sunrise over the beach as we packed the car and left Florida. A visit with family in Georgia as well as an incredible visit to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta prepared us for the journey north. Breakfast with friends in New Hampshire and an overnight to visit Acadia NP in Maine made for the best, last days in the USA before crossing the border. This was the end of the beginning of our journey. We have been supremely blessed to enjoy over three months on the road and over 15,000 miles across the country. We feel prepared to tackle a new chapter in A Bollder Way. Pensacola Beach holds a special place in our hearts. Will has been coming here for 30 years with his family and it is where we spent 5 weeks on our honeymoon. The last time we were here was 5 years ago when Will's grandmother passed away. We are so happy to be here again with Dylan at our side. The sands comprised of mostly quartz will blow you away with how white they are ("White as sugar," Grandma Gwen used to say). The Gulf of Mexico is constantly lapping against those sands with new shells every day. The water in the gulf is clear and warm (as high as 86 degrees). Some days, when the temperature and humidity are both high, the water isn't even refreshing. It is more like bath water. But before midday and later in the afternoon, the sun and surf invite us to play.
We have the benefit of staying in our Aunt's condo on the 12th floor of the same building where Grandma Gwen lived. From this floor, we get a bird's eye view of the beach. From time to time, the Blue Angels fly by and we are eye to eye with the pilots. Aunt Stacey sent Dylan a kite for flying on the beach. The storms that rage out in the open ocean provide great winds for kite flying. The bay at the back of the condo tends to be much calmer than the open gulf, so on windy days we spend time kayaking or stand up paddle boarding. We are also very lucky to have a pool in the back that is usually warm and inviting as well -- so much so that Dylan has made it her goal to learn to swim on her own before we leave Florida. A few evenings a week, different locations on the beach have live music, which has turned into one of Dylan's favorite activities as she can shake her booty all night long (which is quite amusing to the adults around her). There are many reasons why we love this place, not the least of which is the seafood. There are many great restaurants on the beach but our favorite thing to do is to buy fresh fish and shrimp from Joe Patti's to enjoy on the balcony. Pictures of the market to come later... Two months ago we were in Colorado dropping off all of our worldly goods at Will's parents' house to begin our new phase of life. Unfortunately, Dylan was plagued with the a 7 day stomach bug and we spent the entire time trying to keep her little body hydrated - so this round we did lots of playing. We.....
After 2 full months on the road exploring the west coast it was time for us to head back to Utah to take care of some house business so that we could prepare for the next phase of life. Although we spent the majority of the 10 days we had in Utah doing a few more house renovations so that the house could find its new owners, we managed to squeeze in many hours of quality family time. One of our favorite Saturdays is the End of Summer festival at Bear Park which we were fortunate to attend. Our time in Utah wouldn't be complete with a trip to the aquarium, a hike along the river of Big Cottonwood Canyon, visits with many of our close friends, a trip to the Wheeler Farmers Market, some child labor, a ride in a convertible from chosen family, and a birthday celebration session at Top Golf.
Venturing to the windy coast, we found the last lighthouse we would see in the west for a long time. The Tillamook Rock lighthouse stands on an island in the northern part of the state, barely visible through the fog. We watched a short PBS Documentary on the lighthouse to gain more information. It has an incredible story. Our lunch this day was some delicious Dungenous Crab with an overlook of the lighthouse. We also had the opportunity to spend time with our friends from Utah again, this time on the beach. We frolicked among the sands and shallows of Lincoln City.
As our time on the west coast was coming to a close, we took the time to reflect on how lucky we have been to spend so much time enjoying and exploring this gorgeous area of the US. We were often asked what our favorite part of our time on the coast was, and we had a very hard time answering as we had many life altering experiences.
After wildfires put a wrench in our plans to visit Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National park we made our way back to the Oregon coast. The Hill family (Aubrey's husband's family) were vacationing in Newport and had a few days left on their trip so we decided to head to Newport and spend a few days with them. The reunion was so touching. We left it a surprise for Dylan, only letting her know that we were going to visit some people she knew. When we pulled up to the house, Aubrey, Carver and Papa Mike were on the front porch. The screams coming from the back of the van were incredibly heartwarming. For the first few hours, Dylan and Carver couldn't keep their hands off each other - every time they passed, a beautiful look of true love would wash over their faces and they would have a big hug. It may have been the sweetest thing I have seen in my life.
On our first time through Newport, we seemed to have missed the Bay Front area of town. This was the area that the Hill family had their B&B and spent much of their time. We had so much fun exploring the harbor, and wharf, the small shops, the sea lions, the fish plant and the fishing boats of the Bay Front with Aubrey, Steve, Carver, and the gang. We also spent the morning on Agate beach so that the big Hill kids were able to surf. Aubrey,Will and I had a blast playing on the beach with the two smaller kids as they ran and played in the river's water, explored the rock walls for small critters, and played music on the beach while we watched the big kids play. That afternoon a variety of the gang spent some time crabbing and catching 9 rock crabs for dinner. Although our time together was short we had a lovely time exploring the this area of the Oregon Coast and sharing some much needed time and space. After leaving Mount Rainier, we headed in the direction of Glacier National Park. As we drove East, the smoke was increasing in density. We stopped for the night in the middle of nowhere Washington (Ritzville) at a cute little, family-run motel, the Colwell Motor Inn. While there, we evaluated our options and discovered that half of Glacier National Park was on fire. Wildfires were evacuating the Western half of the park and the air quality was such that we did not want to expose our lungs to that.
We had family visiting the Oregon coast and were invited to join them. The wildfires seemed like a sign that we needed to return to the coast. On our way, we drove along I-84 and decided to stop at Multnomah Falls. This spectacular waterfall drops 611 feet over the edge of a cliff. Is is a gorgeous sight to behold and only a 5 minute walk up to the base. Of course, a stop here wasn't complete without an ice cream treat. We highly recommend this little stop along the highway as a place to stretch your legs and get out of the car to discover the beauty of the area. It is a very short walk up to the bridge and suitable for everyone in the family. After spending so much time in the rural areas along the west coast, it was a bit of a shock to come into a city - but Seattle really was a cool city in which to spend the day. We tried to take the ferry out of Port Townsend to go up to Whidbey Island but they were sold out for the day, so we decided to head directly to Seattle instead. We ended up taking the ferry into the city out of Bainbridge Island. It was a cool perspective coming into a city from the water and it kind of blew my mind how much they utilize the Sound as a taxi to get people around the area. Both Will and I kind of fell in love with this area and we really enjoyed the city of Seattle. Of course we went to Pikes Market and we saw them slinging fish, we hugged the huge pig, we checked out the gum wall, and we ate a lovely seafood dinner at a restaurant with a view of the harbor. That night we caught up with some old friends who live just outside of the city and Dylan relished in having some kids to play with for the night. They were kind enough to offer us a bed, laundry, showers and a lovely evening together.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO WILL! What better way to celebrate your birthday than on the adventure of a lifetime...and even better then that, spending it on the Puget Sound in search of Orca and other marine wildlife. We took a 5 hour charter out of Port Angeles, Washington and were incredibly fortunate to find 2 male members from the J pod of the resident Orca pod. It took us about 2 hours to motor out to where the Orcas were located and we were able to stay with them for about 20 minutes. It was a beautiful experience, especially since this pod is down to only 75 members and they are struggling to thrive. On our way back to port we came across about 5 humpback whales, two of which were quite close to us. It was a beautiful experience which we will keep with us for a very long time.
|
Categories
All
Archives
April 2019
AuthorCarolyn and Will Bollwerk share their adventures with their 5 year-old daughter, Dylan. |