Happy place

Do ya think my mood is shifting as I think about the close approach of my retirement? I'm starting to let go and look forward. One of the things I always advise the retiring professionals that I coach is to take a physical and mental time out after retiring to detox from the old life.

I'm not good at relaxing. I've only taken one vacation in my career that was longer than a week. When I go on vacation I typically overschedule our itinerary. However, there are two places I've been where I could totally relax and both are on the northern coast of CA. The first is Jebediah Smith national park near Crescent City CA. The first time I visited there I thought I was in heaven--huge redwoods almost blocking the sun, giant ferns, wild orchids and perfect silence. There is a dirt road thru the park and several hiking trails. It's rare to see another car on the road.

The other place I've gone where I could really relax was Mendocino CA. Shel and I stayed there three times in the same B&B. http://www.jdhouse.com// We booked a room on the second floor in the back in a new annex. The room had a 180 degree view of the ocean, a porch and cross-ventilation that provided cool ocean breezes all day long. Mendocino is a tiny village with a great bookstore, nice pub and awesome bakery. I spent hours in the room with my feet up reading a good book and alternately just staring out the window.

I think there's a June trip there in our future!