Since I departed H-D in December 2023, many people have asked me what occupies my time. The primary goal has been to travel & focus on experiences. Working full-time with a limited number of vacation days over the past 29 years, the list of places to see & things to do with my ‘free’ time has always been lengthy. It’ll require a full-time retirement to really dent that list, but during a busy 2024 I’ve gotten a nice preview of the retired life. Work will return soon enough, but I still have time for a few more experiences before then…
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: שַׁבָּת Šabat (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin sabbaticus; Greek: sabbatikos σαββατικός) is a rest or break from work; “an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job.”
Sabbatical trip #1: visit Mom in Green Valley for the holidays, plus explore the AZT for a day hike.
Trip #2: Kicked off the ski season with days at Vail, Beaver Creek & Breckenridge.
Trip #3: 4.5 days w the Nelsens including a day at Universal, then 4.5 days with Dad & Janice in Daytona Beach. It’s time for a bit of mid-winter sunshine.
Trip #4: A bucket list week in Lake Tahoe & Reno!
Justin & I found miles of powder at Heavenly, Kirkwood & Northstar.
Trip #5: Back to Breckenridge to close out the ski season & celebrate St Patrick’s day.
Trip #6: Now this is how you start a 10-day trip! Andy Rozy organized a celebration with friends near and far to commemorate the end of his first half century.
4 days of fun and positive people, before hopping from Vegas to Tucson.
Trip #6, part deux: after Las Vegas, 6 days in Arizona.
Another bucket list item: 3 days solo backpacking on the Arizona Trail, NOBO passages 5-7.
Trip #7: The AZT was so much fun, I went back for 8 more days of solo backpacking, continuing NOBO over passages 8-12.
Explore the Arizona Trail – The Arizona Trail (aztrail.org)
A quick 2 day hike on the IAT with Justin.
Ice Age National Scenic Trail Wisconsin | Ice Age Alliance (iceagetrail.org)
Trip #8: Car camping in the Rockies for 4 days, including two more 14ers summitted. To cap off the trip, a Pixies/Modest Mouse concert in Denver.
