Packing up and Heading Out

Well, I am finally prepared for my vacation. There has been some discussion in the comments section of this blog as to whether or not I am 'over-prepared'. I don't really think that is the case. We are spending five days in Paris and I have plotted out every possible landmark I might want to visit during that portion of the trip. However, for the last five days in Rome, I haven't planned anything ahead of time.

My Paris itinerary is so packed mostly because I already know Paris so well. My goal is to make sure my daughter gets to see everything she wants to without us wasting time being lost or passing by important landmarks unnoticed. I've probably spent as much time in Paris lost and wandering around than I have at landmarks I intended to visit. In my wandering lost state I did, at times, stumble across interesting out of the way sights but, mostly, I just got blisters on my feet and, more than once, starting getting worried I would get myself into some serious trouble.

I'm going to try taking my laptop computer with me this time. I am hoping that both of my hotels will have a working wi-fi so that I can use Skype to call home. I might perhaps check email from time to time as well but, for this, there is no guarantee.

I think part of my motivation towards making this trip feel 'complete' is that I believe it will be my last trip to Europe for a long time; unless I have to travel for business. I believe my next few vacations will be here in the United States, or at least in the Americas in general. I would like to do a Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston trip. I want to take a trip to see the badlands in Utah and possibly Montana as well. I would enjoy a nice snow skiing vacation as well. A breezy spring trip to Cancun would be eminently relaxing as well.

Recently I started getting the bug for a new sports car. This is mostly the fault of my boss who let me drive his Acura NSX a couple of weeks ago. I was quite happy with my aging BMW until I felt the juice of a real sports car again. I started that dangerous thought cycle of just what my next sports car would be.... An Acura NSX? A Lotus Elise? A BMW Z4? A Ferrari 348?

While a part of me was tickled pink that I could still get excited about a sports car again another part of me started thinking about what else I might do with that kind of money. I might invest it, so that in the future I would have a cushion against the uncertainties of life. Or, perhaps, I could take some more vacations that I could share with my entire family rather than the selfish desire to drive a very fast car, well, very fast.

I have received yet a couple more leads on my lake property and much of my contemplation of future monetary freedom revolves around the dispensation of this particular asset. Since I have roughly $80,000 wrapped up in this piece of real-estate it would be a lot of pocket change once freed up. And, while a fast sports car might be a selfish pleasure, I can also imagine being responsible and investing the money for the future might be the more rational approach.

For now I am focused on enjoying my first real family vacation in almost four years. I am packed and ready to go. The only remaining OCD is my concern that heightened security and terrorist alerts could possibly interfere or torpedo any part of m trip. It seems hard to imagine that only Sunday I will be showing my daughter Paris for the first time. She will see the Louvre on Monday morning and end the evening watching the ballet at Opera Garnier. On Tuesday she will see Versailles and on Wednesday Musee D' Orsay and many other attractions.

I am especially looking forward to Rome, as this is a city I have never visited before. I expect to feel a sense of awe seeing the great accomplishments of my ancient brethren.

Finally, ending on a Masonic note, I was elected Worshipful Master of Napthali lodge for the ensuing year. I will hold an open installation on Saturday September 15th at 1pm; held in the temple itself. My goals as worshipful master are modest. If we accomplish no more than opening and closing the lodge the ten times we are scheduled to hold a stated meeting I will be satisfied. Napthali is about a 168 years old and is struggling to stay alive. I believe it has a great future ahead of it for a number of reasons. Right now we just need a good core of about seven Master Masons who want to keep the legacy alive until we are able to grow the lodge for the years to come. I was deeply honored that Right Worshipful Brother Chris Neubold agreed to become the Senior Warden and I am now confident that we have a stable foundation for the next two years forward.

This will be my last blog post until I return from my trip unless I manage to get decent wi-fi access in Europe and find the time to post.