Posts

Review of Cuyahoga Valley National Park: A hidden gem near Cleveland/Akron, Ohio

Image
  Brandywine Falls, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH During the month of March, my wife and I were looking for a suitable destination to spend about a week.  Instead of doing the usual, which is staying near New York City where we spend the month of March, we decided it was a good idea to finally explore the Midwest. Traveling to Midwest from New York City (where we grew up) had always been something of a challenge, mentally and physically.  At a driving distance of at least 7 to 8 hours, it’s not an easy drive you can take just on a whim. The days of hesitating when thinking of traveling to the Midwest, are over.  Thanks to our early retirement, we are no longer bound by these constraints.  We finally have plenty of time to take that long drive that used to feel like it was out of reach.   So, in the end, we decided to check out the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, in the state of Ohio. Cuyahoga Valley National Park was established in 1974, and it is locat...
Read more

Traveling in the Deep American South: Misconceptions & prejudices as a Northerner & an Asian-American…

Image
  Savannah Georgia, waterfront  Woodrow Wilson:  “The only place in the world that nothing has to be explained to me is the south.” American South, especially the Deep South , comprising of states like Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana , had a huge role on this Korean-American immigrant’s view of the United States.  As someone living in the American North (New York City), I had a difficult time understanding the motives of Southerners, who relied on slave labor to drive their plantation/agrarian economy at around the time of the Civil War . I questioned why anyone would condone slavery.  Why would anyone use other human beings as sources of income?   Civil War , which pitted the North against the South, was a pivotal moment in the development of this nation.  As traumatic as that war was, the end of the war brought about a new path forward for this healing nation to work together as one, to forge a path into the 20th century, fu...
Read more

Marking the 5 year anniversary of our early retirement: Our thoughts and observations in our personal journey of FIRE (financial independence retire early)…

Image
  Dalai Lama:  “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” I consider 5 years to be a fairly important milestone whenever we partake in an endeavor.  Sure, early retirement isn’t really an endeavor, but it’s pretty close to that for me.   With every fiber in my being telling me every day I was working, that I needed to get out of this job that had become so stressful the last couple of years.  I was tired, stressed, and wanted to be free from the shackles of modern day rat race.   I was so relieved when I finally called it quits after working for 20+ years, with 14 of those coming from my last job (Information Technology field) that I would retire from.  August 17th, 2020 would be my day of independence, my day of saying goodbye to the rat race. Who would’ve thought just 25+ years ago when I was starting out, earning money on my own to pay my own bills, that I would be retired (early, thank you very much)?  When I started working for a paycheck, i...
Read more

Top attractions near Annapolis, Maryland: Fun filled 3 nights/4 days back at Annapolis

Image
  Downtown Annapolis, Maryland  The last time my wife and I visited Annapolis was roughly 8 years ago.  Back then, we still had our fur baby, our Pomeranian, Toby.  We were living in Pennsylvania at the time, and we took a day trip out to Annapolis to check out the sights. We walked around the downtown area, explored a state park nearby, and had ourselves some delicious lobster rolls for lunch, then stopped by again at the same restaurant to take them home for dinner.  We had a great time together as we even got to sneak in a rejuvenating afternoon nap in our car, all three of us, at the aforementioned state park. Listening to sounds of birds while taking an afternoon nap is one of life’s simple pleasures, and afterwards we really did get our second wind back.  We stayed roughly 6 hours at the city exploring the place.  By the time we got back home, it was around 10 o’clock.  Nice day trip indeed! It would end up being 8 years for us to get back ...
Read more