Posts

Spending a month in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: Our return trip to the Grand Strand in 3 years

Image
  The last time we had visited the famous “ Grand Strand ” area, encompassing roughly 60 mile stretch of beaches along the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina ranging from the town of Little River down to Georgetown , it was with our Pomeranian Toby.  We stayed at a golf course community in the town of Murrells Inlet , several miles south of Myrtle Beach, for a duration of 3 months. After a veterinary examination that revealed a serious kidney condition in early December, we realistically knew we only had maybe several months left with our fur baby.  It was some of the toughest times we had ever experienced, knowing our time together would come to an end, very soon. Knowing this, we strived to make the best of the situation, and decided to make as many good memories together as we could.  We went everywhere: local parks, state parks, community parks, scenic spots, city of Charleston , Myrtle Beach boardwalk, and many others. We knew Toby was having a hard time keeping ...
Read more

4 year anniversary of our Pomeranian Toby’s passing: We miss you buddy!

Image
  Helen Keller:  “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose.  All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life is this:  nothing is permanent.  When we were young, with having nothing to do during the idle summer recess, it seemed like time itself is frozen, with every second and minute ticking by at a glacial pace. In those seemingly innocent summer days, we feel almost invincible.  It’s as though we are stuck, in our youth, and that nothing can hurt us or anyone near us. This perception continues, until it doesn’t.  With the first news of a relative’s (close and not so close ones) death, followed by a celebrity’s death or two, we slowly begin to realize how nothing is ever permanent. One minute we’re enjoying our simple, innocent lives, having not much to worry about at all, then we run into this thing called life.  Life can be this dual thing.  At times utterly beautiful and amazing, while at ot...
Read more

Investing during turbulent times: A journey of FIRE (financial independence retire early)…

Image
  Warren Buffet:  “Our favorite holding period is forever.” It’s the middle of March 2026, and the US/Israel-Iran War is ongoing.  As expected, the global stock markets are doing their usual, that is, reacting to every little happenings and news, whether positively or negatively. Markets have generally reacted negatively over the past few weeks since the beginning of this war.  As more and more experts are commenting about the ramifications of this war as related to the economy, I’m left exasperated at how this playbook is used every single time something happens in the world. We’ve certainly seen this play out many times over, just in the past 5+ years since our early retirement.  Those were: COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine War, market crash of 2022 due to the financial bubble bursting after the pandemic, Israel-Palestine Conflict, just to name a few. It seems every time a new event happens, media seems to call it a world changing event.  Although this ...
Read more

5 nights/6 days near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina: Top attractions including Wrightsville Beach, New Hanover County Arboretum, and Fort Fisher State Historic Site

Image
  Fort Fisher State Historic Site, Kure Beach, NC Since my wife and myself’s early retirement in August 2020, we have made the state of North Carolina our home.  North Carolina, known as the Tarheel State , is one of those very lucky states where the economy has been growing in leaps and bounds. When we first visited the state in 2008 to see our family, the suburban area near Raleigh seemed to be almost rural with some newer developments, but otherwise plenty of what we would see in places like rural West Virginia or rural Mississippi.  Many houses we saw on our way to our brother’s house looked to be in serious need of repair, and the area leading to his place, looked just like any other neighborhood that has seen better days.   Finding a decent place to eat was a challenge back then, but so was looking for a nice attraction nearby.  In short, we weren’t impressed.  Fast forward to year 2020, and boy did things change, big time.   The neighborhoods l...
Read more