Wandering Money Pig - A journey of early retirement and FIRE (financial independence retire early)

  Gulf State Park, Alabama  As much travel my wife and I have done throughout the years, one of the most overlooked states to spend time in was Alabama and quite possibly Mississippi .  Why these two states?  I guess there’s this unspoken rule about the Deep South as being an unsafe and uninviting place for immigrants (from South Korea) like us.  Because of that, it’s a place we hadn’t seriously considered visiting as a travel destination. Of course with our winter cross country road trip going from North Carolina to Southern California, our perception of the Deep South started to change for the better when we got to spend a week in Biloxi, Mississippi .  We were pleasantly surprised and impressed by all the amazing attractions near the city even during the off-season winter months.   We truly enjoyed our time there eating delicious Po-Boys (shrimp and fish), gumbos , and various seafoods!  Oh, staying at the excellent 4 star rated hotel, Beau R...

  Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin Air Force Base, FL I had always been a fan of airplanes as a child.  Some of my favorite memories of childhood was when my family visited an outdoors exhibit of military equipment including tanks, trucks, and most of all, and aircraft in Seoul, South Korea. I had been fascinated by the sheer size of these airplanes, at times impossible to fathom how these heavy steel beasts can take off into the sky and travel at speeds exceeding the speed of sound!  As a young kid, I even dreamed of one day becoming a pilot myself, like so many kids do at that age. Seeing military aircraft is still a treat even as an adult.  About 10 years ago, I had a chance to visit the USS Intrepid , docked in New York City Harbor.  There, I got to see some cool planes plus the workings of an aircraft carrier.  It got me so excited to see that stuff then. Hey, there’s no age restriction for stuff that interests you.  You can enjoy stuff and be ex...

  Fort Pickens, Pensacola Beach, Florida  For my wife and myself’s road trip to the American South during the winter of 2023 (December 2023-February 2024), we made a conscious effort to visit historic forts throughout the South.  By the end of December, about 2 weeks into our 8 week long trip, we had already visited  Fort Pulaski National Monument and Fort Frederica National Monument . We were gunning to see more forts whenever the opportunity came up.  When mapping out our potential list of places to visit during our trip to Destin (Florida) , we made sure to include our next fort, Fort Pickens at the Gulf Islands National Seashore . One of the primary reasons for us wanting to visit these national monuments or seashores was because we had purchased (again), the America the Beautiful Pass , which allows entrance to all National Park Service  (NPS) managed areas including national parks, national monuments, national seashores, etc.  We really wanted...