Nomad Life - Day 1

After many months of planning, packing and strategizing, I finally completed my move out of my condo in Hanover, New Hampshire and began my new life as a digital nomad.  I'd mostly said all my goodbyes (neighbors, happy hour friends, church friends, etc.) but the whole day was bittersweet.  My morning began early after I woke up on my inflatable hiking mattress and ate a small breakfast (snacks).  I kept getting glimpses of happy memories as I cleaned up each room, packed my car (full!) and walked around in the neighborhood.  There was no doubt that it had been a great place to live...  Things got even more real when my landlord (Rich), along with his wife (Patty), arrived to collect the keys and perform a final walkthrough (1000).  They were happy and wished me well as said goodbye.  After that, I headed to my storage unit (for what I hoped would be the last time for the next month) to stuff the last few inside.  During this window, I was planning to be on leave and it felt good for the weight to be off my shoulders.  However, some work meetings popped up that required my attention - fortunately, I was able to join by phone and this resulted in me getting some situational awareness for events that would take place during the next week.  At 1100, I departed the area and drove south on I-89.  My 2019 Subaru Outback had a starting mileage of 77700 - we'll see how many miles this new life generates! The nostalgic feelings washed over me as I passed each exit, driving south, and I reflected on a great five (plus) years in the Upper Valley...My route to Southeastern Massachusetts included I-89, NH-3A, I-93 and MA-3.  Meanwhile, work meetings continued (with short breaks) until after 1415 and this allowed me to stop for lunch at Wendy's (1205) and gas at Irving (1215) in Hooksett.  I had good traffic speeds all the way to the Boston Garden - after that, I was in the typical Boston gridlock for almost 90 minutes.  Fortunately, I didn't have any more "move worries" and was officially on leave.  I arrived at Katie's house (in "Hanover South") by 1445 and immediately plopped into one of her comfortable chairs on the deck.  For the first time in ages, it seemed, I was able to enjoy the weather and solitude of a place without a care in the world.  Bonus: my grand niece, GiGi, was visiting and I got to hold her while Katie took a break.  We visited and relaxed until Aria (my niece) arrived to pick up her daughter.  We made plans to get together during the coming week.  A bit later, John also arrived home.  For my part, I kept thinking about how nice it was to be just relaxing.  The weather was wonderful too: low 70s, sunny and lightly breezy.  Later, I unpacked some things from my car and gave my sister all of the unused cleaning supplies and dry goods I'd been unable to use before closing out my move (she was happy to get them).  John had to go to a performance at about 1800 but Katie and I talked for another full hour before realizing we were both hungry.  She then drove me to eat dinner where my nephew worked: Norwell Pizza (arrived at 1930).  We enjoyed a delicious meal of Greek and Italian flavors and even got to visit with Johnny.  By 2015, we were finished and headed back to Katie's house.  I spent the next hour reorganizing my car (with some newfound space) and setting up in their basement.  Next, I decided to try to finish out my 10K step count for the day and took a walk down to the Hanover High School and back.  Returning to Katie's (2130), I found that John had returned from his gig and we ended up cracking open the bottle of Nero d'Avolla wine I'd brought.  This drink had a good backstory (from my many times in Sicily) and we enjoyed the flavors too.  The night got later and later and, before we knew it, the clock had struck 2300.  We reluctantly retired to bed after an amazing day of goodbyes and new beginnings.  I can't wait to see where this Nomad Life will take me!