Let’s Go Summer 2023!

Lifestyle

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It’s summer! Let’s go out and enjoy it. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been cooperating. It warmed up earlier in June, but got cold again last week. We got a huge rain and hail storm. I guess that’s good for the snowpack, but I’m ready for warmer weather. Come on, our heater kicked in on summer solstice. We’re tired of being cold. The next 10 days should be really nice, though. Portland will get a string of 80 degrees sunny days. That’s perfect for me.

This summer, I’m going to take it easy and enjoy life. It’ll be the summer of Joe. I need to relax and get my bearing while the weather is nice. The long gray Pacific Northwest winter is brutal. Hopefully, we’ll have a mild summer so we can go out and enjoy nature more.

Summer break

RB40Jr is so happy to get out of school. It has been a rough year for him. Unfortunately, he got sick as soon as he got out of school. It’s just a cold. He had a low-grade fever for one night and started to improve. He has been looking forward to summer all year long so it was a bummer. He is almost back to normal now. We’ll go out and have some fun soon.

As for me, I’m going to take it easy this summer. I’ll decrease the posting frequency to once per week. I plan to do less delivery driving as well. I heard summer isn’t very good for drivers. People like to go to restaurants when it’s nice out. I don’t mind working less.

This summer, we’ll head to the park more often and practice baseball, basketball, Frisbee, and tennis. It should be a lot of fun. RB40Jr and I need to exercise more.

Travel plan

Usually, we take a big trip somewhere every year, but we traveled too much last year. So we’re taking a break from international travel. Instead of going abroad, we’ll enjoy Portland and the Pacific Northwest. This is the best time of the year. The weather is mild and there are many outdoor activities to enjoy. We’ll go see free concerts around town and try new restaurants. Mrs. RB40 wants to check out some new (to us) urban trails. Portland is actually much nicer this year than the last few years. The city has been cleaning up downtown. They are trying to entice the tourists to come back after a few rough years.

Road trips

We have three small road trips this summer.

Seaside, OR – Mrs. RB40 and I are heading to Seaside by ourselves! RB40Jr will go to a sleepover with his friends. We haven’t gone on a trip alone since 2010. Finally, we can get away for 2 days. Thank goodness.

Leavenworth, WA – Mrs. RB40 always wanted to visit Leavenworth. We’re heading up there for a weekend trip in July. It’s a long drive, but it should be a lot of fun. Leavenworth is a charming Bavarian village at the foot of the Cascade Mountain range. I heard it’s really nice there.

Oregon Dunes – Did you know Frank Herbert was inspired by the Oregon Dunes to write his famous sci-fi book, Dune? The recent remake was great. I’m looking forward to part 2 soon. The trailer looks awesome.

This area is pretty amazing. We drove through many times and always wanted to explore the dunes more. This summer, we’ll go camping at the beach for 5 nights. Actually, I booked a yurt for us so it isn’t really camping. Heh heh. We stayed in a yurt before and it’s great. You have all the fun of camping without the inconveniences. Hopefully, our friends can join us for a few nights. The kids will have a lot of fun building campfires and hanging out at the beach. Maybe we’ll try sandboarding or ride an ATV on the dunes.

What about you? Do you have any big plans this summer? It seems like everyone is taking a big trip overseas. My college friend is taking her family to Italy for 6 weeks. Wow, I’m jealous.

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Joe started Retire by 40 in 2010 to figure out how to retire early. After 16 years of investing and saving, he achieved financial independence and retired at 38.

Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects across the USA so check them out!

Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for DIY investors. They have many useful tools that will help you reach financial independence.