Posted by Mary Sallman on Wed, Sep 01, 2010
Cranes Mill Marina - Canyon Lake, Tx
Canyon Lake
Canyon Lake, known as the Water Recreation Capital of Texas with 8,308 acres of beautiful clear water located on the Guadalupe River between Austin and San Antonio has two full service marinas, Cranes Mill Marina and Canyon Lake Marina. Each marina provides convenient service and amenities to make your time on Canyon Lake pleasurable and hassle-free.
Cranes Mill Marina
Our spotlight is on Cranes Mill Marina, the marina on the south side of the lake, only 2.7 miles from Las Brisas and 9.1 miles from First Mountain. The marina provides boat slips, service, boat rentals, boat shop, and fueling. Cranes Mill Marina has slips of all shapes and sizes to accommodate 12’ bass boats to 50’ cruisers to deep water sailboats. Specifically, the marina has 182 covered wet slips and 68 uncovered wet slips for lease. Boat service and detailing is also provided at Cranes Mill Marina.
Equipped with a friendly staff and number of quality rental boats, Cranes Mill Marina makes renting a boat is the easiest way to enjoy Canyon Lake. Rent a pontoon boat to accommodate a large crowd for a sunset cruise or a ski boat for fun day of tubing for your children or grandchildren or zip through the water in a WaveRunner. With each rental you receive free fuel and your pick of water toys. No family member will be disappointed!
In the event you have forgotten an item, Cranes Mill Marina’s well-stocked store provides everything from bathing suits, sun block, towels, sunglasses, and hats to great snacks, drinks, beer and wine to satisfy your hunger and thirst, and if you need ice, coolers, life vest or boating accessories they have that too!
As mentioned on their website, “Don’t spend your weekend in the car: driving to get parts for your boat, then to another location 15 miles away for lunch (Canyon Lake Marina only), then to yet another location to rent a jet ski. The Canyon Lake Marinas are the solution to that problem with all of these amenities right on the lake where you want to be.”
For more information to reserve a boat, especially recommended for holiday weekends, call 830-899-7718 for Cranes Mill Marina (south side) or 830-935-4333 for Canyon Lake Marina (north side). For more information about Las Brisas, a distinctive gated community on Canyon Lake, click here.
Posted by Mary Sallman on Wed, Aug 11, 2010
Labor Day Weekend in Canyon Lake and New Braunfels
With the weather pushing the 100 degree mark in the Texas Hill Country, in the clear blue waters of Canyon Lake or floating down the Guadalupe River might be the best places to be this Labor Day Weekend, but if you are not in the mood to swim, sail, jet ski, fish or tube there are some other great activities for your enjoyment in the area that will keep you busy and smiling!
Landa Park, Live Music, and Art
Landa Park: Three Activities
Landa Park free offers an array of activities for families. Activities include the free Thursday Night Concert. Every Thursday evening beginning at 7:30 PM, bring your family, lawn chairs and picnic and enjoy great music in the beautiful outdoors. Listen to local musicians perform a variety of music that ranges from country and rock-n-roll to jazz and ballads.
Another activity within the park is the hike and bike Dry Comal Trail. The trail gives access to numerous types of habitats. Start by entering a river-bottom habitat, stroll through a densely wooded area sighting white-tailed deer and other wildlife, and finally climb a rocky hill leading to a cedar-grassland type habitat with prickly pear and mesquite trees.
Try Landa’s Park Boat House and Miniature Golf. The Boat House offers visitors an enjoyable way to tour the lake, home of the Comal Springs, and the miniature golf course boasts 18 challenging golf holes for your family’s enjoyment. For a complete listing of activities and a map of Landa Park, click here.
Live Music: Three Venues
Music has long been part of the Texas Hill Country and today is no exception. Musical venues are in abundance in the Canyon Lake – New Braunfels area. Listed are a few which will have performers this Labor Day Weekend.
Whitewater Amphitheater. Enjoy great music in a unique setting nestled along the banks of the Guadalupe River. The outdoor venue offers two stages to host an array of leading artists. The lineup for the weekend is full.
Thursday, September 2 Foreigner
Friday, September 3 Blue October
Saturday, September 4, Clay Walker
Sunday, September 5, the Spazmatics
Gruene Hall. Built in 1878, Gruene Hall is the oldest continually running dance hall in Texas, and has spawned many great songwriters and musicians. Enjoy music and dancing this Labor Day weekend with Charlie Robison Saturday, September 4 and Sunday September, 5.
River Road Icehouse. A music venue in New Braunfels off of the Hueco Springs Loop has a number of musical guests slated for the weekend including Kevin Fowler and Cory Morrow.
ART: Three Galleries
If interested in art, families enjoy visiting the McKenna’s Children’s Museum in New Braunfels where they discover a world of arts and creativity, science and technology, culture, health and history. Open on Labor Day Weekend is the “Land and Sea” Art Show at the New Braunfels Art League Gallery. The exhibit includes paintings, sculpture, pottery, photography and jewelry. In Gruene, Buck Pottery located in a "turn of the century" barn, features locally hand-crafted pottery as well as other fine craft work.
Love Canyon Lake and would like to live here? Check out the Las Brisas at Ensenada Shores website---great lakefront property. The finest in Texas Hill Country Living!
Posted by Mary Sallman on Mon, Aug 02, 2010
Disabled American Veteran Awarded Home
Sgt. Jorge De Leon, a disabled American veteran from the Afghan war, was chosen by the organization Operation FINALLY HOME to be the recipient of a mortgage free home in the Las Brisas community. The home is being built by Tilson Homes on an acreage homesite in Las Brisas at Ensenada Shores, a lakeside development of Warner Group Inc. at Canyon Lake, Texas.
Ground has been broken for the home in Las Brisas and plans are to have Sgt. De Leon move into his new home with his wife and three daughters by the end of this year. Las Brisas is pleased to welcome Sgt. De Leon and his family!
Operation FINALLY HOME
Operation FINALLY HOME is a non-profit organization which provides custom made, mortgage free homes to wounded and disabled veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and the widows of the fallen in an effort to get their lives back on track and become productive members of their communities.
With donations from suppliers and contractors, the group can build a $300,000 house for $25,000 to $50,000. Each house is fully furnished and customized to meet the needs of each family and is mortgage-free. The group also covers the taxes and insurance for two years. Due to the success of the program and the desire of hundreds of Builder Associations throughout the nation to help wounded and fallen veterans' families, the organization has expanded nationwide.
Family standing on Las Brisas Homesite in the Texas Hill County.
More about Sgt. De Leon
Jorge De Leon joined the U.S. Army in 2001 after eight years on the police force in Puerto Rico. On his fourth deployment to Afghanistan in April 2004, Jorge and his unit were on their way back to camp after a patrol through the Gashni region. Jorge was driving a Humvee, the lead vehicle of the convoy when it ran over an anti-tank mine. Having taken the full brunt of the mine, Jorge was the only one injured in the explosion. He lost his right leg in the explosion and his left leg was severely injured.
He underwent a long recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and now wears a computer-controlled prosthetic leg. He resides in Texas with his wife and three young children. He returned to law enforcement and worked for the department of Defense as a radio operator with the police department at Ft. Sam Houston.
Family in front of 23 acre Tom Creek Nature Preserve in Las Brisas
Since his recovery, Jorge has helped raise awareness and inspired other wounded veterans to remain hopeful, even in times of extreme distress and isolation. Jorge’s story is one of perseverance that can be a model for those going through similar situations.
Once moved into his new home, Jorge, a recipient of a four year college scholarship provided by the Texas Sentinels' Foundation, plans to return to school full time where he will pursue a degree in criminal justice.
Change the Life of a True American Hero!
If you would like to support Operation FINALLY HOME, consider participating in the golf tournament at the Dominion Country Club in San Antonio, Texas. Operation FINALLY HOME will be hosting the inaugural "Holes for Heroes" golf tournament on Sept 20, 2010. 100% of the proceeds raised will go towards building mortgage free homes for America's wounded service members. If you would like to play in the tournament, click here for the entry form and/or if you would like to be a sponsor, click here for the sponsor form.
Posted by Mary Sallman on Wed, Jul 28, 2010
TEXAS REAL ESTATE
The economy is a big concern for us all today. Below are three articles cited by the Real Estate Online Center indicating that Texas is fairing well when compared to other states in terms of real estate value and job creation.
The Real Estate Center is located at Texas A& M University and is the nation's largest publicly funded organization devoted to real estate research. The Center's staff conducts research on financial, socioeconomic, public policy, trade, legal, land use and local market analysis issues related to real estate.
An overall positive trend in jobs and real estate absorption are important factors when deciding where to relocate for new employment, retirement or searching for good real estate investment opportunities.
THREE RECENT POSITIVE TEXAS REAL ESTATE INDICATORS
- In June, sales of existing homes in Texas dropped slightly from May, a downturn of 3.5% compared to a 5.1% decrease nationally.
- Texas is leading the economic recovery.
- Texas is only one of three states poised for recovery in 2012.
1. TEXAS HOME SALES
According to the
National Association of Realtors, purchases of existing single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses fell 5.1 percent in June from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.37 million. Texas, according to the
Texas Real Estate Center dropped 3.5% in home sales from 22,496 in May to 21,717 in June.
COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Texas is leading the United States in the current U-shaped economic recovery. The state’s economy experienced its second month of positive annual employment growth after 16 months of job losses.
Texas’ annual employment growth rate was 0.9 percent from June 2009 to June 2010 compared with a negative rate of 0.1 percent for the nation. After 17 months of job losses, the state’s private sector posted a positive annual employment growth rate of 0.4 percent.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 7.8 percent in June 2009 to 8.2 percent in June 2010, while the U.S. rate in June was 9.5 percent, the same as in June 2009.
Six Texas industries — education and health services; mining and logging; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; manufacturing; and transportation, warehousing, utilities — and the government sector had more jobs in June 2010 than in June 2009. Five other industries experienced net job losses over the same period.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Chronicle of Higher Education) – According to a report compiled by Moody’s Investor Service, Texas is one of only three states poised for a recovery in employment by 2012.
Alaska and North Dakota join Texas in the slated 2012 recovery date. However, the report says more than half of the states will not recover until 2013, 2014 or later.
The report was cited in an article discussing the impact a slow recovery could have on public colleges across the United States.
Investment opportunities abound in Texas. Texas is poised for a good recovery. If looking for a land for retirement or investment, consider the Texas Hill Country. It is still a buyers market.
Posted by Mary Sallman on Wed, Jul 14, 2010
7 Questions to Help You Determine WHERE to Retire
Guest post written by Mary Lloyd, author of Supercharged Retirement: Ditch the Rocking Chair, Trash the Remote, and Do What You Love.
Thinking about retiring to the lake or the mountains?
One of the big delights of retirement is you can live wherever you want. But where is that? It’s easy get this wrong if you’re relying on other people’s assumptions and last winter’s weather. Before you start collecting packing boxes, ask yourself these questions:
1. Why am I living where I am?
If you’ve been living where you are your whole life, you have a sense of community that’s over a half century old. That all goes away when you leave town. If you’re stale and need that fresh start, fine. But if it’s just to get away from a few months of lousy weather, take a closer look. If you have a lot invested in your current community emotionally, go slowly.
2. Are you a nester or a nomad?
Personality does make a difference. Some folks like living in the same place their entire lives. If you are one of those people, admit it. It takes a lot of work to get a new place to feel like home. For some of us, that’s a delightful challenge; for others it’s a nightmare.
3. How are you going to spend your time?
If you want to ski, you need snow and mountains (or long water). But retirement age bodies can only take so much skiing. Where is the majority of your time going to be focused? If you’re already involved in the things you want to keep doing, are those available at the new location? Is someone offering that class you want to take? Does the volunteer need you want to meet exist there? Just assuming it will be is a fast track to disappointment.
4. Where are the important people in your life?
Some of us move to be nearer the grandkids. There are pitfalls to that. Are you ready to give up your retiree freedom to be the primary childcare option? Alternatively, will they have time to spend with you if you do live closer? Consider your own parents, too. If they’re still alive, how might this move change your relationship with them?
5. What do you love about your “dream location”?
Moving to the Texas Hill Country will not automatically make you lose weight. Moving to a college town won’t instantly make you attend free lectures. Keep your feet on the ground about why you want to move. Check out every single assumption you’re making about that place and how you will live there.
6. How long do you want to live there?
You could be retired for as long as you were in the workforce. Shape your real estate decisions accordingly. Do you want to live there forever—or just for a year or two? There are a lot more options than “Sell this house; buy a new house there.”
7. How does “X” feel?
If someone will be moving with you--spouse, domestic partner, dependent child, parent-- answer these questions from their point of view, too.
Done? Then you’re ready to decide.
Take Mary Lloyd's “quiz” about where you want to live when you retire or browse her website www.mining-silver.com.
This article was written by Mary Lloyd who is author of Supercharged Retirement: Ditch the Rocking Chair, Trash the Remote, and Do What You Love.
For more information about Retirement at Las Brisas, a gated community on the shores of Canyon Lake, click here, to view our Retirement Page.
Posted by Mary Sallman on Thu, Jul 08, 2010
What to do in Canyon Lake?
Throughout the year, and especially during the summer, Las Brisas lake home residents and retirees find a number of activities and attractions that they, their families and most especially, their grandchildren enjoy.
Picture courtesy of Schlitterbahn Waterpark.
There is the nothing like the world famous Schillterbahn Waterpark or a float down the Guadalupe River to be enjoyed in the hot Texas sun, but there are other lesser known activities in the Canyon Lake area that are equally pleasurable.
Activities and Attractions
-
Hiking the Canyon Lake Gorge, this beautiful and unique geological formation is open to the public through guided tours only. Picture courtesy of Canyon Lake Gorge.
Summer has many activities to offer those who live and visit the Canyon lake area.
If you don’t know much about Canyon Lake, click here to the Las Brisas'
Amenities page, to get an idea of what attractions and activities are available. Las Brisas is a gated lakefront community on the shores of Canyon Lake. It’s the perfect place for those who wish to have a lake home, retirement home or permanent home in the Texas Hill Country.
Besides the fun activities in and around Canyon Lake, land owners at Las Brisas on Canyon Lake love the combination of the lake and hills.
Canyon Lake offers its boaters, swimmers and skiers clear blue water (a benefit of being a rock bottom lake) surrounded by lush rolling hills of cedar and oak. When at Canyon Lake, there is no doubt that you are in the Texas Hill Country.
For more information on the lakefront community of Las Brisas on Canyon Lake, located just north of San Antonio and west of New Braunfels, call 877-427-5253 or visit the website at www.LasBrisas-Tx.com.
Posted by Mary Sallman on Tue, Jun 15, 2010
CANYON LAKE ACTIVITIES
Spotlight: Canyon Lake Yacht Club or correctly known as Lake Canyon Yacht ClubPhotos Courtesy of Lake Canyon Yacht Club
Chartered in 1967 with the primary purpose of promoting the art of sailing, the Lake Canyon Yacht Club is in full swing this summer hosting a number of fun and adventuresome activities. It is located on the north shore of Canyon Lake, Texas about 45 miles north of San Antonio and 50 miles south of Austin. The club facilities occupy 18 acres of land on a bluff overlooking the deep 8000 acre lake.
The club's amenities include a 144 slip waterfront with ample docking space for dry sailed boats and visitors participating in regattas, a two lane launching ramp, dry storage for over 150 boats, a clubhouse with a party deck, swimming pool, and a boat rigging tower for stepping and unstepping masts.
Want to learn how to sail? It's never too early or too late.
Adult Classes Lake Canyon Yacht Club offers classes for all levels from beginning beginners to seasoned sailors. Click here for registration information for adult classes.
Youth Classes Want your kids or grandchildren to learn how to sail? Click here for youth sailing classes.
Monthly Summer Boating Activities
Keel Boats compete on the 2nd Saturday of each month unless otherwise noted. Board Boats compete on the 2nd Sunday of each month unless otherwise noted.
Special club Racing Events
Race to Margaritaville | Saturday, June 19, 2010
Lookin' for your last shaker of salt? Have a craving for sponge cake? Love Jimmy Buffett and sailboat racing? If you answered even "maybe" to any of these questions, come join us for the Race to Margaritaville on Saturday, June 19! Try new feats of seamanship and other fun challenges as we race to see who reaches Margaritaville first. Dress up in your favorite Parrot head attire, fix those blown-out flip-flops, and get ready to race!
Flying Scot Masters Regatta | Sunday, June 27, 2010
The regatta is open to Flying Scot masters. Qualifications for Flying Scot Masters includes those former Flying Scot skippers who have reached the age of 75 and sailors of other class boats who have reached the age of 65.
Branch Long Distance Race | July 4, 2010
An annual event that coincides with the 4th of July weekend, the Branch Long Distance Race is an LCYC tradition providing an opportunity to test your racing skills in a forum other than "around the buoy". This race is open to keel boats, board boats, catamarans and tri-hulls. LCYC will host its annual 4th of July BBQ at 4pm following the race. Trophies will be presented at 6pm. For more information concerning membership and races please visit their website, Lake Canyon Yacht Club.
Posted by Mary Sallman on Thu, Jun 10, 2010
Why Canyon Lake for Houstonians?
The question arises quite often within our family. Having siblings living in Houston who drive many times a year to Canyon Lake for family and holiday events, the question comes up why Canyon Lake when there are other closer lakes to Houston.
#1 Hill Country vs. Piney Woods
For my family members, the answer is the look and feel. Being in Canyon Lake places you in a completely different space than the nearby lake of Conroe. You are no longer in Houston or the Piney Woods of Texas; you are in the Texas Hill Country.
#2 Clear Blue Prisitine Water
The water in Canyon Lake is another big plus for my family. The water is clear and blue and pristine-the benefit of having a rock bottom. Lake Conroe has a muddy bottom which changes the color and feel of the water-plus with the past hydrilla infestation, the water is not what you would call ideal.
#3 Canyon Lake Terrain
Canyon Lake has large hills, oaks and cedar. It should-the reservoir was made from a canyon! Lake Conroe is mostly flat and its vegetation closer to that of Houston. When on Canyon Lake you look around and you see hills, trees, and birds. When boating on Lake Conroe you get a sense that you are taking a home tour cruising in front of one home after another in one gigantic neighborhood. Somehow it doesn't quite feel like you're in the country.
#4 Unemcumbered Shoreline -Less Choppy Water
It is true that one nice benefit of Lake Conroe is having your own private dock and bulkheads; however these contribute to the choppy water. Add a couple of hundred boats to the lake on a weekend and boating activities become a rough experience. Canyon Lake without docks and bulkheads has its share of choppy water, but it's mostly due to windy weather or to the number of boats, not the shoreline! Speaking of shorelines, there is nothing more beautiful than being out on your boat or looking out from your patio onto the lake and seeing an unencumbered natural shoreline.
#5 Less Traffic more Ambiance!
Finally, the big reason why my Houston family members love Canyon Lake is the lake ambiance! Lake Conroe has traffic and not just I-45 traffic, which can be frustrating, but lake traffic. We all know that lakes get busy on special holidays, but on Lake Conroe every summer weekend can be like Fourth of July on Canyon Lake (ok, that may be a little bit of an exaggeration).With a busy lake, it is kind of tough to go "orange'n" which in my family means jumping into the water with your bulky old orange life vest and a tasty refreshment in hand.
That's the lake livin' we have come to know, and for my Houstonian siblings driving 2 1/2 hours is well worth the outing! Plus you are only 35 minutes from San Antonio and 15 minutes from New Braunfels--so much fun to be had!
Posted by Mary Sallman on Wed, Jun 02, 2010
Veterans Helped by Dan Wallrath
In 2005, Dan Wallrath, a custom home builder in the greater Houston area, created the non-profit organization, Bay Area Builders Association Support Our Troops in response to the housing needs of the disabled veterans and their families. This non-profit organization provides custom made, mortgage free homes to wounded and disabled veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and the widows of the fallen in an effort to get their lives back on track and become productive members of their communities.
The idea for the program came to Wallrath when he was asked to help remodel a home of an acquaintance whose son had returned home injured from Iraq. Lance Corporal Steven Schulz of the United States Marine Corps had suffered brain injuries due to the blast of an improvised explosive device with his HUMVEE. No longer able to walk, the Shulz's home needed to be remodeled.
Wallrath says, "It really broke my heart to think [about] these young men and women," He decided the best way he could help wounded veterans was by doing what he knew best: building them homes.
"It was like someone hit me upside the head with a 2x4. ... I just felt like this is what God wants me to do."
Taking his idea in hand to the local trade group, the Bay Area Builders Association, he convinced members to start a home-building program for wounded veterans.
With donations from suppliers and contractors, Wallrath said, the group can build a $300,000 house for $25,000 to $50,000. Each house is fully furnished and customized to meet the needs of each family and is mortgage-free. The group also covers the taxes and insurance for two years.
This uniquely Texas born program has provided four custom homes to disabled and war fallen veterans and is in the process of building five more. The ninth home will be built at Las Brisas at Ensenada Shores Community in Canyon Lake, Texas.
Due to the success of the program and the desire of hundreds of Builder Associations throughout the nation to help wounded and fallen veterans' families, Support Our Troops has expanded nationwide and is now known as Operation Finally Home. Wallrath says the response has been spectacular. He is tremendously moved by the care and the generosity of the sponsors throughout the United States.
The Dominion Country Club in San Antonio, Texas, a short drive from the Las Brisas
community where the home of a wounded war veteran is scheduled to be built this fall, will be hosting the Holes for Heroes Golf Tournament, a fundraiser for Operation Finally Home.
Proceeds raised will go towards building mortgage free homes for America's wounded service members. Click here for an entry form or here, to be a sponsor.
Posted by Mary Sallman on Mon, May 24, 2010
Super-Charged Retirement, "Ditch the Rocking Chair, Trash the Remote, and Do What You Love", by Mary Lloyd www.mining-silver.com is quite an appropriate title and dead on for the majority of people who are contemplating retirement in 2010. If you are thinking about retirement, there are many things to think about besides your financial portfolio. That's not to say that money is not important, but it is not your ONLY consideration.
Lloyd states, "This book is designed to help light that new path. It's here to help you affirm who you are now---who you've become over all these years--so you can make retirement decisions that keep you vibrant and energized."
Review
The book is a quick read, but it requires you to do a little bit of homework to fully benefit from her advice. Lloyd, first wants you to understand who you are, not who you think you are or the person others think you are. It is critical that you find your authentic self. At first, I was put off by her questions and homework, but after some thought I realized that you might find out things about yourself that were not self-evident or find out that what you have known about yourself all along is true. Either way--it is a win.
Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual Aspects
Other chapters deal with looking at physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects in helping you decide what you believe in and where you want to go next. The last thing you want to do is buy the home in the mountains that you have always wanted only to find out that you hate the upkeep of a home during the winter. Your idea of fun does not include shoveling the driveway for sixty days! Another scenario-- lose your friends of 30 years in the old neighborhood to buy a home in a different part of the country to be closer to your children and grand-children only to find out that they are so busy with their lives that they don't have the time to include you as much as you would like. This can be a disaster. With Lloyd's help-those scenarios might not happen. She has you explore and answer questions about different parts of your life, even those you would prefer to remain hidden, to prevent you from making a poor choice.
My Family Story
Anecdotally, my family experience was very positive, although my parents had not
done an extensive analysis of who they were and what they wanted. Eighteen years ago, they decided to retire to a different community to be closer to their youngest grand-children and to live by a lake in hopes to lure their kids to visit more often. The move from Midland, Texas to Canyon Lake, Texas was a huge success! The lake was/is beautiful with crystal blue water surrounded by rolling hills deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. My father bought a boat and began to enjoy a new aspect of his life. For several years after they moved, you had to book in advance in order ensure a room at their home. They succeeded in getting visits not only from their kids, but from old college roommates and extended family members who had never ventured out of Louisiana. It was a great way to bring family and friends together.
Small Hiccup
My only negative of this book is that Lloyd at times comes across as a superwoman. She uses herself as the example throughout the book and sometimes you just want to say, "Enough-we understand you are a wonder woman and think highly of your brain and energy level. Do we need to know about all of all your various business and civic accomplishments?" It can make you feel a little inadequate. The book would have been more balanced and interesting including other people's life stories as examples.
Although this is not the perfect book or the only book you should read before deciding upon retirement, I do think it is worth the read. "Choose Your Own Adventure", the title for her last chapter, sums things up: "Things are going to happen in your life whether you step up to the decisions or not. But if you choose--choose according to who you really are now, it's going to fit you a whole lot better . . . think about what you want to do and what's needed to do it ... there is a lot of fun yet to be had. A lot of good yet to be done. Your personal piece of that is waiting for you to figure it out. Welcome to the grandest of all life's adventures."