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3 year anniversary of our Pomeranian Toby’s passing: A journey of FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement…

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  Toby at Pittsburgh, PA (2021) Unknown: “When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.” The month of March marks the third anniversary of our beloved fur baby Toby’s passing.  It is really true what people say about passing of a loved one: Time heals . What is not always true is this, that we tend to eventually forget everyone and everything over time.  While most of it might apply, we found out that it isn’t the case when it comes to your truly loved ones, like your family, and your pets.   Prior to raising our first fur baby, I personally wouldn’t have believed that a dog would succeed in opening my sometimes jaded, and at times cold and indifferent heart.  I mean, a dog can’t even carry on deep conversations with us, right? How could a thing that couldn’t speak, communicate with us on such a deep level?  Well, I found out that communication and forming an unbreakable bond doesn’t require speech.  Animals live perfectly hap...
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Two nights/three days in Helen, Georgia: One of the most popular destinations in the state of Georgia

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  Helen, Georgia  Near where my wife and I lived, we used to visit a German inspired town called Stoutburg Village , about 60 miles west of Philadelphia.  It is a cute village with German inspired homes, a town square, and several shops/restaurants scattered around it. We always got a kick out of visiting that place, as it reminded us of our visit to Germany a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away.  We loved seeing the 3 story Bavarian homes and the walkable streets with coffee shops, bakery, diner, and retail shops, which reminded us of Germany. We must’ve visited the place several times during our time we lived in Pennsylvania.  We took our family and friends there as one of our must visit places near our home.  Everyone got a kick out of seeing a village seemingly right out of Germany right there in the middle of Pennsylvania. We still have fond memories of the village, and always wondered if we can find another like it somewhere else in the country. ...
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Two nights/3 days in Atlanta, Georgia: Our exploration of Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum as well as Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park

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  Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Atlanta, GA Unlike most cities that seem to be located along or near the ubiquitous I-95 corridor like New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Savannah, Jacksonville , etc., Atlanta (Georgia) is one of those cities that’s a bit off the I-95.  To visit there, you really have to go out of your way to make a detour away from that I-95 . Personally, I knew of Atlanta as one of the great southern cities where big American corporations like Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines  call it their home.  On top of that, who can forget the Atlanta Olympic Games of 1996? My personal experience with the city was rather unmemorable, as I was literally stuck inside the Atlanta Airport for two whole days for work.  My job entailed getting hundreds of airport employees fingerprinted digitally at the airport.  Homeland security was all the rage especially back then, as it was just few months after 9/11 when United States came under at...
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