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

  Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, Charleston, SC Marquis de Lafayette:  “Charleston is one of the best built, handsomest, and most agreeable cities that I have ever seen.” For years, my wife and I have heard about the great city of Charleston , South Carolin a from our friends, and through the Travel Channel , while living in Pennsylvania.  In fact, back around 2018 or so, one of my wife’s coworkers recommended the city after her trip to the city. She extolled the virtues of that city, especially after her visit to the Charleston Tea Garden , the only tea garden in North America.  She brought back a delicious peach tea bag from the tea garden for us to sample, and we were intrigued ever since!  When our pack (my wife, myself, and Toby, our Pomeranian) made the reservation to stay 3 months in Murrells Inlet area, we had to check out the city! Charleston was founded in 1670 as a port city, and it is famous for its cobblestone streets, horse drawn carriages, and pastel colored elegant histori

  Go ‘Back to the Future’ to pass down finance knowledge! Kurt Vonnegut:  “Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, “It might have been.” My wife and I are really grateful that we were able to retire early and reach financial independence at the age of 51 and 48.  Don’t get me wrong.  It was a difficult thing to do, to have the willingness to forgo wants, to sacrifice the now for a better tomorrow, and to push through our own doubts about whether or not we were doing the right thing. In the end, it was definitely well worth it!  Not needing to go to work I didn’t enjoy, has reduced most of the stress from my life.  I wouldn’t change anything right now.  We’re happily retired and doing the things we always wanted to do, namely, traveling and spending more time with family. It got me thinking though.  What if I had a time machine, like the DeLorean from the movie “ Back to the Future ?”  What would I tell my younger self?  Would that equal even earlier retirement and reaching

  Georgetown, South Carolina  During our 3 months stay in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, we read about Georgetown from our Google search for attractions near Myrtle Beach and from various tourist brochures that are easily found in and around Myrtle Beach area. Georgetown is the third oldest town in the state of South Carolina, located in the Georgetown County.  It is located on Winyah Bay , at the confluence of the three rivers: Great Pee Dee , Black , and Waccamaw .  Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina, handling over 960,000 tons of materials per year.   On a beautiful December day with highs in the 70’s in the afternoon, we set about exploring Georgetown.  We knew the drive would be around 45 minutes from Murrells Inlet via Highway 17 South , so we didn’t pack any food.  We only brought with us water for all of us, and treats for Toby. We passed by the Huntington Beach State Park , which we had visited twice that month already, past the idyllic beach towns of