Melanie Barney:  

Life What happiness to be retired so early in life! My husband Gary and I finished teaching careers in June of 2006. Gary worked for 34 years in the business and I for 19. After leaving Garden Grove Unified, I moved to Alta Loma School District (ALSD) when we married in 1997. The district offered me a Vice Principalship at the elementary school I was teaching at, and so I was promoted. After 9 nine years and Gary's retirement, I said good bye to it all! The photo is at our retirement party. In planning for retirement, we moved out of our 1400 sqft home to purchase a smaller home in Lytle Creek. Things never quite work out the way you plan them and the "home" turned into a piece of property to build on up there. After nothing but delays, living in an RV for 11 months, then living in a rental for 2 1/2 years, we have not broken ground yet and are still fighting with the Edison Company to get electric service out there! Since everything was undecided anyway, and parents are all healthy, what better time to travel? We packed everything into 2 storage units, left the pets with Grandma and Grandpa and went off on our lifetime sailing adventure! Our recent adventure was a 30 day sailing trip across the Atlantic on a tall ship. We were "guest crew" who did watches, tended lines and climbed rigging just like Jack Sparrow! It was a spectalcular trip on the Stad Amsterdam. The adventure continued for 3 months afterward as we traveled by car through Europe. We are home just now and living on our 43 ft sailboat with a dog and cat. Sailing has been a major part of our life together and one that surprised me! Gar...Expand for more