Growing up in a military family, I had the opportunity to live all across the nation—from Newfoundland, Canada to California, including Maine, Maryland, Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and on an island in Washington state. After college, I decided it was time for an adventure (the last being Vietnam, compliments of the United States Navy), therefore in 1976 I loaded my backpack and boarded the Alaska state ferry out of Seattle to Alaska. Upon debarking in Juneau, I quickly found work was plentiful—caretaking Taku River Lodge, working aboard a pilot boat, driving a school bus on the early morning run, working at the Auke Bay National Marine Fisheries lab during the day, and overseeing the Community Schools’ programs at Juneau-Douglas High School at night. I was offered and accepted employment as a seasonal assistant (aide) to the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Protection Officer in Yakutat. What began as an exciting seasonal position in 1977 ended in 1998 upon my retirement from the Alaska State Troopers, after a truly exciting and fulfilling career.

In the course of my career, I was stationed in Yakutat, Cordova (where I was married aboard the State Trooper Vessel P/V Enforcer in Prince William Sound), Valdez, Petersburg, Palmer, Dutch Harbor, and finally, Homer. I was very fortunate, as were many of my fellow Troopers, to have had an opportunity to serve our fellow Alaskans, some of the finest folks in the world.

Belonging to the Alaska Public Employees’ Retirement System, I listened to those wiser than I and began saving and investing early. This allowed me to retire at 50 years of age, and more importantly, forced me to pay a bit of attention to investing principles, which I cannot emphasize enough to current State employees. I continue to use this knowledge today as I travel the world, where one only needs a computer to manage his/her finances.

Upon retiring, I sold my house in Homer and traveled around the world for less than a year, home schooling the two kids while we visited New Zealand (where I still visit friends), Australia (where the kids learned to surf), Thailand (where we rode elephants down a river), India (where the kids saw how others lived in such poverty), and England (where we stayed in 600-year-old B&Bs and chatted with “bobbies” as they rode their bikes along village paths). I realized it was time to return to the U.S. when my kids began to complain, “Not another castle today!”

We had departed on our world trip from Portland, Oregon, and returned to the United States at Portland, Maine, where I bought an old car and drove across the U.S., eventually settling in Sequim, Washington. Since that time, I’ve elected to take temporary positions which I find interesting. I have worked as a commercial boat captain in the South Pacific (Kwajalein Atoll) and Salish Sea, ran whale watching and dinner cruise vessels, worked aboard ships in South America, the Caribbean, and the Seattle-to-Alaska run, and skippered armed vessels for the U.S. Army and Navy for various contracts. I was an expedition leader taking folks from around the world via ship through the Aleutians, coastal Russian and Japan, transported clients to remote areas via boats for an outdoor school in Southeast Alaska, led an armed Maritime Counter Assault unit for Homeland security, as well as other adventures, including “babysitting” the son of the King of Saudi Arabia while in Las Vegas for a month. I did all of this solely for the opportunity for adventure and to receive a bit of pay in return. Once one obtains the golden egg, aka retirement, one can take fun, short-term jobs such as these.

Of course, I have also taken the opportunity to volunteer my service, as all should when able. I have over 5,000 hours volunteering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW), working as a “caretaker” on a remote 360-acre island, a USFW refuge on which the public is not allowed. I was given a nice boat and a great house which sits upon a cliff overlooking the Puget Sound. While I only planned to spend two weeks, I ended spending six months living by myself for four winters, but that’s another story in itself.

All in all, retirement has been a quite a rodeo. As many before me have done, I have moved back to Alaska, yet still travel. The voices have been calling me to visit the vineyards of Chile and Argentina, but who knows?

If you would like to learn more about how your State of Alaska retirement can allow you to enjoy a comfortable retirement, please contact the Division toll-free at (800) 821-2251 or at (907) 465-4460 in Juneau.

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