All Aboard! The Happy Retirement Train at the Santa Barbara Zoo

This past summer, my wife and I took our son to the Santa Barbara Zoo, about two hours north of Los Angeles. The featured attraction is a miniature train that runs the perimeter. The train conductors act as tour guides, animal advocates, and stand-up comedians. My happy retiree radar was beeping like crazy, and it turned out to be accurate. So, a few months later, I returned to the zoo with all my recording equipment and caught them in action. In his primary working years, train conductor Pete Georgi was the co-owner of the Santa Barbara Insurance Agency and President of the Board of the Carriage and Western Art Museum of Santa Barbara. Andy Liepman spent thirty years at the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and ended up as the Deputy Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center. But now, they’re just two guys who wear overalls and drive a miniature train. And they wouldn’t have it any other way. 00:00-Start 02:50-About our guests 07:40-How’d you wind up here? 09:28-Biggest lesson 13:34-About the train 15:10-You do what you want 16:55-Did you have a plan? 17:35-Social aspects of retiring 18:05-Getting your identity back 19:35-You have to DO something 21:54-Pete and the Condor 24:54-Less limitations 27:40-A happy retiree is a busy one Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices