April 30, 2026
Well. It finally happened. After 25 years in aerospace and tech — 15 at Lockheed Martin and the last 10 at Apple — I took a few last photos under the rainbow at Apple Park, walked out the door, and into the California sunshine, finally, wonderfully untethered. At Apple, we have a saying for this moment: Promoted to Customer. I’ve been waiting to earn that title for a while now, and I have to admit, it feels amazing!
This last week has been a total whirlwind. My all-team meeting, my retirement party, what felt like a hundred one-on-ones, and more heartfelt hugs than I can count. I’ve had the great fortune of working with some genuinely wonderful people, and leaving them is the hardest part of all of this. I hope the friendships outlast the org chart — I think many of them will!
I gave several months of notice, which in theory meant plenty of time to process the transition. In practice, there were moments it felt like this day would never come. I had a whole list of adventures waiting for me, and the anticipation was killing me!
Speaking of adventures — as I write this, Lee and I are somewhere over the American Southwest, heading to Miami for the Formula 1 Grand Prix. We fell down the F1 rabbit hole a couple of years ago (one Apple movie, one Netflix series, and suddenly you care very deeply about tire strategy), and it feels like exactly the right way to kick off retirement. Loud, fast, a bit chaotic. Perfect.
The coming months are absolutely stacked, and I can’t wait:
- Time in Florida with my mom, and possibly finding a new home in St. Pete Beach — one that’s a bit better acquainted with sea level, post-Helene.
- A last-minute trip to Rome with my brother, because sometimes the best plans are the ones you make in 48 hours!
- MammothMarch Boston — a 20-mile one-day hike, followed by a visit with my brother and his family.
- Five days and 70 miles on the Colorado Trail in late June, which I’m treating as a tune-up for the big one.
- Visit Lee’s family in Skaneateles for our annual summer trip in July.
- The UK Coast to Coast in August: roughly 200 miles across the north of England, followed by a week exploring with Lee.
That last one — the Coast to Coast — is something I’ve been planning for a long time, and it’s going to be a big focus of this blog. If you’re researching that route yourself, I hope what I share here is genuinely useful. I’ve relied heavily on other people’s trip reports and blogs in my own planning, and I’d love to pay that forward!
But this space isn’t only about hiking. It’s about what happens when someone who has spent her entire adult life running fast finally decides to slow down and look around. I’m 48, newly retired, and honestly a little giddy about the prospect of having actual time — time to visit family, explore places I’ve always meant to go, and figure out what I actually want my days to look like when no one else is setting the agenda.
I’m not totally sure what I’ll discover. But I’m ready to find out.
More soon — probably from somewhere with an amazing view and blistered feet.
JoLee Adventures 