The Foreign Service Journal, May 2022

24 MAY 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Megan Kennett at work beekeeping. Astrophotographer Peter Kennett inside the observatory dome room he built on his property in rural New Mexico. Top left inset: The Spiral Nebula galaxy as photographed by Peter Kennett. Bottom left inset: One of his photos, the Horsehead Nebula. Seeing Stars New Mexico Five years before they retired, Peter Kennett and his wife, Megan , spent their home leave traveling across the United States, investigating possible retirement locations. They had a list of things they were search- ing for, including quality medical care, good weather, culture, cuisine and a low local cost of living. They also wanted a large tract of land in a dark rural area to accommodate Peter’s astrophotography hobby—he built his own observatory on the property, and now that he’s retired, he can stay up as late as he likes taking pictures of the stars. Working with local Realtors, they scouted out four areas in NewMexico and found a solar-powered home on 15 acres, complete with chicken coop, an hour’s drive from the nearest skiing. They rented the house out while on their final assign- ment to Uganda. Peter reports that their current monthly cost PETERKENNETT COURTESYOFPETERKENNETT PETERKENNETT PETERKENNETT of living, including their mortgage, is about one-third of their total pensions. Peter is also an excellent photographer of things down here on Earth. His photo essay of a close encounter with a hippo in Uganda was the inaugural “Off-Road with the Foreign Service” feature in the January-February 2020 FSJ .