Hello foghorn! (Where's leghorn?) Your situation sounds very much like mine, except that I am a few years ahead of you. I read your case study post and perhaps you can gain something from my experience. You should be in fine shape to pursue your dreams, considering the fact that you already seem to have fairly frugal habits.
I was hit by a mass layoff from my megacorp job in 2010 after 19 years there. I had previously worked a few years at a different, smaller company. The way the layoff worked, I no longer had to report to work after March, but was paid regular salary through June. Then I received severance pay of almost 1.8x my annual salary. Most of that went into my already decent after tax Vanguard account, because my 401k contribution was already maxed. Then, because of the crazy way our bonus system worked, I got a $46K bonus that paid out in 2011. (Insert long rant about how idiotic megacorps are!) So, I had 1.75 years of not working while still being paid. I spent that time adjusting to the idea of not going into the office, being a "nobody" and filling my time with other interests.
In the summer of 2011, an old friend contacted me about an open teaching position at his university that he thought I would be a good candidate for. In spite of the fact that I was in reality FI at that time, I think I was uneasy about having no salary income in 2012, my first year with no check from an employer. I took the bait, applied, and got the job. That meant moving a long distance to a place I really was not thrilled about. The salary they paid was a joke, but the benefits were decent. Basically, I was earning less than I had earned in my very first year in corporate employment 25 years before. It paid the bills, but I didn't accumulate much from that job. After 3.5 years, I quit that job, mainly because I was very frustrated with the administration and the huge gap between their stated values and goals and their actions. Teaching college students was a lot of fun! However, it was actually more than a full time job if done right. The fun did not outweigh the frustrations with the admin and the fact that I felt taken advantage of. So, here's the lesson; it is hard to work at a less than ideal job when you know that your investments are earning more that you are being paid in salary!
Now I have moved to a city I chose based on a long list of criteria and am starting to explore life in a number of ways, like many others on this forum. I am living off investments and still spend below what my returns have been. I do have a bit of a financial buffer on the horizon. The aforementioned megacorp will begin paying me a pension at the age of 65 that will be enough to cover my essential living expenses. Oh! Since I was laid off in March 2010, my net worth has almost doubled.
So foghorn, breathe deeply, lean back, and dream up a new life as a "nobody". (But have a plan, of course!)