Every so often they have a golf cart show at Lake Sumter Square, so we figured why not?

It was fun to see the people and their carts and listen to Stella Beat at the Sumter Lake Town Square!

Wednesday February 23 we went to Edna’s on the green. We liked it when Bill & Barb took us here on our guided tour and decided to come back. We were glad we did!

After our walk on the pathway it was time to have an ice tea, relax and enjoy listening to Joe Hand. Fun time had by all, even Cooper!

One of my favorites, a one of a kind 1959 surf wagon.

Nothing like those old Vets & Mustangs!

We figure there were about 300 cars that showed up. It’s always great to see old cars and Spanish Springs Town Square was the perfect place! I tell ya there’s nothing like driving a standard!

We had a great time and even watched Billy Buchman & His Rock N’ Soul Review.

Dave and I were impressed with the 2 Regional Recreation Centers that Bill & Barb took us to, so we decided to venture out and check some out for ourselves.

Laurel Manor is the 3rd Regional Center we visited. It was decorated elegantly with a Presidents theme.

And now our 6th, La Hacienda Regional Center, a Spanish theme. The best part of this center was the back yard.

The second picture is one of the rooms in the center being used for Chair Volleyball … I like that idea!

The painting is on the ceiling in the front entrance. Very impressive.

We took a couple days here and there and visited the Recreation Centers we wanted to see. There are many, many more. We were impressed with the ones we saw. Dave also got a chance to test out a lot of couches.

If you live in The Villages you can enjoy all these centers plus they say, as of April 2021, residents enjoy more than three thousand clubs that cover just about any hobby or interest a person could have. These clubs are managed by the residents and they say there is a club for people who do nothing.  You guessed it, it’s called “People Who do Nothing Club.  They also have sports teams and leagues and all kinds of other activities.  Dave & I aren’t ready for The Villages, the average age is 70.9, but it was a impressive & diverse and we enjoyed our time spent  in The Villages.

Adjacent to Recreation Plantation is The Villages, Florida. I just don’t know an easy way to explain it so here is my long version. . . .

The Villages started in the 1970s when  Harold Schwartz,  from Michigan bought the land and developed  it into a mobile home park called Orange Blossom Gardens.   He got his sons to help him and suddenly Orange Blossom Gardens was selling 500 homes a year.  They expanded the development to add more golf courses, swimming pools and amenities and renamed it The Villages. ’’When I got here in the ’80s there was 800 people and now there are 140,000 so we did something right.”   There are 81 different communities in The Villages and it’s still growing. Each community is called a village, and their number is constantly growing.  Each village is either clustered around one of 50 separate golf courses or in close proximity.   The average price for a home in the Villages in 2022 is $380,200 according to Realtor.com, well above the national average, and it keeps on rising.

One of the pluses of living in The Villages for many is that everything is easily accessible by golf cars. And they are the vehicle of choice. With over 100 miles of golf car paths including special bridges and tunnels that enable drivers to drive safely over busy main roads, this is a good thing! They are driven to the town squares, grocery stores, restaurants, and just about anywhere else,  you can’t help but see them everywhere you go in these parts.   People who live here say  “ why have a car, when we never need to leave”?  Even those who don’t play golf own golf say that.   Some of them are very unique ,  residents fix them  up to look like miniature Rolls Royces, Jeeps, fire engines, boats or whatever strikes the owner’s fancy.

The Villages has more holes of golf than any other community/facility in the world with currently 693 holes. (Mission Hills in China is second with 216 holes).   Do you think they like to golf here?  Hence all the golf cars. 

There are three town squares in The Villages;  Spanish Springs Town Square, Brownwood Paddock Square and Lake Sumter Landing Market Square. Each square has free live nightly entertainment  with music and dancing from 5-9pm along with festivals and parades throughout the year.    Aside from that, these areas are surrounded by cafes, shops, and almost all kinds of eateries. All have a movie theatre, banks, doctor’s offices and financial institutes.  And of course a golf course is right there too!    These squares are the hubs of community evening activity.

Within the villages there are 13 regional recreation centers , with 31 village recreation centers  and 59 neighborhood recreation areas.  The 13 regional recreations center complex  are huge, they consist of multiple meeting rooms, exercise rooms, arts & crafts room, theater, pool and outdoor facilities such as bocce, pickleball, tennis,  shuffle board, they even have corn hole at some of them

The Village recreation centers may consist of meeting rooms, card room, billiards hall, kitchen, pool and outdoor facilities. And The Neighborhood recreation area consists  of an attached postal facility, pool, bocce court, shuffleboard court and usually a horseshoe pit.  All for the residents to use.

February 3rd was our first real visit to The Villages our good friends Bill & Barb. They were our tour guides. We were so glad they showed us around all the major parts of The Villages.

They picked us up at Recreation Plantation in the morning, took us to their beautiful house in The Villages they recently purchased, then headed out to explore. They had two golf carts so Bill drove Barb and Dave drove me to lunch at the Chicken Salad Chick for lunch so we can experience driving a cart in the streets.

It was fun driving in the street with both cars and carts! We headed back to their house to turn in the carts and get Bill’s car. Now were off once more . . .

Yes The Villages as a Polo Club and a very impressive center and facilities. I don’t know a lot about polo, other than your on a horse with a polo stick attempting  to score  by putting the  ball ball into the opposition’s goal. It was off season so the field was closed, to bad I would have lived to have seen a polo match after being here.

Barb and Bill took us to two of the thirteen regional recreations center complex’s, the 1st one was

The sinks were even made of gold,😂 In one of the any rooms an drumming exercise class was going on.

Then we drove out to see one of the 3 squares where the nightly entertainment takes place.

We think they did a good job!

Then we drove to Edna’s on the Green

Just steps from Marsh View Pitch & Putt and Hogeye Pathway sits Edna’s On The Green , where we went to next.   You can bring your own lunch or dinner or get it from one of the food trucks here.  It seems like a great place to sit back and relax under the shade of majestic oak trees and listen to the music going on daily.

On the road again to the 2nd square Lake Sumter Landing. This square represents an old sea side town. Dave & I were here before but it was great to experience it with Bill & Barb. It was also our first time we experienced one of the many nightly bands that plays in the villages squares 365 days a year from 5-9 pm., weather permitting.

We all enjoyed the band!

At some, point We got a pizza and headed back to Bill & Barb’s and left again to go to the final square.

Inside the square is Spanish Springs Bowling Lanes. The bowling alley and restaurant is really vast and decorated very appropriately. I never bowled at anywhere that was this nice!

Many Thanks to Bill & Barb for showing us around The Villages. We had an incredible time! They showed us and told us about many things to do and see in the area. Many of which we have since been to.

Dave in their kitchen

We met Don and Mary at Wekiwa Springs State Park. They are staying in Titutsville and were at Lady Lake so it was a place where we could meet in between. It was a great day, because not only was it our anniversary, but I got to see Mary, my best buddy whom I known from school, who was also in our wedding, so she was a wonderful anniversary present. The only bad part was letting my present go.

Forty-two million gallons of crystal clear water flow each day from Wekiwa Springs into Wekiwa Springs Run. The run joins with Rock Springs Run to form the upper Wekiva River.  It was a really nice state park and we enjoyed walking and talking, mostly talking!

We went a mile and a half down the way to Wekiwa Island to a place called Without a Paddle Cafe for dinner.

This area was once a marina that was partially destroyed by fire in 1999 and then it was rebranded and reopened and now it’s a place to come to enjoy the area..

The neat thing about this restaurant is that it’s on the Wekiva River and you can watch canoeists, kayakers and paddle boarders go by while your eating. It’s also nice for them because they can dock and get a drink or a bit to eat too.

Thanks Mary, Don we had a great Anniversary!

A week ago we met up with our friends Jim & Ginny, who are are now volunteers at Lake Louisa State Park. We met them when we were all volunteering at John Pennekamp State Park.

Dave & I camped at Lake Louisa a few years ago and like it very much. This time we were going back to visit with our friends Jim & Ginny. They use to live in Clermont were Lake Louisa is so they know where everything is at. After we walked thru some of the park we went to the old section of Clermont, by the water where it was renovated, for dinner and ice cream.

We had a great time with them and are are hoping to meet up with them in the coming years when we head out west. Thanks Jim & Ginny! 💖

Today the 17th Dave & I ventured out to Lake Griffin State Park

The park is about 15 minutes from where we are at Recreation Plantation. We spent a few hours walking around and enjoying the park.

Our first stop was to the Oak Tree, just not your ordinary oak tree. . .

We walked thur the campground area and down to the boat launch

Took the Cinnamon Fern trail to the Spur trail

And then we finished the trail

This boundary of the park is right next to a housing development. I guess if you gotta be right next to something why not a state park? We both liked the park and would stay here if we were ever to be in this area again.

And yes we went to a Magic Show at The Plantation!

It was really a good show and we both liked it very much!

There are 1079 sites in Recreation Plantation.  It has old sections, some new sections and some newer sections. All the sections are nice.  The park is mostly mobile homes and fixed RV’s, with a couple of sections open for fleeting  RV’ers , like me & Dave usually are.  Lots of golf carts and retirees, we seem to be the youngest people here.

It’s a 55+ RV community  that has lots of activities going on. There are 3 buildings throughout the park where some of the activities and meetings are held. You can take part in softball, pickleball, tennis, volleyball, horse shoes, shuffleboard, table tennis, corn hole, or badminton. Exercise classes like  water aerobics ,Zumba, Yoga, Dancercise, Walk Aerobics . They have games going on constantly like poker, hand & foot, bridge, euchre, 500, mahjong, bunco, etc. and of course Bingo. Square dancing and line dancing .  You can meet to craft with woodworkers, quilters, knitters, and crocheters. There is a sheet with a schedule  of activities going on every single day including regularly scheduled dances,  dinners, and socials.  They have free coffee and donuts on Thursday morning which we haven’t been to yet.

Where the transients are parked

Older sections of the park

Newest Section of the park

Third Recreation building. the building itself is open and very nice. This is where the ping pong tables are.

They haven’t finished putting in the pool or the hot tube yet. The owner is saying that he is having difficulty getting supplies in to finish it and the residents are saying it’s cause the owner bought more land elsewhere in Florida and is spending all his time and money there. Good thing they already have a nice pool and hot tube in the older section of the park.

The lots in the new section are double the size of the older section. Lots more room to spread out.

Below is our trip plans for 2022 into 2023. Once we leave Bill Baggs, in June that will be our last workcamping gig for a while. Time to get out and explore things out west.

                                                          Trip  Itinerary 2022-2023

March 1- June 1  –                    Bill Baggs State Park Florida

June 1- June 4 –                       St. Augustine Florida

June 4- June 5 –                        Fair Harbor RV Park, Perry Georgia

June 5- June 6 –                       Holiday Travel Park, Chattanooga, Tennessee

June 6- June 9 –                       Cave Country RV Park, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

June 9- June 10 –                     Parker Cross Roads RV Park, Jackson, Tennessee

June 10- June 13 –                   Lake Katherine, State Park, Hot Springs, Arkansas

June 13 – June 17 –                  Crater of Diamonds State Park, Arkansas

June 17 – June 20 –                 Ivyscove RV park, Arkansas

June 20- June 24 –                   Prairie Creel Corp of Eng. Pia Ridge, Arkansas

June 24 – June 25 –                 Aok RV Park, St Joseph Missouri

June 25 -June 28 –                   Palasades State Park, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

June 28 -July 2 –                                  Sleepy Hollow Rv Park, Wall, South Dakota

July 2 – July 16 –                       Hartland RV Park, Hermoas, South Dakota

July16 -July 20 –                                    Sturgis RV Park, Sturgis, South Dakota

July 20    -July  23 –                   Peter D’s Rv Park, Sheridan, Wyoming

July 23 –  July 27 –                    Peak View RV Park, Guernscy, Wyoming

July 27   – August 9 –               Bayo Lake State Park, Fort Collins, Colorado

August 9 –August 22 –            Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Colorado Springs Colorado

August 22- August 26 –          Storrie State Park, Los Vegas, New Mexico

August 26- August 29 –          Elephant Butte State Park, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

August 29-  Sept. 12 –              Mission RV Park, El Paso Texas

September 12 – Sept.19-         Leasburg Dam State Park, Las Cruces, New Mexico

September 19 –Seot.26  –        Rockhound State Park, Deming, New Mexico

September 26- October 7 –     Butterfield RV Park, Benson Arizona

October 7 – October 21  –       Roper State Park, Safford, Arizona

October 21- November 4-       Lost Dutchman State Park, Apache Junction, Arizona

November 4-  November 18 – Katchner Taverns State Park, Benson, Arizona

November 18- December 2  – Catalina State Park, Catalina, Arizona

December 2-  December 16  -Patagonia State Park, Patagonia Arizona

December 16- December 30  Katchner Caverns State Park, Benson Arizona

December 30- March 31  –      Pilot Knob RV Park, Yuma Arizona

Dave & I tried new places to eat which we’ve never been, such as The Key Largo Fisheries with our good friends Bill & Barb. The waterfront is a fishery and marina, the seafood comes off the boats docked next to them, and is processed and packaged right there and shipped to people stateside, or prepared for you at their Backyard Cafe.

We also got to see the African Queen which is docked at Marina Del Mar. I was excited because I got to see the movie a couple of years ago and loved it and seeing the boat like it was in the movie was really nice.

The historic African Queen provided the setting for Humphrey Bogart’s only Oscar winning performance has been resurrected from the scrapheap by a movie-loving Florida couple. The African Queen is a 100 year old steam boat famed for its starring role in the 1951 hit movie of the same name.

The classic picture – which also starred Katharine Hepburn and told the story of a Canadian steam boat captain and a British missionary working in German East Africa during the First World War – saw Bogart receive the 1951 Academy Award for best actor.

After falling into a state of disrepair following the death of its previous owner in 2001, the vessel was spotted gathering rust in a Florida marina by Suzanne Holmquist and her engineer husband, Lance.

The couple have since repaired the ailing ship and opened it up. You can take a 1.5 Hour cruise that departs from the Marina Del Mar and travels down the Port Largo Canals to the Atlantic Ocean before turning around to return.

Dave & I had breakfast at The Hideout a few times.

We also had a great time going to The Italian Food Comapany and The Catch with our friends Skip & Nancy.

The food was good at both restaurants

One of our favorite places to eat was The Shipwreck.

The Shipwreck has really good food and the added bonus was the awesome volunteers from Pennekamp gathered here for dinner and great times!

Speaking of Incredible Volunteers and awesome people !

Some of us got a chance to get together at The Marriott for the last time to catch the sunset

The last day before we left Pennekamp the weather was perfect for parasailing! so Barb and myself took off.

Smooth take off and landing and gliding through the air was an incredible experience. With a dip in the water before we landed back on the boat was lots of fun.

This was our 4th year here in Key Largo and it was awesome! We met fantastic volunteers whom now we call our friends! We snorkeled, kayaked, parasailed and explored what can be more wonderful than that?

We know we never will!