Our Last Day- Includes Katie Bells

It's hard to believe that today is our last day at The Vilalges. Time certainly does fly by! For Rich, the day started off like any other day here, up at 6:00, coffee on the front porch, off to the pickleball courts. He started at Pimlico and ended his final day of pickleball at La Hacienda. Since we first arrived, Rich has heard from more than one player the story of "Charlie" and how he made sure that pickleball continued to flourish in this community. That was 23 years ago........Today Charlie is over 80 years old. How ironic - our first week here, we both met some of the original Villages players. The last day here - Rich meets Charlie, the guy who made it happen.

Me - I spent the day doing some final cleaning at the Villa, did the laudry and started packing things up so we can get an early start in the morning.

Tonight - we're off to dinner with friends, Mo and Jeanne. If you remember, I said when we first arrived here that before we left we wanted to eat at Katie Bells........ It was really worth waiting for.

Click on picture to enlarge - Use back arrow to return to this page

We headed for the Square at Spanish Springs to meet Mo and Jeanne. It's not hard to tell that many of the snow birds are returning. Tonight was Market night at the square and by just after 5:00 the square was filling with cars, and golf carts, and lots of people. The music was playing, people were dancing and the vendors were ready for business.

Click on picture to enlarge - use back arrow to return to this page.

And then we arrived at Katie Bells. Mo and Jeanne were just a few minutes behind us. Before entering, you are checked at the door for you resident pass. As we entered the building the first show of the evening had already begun, the lights were dimmed, the entertainment on stage. The floor level was nearly full with patrons enjoying their meals. Mo and Jeanne led us up the stairs to the second level, where the tables line the balcony so diners can enjoy the show while eating. There is a small lounge to enjoy a drink while waiting for a table or for an after dinner drink. The atmosphere was wonderful - the entertainment fabulous. While dining we enjoyed songs from the Grand Ole Opry, then a little Roy Orbeson, Neil Diamond, Sonny and Cher,.......... Elton John- I think you get the picture.

Dinner was delicious - Rich and Mo went for the Prime Rib, Jeanne for the Orange Roughy, and I had Shrimp and Scallops over Linguini. Dinner included an great soup and salad bar with a great assortment of breads. We had already made plans to go for ice cream after dinner - but that didn't stop Rich and Jeanne from having their free dessert - yes dessert came with dinner. So both of them had their chocolate cake before we left. On the way out, we stopped at the stair landing for a minute or so to take in the happening on the stage. And by this time the dance floor was full!

The night ended at Ollies - for ice cream. After the cake, Jeanne could only manage an Ollie Bar! Rich? Well the cake didn't put a damper on his dessert. Sundae with chocolate and peanut butter topping.

Our final treat was spending the evening with Mo and Jeanne. We have truly enjoyed the time we've been able to spend with them and through our numerous conversations we 've all gotten to know a lot more about each other. We will surely miss them both.