Ribs at the Oakwood.......

Every Wednesday and Sunday in June the Oakwood Smokehouse and Grill, here in The Villages was offerring a Full Rack of Ribs for just $10.99.  Since this is the last week in June, Krystal suggested that we head for the Oakwood tonight.

  I think the whole town of Lady Lake, FL was at the restaurant tonight.  We circled twice looking for a parking spot!

I'm not real big on Ribs - or meat in general, for that matter, so while Krystal and Nate and Rich enjoyed their full rack with sides and garlic bread, I opted for the shrimp.

No dessert, but Krystal had been baking today so gave Rich and I a bag of chocolate chip cookies to take home!

 I managed to come down with some kind of "rash" this past week, and when I could not standing the itching any longer I went to see the doctor.  Medication over the past couple of days has kicked in and it's looking MUCH  better.  Krystal and I will be off to Line Dancing at 8:00 am tomorrow, and the guys are heading over to a nearby community tomorrow night for pickleball under the lights. (Keeping our fingers crossed for no rain!).  And then a group of us are scheduled to meet Friday evening for more pickleball.

Happy Father's Day

To the two men in my life right now...........  a very happy Father's Day to both of you.  Just a few pictures of  dad's being dad.    Happy Father's Day Rich and Dennis.

And while Rich will spend most of his day playing pickleball.........tonight I hope he enjoys his Father's Day gift............a one pound chocolate bar from Peterbrooke Chocolatier.

Pickleball, Bunco, Line Dancing, Dinner Out and Visiting with Good Friends

I have not been doing a good job at all of getting pictures of what we've been up to here at The Villages.  We are here so often, and for so long every year that I guess it's beginning to feel more like "home".    Is there such a thing as "vacationing at home"?   Because we are truly having a great time.

Last Wednesday was my birthday...... and my brother Dave surprised me on his facebook page with a collage of pictures of ME!

My favorite meal is Chineese......so we went to the China Buffett for dinner .  

On Thursday morning I did line dancing from 9:30 - 11:00 am and then  we met up with Nate and Krystal, Tim and Marlene and Mo and Jeanne at the Lighthouse Restaurant at Sumter Landing.   It was nice visiting with everyone and introducing Nate and Krystal to some of our Villages friends. 

Friday night we were invited to Nate and Krystals for Pizza a Pegs and Jokers!  Yes we actually got Rich to sit and play a GAME!  They are renting a beautiful courtyard villa in the northern section of the Villages. I love this House!

Saturday and Sunday - Pickleball and Bunco! 

Dining out in Spanish Springs

On  Friday evening we met up with Nate and Krystal at the Town Square at Spanish Springs.   There are three Town Squares now here in The Villages: Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter Landing and the newest one Brownwood Paddock Square - which is in the newest section of the Villages about 3-4 miles south of us.  We will make a trip down there one of these days.

But tonight we started the evening off with dinner at Ay Jalisco's Mexican  Restaurant at Spanish Springs.......... The atmosphere and the meal was very very nice........with Fajitas for Nate and I, Burritos for Rich and the Chimichanga for Krystal.  This is one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants and I'm sure we'll be back again for the summer is over.

After dinner we decided to just take a little walk around the square.........  And of course the very first thing that everyone talk about when they visit here is the abundance of and variety of golf carts.  And tonight was no different; they were lining the streets everywhere - including the Italian Bar and Grill across the street as we started out.

This breezeway is one of the entrances to the Square from one of the nearby parking areas.   A nice place to sit out of the sun and enjoy some chocolate or ice cream from Kilwins  which is that door on the right.

The square also has a variety of places for dining..... including Kilwins,   Toojays, Dunkin Donuts, Panera Bread, Ruby Tuesdays, and pictures below Ay Jalisco, Katie Bells, Gators Dockside and a great Greek Restaurant adjacent to Katie Bells called NY Athens Restaurant.  I'm sure there were more, but that's all I can remember.   Refreshments are also available right on the Square. 

Below is Harold S Swartz.  Known as the "father" of The Villages, he was also the founder, who started  the development back in the early 70's with the manufactured home section, east of State Road 27/441.   The Villages now covers much of three counties.  Harold Swartz died at the age of 93, back in 2003.   You can CLICK HERE for statistics on acres/residents if interested. 

Several people were out tonight enjoying the evening and dancing to the music on the square. There is music and dancing EVERY night ALL YEAR on the Square.  A couple more line dancing classes and Krystal and I will be joining the group at the Square.

Had to stop and get a photo of Nate and Krystal in front of the covered wagon. 

A few other interesting places:  The Spanish Springs Brewery - now closed, was once a very active brewery.  The  MVP Athletic Club - where you can go for exercise, personal training and even spa treatments.   And the Rilato Theatre  which hosts eight big screens

And we ended the evening at Ollie's Frozen Custard.  It was ice cream sundaes for everyone. 

Today - Sunday is a day of rest - well grocery shopping and laundry - if you call that rest.  Got to be done though, if I want to keep up  with Krystal next week!

Closing Up the RV and heading for The Villages

It's been a week since I've updated this..........I know!  

Last Saturday June, 1st, we closed up the RV in Peace River for the summer.  Looks so funny with all the slides in and everything put away.

Hopefully the hurricane season will be mild, and the river wont rise again like last year.

 We are staying at the same villa that we've stayed at in the past.........Not sure that we will return to this one again.............it's not being maintained as well as I think it should be, considering what we have seen in other rentals that our friends stay in.  It's a nice neighborhood, and a great location here at The Villages though.

Our friends Nate and Krystal  (That is their RV right behind ours in the top picture)  have been our neighbors for the last couple of years in Peace River and decided to rent here at The Villages for four month's this year.    They arrived early last Saturday and have a beautiful Courtyard Villa up in the northern section of The Villages.  

It has been a fun week though....I played pickleball on Sunday morning and then met Krystal at Mulberry Rec Center for Bunco in the afternoon.  She was the big winner for the day winning almost $30 with the Most Buncos!  We've played a couple more times since then at Mulberry and I played on Monday night at Churchill Rec Center.   The guys have been "working" most of the days but managed to get in a couple mornings of pickleball and make a couple of visits to Dunkin Donuts, where several of the guys who play pickleball meet EVERY morning at 11:00.  I've been back out playing a couple of times and it was nice to see Jeanne and Marlene and Gary out on the courts.   

 Krystal and I went to Seabreeze Rec Center on Saturday morning for line dancing...........Great time and must have been 100 people there.  We will be going again and dancing with the group on the Square before  you know it!