After our little muddy adventure a few days earlier, Mark and I decided to leave all pets at home for a quick excursion. Henry and Mickey kept the birds – Koo Koo and Tu Tu – company, while we drove off to an attraction barely 15 minutes away: Kent Falls State Park.
It was the weekend. It was winter in New England. It was grey. It was bleak. But… it wasn’t raining, let alone snowing, and it was above freezing: the perfect time to see some waterfalls! Continue reading
The Villages. It is a weird name for a town, when you first hear it or talk about it. But, you get used to that quickly, just like to living in it. Or, is it in them? The Villages in Central Florida is the biggest retirement community in the world and the fastest growing “city” in the United States. Why is it so popular?
A friendly collection of villages
A couple of days ago, Mark and I finished our three-day, 1300 mile (2100 km) road trip from Florida back to New England. We mostly reversed the route we followed towards the sun mid-December. This time, however, the temperature dropped consistently with every state we passed, and the days grew shorter.
I had seen a few house sits listed in an area called The Villages over the past months. Until recently, I thought it was just another town in central Florida, nothing special about it. I was wrong. This place is special, and in more than one way!
Mark and I took this two-week house and pet sitting assignment, because the ad sounded attractive and we wanted a break from the New England scene and its cold-ish weather. When we started telling people that we would be going to The Villages, the reactions were interesting and made our venture more exciting. Statements like “I didn’t know you guys played golf.” “Make sure you don’t get in trouble!” “I hear that people show their marital status and sexual desires with certain flags displayed on their golf cart.” “There is a black market for Viagra, and STDs are widespread.” “Did you know children are not allowed?” and “Watch out for those old men, they might try to steal you away from Mark!” peaked our curiosity… Continue reading
I am catching up on a few places that we have visited while house sitting. I guess you can call these posts “photo blogs”, since I am mainly wanting to share some sites we enjoyed on our days off. Rockport is a cute town, very close to Gloucester. It was the first time for Mark and I (so was Gloucester) to explore this little gem on the water; the day coincided with their “Harvest Fest”. Many buildings are historical, the store, cafe and restaurant fronts are attractive and the harbor area is a pleasant place to be. Continue reading
A big advantage of house sitting is that you can move around the state, the country and even the world to check out new areas while performing house and pet sitting duties. The thought of immersing ourselves in these new places by staying for prolonged periods of time is one of the main reasons for Mark and me to commit to this exciting lifestyle. Continue reading
One thing can be said about my birthday this year. Well, two things actually… It was a big one: number 40! (Ouch) And, it was the coldest one I have ever experienced in my life.
My 40th celebration of walking around on this amazing planet had to be somewhat special. None of that profusely sweating, staring at pretty beaches, lounging in the shade of a palm tree or futilely trying to find a decent restaurant for dinner, as was the case in previous years. Continue reading
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