For three months, Mark and I will be living in the roomy, comfortable house of an ex-rock star from the sixties and seventies (think Woodstock) and a renowned and accomplished artist (think ceramics, paintings), while they are seeking warmer climes, exchanging art for accommodation.
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
Every house sitting assignment is different and the tasks, requests and expectations depend on the house, the property, the owners and the pets. Some home owners require you to do yard maintenance, water the house plants or collect the mail; all of them, naturally, expect you to keep the house tidy and “return” it as clean as you found it or better. Usually there is at least one pet to take care of, which means setting food out once or twice a day, making sure the water bowl is always filled with clean water, taking the dog out for a daily walk, and sometimes administering medicines or brushing the animal. Although not every dog owner expects it, Mark and I have the tendency to shower dogs with love, attention and company. It goes without saying that a responsible house sitter is prepared to take the pets to the vet or emergency room when necessary and reports general issues back to the owners, while trying to fix or solve problematic situations.
Time to chill in the TV room
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.
Mark and I finished 2015 in style. Our “unofficial” celebrations started on December 28th, when the owners of our house sit arrived back home from their trip up north. We concluded a successful two week stay in their home with drinks on the patio and a wonderful meal out in a Japanese restaurant. The four of us had a great time and hope to meet again.
Bob, Mark and Jane with cocktails in the “bird cage”
On the 29th, we drove from The Villages to Vero Beach to celebrate Rosie’s birthday. She and her husband Sim were moored there with SV Wandering Star, awaiting a good weather window to go to the Bahamas and – more importantly – awaiting us. Continue reading
Just like in many other places of the world, Christmas had been highly anticipated in The Villages, Florida, with decorated squares, benches, golf carts and houses.
Mark and I went to a “sound and light” spectacle in one of the neighborhoods in The Villages. The Christmas light display was a riot: humorous, beautiful and very popular. Colorful lights in the yards of many different houses “danced” to the music of the local radio station. One could walk by the several displays or take a golf cart tour. Continue reading
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
On our recent road trip to Florida I thought it was a brilliant idea to take photos of the signs welcoming us into each new state, through the car window. This notion occurred to me when we approached the “Welcome to Pennsylvania” sign. I was too late to grab my camera out of my backpack on the back seat by the time we crossed the state border. Connecticut and New York had been old news as well, so I prepared for Maryland, camera in hand and turned on… There was no welcome sign! Maybe Virginia would work out?
“Maryland Veterans Memorial Highway”, instead of “Welcome to Maryland” sign
It all came about rather quickly. I saw an appealing house sitting job in Florida. It was only for two weeks. Mark and I had seen more of these before and “ignored” them, because moving all our belongings and electronics for a time period of only two weeks is not ideal for us. Especially if the house sit is 1500+ miles away… But, we had not found any other attractive sitting opportunities for December yet, we could use some sunshine before our next (three month) house sit in cold Connecticut, and we needed a change of scenery. Still, it was a long drive to enjoy our favorite weather…
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
Photo by Duwan Dunn
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