Sat., 26 Jan 13

Up and on the road early (a little after 9 am - that's early for us). We are heading for the La Mesa RV Show being held at the "Big Daddy" Don Garlits Drag Racing Museum near Ocala, FL. We decided on taking the slower route to see the countryside and small towns on the way being it was such a nice day.
This was also the first road test of the Rand-McNally GPS.

Along the way we turned into the Brownwood Paddock Square. The huge crowd and styled buildings attracted our attention. Several folks were stopped taking pictures of the many sculptures at the entrance. We just had to see what was going on. I had seen "The Villages" on the map - no clue as to what it was other than - a village?

This part of Florida was once cattle country. The bronze cattle-driving scene is a tribute to these early Florida settlers.

Brownwood is the newest "Square" in The Villages. Hey, I saw a sign for Buena Vista Blvd. as we came near - very appropriate as this place looks straight out of DisneyWorld.

Saturday mornings are for the Farmers Market. The street was closed for several dozen vendors - all selling farm-fresh produce and baked goods - most made from scratch. Goats milk soap to honey. Florida olive oil is also a product as more and more citrus groves become olive groves. There are all kinds of products for sale; however, it is not a flea-market.

Any day in the villages means golf carts everywhere - outnumbering cars in the street parking spots 5 to 1. This is a surreal experience. This place is so new (Oct. 2012) not all of the buildings have stores yet; but I am sure they will shortly.

Word to the Wise: I think they drive golf carts by sailing rules - the smaller (less powered) vessel has the right of way. You really have to watch out - they zoom everywhere!

The Villages is an active retirement community located in central Florida. Conceived over 50 years ago, it has flourished under the guidance of the family who created it. They continue to redefine retirement living by offering the best in homes, lifestyle and amenities. The Villages bills itself as "Florida's Friendliest Hometown!"

"The Villages" is really a huge collection of master-planned, age restricted communities located mainly in Sumter County it spans into both Lake and Marion Counties (Pop. 65,000). The community is controlled by several Community Development Districts (CDD's), most of which are controlled by H. Gary Morse, the owner of the development company which created The Villages. It includes the census-designated place (CDP) located in Sumter County, which is also known as The Villages. This is the town that appears on roadmaps.

The Villages consistently ranks as a very high growth area. At times, during the past several years, The Villages has ranked as the No. 1 fastest growing micropolitan area in the United States, . It has also been ranked by Forbes magazine, in the past, as the No. 1 fastest growing small town.

With only three neighborhoods designated for residences by persons under age 19 (absent a granted exemption), the median age of the villages is above 65. Retirees, drawn to Florida's climate, find the active lifestyle and provided amenities at The Villages a terrific lifestyle bonus.

The ability to play "Free Golf for Life" is a key component of The Villages advertising campaigns (though technically the statement is inaccurate as the costs are covered by the mandatory monthly amenity fees assessed on each residential lot). The Villages operates 39 courses.

This is an RV Resort lifestyle - without the RV's. Adult only swimming pools (32); family pools (16); sports pools (8) are located throughout the communities as are bocce, horseshoe, shuffleboard, billiards, tennis, pickleball (something like a cross between ping-pong and tennis) and meeting centers and event kitchens.

Larger venues have theatres for theatrical and musical productions like the Barnstorm Theatre at Brownwood. In addition, The Villages operates 11 parks, dog parks, fitness trails, numerous softball fields.

There is also a polo stadium (The Villages Polo Stadium), a woodworking shop, plus the Lifelong Learning College.

The nightly activities that are held in the town squares include dances and entertainment. Today's schedule with venues is:


Farmers Market
BW Paddock Square | 9:00 am
Early Entertainment with Tony D
Katie Belle's | 12:30 pm
Robin Gallo Duo
LSL Market Square | 5:00 pm
Bobby Blackmon & the B3 Band
SS Town Square | 5:00 pm
Never Never Band
BW Paddock Square | 5:00 pm
Cactus Jack & the Cadillacs
Katie Belle's | 6:30 pm
Gene Ferrari and Friends ~ Salute to Legendary Singers ~ Reserved Seating
Church on the Square | 7:00 pm


Shopping and dining are part of your lifestyle there are hundreds of shops, boutiques, bistros and nationally known restaurants and stores to choose from - and you can get there by golf cart!

Of course, with so many seniors, state-of-the-art medical care is available for the residents.

They offer 4-7 day vacations ($150 per night) that includes a cabanad, golf cart and access to many of the activities as well as the trolley tour or boat ride.

The best way to get a quick idea of The Villages is to take their free 45 minute Trolley Tour. The lively tour is given by enthusiastic residents who will acquaint you with a broad sampling of the non-stop fun and resources available in this 5 by 12 mile community. (5 x 12 miles is twice the area of my hometown - Cornwall, ON). To get to the tour just go east from I-75 and follow the signs for the Sales & Information Center.

This place is totally amazing! Maybe will go back and take the tour?

We enjoyed the ride to the RV show, passing several signs (miles apart) that pointed to "The Villages" (sectors).

The La Mesa RV show was being held on the grass at the Don Garlits Museum. This was a lot more comfortable than walking on hot pavement. We just toured the Class "A" Motorhomes.

There was a nice 450 HP 43'6" Fleetwood Providence available (List Price: : $334,999.00). Sadly, I did not have the "pocket change" necessary to make the purchase. I guess I'll just have to keep buying lottery tickets and continue dreaming.

There were quite a few folks at the show. A few were "closed" as a "deal" was in progress. We saw a few going out or returning - as in test drive. A number of folks also took in the "Big Daddy" Don Garlits Drag Racing Museum.

"Big Daddy" is the "Grand Daddy" of dragster racing - the patriarch of Top Fuel Drag Racing. With 17 World Championships and numerous racing records and milestones he is a legend.

Opened in 1984, it chronicles the history of the sport of drag racing. Some 90 racing cars can be seen in the Drag Race building, while a further 50 vehicles are in the Antique Car building. Many of the Garlits "Swamp Rat" cars are here; but Swamp Rat XXX is not. It is in the Smithsonian Museum of National History in Washington, DC.  Don also turns out to be a pack rat and has accumulated cars and memorabilia from other top names in the sport. The museum is also home to the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

Unbelievably, in 2002, he resurrected Swamp Rat 34 (from the museum); gave it an equipment update and ran at the Gatornationals at 323.04 mph.

With a reasonable admission price ($13.00 for seniors) it is well worth a visit.

Bonus: virtually next door to the museum is a Cracker Barrel Restaurant. Guess where we ate? (Charlotte's favourite).


We drove under the "Golf Cart Overpass" over US-27/441 on the way back to the RV.

We stopped at Sam's Club in Lady Lake, FL. I filled up with gas then parked to adjusted the placement of the GPS. With the top off on the Del Sol it is still difficult to see the screen in direct sunlight. My light shirt and even my hand also reflected on the screen. On the good side I could at least hear the directions although the voice is a little "computer synthetic". It does have a nice feature that I can set (or not) to give voice and/or visual notification at the interval I can set (0.1 mile and up). Many notifications can be set. I was informed of the speed limit changes; if I went over the speed limit; construction sites (downloadable from the Rand-McNally website) and approaching points of interest (my POI's - also downloadable) along the route.

A short time later we were back at the RV. Charlotte went in while I went outside to "dump". The sewage holding tank was approaching full and I would rather do it sooner than later. Easier in the daylight compared to having it hit full at night.

I then took the Del Sol for a short trip to the "Veranda" (clubhouse) to try the GPS in another position in the car. I know it will work great in the RV - especially with being able to set the weight, length, width, propane tanks, etc. and be warned of low overpasses, restricted roads, bridges, tunnels, roads along the route. I hope the new position in the car will not be easier to view with reflections.

I still have a lot to learn to be able to operate the unit efficiently.

I think there are events in the park tonight in association with their Hospice Fund-raising; however, with such a busy day we will just take it easy and watch TV this evening.