After having such a good time on Friday night, I hesitated when Tom asked if I was OK about going out again on Saturday night. Considering staying in and ordering takeaway, and with the recent return of my awful face and forehead pain, I really didn’t feel like going out.

But I knew he wanted to go, so I didn’t mention the pain, and took two Tylenol, and off we went around 5:00 pm in the golf cart. It was sunny, hot, and humid, but the breeze in the open golf cart cooled us down. We chatted playfully on our way out on yet another “date night,” and in no time at all, I forgot all about my head and face pain.

Either the Tylenol kicked in, or the endorphins from having fun helped me through the bad spell. We sat at the bar at City Fire while I slowly sipped on one glass of cabernet sauvignon, and Tom had a beer. A lovely couple was seated next to us, and lively conversation ensued. Before we knew it, it was time to go to dinner.

We drove several blocks to the restaurant, found a close parking spot, and, after checking in, got a beeper for our requested booth and headed to the indoor bar in air conditioned comfort to await our table. The beeper went off in a matter of minutes, and we sat down to relax and enjoy a nice meal, as shown in today’s photos.

We love the food there. After trying several restaurants and with The Villages not necessarily known for great food at its many restaurants, we may just stick with Cody’s when we dine out only four more times until we depart on July 28, a Friday. The time came up quickly, and we’ll leave in a mere 19 days.

We’ll start packing on our last week to determine if we must ship a suitcase to Minnesota. After reading the instructions for sending luggage at Luggage Free, I placed the link under its name that goes directly to their FAQ, which is very good at answering our questions.

We’ve already contacted the GM, who gave us a reasonable price at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to ask him if we can stay until October 8 for the same price. He responded quickly, and we’re good to go. Once we know if we will ship a bag, we’ll tell him so he can store it until we arrive. This way, we won’t have to pay extra baggage fees for several flights, which we calculated would cost twice as much as shipping the extra bag.

Right now, we have everything we own with us except for the bins with sealed, non-perishable food products that Louise put into the storeroom for us until we return next June. In about 11 months, we’ll be back in Marloth Park. Our many friends stay in touch, and it will be fun to return and see everyone and our animal friends.

Today, we’re having bun-less ground sirloin burgers topped with cheese, onions, bacon, fresh green beans, and salad. As usual, Tom will have rice. We are streaming several good shows now and will start watching after dinner for a quiet, restful evening.

Soon, the sheets will be dried, and we’ll remake the bed while I finish another load of laundry. Once we leave, we won’t be doing our own laundry until September 9, when we get to Minnesota. We won’t be cooking again until after the Galapagos cruise ends on October 24, and we get situated in a holiday home a few days later. That will be almost three months without cooking.

As much as I enjoy cooking, this will be a nice break, most likely with few challenges with my eating style since ships and restaurants can usually accommodate me. I may have to compromise sometimes, but I’m used to that and don’t mind figuring out something that works.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 9, 2013:

Today’s photos are from this date in 2013 while we were living in Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy. See the post here.

Today, at 3:00 pm, the temperature will be 95F, 35 C, with the dew point at 84, the highest we’ve seen since we began traveling. This creates an uncomfortable environment, and we won’t go out today. The news reported these conditions feel like the temperature is 108F, 42C.

I still went for a walk this morning since it was early enough that it wasn’t quite as miserable. It’s no wonder so many people leave Florida in the summer. Being here results in being indoors all day and spending a lot of electricity for the central air conditioning running non-stop, which is the case in this holiday home.

We are comfortable with the thermostat set at 78F, 26C during the day and 72F, 22C at night, although we often turn on the overhead fan in the bedroom for a little more cooling. It’s hard to believe it’s hotter here in the summer than in South Africa in the summer. At least there, many days were much cooler, whereas here, the heat seems to be consistent, day after day.

Don’t get me wrong, we like it here and could see returning sometime in the future for a short stay while awaiting a cruise out of Florida. Tom always says living here is comparable to the movie, The Truman Show, where everything is impeccably clean and organized, including the yards and gardens at every single home. We’ve yet to see a house that wasn’t well maintained. Perhaps that’s a requirement of the codes and covenants for the area.

Subsequently, many seniors hire lawn and garden maintenance people to oversee the care of their gardens and mow their smallish patches of green grass. Also, we’ve noticed that two houses next to one another are always a different color on the outside, a different floor plan and design, and an overall unique look from house to house. Even the driveways are unique to houses next to one another. This takes some serious planning.

Still, we received more inquiries about whether we’d consider eventually living here. And still, we feel we would not. As mentioned above, we may visit for a few months in the future but this type of area doesn’t appeal to us. We aren’t golfers, and many activities here don’t appeal to either of us.

If a resident didn’t get involved in the classes, sports, games, and group meetings here, it could be lonely, like anywhere else in the US and many other countries. As they age, some people aren’t interested in participating in the many activities offered here, many of which don’t require payment.

Then again, most of the locals here seem to be able to afford the few events that do require some form of payment. It’s not cheap to live here with the cost of houses, fees, taxes, utilities, entertainment, and groceries. We have spent at least $250 weekly on groceries, yet we dine out twice a week, don’t eat lunch, or buy sugary treats and packaged foods.

Also, we haven’t had to buy any cleaning supplies other than laundry soap or paper or plastic products, except small ziplock and garbage bags and, most recently, toilet paper. If all of those items weren’t available in this house, we’d have easily spent another $40 or $50 a week.

We could afford to live here, but we have no interest in doing so now or in the future. Plus, we’re not interested in buying a home here or anywhere for that matter. We are content living our lives the way we do.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 6, 2013: