About Nothing much & The Villages

Florida is a great place to relax and walk most of the winter. It gets a little cool here in central Florida part of the winter.  This area here is known for very good Bass fishing. Many lakes around here, the largest and most popular is Lake Griffin, Lake Harris, Lake Eustis and Lake Dora.

(Sunrise from our pier on Mt. Dora, yeah Lucy I was up that early, ONCE! lol)

I love fresh fish, but Bass is not one of my favorite. When we ever caught Bass, it was usually put in stew. The BEST fish here and most places is Crappie. They are called Speckled Perch down here, or just ‘Specks’.

I was surprised to learn that the Tilapia is also big here.  It is not indigenous to this area, someone released some in Florida and they have spread like wild fire. When we lived on Lake Dora our neighbor would give us all he caught. You cannot hook the Tilapia, he must be netted. Many guys use the cast net to get their bait fish, and in doing so bring in some Tilapia.  It is a great tasting fish, but still not as good as the ‘Speck’.

(There was Gold at the end of the rainbow on Lake Dora!)

(We also had our own alligators, small one only about 6 ‘)

A person familiar with this area 40-50 years ago would not recognize it now. 99% of the land was in Citrus groves, now it seems to be 50% houses.

(Nature walk in the Villages)

Have you  ever heard of ‘The Villages’?  In our RV we stay near the Villages. It was a dream of one man to have small villages nested together. It has been a big Boon for building. They are expanding now big time. Stare Road 44 was miles from the Villages two years ago, now the Villages are down to 44.

In 2000 the population was 8,333 now it is close to 80,000. All but three of the villages are for ages 55 and up. A person 19 and down, can only live in with someone for 30 days. If you are a Golfer it is a real deal to live in the Villages. There are 38+ golf courses and two or three more being built now. If you live in the Villages you can golf all year at no cost.

(one of many churches)

One of the big advantages of the Villages is you can exist with only a golf cart if you  wish. Every convenience and amenity you can think of, is available by roads especially built for the cart. (Walmart’s, banks, jewelry stores and the high end stores also!)

Thanks for coming this way.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. …The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. …The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.

—A. A. Milne

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                                    Henry J