We keep moving our departure date forward, finally opting for Sunday, January 26. The weather in central Florida, i.e. The Villages, has not been real conducive to outdoor activities. The Villages of Florida offer just about any activity one might be interested in pursuing. The grounds are wonderfully landscaped and kept immaculate. It is definitely a golfing community and the well-groomed courses were extensively used, though we were almost always able to get a tee time even if was late in the afternoon. It is difficult to complain about life in The Villages, except it is crowded, traffic is horrible, and the weather, for the most part, was cold, wet, and windy. Kay and I were just a bit overwhelmed by it all. While the people were not unfriendly, there was little social interaction except for cards, golf, and dinner with the Starr’s and early on the Graham’s. Our neighborhood or “village” was socially sterile. But, we were temporary renters, and not owners. We, therefore, have no regrets in leaving early, except we will miss socializing with the Starr’s.

We keep moving our departure date forward, finally opting for Sunday, January 26. The weather in central Florida, i.e. The Villages, has not been real conducive to outdoor activities. 

We played a lot of golf, albeit on “executive” courses or “pitch and putt” courses. On Saturday, January 18, we played the Bogart executive course with the Starrs. Photos were taken by Kay and me.

And then on Tuesday, we played the Richmond Pitch and Putt course. It was windy and cool. We returned to play the Richmond Pitch and Putt course on Thursday, and again it was windy and cool, but not as bad as on Tuesday. Photos were taken by both Kay and me.

We played our last round of golf at The Villages with the Starrs on Saturday, January 25, playing the Mickylee Pitch and Putt course. Afterwards we ate at Cody’s, but it wasn’t quite as good as the previous times we ate there, and it was crowded as was the entire Sumter Landing area, such that it was difficult to find a parking place.

Also on Saturday, January 25, we packed up our toys and clothing, and pre-positioned the bags near the garage door for loading on Sunday.

As per schedule, we packed the car, fulfilled the requirements for leaving the AirBnB (regarding dishes, towels, bed linens, trash, etc.) and departed The Villages at 8:10 AM on Sunday, January 26. We were both ready to go home. The day’s drive took us north through Gainesville, then west through Tallahassee, and much of Florida’s panhandle, north northwest through Montgomery and Birmingham, Alabama, and finally northwest in the rain and semidarkness to Tupelo, Mississippi, where we overnighted. The hotel, rated 4.5/5.0 was not great nor even good. It was clean and basic, and had a cleaning odor that prohibited me from sleeping much, though Kay slept fine. 

After the unrestful night, we departed at approximately 7:30 AM on Monday morning driving through Memphis and then westward to home, stopping for groceries. The leg from Memphis to home seemingly took forever as we were stopped on I-40 for about 45 minutes because of an accident. Regardless, we arrived home about 1:00 PM, and exhaled a long sigh of relief. We unpacked, began filling the hot tub, filled the bird feeders, set up the computer for photo editing, and enjoyed being in our house. Did I say we really like where we live!

Tuesday, January 28, was spent unpacking and stowing clothes and getting things organized in the house and garage; Kay did a bit of grocery shopping and picked up “held” mail. Of course, we both reconnected with friends.

And then on Wednesday, January 29, I got a haircut for what little hair I have left, and we both played the new pickleball ladder at Diamante. It’s so good to be home.

Both Thursday and Friday were quiet, and we continued enjoying being back in our house, though I did manage to photograph an American Goldfinch.