Learning to love The Villages

If I seem unusually relaxed after this holiday season, it's probably because I'm still gellin' like a retiree.  We spent our break between Xmas and New Year's visiting Mom and Dad B. at their pad in the Villages, near Orlando, and I gotta say, I had even more fun that I was expecting.  Really, how much fun can it be partying with 60,000 of our elders?  Let's crunch some numbers:

• Golf your ass off: 22 executive (9 hole) courses and 9 championship (27 hole) courses.
• Drink your ass off: 2 fer 1 drinks during Happy Hour at the town square.  Everybody gets the senior discount, and there's dancing every evening.
• 78: about the average daytime temp. while we were there. 
  

Setting aside for a second my professional opinion about the development itself (bland architecture aside from the town squares, no visual differentiation between the different "villages," confusing wayfinding, car-oriented circulation system, etc.), I found myself caught up in the general sunny attitude of the place.  At times it did veer into the forced friendliness that you get from your average salesman but overall it seemed everyone was genuinely happy to be living there (just ask Pops how he likes it there and be ready for a long dissertation on the benefits of the Villages).  Who wouldn't, if every day was a weekend in Florida?  Even the retired folk slinging burgers at Johnny Rockets looked like they were just hanging out with their friends.

Hope you all had a wonderful Holidays, and we look forward to seeing you soon.