Round 2 of The Villages Aptitude Test is now available for your test taking pleasure.

Click here to take the quiz.

After you take the quiz be sure to rub in your perfect score by sharing the quiz with your Facebook friends.

More than 1,000 people took the quiz the first time around and we’re looking to shatter that record this time.

If you stay up to date on all the latest news coming out of The Villages you should do pretty good. We took all the questions this time around from past issues of The Villages Monthly. Not a subscriber? Well that just makes me sad

Why don’t you hop on over here and sign-up? Now THAT would make my day.

In all seriousness, enjoy the quiz!

This simply means that the asking price is less than the amount owed on the mortgage.

While this is not as common in The Villages as it is in other Florida retirement communities because many Villagers pay cash or only get small mortgages, it does happen in some cases.

On my other website, Florida for Boomers, I just published an in-depth article that you will want to read if you are in or think you may encounter this type of situation. The kicker is that what I have to tell you in this article is all from personal experience as I am in the middle of a short sale transaction myself at the time of this writing.

Continue to read Anatomy of a Short Sale: A Guide for Buyers

2012 should be just as exciting.

Let’s look at some of the major stories of the past year in The Villages.

(Note: All of these stories and more were covered in depth in The Villages Monthly this past year)

IRS Issue – This issue is now 4 years old, if you can believe it. I get tons of email every month from people who want to move to The Villages but are hesitant to do so until this is resolved.

As TVCDD and the IRS continue to spar over the accuracy of the details in the case, I still don’t see a quick end to this in 2012.

Despite that lingering piece of uncertainty, The Villages rings in 2012 with a full head of steam.

Among the good stories of 2011:

Moffitt Cancer Center – The new Moffitt Cancer Center celebrated its grand opening this month, providing cancer care closer to home for Villagers. The fundraising activities this past year were not without controversy, but overall I think Villagers are better off having more choices for care close to home.

The Villages/USF Health Partnership – This is an interesting partnership that came to fruition this year. With the aim of creating “America’s Healthiest Hometown” this partnership has kicked off in 2011 with a lecture series on various health related topics geared towards residents of The Villages, and several focus groups with residents to determine what health issues and concerns the partnership should tackle first.

I think that there are several communities like The Villages across the country watching how this partnership shapes up and evolves in 2012 and over the next few years.

The population of our country as a whole is skewing older every year, and I’m optimistic that the progress made in this partnership could potentially enhance the lives of millions of others throughout the country, not just here in The Villages.

2012 Presidential Election – Politics are always a major topic in The Villages, and 2011 was no exception. There was an extra amount of activity because of the run-up to the GOP presidential nomination.

Several state and national politicians made their way to The Villages in 2011, and we predict the politicians will visit The Villages in 2012 in record numbers as the run-up to the GOP nomination, and the eventual November election approach.

The Villages on the National Stage – The Villages got some great national publicity this year.

In May, CBS Sunday Morning had a piece on custom golf cars in The Villages. To date, the video has been watched more than 1.8 million times on YouTube.

Then in September, morning show FOX & Friends broadcast live from Lake Sumter Landing Market Square in The Villages. Guests included Florida governor Rick Scott, FOX commentator Oliver North, rock band foreigner, cheerleaders from UCF, performers from local high schools, and more.

2012 is sure to be an exciting and interesting year in The Villages. I look forward to keeping you up to date on all the major news that transpires.

I’d like to leave you with a video sent in by one of our readers who plans to move to The Villages in the next few years. He took quite a few pictures during his lifestyle preview and put them all together in this video. Enjoy!

Well I’m happy to report that today, The Villages Aptitude Test or (T.V.A.T for short) is finally here.

My goal was to create a fun little diversion that all of my readers could enjoy during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. I hope you like it

I’d be honored and delighted if you took a moment to pass the quiz along to your friends, either through email or by sharing it on Facebook.

Go here now and check it out

Keep in mind this is “version 1″. I’m not sure what the future holds for T.V.A.T. If people really take to it and it gets a lot of traction than I imagine updating it with new questions every couple of months, running new contests, etc. Time will tell. But for now, just go check it out and let me know what you think!

Update: Round 2 of The Villages Aptitude Test is now available for your test taking pleasure.

When we recently put the question “Where is the best place for seafood in The Villages…and what do you order?” out on our Facebook page we got more than 20 responses. Here are just a few:

We also had a poll option where our Facebook fans could vote on their favorite place. At the time of this writing, Bonefish took the top spot with 23 votes and Lighthouse Point Bar & Grille took 2nd with 13 votes.

Florida fishermen catch more than 83 percent of the nation’s supply of grouper, pompano, mullet, stone crab, pink shrimp, spiny lobsters, and Spanish mackerel. However, during the past several years, the influx of lower-cost, imported seafood has displaced local seafood in many commercial markets along with the rich traditions associated with it. For example, in 2009 imports made up 84% of the seafood Americans consumed.

This September Publix Supermarkets and Darden Restaurants (parent company of Red Lobster and Olive Garden) announced their commitment to rebuilding the Gulf of Mexico’s stressed fish stocks. The two Florida-based companies will be working with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), a Honolulu nonprofit whose mission is to rebuild depleted fish stocks and reduce the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Darden Restaurants is one of the world’s largest seafood buyers and Publix Supermarkets is one of the largest seafood sellers in the state. The partnership role of the company’s with seems to be primarily financial. Publix does say their seafood stewardship includes ensuring all their seafood comes from legal fisheries and that they try to source domestically whenever possible. They do note, however, that “the seafood industry is such that we must source product from all over the world.”

Publix also says they do not participate in any seafood eco-labeling, which is meant to inform consumers about sustainable seafood, because the program inconsistencies are “confusing” and certification is cost-prohibitive for small industry fisheries.

Darden Restaurants says it is committed to purchasing wild harvested and aquacultured species from sustainable sources. Also, their brands do not serve species such as Chilean sea bass, orange roughy or an type of shark, because these species are currently overfished. They also monitor fish stocks to evaluate if other items should also be removed from their menus.

Is it Safe?
Florida seafood took a big blow during the Deepwater Horizon (BP) oil spill during 2010. Media reports claim that more than 60 percent of Floridians are still concerned about the quality of seafood from the Gulf. To help assure consumers that the seafood is safe, the Florida Department of Agriculture has created MyFloridaGulfSafe.com. According to the web site, “Florida Gulf seafood was never affected by the oil spill of over a year ago. It’s safe now and always was. We make sure of that by continually testing Florida Gulf seafood using the most stringent standards available.”

Is It Sustainable?
Seafood is sustainable when the population of that species of fish is managed in a way that provides for today’s needs without damaging the ability of the species to reproduce and be available for future generations. This takes into account seafood stocks, harvesting and processing practices.
The seafood profiled above is labeled with a sustainability index from Monterey Aquarium’s Seafood Watch for the Southeast Region.

To make it easy to select sustainable seafood, Seafood Watch has downloadable pocket guides and mobile apps.

Tips for Purchasing Local Seafood

Buy from Reputable Vendors:
Just because someone is selling seafood out of a cooler at a road side stand, doesn’t mean they are local or legitimate. Purchasing seafood from reputable licensed vendors helps to ensure products are harvested, processed and sold according to federal, state, and local regulations. To find where you can purchase Florida seafood products visit: http://www.fl-seafood.com/consumers/wheretobuy.htm

Talk to your Fish Mongers:
If you have questions/concerns about the products you are purchasing, talk to the people who are selling them to you. Legitimate fish mongers should be able to provide you with the details you are seeking. Ask them for suitable alternatives if you cannot find the product you looking for.

Know your Seasons:
Being an informed consumer means knowing when and where fresh seafood is available. Just as Florida produce has “peak” seasons of availability, so does Florida seafood. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services provides consumers with a helpful resource in identifying what times of the year fresh Florida seafood products are available: http://www.fl-seafood.com/availability.htm

Choose Suitable Alternatives:
In some cases it might not be possible to buy Florida-harvested seafood. The product might be out of season or unavailable, it could be too expensive, or it simply is not harvested in the area (i.e. salmon or sea scallops). When possible consider purchasing seafood products that are harvested regionally or in the U.S. to further support the long-term health and sustainability of domestic fisheries. To learn more about U.S seafood visit: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/

Over to you. Have a favorite restaurant and/or favorite seafood dish in The Villages? Let us know in the comments below.

Here’s a preview of just a few of the stories we’re covering in the October issue going out next week:

• New restaurant openings this past month…
• Recap of FOX & Friends Live Show From Lake Sumter Landing…
• Florida GOP Straw Poll and It’s Ties to The Villages…
• Which political candidates visited The Villages this past month…
• Why Citizen’s First Bank (the major bank in The Villages) is in the news this month…

… and last but not least a story about a really BIG boat (not giving any more away about this one!)

If you are not yet a subscriber, my only question for you is WHY NOT?!?!

Click here to learn more and subscribe.

Voted one of the top 25 best beaches in the WORLD, Clearwater Beach is a little more than two hours southwest of The Villages. Just hop on I-75 to Tampa, then cross the bay on Memorial Causeway. The road ends right at the beach.

If you’ve seen the recent hit movie Dolphin Tale, you’ve already seen parts of Clearwater and Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA). Filmed in the area, Dolphin Tale is based on the true story of one of Clearwater’s most famous residents, Winter, a bottlenose dolphin. When Winter was only three-months old, she got caught in a crab trap and injured her tail. She came to CMA for rehabilitation, but her injuries were too great and she lost her tale and two vertebrae. However, a marine mammal veterinarian and CMA trainers worked with Hanger Prosthetics to build Winter a prosthetic tail. Winter plays herself in the movie and stars alongside Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd, and Morgan Freeman. Winter shares her home at CMA with Panama, another bottlenose dolphin.

Of course there are more animals at CMA than Winter, and there is a lot more to do. You can learn about turtles, otters, and sharks and you can even interact with the dolphins. There is also kayak tour or a two-hour sea safari. The more adventurous can take a behind the scenes tour or even be a trainer for a day.

When you cross the causeway into Clearwater Beach, the road ends at Pier 60. Pier 60 might sound like a nightclub but it’s actually a 1,080-foot fishing pier. You can walk out mid-point, or for a small fee, you can stroll all the way to the end. If get inspired, you can even try your hand at fishing. The pier bait house can hook you up (no pun intended) with a rental rod and reel. The park near the pier has a snack bar, the all-important restrooms, and, if you’re with the grandkids, a pretty good playground.

Though you’ll pass the pier as soon as you enter Clearwater Beach, be sure to come back in the evening (6 to 9 pm), to experience “Sunsets at Pier 60,” a daily mini-festival with vendors, street performers (buskers), and of course, an awesome view of the sunset over the water. As a bonus, on Friday and Saturday nights, around 8:15ish, pull up a beach towel and catch a family-friendly movie. The flicks are free, but bring a little cash for popcorn and soda.

For the true Florida beach experience, check out Caladesi Island State Park, just a few miles north of Clearwater Beach. Proclaimed the #1 beach in America (2008) by “Dr. Beach” (Dr. Stephen Leatherman), the 600+-acre park is one of the few undeveloped barrier islands left in the state. It’s rich with sea oats and oystercatchers (a wading bird), a mangrove forest, and other Florida flora and fauna. On Caladesi, take a swim, kayak along the mangroves, fish, go shelling, or read a book on the beach. There’s also a three-mile nature trail through the interior of the island. Public showers are available on the island and Café Caladesi offers casual beach food, a gift shop, beach chair and umbrella rentals as well as kayak rentals.

There is no car access to the island, but you can get there via ferry. The ferry is $14 for a round-trip (plus $8 per vehicle to get onto Honeymoon Island State Park, where the ferry departs), but think “un-crowded” and “unspoiled,” and it’s worth the fee. Just a note, no pets are allowed in Caladesi, but Honeymoon Island has a dog beach.

Many Clearwater visitors (and locals) make it a point to stop at the Clear Sky Café. About a block from the beach, the restaurant serves from breakfast to late-night. The menu is versatile, and offerings range from burgers and pizza to steaks and local seafood.

For something a little different, try breakfast on the patio, and forego the traditional eggs benedict, and try a version with crab or salmon. We hear the French toast is good too.

Clear Sky has a weekday happy hour from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., with food and beverage specials. Late-night drinkers can catch another happy hour from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. but the specials at that time are drinks only. However, the kitchen is still serving pizzas, flatbreads and paninis.

Another popular restaurant on the beach in Clearwater that my wife and I fell in love with is Frenchy’s. While we frequented the Rockaway Grill location because it was right by our hotel, Frenchy’s actually has four locations in Clearwater, and they are best known for their blackened grouper sandwich. Do not miss it!

When you’re ready to move off the beach and onto the water, Classic Cruises is the answer. The tour and charter company operates The Enterprize, a 1965 37’ Chris Craft Roamer, and the Tradewinds, a 60’ three-masted schooner. The Enterprize is available for one-and-a-half-hour trips, or it can be charted for the day. Tradewinds sailing trips are limited to six people, and word has it that the sunset cruises can’t be beat for relaxation and romance.

If you plan on making your Clearwater Beach trip an overnighter, the area has the usual hotel offerings (Doubletree, Holiday Inn, etc.), but the smaller properties could be a good choice. Several motels participate in the Superior Small Lodging Program. To be included, properties undergo independent review, and proprietors must commit to the quality, comfort, congeniality, cleanliness and safety standards of the program. You can also stay at a Clearwater Marine Aquarium Premium Partner property and part of the proceeds from your stay will go to build a new home for Winter.

Also, the aforementioned Frenchy’s has a “retro boutique motel” that they own and operate called Frenchy’s Oasis Motel. We took a drive by and it looked pretty nice.

We stayed at the Sandpearl Resort. The place is amazing. We would definitely stay there again if we ever get back over to Clearwater. It was first class all the way. While it’s a resort, many of the units are owned by private owners. We actually found the one we stayed in on VRBO.com, so my advice if you go there is try both the main Sandpearl website as well as VRBO.com and see what makes the most sense for you.

Anyway, if you head over to Clearwater, let me know how it goes.

In case you missed it, you might also like the first of our beach series articles: Sanibel Island

Be sure watch for our upcoming “Day Trip” post on St. Petersburg, a culturally diverse beach town just a few miles from Clearwater Beach.

When these types of incidents are brought to light, it makes you wonder why residents complain about speed traps (especially near school zones) and traffic stops.

The September Property Owner’s Association (POA) Bulletin highlighted several traffic issues including Sumter County police using unmarked cars to nab speeders, and the potential clash of golf carts and cars at a Morse Blvd. roundabout, south of CR 466. A reader writing in to the newsletter also asked Lady Lake Police Chief, Ed Nathanson,

As Nathanson pointed out, the stops help reduce violent crime and illegal drugs, but most importantly, the stops help prevent traffic crashes – many of which can be prevented by buckling up, slowing down and paying attention.

In July a Sumter County sheriff deputy discovered a meth lab in a vehicle during a traffic stop on CR 466 in The Villages. The three suspects arrested ranged in age from 18 to 31 and were from Lady Lake, Leesburg, and Wiersdale. Now, obviously these folks don’t live in The Villages but it does underscore the fact that traffic stops do in fact work, no matter how annoying they may seem.

Nationally, more than 30,000 people are killed in crashes each year. In addition to the toll on victims’ family and friends, crash deaths resulted in $41 billion in medical and work loss costs. In Florida alone, medical costs from motor-vehicle deaths are $40 million annually. Lost-work costs add another $3.12 billion, for a whopping total of $3.16 billion—the highest amount in the southeast.

The good news is the number of traffic-related fatalities in Florida has dropped steadily over the last five years. In 2005 there were 3,533 fatalities and in 2010 there were 2,444 — a 30.8% reduction.

So, how do the counties around The Villages stack up? Pretty good, actually. Luckily, in The Villages, the majority of drivers are over age 55. Most Florida crashes involve young adults (age 20-34) and teens (15 to 19).

Here’s a look at some local driving statics:

Source: http://www.flhsmv.gov/hsmvdocs/CS2010.pdf

Motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian figures are also available in the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles document referenced above.

Speeding
For all you lead-footed drivers out there, here’s an interesting fact to consider – the number of speeding citations issued vastly differs from the number of those found guilty.

Note: This table applies to exceeding posted speed limit only. It does not include driving too fast for conditions.

*Source: http://www.flhsmv.gov/reports/2010UTCStats/UTCStats.html

Oftentimes when people move to The Villages, they bring their parents with them. Despite their ages, some of these parents continue to drive. Now, most older drivers are good drivers. But as we age, most of us will need to take steps to ensure that we can continue to drive safely.

Florida offers a program called “Florida GrandDriver“. The goals of the program are to:

If you are in fact bringing parents with you, or perhaps find yourself questioning how sharp your driving skills are these days, give the program a look.

Be safe out there!

Scheduled guests include Florida governor Rick Scott, FOX News commentator Oliver North, rock band Foreigner, UCF cheerleaders, and…my favorite…alligators from Gatorland.

Should be fun to watch. I’m anxious to see how much of The Villages they show.

I’ll update this post after the show.

With that in mind, a few months back I promised to start writing about some of the beaches throughout Florida that Villagers could take a day trip (or 2 or 3 days) to go and visit and get their fix of the salty air and Mother Ocean.

This will probably turn into a series, so consider this Part I of ???.

Most of you have heard of Fort Myers in the southwest part of the state. Long known as a resort and retirement haven (Thomas Edison and Henry Ford even wintered there), Fort Myers offers easy access to the Lee County beaches and Sanibel Island.

Sanibel, about 4 hours and change from The Villages, is definitely more than just a one day trip, but is one of the places that should be on everyone’s Florida “bucket list”.

View Larger Map

Floridians and folks from around the world travel to Sanibel to comb the beaches and to drive, hike, bike and kayak around this 24-square-mile subtropical barrier island. As well as the beaches, Florida’s flora and fauna are the star attractions.

The island is home to more than 240 species of birds, from humming birds and barn owls to ospreys, eagles and the roseate spoonbill – a bird that can give the flamingo a run for its money in the “pink” department. Also, due to its east-west orientation and unique geology, wind and water currents push sea shells onto Sanibel’s beaches – making the island one of the top places in the world for shelling.

Luckily, many have seen to it that the natural resources and wildlife habitat of the island are preserved. The Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation was created in 1967 and provides education, research and monitoring of the island and surrounding habitat. As well as a wildlife center with walking trails and a butterfly house, the Foundation hosts programs on Florida essentials like birds, gators, bobcats, native plants and turtles. They also run river and dolphin cruises, and kayak tours led by naturalists.

The best months for birding on Sanibel are December through March, but if you visit this October 16-22, you can catch the 22nd Annual “Ding Darling Days” at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the largest refuge on the island.



Put on by the Ding Darling Society, a booster club for the refuge, the event celebrates National Wildlife Refuge Week. The week begins with a family fun day, complete with touch-tank and butterfly exhibits, face-painting, hot dogs, nature crafts, and animal programs – all free. Like Family Fun Day, each other day of the celebration is themed – with days like “Technology in the Outdoors” and “Animal Investigation Day,” that includes a free talk on animal tracks and scat (or sea life and nature cruises for the less adventurous).

Nature photography has always been a popular activity on Sanibel and a photo contest will be part of the events – but there is also a cartooning contest, to honor Ding Darling. Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling was a conservationist and a Pulitzer-Prize-winning political cartoonist.

As well as serving as the head of the U.S. Biological Survey (forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Darling was the first president of the National Wildlife Foundation, and creator of the federal duck stamp program (aka the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act), which generates money to acquire and preserve wetlands (including, of course, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge). 



If you miss the Ding Darling Days or want other things to do while you’re on the island, here are a few suggestions: 



The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum – This isn’t your road-side racket posing as a museum. It’s the real-deal – a specialized natural history museum dedicated to malacology, or the study of mollusks. Not only do they have a collection of southwest Florida shells, but more than 150,000 samples from around the world.

Sanibel Historical Museum and Village – The museum tells the story of Sanibel, starting with the days of the native American Calusa who once inhabited the island, through the 1800s when pioneering families came to the island. The village part of the museum features a handful of restored buildings representing periods from the 1800s through the 1940s. Live presentations and knowledgeable docents make this museum a nice break from the beach.

Sanibel Island Lighthouse (Point Ybel Light) – Though it isn’t open to the public, seeing the oft-photographed structure (built in 1884) is a must for lighthouse fans. There is also a beach access near the light that leads to a quiet spot for good shelling and bird watching.

Periwinkle Way – On one of the two main streets on the island, Periwinkle Way is “downtown” Sanibel with plenty of unique shops and restaurants.

Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille – Florida fiction fans might recognize Doc Ford as the name of the baseball-loving marine biologist who stars in the mystery series written by Randy Wayne White. White, who was a light-tackle fishing guide in Sanibel for many years, used to sell fish right in building where the bar is located. The menu is replete with seafood offerings (including a raw bar) but it also has landlubber favorites like chicken, cheese steak, pulled pork and salads.

Sanibel Flats – If you need a book to read on the beach, try White’s first Doc Ford book, Sanibel Flats. Many say it’s their favorite in the series. Doc Marion Ford is an ex-operative who is now enjoying a quiet life on the island when an old friend returns and asks for a favor that puts Ford back in the line of fire. White’s knowledge and perspective on the Gulf Coast adds the spice that keeps readers following Ford.

If you decide to make a trip to Sanibel, you should check out the Sanibel Chamber of Commerce’s website for tips on places to stay.


I hope you enjoyed this first installment of the day trip/beaches series. If so, would you be so kind as to share it on Facebook by clicking the share link below? And be on the lookout for more articles like this coming your way soon.