[Villages Kahuna]

I found myself driving out on Route 44 yesterday afternoon. Even though I've lived here for eight years, I thought I had a sense for how much bigger The Villages was going to get. Wrong!

As I was driving west on 44 from Leesburg, maybe 2-3 miles before getting to the Brownwood entrances on the north side of 44, I came upon a huge "Welcome to The Villages" sign and all kinds of earth-moving equipment. In looking at a map, this point was a good 2-3 miles south of the easternmost end of the new Villages of Fruitland Park construction on 466A. That's a really long way from what I had thought the southern border of TV was going to be.

As I continued to drive west on 44, another 3-4 miles, after passing the Brownwood entrances, there were huge clouds of dust being blown across the highway. As I got closer, there continued to be lots and lots of construction activity. When I got to the corner marked as the new intersection, there was a huge unmarked development on the corner. That intersection looks like it might be the southern extension of Powell Road, although at that point it curves quite a ways to the west. I assumed the construction was another shopping center. The intersection had inoperable stoplights already installed and 'no trespassing' signs at the entrance. Again, there were major roads, traffic circles and construction as far as you could see. That intersection was only about a mile east of the intersection of 44 with 301.

It's been awhile since I've looked at the updated plat for The Villages, but all that construction was a whole lot further south than I had thought the southern border of our community would be. Let's just say this--when all that work gets done, this is no longer a golf cart community. Knowing how quickly you can move around The Villages in a golf cart, I'd estimate that it would take a good hour to get from Spanish Springs to whatever they're going to call the new, southernmost villages.

I sure hope there will be more grocery stores and golf courses out that way. Actually, the whole area under development looked large enough to even justify a fourth town square, although I haven't read or heard a thing about that prospect. I must admit that it's unlikely that I would ever attempt to schedule a tee time that far away from my centrally-located Mallory Square home.

This place is no little village anymore. Amazing!