Lifestyle preview: what to do

[coloradotim]

Now that we have a 7 night Lifestyle preview booked in August in a Creekside Cabana - I am open to suggestions on what to do during our stay.

I figure we will participate in these activities:
2 rounds of golf (that we get included)
entertainment at the town squares
tour of the Villages with a sales rep
visit open houses on our own
try a variety of restaurants
explore with our golf cart (I know the one they loan you is slow!)

Any suggestions on what else we can do?

Are the Villages Clubs generally open to visitor dropins? Is there a place online where you can see what clubs are meeting in a given week?

If we wanted to try pickle ball, how would we do that? Are there open games for beginners?

Where can you rent bikes? Any recommended easy biking trails on the property?

If we want to take a day trip to see the ocean, what beach would you recommend within reasonable driving distance (2 hours or less)?

Any other day trips you'd recommend, or during your lifestyle preview did you stay within the Villages?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions,

Tim

[kwtoman]

make sure you check out the pickleball 101 course, use the golf cart to it's fullest, and get up to Katie Belles!

[LeeM]

We had a fantastic time during our lifestyle preview.

The golf cart we got was plenty fast. Don't assume yours will be slow.

We ate at a ton of restaurants,
Hubby played golf while I took the trolley tour of the Villages
Hubby played golf while I enjoyed lunch with a forum member I met here
Our realtor took us out to look at houses several times
We went to dinner/show at Katie Belles (fabulous)
We went to town square several evenings
We checked out several rec centers
We went swimming in the community pool (and I have not been swimming in years)
We went to the movies in Lake Sumter Landing
We just strolled around and enjoyed the lovely area
We spent two nights in Disney and went to Cirque du Soleil
We enjoyed the lovely villa which had just what we needed

The whole trip was just wonderful...
And now I am in the process of getting rid of my extra stuff and taking care of some other things with plans to move there in future!

[xkeowner]

Beach - There may be one a bit closer but Fred Howard Park, 1700 Sunset Dr, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689 is a very nice beach with thew white sands of the gulf. About two hours drive with traffic. Smaller crowds on a weekday. Tarpon Springs is also an interesting town with several shops and decent restaurants. A nice day trip.

Mt Dora would also be a nice afternoon trip then staying for dinner in one of the many good restaurants.

Bicycles were included with the Creekside units in 2010. Not sure about now.

Generally speaking, the restaurants within The Villages are good but we find we eat outside the boundaries more than half the times we eat out because the food is better or ethnically different than available within.

[CassieInVa]

Sounds like you have a good list. We did our 2nd visit in December. There will be a great paper publication in the villa with a complete list of every rec center and every offering. It was fun to look through it every day to determine what to do. The villa will literally have everything you need.

You will also get a daily newspaper with lots of local news and open houses. Make sure you have a reg. Mls Realtor in addition to your Villages Realtor as one cant sell the other.

Try Toojays for breakfast - its close to Creekside.

[Lpierleo]

Sounds like you already have a good plan. Check out the movie theatre also. Enjoy every minute of your week!

[mandc]

I went to meetings and activities of some of the clubs I was interested in. You can find a complete list on the villages website. Check out the dates and times and maybe give the listed person a call and let them know you want to check them out. The clubs are a major part of the lifestyle.

[graciegirl]

I just read Lee M's post and thought how easy it would have been to gather a bunch of TOTV'rs at the square to meet and greet her. KathieI used to do that all of the time. I am sorry we didn't try to do that.


Let us know when you have a free evening and we will pick a point to gather and hug you both hello.

[2BNTV]

My list would include:
1. The trolley tour.
2. Make reservations for Donna Moore and Dunning Shaw at Katie Belle's, (Monday night).
3. Talk to anyone and everyone, to get their thoughts and opinions.
4. Waterfront Innn on Monday's, (ususally Lisa Beck performs). That is if you can't get reservation to KB's for their show.
5. McCalls Tavera on Tuesday's, if you like the blues type music.

Most of all, plan your days to be full, and when you blink, it will be all over, and time to go home.

Enjoy your visit. you will love this place. :smiley:

[coloradotim]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. As our trip in August approaches I'll keep in touch. Meeting residents who are on TOTV would be good - we want to hear of your experiences and impressions of living in the Villages.

[LeeM]

The Dunning and More show at Katie Belles was just fabulous. For dinner and a show it was a bargain. They are incredibly talented. It was just awesome!

I enjoyed it every bit as much at the pricey Cirque Du Soleil show we saw at Disney later in the week.

We also went to Johnny Rockets where they put on a little skit during lunch - cute.

[LeeM]

I just read Lee M's post and thought how easy it would have been to gather a bunch of TOTV'rs at the square to meet and greet her. KathieI used to do that all of the time. I am sorry we didn't try to do that.


Let us know when you have a free evening and we will pick a point to gather and hug you both hello.

Ooh that would be great!
Next time....there will be a next time.

[LeeM]

I went to meetings and activities of some of the clubs I was interested in. You can find a complete list on the villages website. Check out the dates and times and maybe give the listed person a call and let them know you want to check them out. The clubs are a major part of the lifestyle.

Another highlight of our trip was meeting and watching a group of tap dancers at one of the rec centers. They were so good and in fantastic shape. Really inspired me to think about taking up tap again- when I move there.