What George & Sandy are up to these days

My new blog has a narrower focus.  I have created it as a way to keep in touch with family and close friends.  Often times regular e-mail has a lot of limitations -- mostly because photos and text can not be presented close to each other.   You get all the words first and then look at the photos.  I think a blog is more interesting because the writer can tell a story supported by photos that accompany the words.


This first blog is about our new residence in Inverness, FL.  


Subsequent blogs will be about our upcoming road trip that will begin May 14 and end sometime in late August or early September.  If we don't run out of money or if gas doesn't get too high in price, we plan to travel all the way to Banff, Alberta, Canada, Montana, San Francisco and a lot of places in between. 


So here is the story of how we landed in Inverness, FL.


During the winter of 2010/2011 we stayed at the Salt Springs Recreation Area about 30 miles from Ocala.  We liked the general area so  when we decided to sell the motorhome and move to Florida, this seemed like a good area to live.  We sold Moose in October, and in November we moved into a rental in Inverness and began our search.


We drove by and walked around quite a few houses before meeting with a Realtor to actually go inside some prospective homes.  This is the one we liked best. 

On January 20 we moved into our new home.  It is a 1500 SF residence on one floor with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a 2 car garage.  The garage is more of a work room/laundry room and storage area than it is a place to park our Tundra truck.   We bought the Tundra in November with the plan that we would be using it to pull a travel trailer this summer.  But the longer we are away from RVing the less inclined we are to hurry up and go buy a travel trailer.  Perhaps we will do this in the fall; perhaps not. 


Here are more photos of our new place.  We'll start in the living room.

Master bedroom

Master bath.  Photo taken from the outside door leading to the swimming pool area.   We selected this home in spite of the fact that it had a small in-ground swimming pool.  We really didn't want the expense and responsibility of what insurance companies call an "attractive nuisance."  So last week we had the pool filled in and covered with landscape pavers. Now we have a nice Lanai (that's a Florida term for a screened-in area). 

Back inside to the guest bedroom and bath

The third bedroom is used for an office

The galley kitchen works well for us and the large marble topped table is great for card and board games as well as meals.

Finally, the garage.  Sandy and I put down a Rustoleum 2-part epoxy coating with decorative chips.  It makes the garage/laundry room feel more a part of the house and is much easier to keep clean. 

So next time you hear from me we will be on our way without the RV.