The Villages

We have just returned from visiting family and friends who live in the Villages in Florida.

The Villages is a 55 + community about an hour’s drive from Orlando. It was a fabulous experience. We knew of the area from what friends told us, but we didn’t really “get it” until we saw it for ourselves.

Along with over 60 golf courses, there are a number of fine restaurants. Almost all residents have golf carts and there are cart paths throughout the 35 plus miles of the property. They allow for easy access to anywhere you may want to go: Grocery stores, libraries, churches, swimming pools, banks, medical facilities, even Barnes and Noble!  All accessible on property via golf cart. 

The Villages are divided into five distinct areas, each containing a large Regional Community Center and a Town Square.  Nightly entertainment is available every day of the year at the Town Squares. Each offers live bands playing a wide variety of music: Country, 60’s &‘70’s, Latin, Jazz, Disco. There is something for everyone to enjoy and it goes from 6-9 PM every night. Each Square has a bar, otherwise, the music and dancing are free. It’s just a great way to stay active and get some exercise while spending time with your neighbors.

A daily newspaper lists all activities, including a schedule of bands and locations and various activities at each Community Center. 

Speaking of getting exercise, there are over 100 recreation centers with all the indoor and outdoor activities you can imagine. There are tennis and pickle ball courts, pool tables, and each day offers a different card game which includes duplicate bridge, along with all the popular card games. Yoga and Tai Chi and even line dancing classes are available. 

One evening we took the 25-minute boat ride around Lake Sumter, it’s always relaxing to be on the water, and the best way to see a beautiful sunset. 

There are several college alumni clubs that host game watches for football, basketball, golf tournaments, Notre Dame, Iowa, Michigan State, Penn State to name just a few.

One day we drove about 40 minutes to the town of Mount Dora, it reminded me of Balboa Island in Newport Beach, CA. It’s not at the ocean, but it is surrounded by beautiful Lake Dora. You can fish, or take a boat ride, shopping is a treat with a lot of unique shops and cafes. I love lighthouses so when I heard there was one there, we made sure to go.  

The Villages is inland about an hour from the ocean.  We were very impressed with how well maintained, how green and full of life it is. We will definitely go back!  

A Son's Letter to His Dad

Good Morning ! 

This is a letter Denny got from our son Craig this morning. Such a wonderful way to begin the day. I had to share. 

Hi Dad,

I wanted to take a few minutes to tell you how happy I am that you have shared Notre Dame with our family.

We all have been Die hard Notre Dame fans our whole lives. And that is because of you and what Being a Notre Dame fan means.

It taught Jeff and I at a very young age what being a Notre Dame fan means. 

It stands for Integrity, Love, Respect, and Hope.

We are playing for the National Championship this Monday night. It’s not going to be easy. (It never is) 

But we will be ready and we will be at our best, No one is going to push us around!

We have our best team in a long time, and the chemistry is there this year it feels different. 

It’s because we are ALL IN!! 

The players, The Coaches, our local fans But most importantly our family. 

Thank you for bringing Notre Dame football into our lives. It has made us who we are today as people. 

The time we went as a family to see the Notre Dame vs UCLA game in South Bend was an amazing experience for all of us. 

We got to walk the paths you walked as a Student, we saw the beauty in the Campus and Stadium. 

Being a Notre Dame fan is who we are as a family. I have enjoyed watching the last couple Playoff games together. 

It was great seeing you and Mom get to experience the Playoff Game against Indiana the love in both your eyes was priceless.

I will be watching the National Championship game with Mom on Monday night. 

Thank you for giving our family something special and beautiful to have as memories for our whole lives. And share with our families 

And remember that your father was the person who started this journey for you as he gave you the application to fill out.

He will be there watching the game with all of us.

Thank you for giving us the passion to be a part of this incredible, amazing, and Inspiring life. 

I love you Dad. And never forget (WE ARE ND)!! 

Let’s go Irish  

Love, 

Craig 

Here Come The Irish

Twenty degree weather

with a chance of snow, 

couldn't keep us away~

we had to go.  

Notre Dame was playing 

the first playoff game,

we had tickets ~ 

Indiana came. 

Everywhere were shamrocks

Blue and Gold,

Green dominated ~

the mood was bold. 

The energy was electric

as the crowd cheered and sang,

the boys played like champions ~

the church bells rang. 

Now, on to Miami

where we'll meet with Penn State,

the excitement is building ~

this house can't wait! 

Here Come the Irish!

 “Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.” Jim Bishop 

I must agree! Cooler weather is on its way, Denny and I celebrated 55 years of marriage, and I was blessed with another birthday, making it 76. With all of that and our continued good health, I am  grateful and very excited once again for the new season before us.

Another highlight of this beautiful Autumn season was that we went to South Bend for a Notre Dame football game. It had been 17 years since we last visited the campus and this time our son Jeff and our grandson Oliver joined us. 

Oliver is 16 years old and a Junior in high school. He is beginning to think about where he may want to go to college, and Papa was more than happy to show him his Alma Mater.

We are very lucky to have a friend who marshals at the home games and knows all the treasures that the campus has to offers. Colleen spent the day with us on Friday and made sure we didn’t miss a thing - there are so many changes that have happened since we were last there. 

 As you’ll see in the pictures, it’s a beautiful campus, it’s emotional,  it’s spiritual, and it’s filled with an energy that I wish I could bottle and live every day of my life.  I feel so lucky and honored that Denny brought Notre Dame into our lives to be enjoyed over the years.  

 The weather was perfect. Cool 60- degree days made it delightful to walk about town and all throughout the campus. We visited the Notre Dame Cemetery, which was beautiful, and saw Knute Rockne's grave. It used to be at a near-by cemetery in South Bend, but the family decided this year, to have Knute's, along with his wife's and their son’s graves moved to the campus.  

The campus was alive as ever with its Golden Dome, the Sacred Heart Basilica, and touchdown Jesus. 

One of the sites that was new to us was the "Cross in the woods" and the bench where you can sit and see the Golden Dome and the Basilica from the other side of the St. Joseph Lake.

One of my favorite settings is the Grotto.  The Grotto is a quiet sacred spot, where you can say a prayer, light a candle or just sit and reflect.

The locker room was off limits, but photos were available with a re-creation of the locker room. 

Since it was a game day weekend, we didn't get to go onto the field like you can when there is no game, but we did get to walk down the tunnel that the players run out of. 

The ambiance at the stadium is always wonderful on game day. The game against Northern Illinois was exciting, however, the final score was not in our favor.  

Game day weekends are a lot of fun and everyone in the town seems to be a Notre Dame fan. Most of the staff in the South Bend restaurants and pubs wear Notre Dame shirts or hats.  

If you get the chance to see the campus, don't miss an opportunity to experience the tradition, beauty and magic of Notre Dame. 

 We will definitely be back and are  looking forward to getting our other two grandsons there. 

Wild Energy!

Turning 75 this month has been one of the most wonderful times of my life. I am so very grateful to be healthy and I am excited to tell you about my most recent trip to Ireland.

 I was talking to a friend who lives in Limerick and after telling her I wanted to get back over to Ireland again and this time would like to go to Donegal, she said she was free to travel for a few days, and had a car. We still laugh at how fast and spontaneous it all happened.  I booked my ticket; she picked me up at Shannon Airport and off we went.  

From Limerick to Galway, over to Donegal, Westport and ending in Killarney. We stopped along the way to see the beautiful beach at Spanish Point. 

Spanish Point is on the west coast of Co. Clare on the Wild Atlantic Way. It’s named for the Spanish soldiers who died in 1588 when their ships of the Spanish Armada were wrecked during a storm.

It is now a beautiful seaside village for swimming, surfing and even has a 9-hole golf course overlooking the Atlantic.

The Wild Atlantic Way, is 1600 miles in length beginning at the Inishowen Peninsula of Donegal winding all the way along the west coast to Kinsale, County Cork in the south. 

Its massive waves, along with the chill from the wind and rain gives it its truly wild personality.

It was a lovely walk in Galway, the beautiful Corrib River and the St. Nicholas Cathedral.  

Continuing on, we were happy to find the sign for Drumcliff. We were afraid we had taken a different road and was going to miss seeing where W.B. Yeats is buried.  but there it was, and the hydrangeas seem to be very popular in Ireland. They grow everywhere.

Onward to Teelin, Co. Donegal, where we stayed at The Rusty Mackeral B&B. I would highly recommend it, even though we had bunk beds that night. 

 Dinner was wonderful, the fish is the freshest. We actually ate a lot of fish. 

It was the next morning that we went up to the “Lookout point” and came to  Sliabh Liag  Mountain. 

Sliabh Liag is Gaelic for Grey Mountain and is on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal supposedly having cliffs that are the 2nd highest point in Ireland. The first being Croaghaum Mountain. 

I had to really push myself to get to the top where you could look out over some of the most stunning views. Surrounded by the sea, the path was beautiful, so glad I did. 

The next day we drove to Downings, Co. Donegal to our B&B. The owner of the B&B plays the tin whistle with a group at the local pub. There was another couple staying at the B&B from Oregon, so we all went to the pub that night for some good Irish music.  

I have to say I believe the highlight for me on this trip was going to the Fanad Lighthouse. I have always wanted to go into and to the top of one and look out over the ocean. Never did I think I’d do it in Ireland overlooking the Wild Atlantic Sea.

Fanad is still an operational lighthouse, but it no longer has a lighthouse keeper. Everything is automated. There are 3 lighthouse keeper’s homes you can book and stay in. I wish we had known that before we got there. Something for next time. 

We then drove up to Derry in Northern Ireland, we got in late, had dinner and before leaving the next morning  walked along the walled city in the center of Derry.  

Westport and Killarney

Westport is a beautiful town! It was my first time there. Our hotel was on the Quay overlooking the harbor. The staff was wonderful, they had a fabulous restaurant and we had a lovely room. We stayed at the Westport Coast Hotel. I highly recommend it if you are ever in Westport. 

Our plan was to stay there just the one night and then onto Killarney the next morning but we couldn’t bring ourselves to leave.  After thinking about it, if we were to stay an extra day, that would give Valerie a day without driving. She did a lot of driving on this trip. 

We agreed to check with the desk and see if we could stay an extra night. We had to move rooms the next day but we stayed and roamed the town,  had a nice lunch out and did a lot of walking. 

Actually, Valerie mentioned when we first checked in that the next day was my birthday. and when we came back that 2nd day from shopping and seeing the town, we had a bottle of wine and chocolates waiting for us. 

The next morning we headed  for Limerick. It worked perfect as Valerie dropped me off at the bus station in Limerick and I went on in to Killarney. She went back home. It's just an hour and a half bus ride. 

It was great getting to Killarney and seeing all my friends at Murphy's. I was glad to have gotten there on the evening of their "Culture Night" Two of my Poet friends,  Eileen Sheehan and John W. Sexton read poetry, there were wonderful refreshments, and the Kerry Ukrainian Choir was fabulous with their beautiful voices. 

Another one of the highlights of the trip for me was that I decided before I left home I was going to take a harp lesson. I contacted the Killarney School of music and had myself an hour lesson. I've taken a couple lessons at home but thought how much better could it get then to have a harp lesson in Ireland? 

This definately is going to be my year for going for it! 

Here's to Wild Energy!