I felt like a kid who heard the ice cream truck for the first time. But it wasn't the bells from the Good Humor man I heard but the roar of a zero-turn mower that vibrated against my tympanic membrane. I ran out with my cell phone to capture one of the most glorious sights I have seen since closing on the house....landscapers. They come in force, they come quickly, and within minutes they are gone. A few guys on the ride along mowers, a few with trimmers in hand, and few with backpack blowers to clean off the patios and drive ways. It's all part of the $297 we pay in HOA fees each month.
That fee covers the landscaping, the three golf courses, the six pools, four amenity centers, walking trails, gyms, tennis and pickle ball courts, woodshop building, model railroader building, walking trails, and meeting spaces for the over 200 clubs found within the bubble. That sounds like a bargain to me. Add to that movies, shows, and an almost daily offering of music and get togethers and I can see why people easily fall in love with this place and call it home.
We started the day where we left off, sweating, and bringing all our belongings into the garage from the driveway. Since we abandoned labeling each bin as we packed for the move each time we grabbed one we took a peek inside and often said, "Oh what the hell did we bring this for?".
Luckily all the stuff that made it into the garage isn't all of ours. We loaded up some of my Mom's and Patrick and Lauren's stuff that will make it's way down to them in Florida. It's not all that much but every bin and box that isn't ours means less work and space we need to store it.
Early in the morning we received word that the wire transfer had finally hit the lawyers account. That meant it was official and we could finally get the keys and get inside the house. When we first opened the door as new owners the first thing we noticed was the rush of cool air from the central air conditioning. Once inside we went through each room and came up with ideas of things we're going to change before we fully move in. The first item on the agenda is ripping up the carpets and wood floors and getting new ones laid throughout.
One of the stops of the day was over to the floor installers showroom to look at different brands of LVP, or luxury vinyl plank. They come in different shades, patterns, and thickness so like anything else you have to pull the trigger on it's anxiety producing. Word on the street is grays are out and shades of tan, beige, and blonde are in.
Theresa's taking the lead on stuff around the house. Whatever she wants to do I'm down with. We had on hand a sample of what the new countertops may look like and had several samples on hand to try and coordinate. Today we'll have the painter over for an estimate on paining the kitchen cabinets, professionally, and for painting the rooms around the house. We'll have to figure out the order of operation since we have paint, floors, countertops, and then electric work to be done which will include removing some ceiling fans and lights and installing recessed lighting in the living room. That'll all be done when we're back in New Jersey and hopefully we come back to a job well done by all.
By days end, which included a run up to The Boat House in Ridgeland, we were done and ready to relax. That bought us to the new amenities center and the dam near waterpark they
recently opened. A large pool with a lazy river with all kinds of shaded areas was a perfect way to end the day. I started with a rest inside the lobby of the new center which is a place I could easily sit and take a nap in escaping the Lowcountry heat. What's amazing to me is that even with that ceiling height you could hang meat inside. Someone had their HVAC design and install game on when it came to that build.
It was about six o'clock when we entered the pool. It was us and about a dozen other people. Music, causing some Grateful Dead, was piped in from the extensive sound system. And the music isn't the latest Top 40 annoying rap, pop, and country hits, but more a nice mellow mix from days back when. And the water, about 85 degrees, which to me is perfect. We stayed in the water for about 45 minutes and met some great couples who welcomed us. This place is really like Disney world for adults.
While we're staying at the Air B&B during this initial stay we're looking forward to getting in the house and knowing where your stuff, like the daily stuff, is. Somehow we were able to find our bathing suits for last evening's swim and next will be to find a razor to tighten up the facial growth I've just forgot about. We've basically been living out of suitcases since we got here which has been just fine. How could we complain after this run of good luck and blessing's we've had so far? What's next? winning the lottery?
