Caution...Grandparents at play!!

With over 200 Activity Clubs there is no shortage of things to do in Sun City. I did a little research and found some club websites that I thought may be of interest you. I’m sure there are more than I listed here, so if anyone wants to get their site mention, send me an email.

There are two Amateur Radio Clubs in Sun City. The Sun City Radio Amateur Club’s website is at http://www.sccarc.info/ . The Kings Point Amateur Radio Club’s website is http://www.kparc.org/ .

The Sun City Aquasizers Water Aerobics Club look like they have a blast together. They do a lot more together than spend time in the water. Check out their website at http://www.2ezwebdesign.com/SCCAquasizers/Index.html .

The Sun City Computer Club is 2000 members strong. If you would like to learn more about computers, they have a great schedule of classes ranging from “How to Buy” to “Introduction to Computers” to more advanced classes like word-processing, the internet and spreadsheets. You can find out more information about them at their website http://scccomputerclub.org/ .

The Sun City Model Railroad Club have regular meetings, but also schedule events around the holidays and invite Junior Engineers (grandchildren) to join in the activities. Check out their site at http://www.sccmrrc.org/ .

The Sun City Photo Club promotes education classes in photography and assist all those with a camera who wish to improve their family and travel images. Their website is http://sccphotoclub.tripod.com/ .

I finally found out what Pickleball is all about. The Sun City Center Pickleball Club has a really interesting site at http://www.pickleball.suncityctr.org/ . Check out the videos on their website. The US Pickleball Association has a great promotional video.

The Sun City Center Swingers Square Dance Club is one of the longest continually operating clubs in the community, and will celebrate its 40th Anniversary in 2008. Check out their website at http://floridadanceweb.com/html/sun_city_center.html .

The Sun City Tennis Club is extremely active with over 270 members. Check out their website at http://www.2ezwebdesign.com/SCCTennis .

I would love to hear your comments on my Blog. Tell me what you want to learn about Sun City, Florida

Don’t forget to check out our website at http://www.snowbirdnests.com

Who is Snowbird?

They call me the Crazy Canadian down here. I moved to Lake Mary, Florida seven years ago from Alberta, Canada for a three year contract and just haven’t left. I fell in love with Florida and the thought of moving back to the icy north was not appealing at all.

My husband and I have introduced a whole new culture and language to our neighborhood. “How’s it goin, eh?” , “Toques”(headwear worn in Canada) , “Canadian Fire Extinguishers” for the Bar-B-Q (a spray bottle full of water), “Grog” ..you pick fruit off the trees in your backyard and mix it with IceBerg Vodka (made in Canada), and a whole bunch of holidays that they had never heard of (Family Day, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Heritage Day, Thanksgiving in October, and the best of all Boxing Day.

I worked for a Software Development company for seven years and when I was offered an Executive Layoff two years ago, I grabbed it. After a month or so I was looking for something to do. I had been to Sun City several times to visit my parents who camped a few miles south at Little Manatee River State Park every winter, so I decided to take a closer look at Sun City for investment purposes. I fell in love with the City and all it had to offer. I had no idea that they even built communities specifically for those 55 years young and up.

It wasn’t long before I had purchased my first two units in Kings Point and began renovating. I could write a book on all the things that went wrong, but after two months of blood, sweat and tears, they were completed and ready to rent out. The first year all the neighbors in Kings Point helped me fill them up since I didn’t have time to even think about marketing them.

I have since added a website and this fall started my Blog. I wanted to tell people about all the things that get me fired up about life in Sun City. I hope you enjoy and will someday visit us.

I would love to hear your comments on my Blog. Tell me what you want to learn about Sun City, Florida

Don’t forget to check out our website at http://www.snowbirdnests.com

Are you looking for a place to retire?

I just found out that Sun City, Florida has been designated as one of America’s Best Master-Planned Communities by the “Where to Retire Magazine”. It’s written up in their July/August 2007 magazine.

What’s the key attraction, you say? For starters, the average year-round temperature is 72 degrees. I have noticed that it is 5 to 10 degrees warmer in Sun City in the winter than it is in Orlando and points north.

Most importantly, the people who planned this community thought of everything. They have police, fire and ambulance services. A 1500 member volunteer patrol that supplements the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Department. A 112 bed hospital and 90 bed lodge are also located in the city. There are 20 churches in the vicinity with 7 of them right in Sun City.

Four comprehensive recreation facilities cover more than 41 acres. There are four shopping centers with services that include major banks, supermarkets, medical clinics, pharmacies, restaurants, variety and specialty stores, beauty salons, barber shops, a post office an many business and professional offices. Home Depot is at one end of the city and a huge Wal-Mart Supercenter is at the other end.

If you are a golfer, you’ll think you are in heaven. There are 8 courses in Sun City and another 13 in the vicinity. I found out that there are 3500 privately owned golf carts. No wonder I was blown away when I first drove down the main drag.

Tennis anyone? There are 19 courts available for residents’ use.

If you are a boater , it’s only 8 miles away to Bahia Beach Marina which offers saltwater beaches, marina facilities for boat launching, docking and maintenance. It will also give you access to the Gulf of Mexico.

If you get tired of the 200 plus activities offered in Sun City you can venture out to local theatre presentations, art festivals, concerts, museums, and even some professional sports games. Disney World, Sea World, and Universal Studios are within 90 miles. Busch Gardens is 25 miles away.

But wait…..there’s more! You’ll just have to wait until next week to find out.

If you want to check out our website go to http://www.snowbirdnests.com/

Sun City, Florida......an experience of a life time!!

If you have never been to Sun City, Florida you need to go there at least once. It is quite an experience. You come off I75 southeast of Tampa and drive into this booming little metropolis. The first thing you notice is all the golf carts. They are everywhere!! These golf carts even get the primo parking stalls at the local strip malls and even the Walmart. I have never seen anything like it.

Kings Point which is on the south side of the highway is a buzzing adult gated community for those 55 years young and up. As I toured the clubhouses, I kept thinking "When do they sleep?" There are swimming pools, golf courses, lawn bowling, tennis courts, basketball courts, fitness centers, miles and miles of walking and bike paths and at least 200 activity clubs. I'm not exagerating!! There is even a game with a crazy name called "Pickleball". I never got to check it out, but I plan to.

There are two clubhouses in Kings Point. The north clubhouse has a 10,000 sq. ft. theatre that brings in live entertainment on a regular basis. I see that Pat Boone, Charo and even The Temptations are going to be doing some shows there.

I saw a huge bus pull up to the clubhouse one morning. When I asked what it was doing there, the reply was "Oh, we are heading to Disney for the day". It seems there is a monthly schedule of about 15 different trips from the beach, to different malls, to a local attractions (SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Disney) to a night out at a dinner theatre. How great is that? You sit back, relax, and let the bus driver worry about driving through traffice. He even drops you off at the front door.

There is so much more to tell you about, but I think I'll just wait till next week.

If you want to check out our website go to http://www.snowbirdnests.com/