Most Villages residents will tell you ‘The Villages has EVERYTHING one could ever want’ — but that’s definitely NOT true — not if you love the sea. Not that Villagers would intentionally lie — the claim of having everything likely comes from their feeling of contentment living in ‘America’s Friendliest Hometown.’ So… what’s missing?
An OCEAN, and a REAL ‘sand-between-your-toes’ kind of honest-to-goodness BEACH. But, all is not lost!
The Villages’ Central Florida location is a manageable drive to both Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico beaches, but most residents content themselves with the beautiful bodies of water along our Harris Chain of Lakes. Within a driving radius of one hour or less , there’s Lake Apopka, Beauclair, Carlton and Denham; Lakes Dora, Eustis and Griffin, Little and Big Lake Harris plus Lakes Ola and Yale. Within The Villages, spring-fed Lake Sumter, Lake Miona and numerous ponds and lagos , also fill the bill for many.
But if one wants a whiff of real salt sea air within The Villages, a vivid imagination is needed — and a visit to Captiva, Manatee and Sea Breeze recreation facilities will help a lot. Since our Creator, in His infinite wisdom, did not place an ocean in The Villages, our Developer pulled out all the stops to bring beach ambience to us.
At SeaBreeze Regional Recreation Center, weather-worn shingles and a dolphin vane atop the huge building’s cupola are harbingers of the coastal mood inside. There’s even a sand-filled beach volleyball court out back!
White-washed, sand-colored ‘plank’ laminate flooring abuts swirling turquoise and blue carpeting with wave patterns. Beautiful lighted ocean murals behind French doors in the meeting rooms create the illusion visitors are at an oceanside retreat; and beach furniture, sea shells, candles and nautical wall hangings are all whimsical fun. With room names like Clearwater, Daytona, Destin and Neptune, the only thing s absent are sharks, rip currents and the fierce storms which worry real beachfront denizens.
Gazing upward in the SeaBreeze lobby, clerestory windows and bold ceiling beams frame sayings which get sea-lovers’ hearts racing: `Happiness is shells in your pocket and sand in your shoes…’ and ‘Don’t grow up too quickly, lest you forget how much you Love the Beach!’ Is it any surprise that at Christmas, the tree branches here are l aden with seahorses, coral, mermaids and seashell ornaments?
Breathe deeply, relax, and perhaps hear the roar of waves. Such meditation might lower folks’ blood pressure a notch, just like the real thing.
Heading south, the Captiva neighborhood recreation center boasts a huge undersea mural with a realistic swimming turtle and other sea creatures. Here the soft coral, tan and shell-white palette is found in the furnishings, wall and window treatments . At Christmas, twinkling chains of sea glass garlands, sand dollars, ocean plants and an occasional fish or turtle ornament hang from the tree branches. On burlap beneath one of the trees, a driftwood plaque says ‘believe.’
Further east at the same latitude is the Manatee neighborhood recreation center, with bolder colors on the blue-green and yellow spectrum. A huge mural depicts swimming manatees and whimsical tree ornaments show stylized fish among other choses de mer (sea things).
A loop by car, golf cart or bicycle to visit three ‘beachy’ Villages venues is a fun way to spend a day and a novel pastime for your holiday guests.