The Rogers Family

After we ran around The Villages like a bunch of 60-year-olds without a care in the world, we finally did some Christmasy activities.

Nathan's grandparents, whom we affectionately call Memie and Pal, came over for presents and visiting. We all had a good time opening our gifts, with cakes and gift cards and golfing items and rocks the size of your eye being exchanged.


Elaine prepared a wonderful dinner with ham, peas, potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes and dessert. It was quite yummy and, if you can believe it, I actually ate the peas and green beans. Most of you know what a finicky eater I am and I haven't touched a pea in 25 years. But Elaine's pea dish was really good and I need to get the recipe from her.

Paul and Elaine's friends from across the street, Ed and Addie, came over to eat with us. These two are a hoot to be around and enhanced an already fun group. So we all had a good meal and then, in the true spirit of the season, watched The Nativity. I hadn't seen it before, but you know if I am crying at the end, that means I hated it so much and am sad that I will never get those two hours of my life back OR I loved it and was very moved. It was the latter. Great, great movie and I would recommend it any time of the year, not just the holidays.

Of course, there was more food to be had on Christmas Day. Elaine made a wonderful breakfast and I ate so much! Ed and Addie and Memie and Pal came over to eat with us and we had a lively conversation about Ed's disdain for grits.

We relaxed for a few hours (everyone was so full that we skipped lunch) and then went to Ed and Addie's for dinner. Ed made a rib roast and Addie made a strawberry shortcake-type dessert. Again, the food was wonderful!


After dinner, Paul and Elaine took us around The Villages to look at Christmas lights. There were a lot of homes that had lights except the big display that we spent a good deal of time looking for wasn't turned on. Lots of Christmas lights without electricity just looks cluttered and messy.


We left for home the day after Christmas, but that will be my next post. However, I want to make it clear that I place all the blame for the four extra pounds I came home with squarely on Elaine, Ed and Addie!

We made it to Nathan's parent's house in the evening and had dinner at CiCi's Pizza. Nathan's parents live about an hour north of Orlando in a retirement community called The Villages.

Now, if you don't know about The Villages, let me tell you all about it! When I say "retirement community," don't get the idea that this is where old people go to get away from noisy kids so that they can die in peace. This is a place where old people go to get away from noisy kids so that they can have an ass-kicking good time! The first time I visited Paul and Elaine in The Villages and after seeing the place, I couldn't wait to retire and live there myself.

The Villages covers about the same area as Manhattan and has about 10,000 residents, so it's not a sleepy little old folk’s neighborhood. They have golf courses and pools and social clubs and two "town squares," Spanish Springs and Lake Sumter Landing. There are plenty of specialty shops, chain stores and restaurants in the town squares so you can just park your car and walk around for a while.

One thing I noticed the first time we stayed with Paul & Elaine at The Villages was the use of golf carts as the main mode of transportation. It makes sense; a large chunk of the residents are golfers and with a gated community, it's safe (and cheaper) to get from place to place on a golf cart.

Everywhere you go, including the town squares and even the grocery stores on the outskirts of town, there are golf carts and golf cart parking. Below is a picture at Lake Sumter Landing and the entire parking row filled with nothing but golf carts.

The thing is, there are a lot of not-so-ordinary golf carts out there. Many of these people take their carts seriously. They soup them up, pimp them out and create some sweet rides. They put their names on the front of their carts; have Christmas lights on their carts; whatever they please. It's great!

Now that I think about it, maybe next time Nathan and I are down there, we'll take some decals with us to pimp out my father-in-law's cart. But we'll have to put some serious thought into what he would want... somehow I can't see him riding around with "Paul's Bitchin' Camaro" written across the back bumper of his cart.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "Four Rogers in a Chrysler at Christmas" because I haven't yet told you about the wonderful food, the fabulous company and the beautiful lights.