STILL WARMER THAN ERIE, PA!

Sunday, February 17, 2013
Dade City, Florida/sunny and low 50s
Last night was quite cool and we did have a heater on in the cabana. Electricity went out in the night, but we were still warm enough. It came back on eventually. Probably everyone in TRR had their heaters on and blew something out.  In the morning Tim and Scorchy went golfing on the 9 hole golf course on the grounds.

After that we all went to Farmer John’s Key West Café in Brookville—what a delightful little restaurant. Mary Lou had a fruit ambrosia crepe that looked delicious, Tim had a Mexican skillet meal—scrambled eggs and beef over a tostada with salsa and sour cream, chopped tomatoes and green peppers, and skillet potatoes.  I had a very good cheeseburger with coated fries, my favorite. Then we visited nearby Belk’s, Wal-Mart, and H.H. Gregg.

 

We finished our trip with a stop at several Deerfield Estates zero energy model homes (Brookville).  We liked this concept very much. The homes have $0.00 electric bill year round because of solar panels in the roof. The smaller home (1500 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths) was $118,000 with $800/year taxes and the community fee was $180/quarter. A larger one was $142,000 (2300 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a lanai) with the same $180/quarter fee and $1600/year taxes. The solar panels cost extra to add to the home, but there are Federal and local government incentives to build energy efficient homes.  There was a small community center with a pool and exercise room. The realtor said that it was a mixed community, but mostly retired adults live there. I would consider living in a place like this. I am not a fan of huge community fees in addition to taxes. I still do not want to live away from family year round.

Now we are packing for departure tomorrow. We have had a very nice vacation, but we are both ready to go home despite knowing that today it is 20F in Erie.

Janie’s Takes: I forgot to mention that it is strawberry season in Florida. We had strawberry shortcake several times, as well as strawberry pie made with big fresh sweet strawberries from Florida! I don’t think strawberries are in season in Pennsylvania. J

I am going to try to add photos to the various blogs today.