I find that well within the comfortable 3-hour-driving-radius of our community you can gain great experiences at a variety of memorable places. One such place is Thomasville, Georgia – an easy and direct trip, due west of Jacksonville and a beautiful drive north from Tallahassee.

Historic Thomasville is known as the City of Roses. You will experience it as the place where history and heritage is infused with grace and charm. Thomasville was established on December 22, 1826 as the new county seat of Thomas County. The railroad reached Thomasville in 1861 and shortly after the War Between The States the town became known as the “Winter Resort of the South”. The Thomasville experience provided a healthy and lavish resort lifestyle, wrapped up and delivered with the best Southern hospitality.  The town’s brand-new, luxurious, electrified and plumbed, resort hotels regularly hosted America’s wealthiest industrialists, their families and their guests. They came to enjoy and actively socialize over hunting, fishing, horse racing, bicycling, golf and auto excursions on the first circumferential perimeter road in the country. As tales of the town’s prominence and allure spread, many of the annually-returning guests began to build their own in-town “cottages”, designed and decorated by celebrated New York and Chicago architects. The most wealthy and ambitious ones built their own out-lying “plantations” – which were much more “sporting estate” than farm. The discerning lifestyles of both the year-rounders and the winter snow-birds combined to create an enduring sense of place that still characterizes the town.

On another beautiful day in our St. Augustine golf course community, Jennifer Todd – a St. Augustine Realtor at Davidson Realty, Inc. – gave us a tour of one of the four specially-priced homesites we have available on the King & Bear golf course. We started off at the entrance to the neighborhood of custom homes. Then, we went around to the gazebo that is just down the street from the featured lot. It offers a beautiful view of the 4th fairway on the King & Bear. It is also the school bus stop for many of the kids in the neighborhood. Next, we went to the homesite itself, which is Parcel 7, Lot 77 in Waterbury by the Links. The street address is 2013 Crown Drive.
 
The homesite will offer incredible water-to-golf views from the living levels of a home, however, we were unable to fully appreciate them because we are about 5′ tall and as you will see there is a beautiful berm between us and the views.  The nice thing about the berm is that is does provide privacy! The lake, which you can see at the back of the homesite, is over 150 feet wide. The overall panoramic vista across the #5 and #6 fairways is more than a 1/3 of a mile. The views would be easy to enjoy from a home’s lanai or balcony!
 
The lot is about 18,000 square feet, equivalent to about .40 acre. The lot is a basic rectangular shape, tapering towards the rear, with the front at 125 feet wide, the middle at 110 feet, and the rear at 90 feet wide. The depth of the lot is 168 feet. The lot is offered at $120,000. If you would like more information, please contact Jennifer Todd at Davidson Realty at 904.940.5000. Please enjoy the video!

Spring is definitely in the air in our St. Augustine golf course community!  This weekend is the 16th annual EPIC Flower and Garden Expo at the St. Johns County Agricultural Center and Arboretum. One of our World Golf Village residents, Shirley Barber, is a Master Gardner with St. Johns County. She designs the flower gardens at St. Johns County Agriculture center. The event goes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 16th and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 17th.

Shirley is a life long gardener that has grown from seed and installed plants in public gardens in Georgia, Texas, North Carolina and Florida. In the past six years, she has donated and installed thousands of plants that were grown in World Golf Village from seeds and cuttings. Shirley will be conducting garden tours during the Garden and Flower Show on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

During 2007 and 2008, Shirley coordinated and authored two award applications for Master Gardeners’ projects in St. Johns County, resulting in two First Place State Awards from the University of Florida for Education and Beautification. She also coordinated and authored an award application in 2009, resulting in a Top-Three International Award presented at the Master Gardeners International Conference.

This year’s event will feature vendors from all over Florida. Keynote speakers will be featured as well as educational horticultural seminars. There will also be a quilt exhibit by the St. Augustine Piecemakers Quilt Guild and a silent auction by the Master Gardeners. All items will be awarded to the highest bidder at the conclusion of the show. The best part is parking is free and it only costs $5 for both days!!! So take your family to the beautiful gardens and think spring!

Our A-rated St. Johns County school system is one of the biggest draws for young families moving to the World Golf Village and north St. Johns County area. Even with decreasing budgets and continued threats of more budget cuts, our schools remain some of the best in Florida and even the country. With that excellent reputation for quality education comes lots of families and increased demand on our schools. An expansion at Mill Creek Elementary School and a new elementary school in Palencia will help ease the influx and keep up with growth.

The new two-story expansion at Mill Creek Elementary School is nearly complete and will welcome new students at the start of the 2011/2012 school year. Sixteen new classrooms are housed in the state-of-the-art facility which features the latest technology and a flexible design plan that allows for functional breakout spaces.

Recently, the St. Johns County School Board unveiled its plans for a new $16 million elementary school in Palencia. Plans call for the school to be ready for the 2013/2014 school year. Approximately 700 students are expected to attend to the K-5 school. The new school will also help alleviate stress on Mill Creek Elementary which currently serves more than 1,000 students. “There’s been quite a bit of growth in the area. Probably the greatest amount of stress is on Mill Creek Elementary and some other schools in the area,” said Tim Forson, associate superintendent for operational services. The school will be situated next to Palencia Park on about 8 acres.

We are always looking for new and interesting topics for our blogs. So, we have decided to steal a great idea from People magazine and offer reviews – on books, movies, and TV shows – that we think would interest our St. Augustine golf community residents. Even though we are happy to provide our opinions for your consideration, we would love to have guest bloggers write reviews too! If you are interested, please contact me (Alayna) at 904-610-3699. Here is our first entertainment review:
 

                                       3 Things To Watch on TV This Week
 
1. Good Wife (Tuesday at 10 PM)
 
I think this is the best show on TV right now! Julianna Margulies plays Alicia Florrick – a betrayed wife who resumes her career as a lawyer to take control of her own destiny. The story lines vary from courtroom dramas to political campaigns to love, marriage, friend and family relationships. The show is fast-paced and thought-provoking. If you’ve never seen it, you’re missing something special!

It was a beautiful March day in Northeast Florida, so we decided it was time to showcase another of the four featured King & Bear golf course homesites in World Golf Village. Dottie Lay, Davidson Realty’s Top Agent for 2010, agreed to be the tour guide. Of course, we decided to start our outing with lunch on the veranda of the King & Bear clubhouse. You will see in the video we enjoyed an incredible view while we ate and chatted. Then, we headed over to the entrance of Heritage Cove, where our beautiful Heritage Oak greets the neighbors as they arrive home. I must admit we spent a few minutes swinging from its rope swing before we started the video! Next, we wandered over to the homesite we were featuring. It is at 3309 East Heritage Cove Drive (Parcel 15, Lot 4)
 
The homesite is situated on a short, private cul-de-sac with only eight lots on that end of the street. It offers panoramic vistas across the 10th and 12th fairways of the King & Bear golf course. You can also see a sparkling lake and the King & Bear Clubhouse in the distance. At night the lights from the clubhouse twinkle on the horizon, which is just beautiful! Views from the backyard extend over 2,000 feet. Personally, I believe this homesite offers one of the finest views in all of World Golf Village. The homesite contains 16,500 square feet (.38 acres) on a basic rectangle 110 feet wide by 150 feet deep. The homesite is offered at $165,000, which really is an amazing prize for such an amazing homesite! Please enjoy the video!

Our featured St. Augustine golf community resident for March is Steve Berry – the New York Times Bestselling Author! Most well known for the Cotton Malone series of thrillers, he has 12 million books in print – in 40 languages and 51 countries. Steve’s new book, The Jefferson Key, will be out on May 17th. He lives with his wife, Liz, in the King & Bear. Learn a little more about Steve…
 
1. Which moment from your life would you choose to relive if you could?
 Each of the three days my children were born.  It’s quite an overwhelming experience to see new life being brought into the world.

2. What historical time period would you most like to visit?
 The Tudor era.  What a fascinating time.

3. Who has inspired you as a mentor and why?
 The thriller writer David Morrell and Walt Disney.  Both are brilliant, ingenious, and master craftsmen. 

4. What’s the best way to spend a rainy weekend?
 Wandering around Christchurch, New Zealand would be pretty wonderful.

5. How do you define integrity?
 Doing what you say you’re going to do.

6. When you were young what did you want to be when you grew up?
 At first a priest, then a doctor.  Finally, a lawyer, and now a writer.

7. What’s your favorite book?
 HAWAII — by James Michener — because it was the first adult fiction book I ever read.

8. What are the redeeming qualities of the person you most dislike?
 Their determination (however misguided it might be)

9. Where would you choose to live if you had to leave this country?
Germany

10. What do you complain about more than anything else?
 The lack of time

Lions are not only kings of the jungle they also have reined as sentinels on the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine, Fl. for close to 85 years. The lions were given as a gift to the city in 1926, by a close friend of Henry Flagler’s, Dr. Andrew Anderson and were sculpted by Romanelli studios.  They are copies of the pair that stand guard outside the loggia Dei Lanze in Florence.  Their names are Firm and Faithful.  The city recently celebrated their return to the bridge this past Tuesday.  They had been in storage for six years, where they underwent restoration while the Bridge of Lions was being re-built.

You can’t be a native of St. Augustine, FL and not be excited by their return.  Their Italian Carrera white marble stands out splendidly against the backdrop of the Matanzas Bay and the brilliant blue sky.  Even at night, the city’s lights reflect their majesty as you cross the Bridge of Lions, which joins St. Augustine with Anastasia Island.   

Spending a day in St. Augustine is always a treat, but getting to go downtown and see the lions returned to their rightful spot, makes you proud to call St. Augustine, FL, a city steeped in history, home!

I’ve taken my eagle vision for granted for far too long.  Goading my kid sister about having to wear glasses in second grade (I’ve matured since then).  Bragging to my own children that they are blessed with perfect vision thanks to great genes from yours truly.  So I guess it was just a matter of time before my obnoxiousness caught up with me. Blame it on good ole fashioned aging but my eyesight is starting to falter.  Small type gets blurry, especially towards the end of the day or when I’m trying to play Scrabble on my iPhone or, in fact, as I’m writing this blog in 11 point font.  For now my drugstore readers are fine but a proper eye exam is in my near future.  So, I asked around among my contact and eyeglass wearing friends about an eye doctor.  The hands-down recommendation was the Eye Center of St. Augustine.

Located at our very own West Town Place at World Golf Village, the Eye Center of St. Augustine is a full-service facility offering optometry and ophthalmology care.  The physicians of Eye Center specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease such as cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and retinal disease. Physicians in the practice include Paul W. Hund, III, M.D.; Todd P. Thompson, M.D.; Patrick Hale, M.D.; Elizabeth K. McLeod, M.D.; Michael A. Dagostino, O.D., and Todd Hockett, O.D., FAAO.