Retired at last, we started looking for a place where we could escape the craziness of city life and just sit back in our rocking chairs and enjoy nature. Our dream included being able to hop in our boat and head to nearby springs whenever they beckoned or just to fish off our own dock whenever we had a hankerin'. We bought a 40' RV planning to explore this beautiful country of ours so we needed a home for that too. Our little Racey Acres Retreat checked all the boxes and we have loved every minute of our 20+ years of River Life here. But now that we're slowing down, it's time to move on. We leave with fond memories of campouts in our back yard under the old oaks, with 5 RVs full of friends parked around the campfire. Of lazy days tubing with neighbors on the sand-bar just off shore. We have loved watching the manatees play while we hauled in pounds of shrimp for dinner from the covered pavilion at the end of the dock, with hawks circling overhead hoping for an easy snack. Often we'd hop in the boat which we keep conveniently housed on a lift in the covered boat slip and head a short way North to dine at one of several waterfront restaurants with public boat slips. Sometimes friends would pull their boats into our "guest parking" open boat slip and we'd spend the weekend playing on the river. Our water-lovin' pooch even has his own lift to haul him out of the river, exhausted after swimming in circles for hours. Taking the boat in and out of the river is easy with the Riverdale Park boat ramp only a mile or 2 up the river.

After a long day on the water, "Mama" would head inside to start dinner while I relaxed on the front porch watching the sun set over the river. She loves being able to enjoy the same view from her kitchen sink as she works. We laugh about the shortcomings of the original house, which ended at the living room--we kept the old knotty pine paneling as a reminder of bygone days. The expansion back in '99 included an indoor laundry room, 3-car garage and a wonderful dining area where we still linger over dinner while enjoying the glorious river view through the French doors to the porch. The added kitchen was an improvement, but "Mama" is so proud of her new dream kitchen with honey maple Shaker cabinets, real granite countertops, a breakfast bar and stainless steel Kitchen-Aid appliances. We decided to go for broke on our remodel with a fancy new master bathroom too. On stormy nights we listen to the rain tapping on our new metal roof and rest well, knowing that the new AC system will last well into the next owner's tenure. We've never had to worry about rising water during storms since we're in a high and dry zone X with no need for flood insurance.

Our latest splurge was the mini-split HVAC we added to the first bay of the garage to make our dog-grooming a bit easier during the dog days of summer. We actually drew up plans to add another bathroom and den out there for additional room when the grandchildren come to visit, but decided we need to leave that to the next owner of our little piece of heaven.