Views of Incredible Lancaster County Pennsylvania and Amish Tour

I hope you enjoy these photos I took on a recent "side trip" to Lancaster County.  We visited the towns of Lancaster, Bird-in-Hand (where we stayed),  Lititz and Ephrata.

I wanted to get the latest info on the retirement communities of "Lititz" by Traditions of America and "Home Towne Square" by Landmark Homes.  Both communities have beautiful homes in the scenic Lancaster countryside.  Read more about them on my website.  Now on to our Lancaster Tour of the Amish countryside.

Retirement Places in Florida for Military

I love finding retirement places considered gems by those living there. If one is in the service, retired, or about to retire, Brevard County, Florida, is a place to consider, according to an informative article from "Florida Today."  Even if not a veteran, Brevard County sounds like a true winner for everyone.
Brevard County is also known as the "Space Coast," since the Kennedy Space Center is located there.
Veterans represent one in six residents living on the Space Coast.
The main cities include Melbourne, Viera, Palm Bay and Titusville.
When one does not like traffic and over-crowded places, but rather a slowed pace, easy access to the beach and boating, an active retirement with plenty to do, and fabulous climate, Brevard County may be your choice.
Besides relaxing days spent on the beach, there is the John F. Kennedy Space Center to explore, quaint shopping areas, King Center for Performing Arts and nearby excellent hospitals.
For military residents, it is convenient to Patrick Air Force Base. The base offers shopping, medical clinic, and pharmacy, amenities attractive to veterans.
Viera is a smaller town adjacent to Melbourne where the Indian River Colony Club, a military retirement community, is located. It is listed on the Florida and Military pages on our site. It is a large community previously only for retired officers. The rules have been changed to include 20% civilians and anyone honorably discharged from the services (see their website for requirements and features). Some of the outstanding amenities include 18-hole golf and a country club lifestyle. A very high percentage of residents are retired military.
Especially for military retirees,  this is a best place to retire.

Santa Monica at Christmastime

There is so much to do in Santa Monica -- fly out there for a week of Christmas shopping -- trust me, your gifts will be spectacular and you will have a  great time.  While there view a community or two because Santa Monica would be a great place to retire.

We ate at "Veggie Grill" - vegan restaurant; amazing food that looks and tastes like meat but isn't -- delicious -- crispy "chicken" sandwich with lemonade, gumbo soup my daughter raved about and a huge salad -- so huge I couldn't finish it all -- this restaurant is really catching on and is very popular in LA.

We went back later in the week and had the "crab" cake sandwich, strawberry lemonade and side salad.  Others had the salad or the "hamburger."  Or the "steak" sandwich with caramelized onions and cole slaw.

We enjoyed the Santa Monica pier -- just walking around breathing fresh ocean air and laughing at the sea gulls and pigeons.   Saw a senior sitting and reading--that's what I'd do.

But best of all were the shopping malls!  Westfield Mall was fabulous -- shops with great stuff for gifts. 

 There is a children's store there called Naartjie that is incredible -- the cutest clothes for the grandkids that didn't break the bank.  Wonderful!

We came back that evening for a Mexican dinner at the Pink Taco restaurant.

Santa Monica downtown shops were great too.  I bought some of the freshest spices and some very unique ones from Penzeys Spices.

Then we headed over to The Grove  for more shopping.

Los Angeles Mormon Temple right outside our Azul Inn hotel window...beautifully decorated for Christmas.

What a trip!  We had so much fun.

You can see our community list of senior apartments in LA or our independent/assisted retirement communities in LA here.