Doylestown – The Easy Chair talks back

215 Southwind Drive

We have been here 17 years and its time to retire down South.We just listed the home we’ve come to love. It will be hard to leave this quiet cul-de-sac in Doylestown. I hope if you read this and like what you see, you’ll contact me or your realtor to arrange a showing. It will make some buyer very happy. If you know that buyer, put them in touch as well.

The full write-up of this Glenn Hess/Phil Mack custom built home is here. Its ~4300 square feet and now listed at $609k.

Exterior

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First Floor

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Second Floor

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The hardest part of course is leaving the many friends and few family members behind here in beautiful Bucks county! We will, of course, have a big bash after we sell! And all are welcome to come visit in SC to cycle, play golf, hang out!!

Moving can be stressful

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We have been planning to move to Greenville, SC for 4 years after falling in love with the area. In 2008, we bought a beautiful lot on Cherokee Valley Golf Club north of town. Greenville has been rated in top 5 places to retire this year by Fortune.

Lot in Cherokee Valley

The lot is now for sale since its beauty didn’t make us realize it would be a bit far for me to commute to my work location in Kings Mountain, NC, even a few days a week. If this location is for you, drop me a line !!

When we went down to Greenville to check out the housing market last week, we fell in love with the East End of Greenville. The area south of I-85 in the Five Forks, Greer and Simpsonville area has a great balance of location, attractions, airport and proximity to down town.

Of course, we fell in love with a home in nearby Greer, SC. We went to put in an offer on Friday and the homeowner withdrew their house from the market. After the disappointment wore off, we realized that there are so many more important things in life such as family, health and happiness. And that right house will surface when we are ready to move (after selling our place below)

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We will be sad to leave the few family members and dear friends we have here, but we are executing our early retirement plan and have some equally wonderful friends awaiting our arrival.. My friends at CB Hearthside will help us list our place here in Doylestown just after Super Bowl 2011, when the spring housing season begins

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If you know of anyone who is interested in moving to Doylestown and the wonder that it and Bucks County has happening, let us know!

Covered Bridges of Bucks Series – part 1 (Pine Valley)

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This is the Pine Valley Covered Bridge, which is located near New Britain. It is 81 feet long and was built in 1842 by David Sutton at a cost of $5553.50 of hemlock and pine timber. It spans Pine Run stream which may have been named for the white pine which were once abundant near the stream. Its the nearest one to my home in Bucks., located here. Pine Valley Covered Bridge is owned by Bucks County.This bridge is the oldest in the county. It is painted red with the white trim.

This bridge was once repaired in 1917. Then it was closed again in the summer of 2006 to repair the deteriorating beams on the deck and other repairs to make the bridge safe for traffic. Pine Valley is still is able to sustain a high volume of traffic that uses it daily. It had only been reopened for just a few months prior to an accident in 2007. An oversized truck tried to goo through the old structure and tore off some of the roof and damaged the support beams under the bridge. The truck driver never stopped at the accident scene. Even if the truck driver didn’t feel the hit to the bridge, the truck would have damage done to it.

Each year the Central Bucks Bicycle Club hosts a covered bridges tour hitting many of the 11 remaining covered Bridges in Bucks County (at one time there were 36). On 2010, its on October 17.

Research courtesy of Sunshine Red.

More Bucks County on Two Wheels

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As I contemplate moving South to Greenville, SC next year to begin to ease into retirement, I wanted to share some still and moving images from my beautiful home in Bucks County, PA. Click to enlarge, download or “play”.

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Rickert’s Road farm, fall and winter

Nockamixon State Park

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around Doylestown. Univest GP, my backyard and Mercer museum

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dawn at Peace Valley Park, New Britain

M.O.M.’s Beer tasting Dinner

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Attended a 4 course beer tasting meal at Maxwell’s on Main (M.O.M.’s) last night. Some intersting beers including some California microbrews and a local one infused with tea from Prism Brewery in North Wales, PA. Second and third course served with Coronado’s Idiot IPA and the Bruery’s Trade Wind Tripel.

All in all, company was good, beers were interesting and food and service was great. My only opportunity for improvement would be that they had 8-10 oz pours and the portions of food were miniscule (main course served on a saucer size plate).

Given the volume of beer and the hour, the expecation was a normal size meal!