by Pat Winter
New Plantation residents Terri and David Chapin have spent lots of time recently with people who have fallen in love. Terri’s first big project after retiring in January from her job as educational supervisor at the private Mary Cariola Children’s Center in Rochester, NY, was to plan her sister’s wedding. It took her three months to organize the perfect romantic nuptials for her sibling’s big day in High Point, NC. Without skipping a (heart) beat, Terri then began to finalize all the arrangements for her daughter’s destination wedding right here on the Plantation in mid-September. Her meticulous planning created a venue that the starry-eyed bride and groom found perfect.
Only after the wedding guests had all gone home were Terri and David able to feel free to begin their retirement in a place they had fallen in love with years before. In 2000, David happened to read a two-line advertisement for Albemarle Plantation in one of the boating magazines he received at his home in Rochester. Avid boaters on large inland New York lakes, the Chapins liked what they learned about the Albemarle Sound, its access to the Intra-Coastal Waterway, and the weather patterns in and around eastern North Carolina. They decided to make a trip here to investigate the area in conjunction with visiting their daughter who was attending UNCG in Greensboro. Their combined visits here continued over the years as their daughter Heather graduated from UNCG and their son Tim matriculated at the University of Maryland in College Park. They soon had a soft spot for the beauty of the area and the warmer climate. Today they are the proud owners of a beautiful new home on a heavily wooded lot in Quaker Meadow along with property on Pasquotank Blvd. Before moving here, the Chapins, who lived in Rochester and Batavia, NY, survived many snowy New York State winters. Terri, as a 17-year-old high school senior, first met David, a Vietnam vet, when they worked together in the same grocery store. Romance soon blossomed when David took Terri to her “senior ball.” As newlyweds during the blizzard of 1977, the only exit from their house was through the second floor windows. Terri commuted through often snowy streets to her job at Mary Cariola Children’s Center for over 30 years, starting there as a special education teacher and behavior therapist. David worked for five different manufacturing companies in the Rochester area as their Certified Purchasing and Inventory Manager, helping to make and keep track of everything from military radios and satellites to law books.
Today they have been swept off their feet by the activities and friendships they have found on the Plantation. As members of the Sports Club and Osprey Yacht Club, Terri and David can be seen on the Sound with their 26-foot Sea Ray Sundancer Terri Lynn. But they are also trying their hand at drawing lessons, the CERT Team, the Women’s’ Club, and volunteering for wine sales days. David still has his long-standing passion for Corvettes, something he fell in love with years ago. Two of these amazing vehicles reside in his garage, but you may see him taking one of them out for a ride on a beautiful sunny North Carolina afternoon. If you see him, be sure to wave.
We’re so glad you “fell for us.”