By: Conrad Jones
We became newcomers to Albemarle Plantation when we moved here on May 28. We had lived in Ashburn, Virginia for the last 22 years and were slowly beginning to think of making a move south.
A couple of years ago, while returning from a trip, we had seen a billboard about Albemarle Plantation and did a web search. Shortly afterwards we began to receive information and cards inviting us to try a Discovery Package. After delays during the 2020 pandemic and after getting our vaccines in early 2021, we came down for a visit. Just two days before our Discovery Visit, Janie had seen a new listing on Zillow that immediately caught her attention. Even so, we were still just planning a “visit” to get the feel for the area and thought it would be a couple of years before moving.
Janie said, “We were just doing some searching for where we would like to spend our retirement years. We wanted a gated community on or near the water with amenities. And we wanted to be relatively the same distance to my 93-year-old mother and not too far from our sons who both live in Northern Virginia.”
We just fell in love with what Albemarle Plantation had to offer! We made an offer and purchased the home just next to the Fairview entrance at 385 Albemarle Blvd. Everyone knows it as “the yellow house beside the pool,” so we always see people coming by walking or riding on their golf carts. It’s a great location to meet people.
I retired in 2019 after 31 years with Verizon as a global operations director, then started a second successful career as a residential real estate agent in Northern Virginia. Janie enjoyed years as an office administrator for a large sports complex in Ashburn, and also as a substitute teacher and in retail sales. Together we also owned a successful masonry contracting business for years.
We have two adult sons who live in Northern Virginia: Patrick is an audio engineer with Anthem, a live music venue in Washington, DC., and Cort, who is the Communications Director for National Parks and Recreation and hosts their bi-weekly podcasts. Cort recently became engaged to his fiancée Lauren Cowe.
Janie and I are Episcopalians, and this past June, I was elected as the 30th national president of the Brother-hood of St. Andrew, an Episcopal and Anglican men’s ministry founded in 1887.
Here at AP, we are members of the OYC and Sports Club and love going out on our pontoon boat and exploring the areas around us. And a description of us would not be complete without mentioning our 10-year-old dog Layla. She’s met so many friends, including everyone who has doggie treats on their golf carts!
Like Layla, Janie and I have already met so many new friends in AP. We love it here, and it’s beginning to feel like home!