By: Wayne Applemann
Kate and I searched for several years throughout the southeast looking for what we considered our ideal retirement location. We were primarily looking for a golf course community with an active social environment, in a geographic location that allowed reasonable access to our children. We visited communities in North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina, and they all seemed to be missing one of our boxes.
Kate found Albemarle Plantation on the internet and after reviewing the website, we decided to come visit and see firsthand if it measured up to the claims made. We visited for a weekend and found that the claims were true. Everyone was extremely friendly and willing to share information about their experience here at AP. A few months later we returned to look at property and decided to purchase a lot for a future home that we still needed to design. When we retired, we looked at relocating to AP and found an existing home that met all of our requirements and purchased it. We now live in Middleton on Ashley Circle. We love crossing the covered bridge when coming home. Kind of gives us that warm welcome home feeling.
Kate and I are both originally from Madison, Connecticut, and prior to moving here, we lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for the last twenty-two years. Kate retired in 2018 after 20 years as the Food & Beverage manager for the Highland Creek Golf Course in Charlotte where we had previously lived on the eighteenth hole. Kate’s commute to work by foot was very short, only a few hundred yards. On the other hand, I traveled 86 miles each day up until I retired in June from the position of Director of Engineering from Ebara International located in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
We have been blessed with two sons. David, the oldest, is married to Tobi and lives in Hockessin, Delaware. They are busy renovating an older home that they purchased several years ago. David is a project manager for a communications company, while Tobi works in procurement for the State of Delaware. Tobi also volunteers her time managing a shelter for abandoned pugs. Currently their only children are two pugs and one Doberman. Our youngest son Mark graduated from UNC in 2007 and has remained in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. He purchased a home in Concord, just north of Charlotte, and we had the pleasure of helping him make it his own. Mark is currently single, but we have high hopes that he will find a wife and finally get us some grandbabies.
Kate is a crafter and has been involved with many different types of crafts. She also enjoys floral arranging and interior design. I enjoy golf, clay pigeon (skeet/trap) shooting as well as pistol and rifle shooting. I also do a little woodworking. I am kind of a handy-man, and a journeyman electrician. I tell Kate “if I can’t fix it, it cannot be fixed.”
We hope to get involved with the Sound Links Men’s Golf Association, AP Women’s Club, and Sound Sports Club. Volunteering at the Newbold White House and other organizations in the area also is some-thing we are interested in pursuing. Traveling and classic cars are also