Shopping in The Villages

Though it may be just you and your board gliding through a riptide or across hot pavement, a trip to FreeRide Surf & Skate Shop involves actual human interaction. Here, surfers and skaters take a break from board-based exploits to outfit themselves in shorts and bikinis accessorized by Ray-Ban or Oakley sunglasses and sandals from Reef and Vans. Surfboards, longboards, and skateboards—ready to conquer bustling streets, open shorelines, or particularly deep bathtubs—fill the store. If customers can’t find exactly what they are looking for, staffers will special order most items, working hard to match the price and cover shipping on most items.

Armed with more than 20 years of framing experience and a lifelong passion for preserving artistic works, Héctor Puig personally helps customers select the perfect display methods for their pieces. Together, they sift through the gallery's selection, which includes wooden and metal frames with matte black, cherry, and antique gold finishes, to name a few. In addition to aesthetically completing a picture or a diploma's presentation, these frames, along with other materials, come in archival varieties for customers who value conservation above all else.

For inspiration, visitors can peruse the gallery's eclectic displays of paintings and sculptures by regional, national, and intergalactic artists. Héctor explained his motivation for continually seeking out these works to the Gainesville Sun in 2005, saying, "I want people to feel like they can come in and see what real art is about, as opposed to feeling like it's something they can't understand." Among these works are pieces from Héctor's personal collection of hand-carved santos de palo figures, which come from his native Puerto Rico and occasionally appear in domestic and international museums, according to Gainesville Magazine in 2006.

For more than 30 years, the staff at the family-owned Leonard's Furniture has helped homeowners make their dwellings more livable by stocking a 14,000 sq. ft. showroom full of décor and furnishings from more than 150 vendors. The team makes the shopping process easier by delivering and assembling any in-stock items free of charge. Those items include furnishings for dining rooms, living rooms, and bedrooms from brands such as Ashley, Lane, FlexSteel, and Tempur-Pedic. The store's comprehensive stock includes home office staples including desks, chairs, and mirrors that come in varying sizes and opinions on Snow White. Shoppers can also find equipment to furnish home-entertainment rooms, such as theater seats that eject anyone who takes out their cell phone during a movie.