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Caloosa Winnies
Local Chapter
By Nancy Miller
Camping in the Sunshine State is always a great time
– but sometimes the sunshine turns “liquid” as was the case for the
Caloosa’s February 1 – 4, 2007 weekend! However, that did not dampen our
spirits – just changed our agenda a bit! A RECORD of 17 coaches rallied
together at Sun Lake RV Park in Ruskin, Florida! Co-hosts were Sue & Bill
Fuss and Ruby & Chuck Bagby. Other members attending were Janet & Bill
Burbage, Bob & Jackie Coy, Bud & Paula Geng, Cathy & Al Goebel, Kathryn
Griffin, Jack & Lorene MacGregor (who were recently married –
congratulations!) Nancy & Jerry Miller, Jim & Sally Rayburn, JoAnne Weber,
Lee & Zeline Wishing, Barbara Wood, Ellen & Charlie Zucker. Guests
attending were Mikki & Dick Dodge, WIT Eastern Area Reps, Maxine & Nick
Traino, John Peacock & Carol Mastro. Phil & Shirley Halstead also joined
us for part of the weekend, with their guests Bridgett & Cliff Gilmore.
Thursday at 4 pm was Happy Hour, followed with dinner
served by the hosts. Lasagna and all the trimmings was on the menu, with
Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. After the wonderful dinner, bingo was on
the agenda. Charlie Zucker was the bingo caller, and he livened up the
game for sure! Al Goebel was the big jackpot winner!
Friday morning dawned cloudy and rainy. After
breakfast we gathered in the recreation hall to work on the Florida Rally
decorations. Some of the group went to see the Manatees at the nearby
park, others worked on more decorations. At 2pm was “batters up” for bean
bag baseball! The men vs. the women – the teams were set. First game – the
women won. Second game - the men won. So it was decided to have a playoff
game on Saturday to determine the champs. Happy Hour began at 4pm, then we
caravanned to Ozzie’s Restaurant nearby. This was a new buffet restaurant
and the food was outstanding! After dinner we returned to the campground
and played cards and dominoes.
Saturday morning was cold and rainy, however, we felt
very fortunate to be where we were as a tornado ripped through parts of
Florida Friday night about 75 miles from where we were. Luckily we only
had wind & rain. Our “Pitch in” breakfast was the BEST – such a variety of
wonderful food prepared by the best cooks! At 10am was our business
meeting with much discussion concerning the rally plans. Our group will be
handling the decorations, Pet Parade, a craft project and selling tickets
for the Winnie Gators charity raffle. During the meeting we were PROUD to
announce John Peacock and Carol Mastro decided to join our group and we
heartily welcomed them as new members.
After lunch at 3pm our beanbag baseball playoff game
began! Men vs. Women. Who would be the champions? Inning by inning the
team scores changed from winners to losers, and the drama continued to the
7th and last inning. The score was Men 23, Women 24. The women’s score at
the end of team play was 24, the men were up. What a surprise when they
STRUCK OUT – 3 outs in a row, so the Women won!! There was the traditional
celebration with the arched tunnel to run though and all!! The men were
good sports, and a GREAT time was had by all!
Dick Dodge, WIT Eastern Area Rep. showing his baseball form
Happy Hour was again at 4pm. Sue Fuss put pictures on
the walls of members from the “old days” showing wedding pictures,
childhood and high school pictures and we had to guess who was who. It was
really fun trying to guess, and a few pictures really did stump us. Dinner
was Roast Beef prepared by the hosts and Potluck contributions by the rest
of the group. A special ice cream cake was unveiled to celebrate the 50th
wedding anniversary for Sally & Jim Rayburn. After dinner some of the
members played cards and dominoes once again.
Sunday morning breakfast was served at 8:30 am with
donuts, bagels, coffee and juice. Soon it was time to pack up and head
home. This was truly a wonderful, memorable weekend! Our membership is
growing and we invite anyone to visit with us if you’re in our area! Check
“Who’s Inviting Travelers” and spend a weekend with our group! We’ll leave
the light on for you…
Nancy Miller
239-574-2511
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