CALOOSA WINNIES

January 2008 Outing

BRRRR! The temperatures were at freezing for the opening day of the Caloosa Winnies January Campout!  At Sun N’ Fun RV Resort in Sarasota, Florida, January 3 – 6, 2008, 22 coaches arrived on the grounds, and before long we all warmed up thanks to the smiling faces and welcoming committee! Hosts for the weekend were Al & Cathy Goebel, Jim & Sally Rayburn, Jerry & Nancy Miller. We welcomed guests David Nobert & Janice Cummings.  The “Fabulous Fifties” was the theme, the recreation hall was decorated with pink & black table covers and table favors representing fun things from the 50’s. Vases of Kleenix flowers – a tradition from the 50’s appeared on the tables. Happy Hour was held at 4:00pm, with a raffle to benefit our charity, “Dogs For The Deaf”. The winning ticket was drawn and Kathryn Griffin won the Camping World Gift Certificate prize! We raised over $100 for the charity. A potluck dinner with Sloppy Joes and dishes provided by our great cooks followed, with cards and games enjoyed by all for the evening.

Friday morning the sun came out and a warming trend began as we met at the recreation hall to work on a project for our Winnie Gators State Rally to be held in March. Each chapter was asked to donate a craft for the goody bags and our group spent the morning

creating beaded key chains. THANKS to Kathryn Griffin for supplying the materials and directions on making these prizes. The ladies – and a few men – had a good time working together. Jerry & Nancy Miller were showing off their new coach – an 2008 Adventurer 38J floorplan which was only a few weeks old!

Friday afternoon some members went to Ringling Brothers Museum nearby, it was a free afternoon until Happy Hour at 4:00pm. The minute the door was opened to the hall the aroma of Bud Geng’s spaghetti sauce was awesome! Dinner was served at 5:30pm with the members providing side dishes. THANKS to Bud who makes his sauce and meatballs  from scratch, everyone had plenty to eat! The evening 50’s party began about 7:00pm with members dressed in their favorite outfits!! Some of the ladies wore poodle skirts, saddle shoes, charm bracelets, bobby socks, penny loafers, and the men had t-shirts, jeans, slicked back hair styles, it was such a great variety of outfits!

 Each person received a Kleenix flower for a corsage or boutonniere. A contest “Who Am I” was held, each person had a name label on their back and had to ask others a series of questions to determine who they were. The names were all singers and groups from the 50’s so we had to dig into our memories to remember the names! Carol Mastro was the first person to guess her identity! John Peacock entertained us with some 50’s music by singing and playing guitar.

Saturday morning was a Potluck breakfast with tables full of wonderful food! The business meeting was held with much discussion concerning the March Rally projects. We welcomed David Nobert & Janice Cummings as members, we’re happy to have them join us! At 11:00am we caravanned to visit the offices of “Dogs For The Deaf” which is our charity. They provided us with a luncheon and demonstration of the training program. They do a wonderful job helping people with hearing disabilities aquire and train their dogs. Next we went down the road to visit Mixon Fruit Farms and sampled the fruit they grow, sampled wines, browsed through the store and made purchases. A tram tour of the property was held at 3:00pm which included a history of the orange groves, the growing process and a wildlife exhibit. Sue Fuss was BRAVE and held the Phython snake – we have pictures! They do rehabitation for injured birds and animals which we found interesting. At the end of the tour they provided us with sandwiches and beverages and the wonderful orange swirl ice cream cones! MANY THANKS to Phil Halstead for making the arrangements for our entertaining afternoon!

The evening events began at 7:00pm with a “Soda Fountain Special”. Members could come to the fountain and order sundaes, milkshakes, root beer or coke floats! Our servers were the hosts of the weekend all dressed in soda jerk hats and aprons!

Installation of Officers for 2008 was held with Bud Geng officiating the ceremony. Officers for 2008 are Jerry & Nancy Miller, President; Charlie & Ellen Zucker, Vice Presidents; Sue & Bill Fuss, Secretary; Jane & Jim O’Neill, Treasurer. What an outstanding team! The rest of the evening everyone played cards and games.

Sunday morning breakfast was served at 8:30am, and soon we were saying our goodbyes and looking forward to our February campout at Sun Lake RV Park in Ruskin, FL. THANKS to our hosts for a great, fun weekend!

If you are traveling in our area the Caloosa Winnies invite you to join us for a weekend. Check the “Who’s Inviting Travelers” section for our schedule. Come and meet us if you attend the Winnie Gators State Rally, March 6 – 9 in Orlando! We want to meet you!

Jerry Miller
239-574-2511