Caloosa Winnies

Local Chapter

By Nancy Miller

Sun Lake RV Resort at Ruskin, Florida was our destination for the February 2005 campout. The sun was out and the campsites provided us with a nice lake view so the campground lived up to the name! The owners work hard to accommodate groups with a fully stocked recreation building including a nice kitchen and all the games one would ever want to play! The hall was decorated with a Valentine theme, thanks to the owners, which coincidently was our theme for the weekend! Hosts for the weekend were Bill & Sue Fuss, Jerry & Nancy Miller, Chuck and Barbara Wood. Other members joining us were Fred & Jeanne Biery, Bud & Paula Geng, Glenn & Judy Mercer, Jane & Jim O’Neill. Since the weather was warm and sunny the group congregated at the Fuss coach for greetings and conversation before moving to the recreation hall for our traditional Happy Hour.

Dinner was provided by the hosts which included Beef Barbecue on rolls, various salads, and homemade apple pie for dessert. Bingo was the activity for the evening with Barb Wood calling out the numbers. We played a variety of different games and many “exciting” prizes were handed out to the winners.

Saturday morning dawned with a “cold front” that approached the area with temperatures in the 40’s, but that didn’t put a chill on our day! After breakfast the group took a scheduled tour of the U.S. Weather Service Bureau office just down the road. The meteorologist who gave us the tour showed us on their computers where this cold front was and predicted the sun was going to come out later that day. Predicting the weather is really a challenge and we were impressed with all the equipment used to keep the country well informed. A weather balloon is sent up from all the weather stations twice a day to gather data which is transmitted to computers for translation showing predictions all over the country.  With an aggressive hurricane season in 2004 we were especially interested in learning how they track the storms.

Friday lunch was at a new local restaurant, Popi’s Place V, specializing in homemade food which we all enjoyed. A rousing game of bean bag baseball was next on the agenda. Last May at our campout the women beat the men 4 games to 0, so this was a chance for the men to get even the score. At the end of the challenge it was a split score, each team won 1 game. At the end of 2 games it was time for Happy Hour. Both teams were happy to stop play at this point, each team being confident that they would have won the tie breaker! Dinner was a Dolphin Grill in nearby Apollo Beach, followed by our business meeting back at the recreation hall. The remainder of the evening the group enjoyed card games along with coffee and dessert.  

A “pitch in” breakfast at 8:30 am got our day off to a great start on Saturday, with such great cooks in our group there was a nice variety of food enjoyed by all. The weather was warmer as the Weather Service predicted the previous day, so off we went to visit the Tampa Electric Service Manatee Viewing Park nearby. Manatees (also called sea cows) are an endangered species weighing hundreds of pounds, and Florida is home to thousands of them. In winter when the water is cold these creatures move toward warmer water.  In this area they navigate to the park where warm water is discharged from the electric plant. For lunch the group went to Circles Grill at Lands End Marina where the food and view of the boats and water were both very enjoyable.

For the afternoon everyone was on their own to pursue shuffleboard, and other games with Happy Hour commencing at 4:00 pm. Several Valentine games and puzzles sharpened our skills, with more “exciting”  prizes presented to the winners. Beef Stew was provided by the hosts for dinner and everyone added side dishes which made for another wonderful dinner and fellowship. The rest of the evening was spent enjoying games of “31”.

Sunday morning dawned warm and sunny as we gathered for juice, coffee, rolls and donuts. Some of the conversations turned to our plans for March to attend the Florida State Rally in Orlando. We will be caravanning to the Central Florida Fairgrounds, which will be an enjoyable and informative experience. Our members Bud & Paula Geng will be sworn in as Presidents of the Winnie-Gators state organization, and we will be there to congratulate them! All too soon it was time to leave.  As we began going our separate ways everyone agreed what we enjoy the most on our campouts is the camaraderie we share.

The Caloosa Winnies always have an open invitation to any WIT members to join us at a campout. Check the “Who’s Inviting Travelers” section of the WIT magazine and come enjoy our hospitality!

Barbara Wood
239.945.0190