CALOOSA WINNIES

Local Chapter outing March 2005

By Nancy Miller

“The Wonders of Florida” was the theme for the Florida State Winnie-Gators Rally March 19-22, 2005, and the Caloosa Winnies had a record number of coaches in attendance!  We formed a caravan to travel to the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, with our last meeting place just outside the fairgrounds. We all arrived the day before the festivities were to begin, and discovered the fairgrounds had been hit with a torrential rain storm the previous day. That is truly a “wonder” of Florida since March is traditionally one of our driest months! The Mid-Florida Winnies group did a great job of greeting and guiding us to the right place to meet as a group to park together. Speaking of the parking job, the South Florida Winnie-Gators did an OUTSTANDING job of getting some 350 coaches parked in spite of the mud and huge “lakes” of rainwater! KUDOS to you all! The Caloosa Winnies were escorted to a parking area adjacent to the lake and as we all lined up and parked, it was a wonderful sight to see so many of us parked in a row! The members in attendance were: Bill & Sue Fuss, Bob & Anita Law, Glenn & Judy Mercer, Jerry & Nancy Miller, Jim & Jane O’Neill, Chuck & Barbara Wood, Bud & Paula Geng, and Phil & Shirley Halstead. We were DELIGHTED to welcome new members to our group, Joanne Weber, Bill & Janet Burbage and Chuck & Rita Bagby.

Thanks to the very organized Funtime Travelers group, registration was accomplished quickly and we were on our way to enjoying a fun packed rally! Friday evening dinner choices were on our own to local restaurants included a lobster buffet or Olive Garden. We made our choices, packed into cars and off we went! Unfortunately, we arrived back to the fairgrounds too late in indulge in Bingo which was the activity for the evening. However, we enjoyed all the food and especially the fellowship of getting together once again!

Saturday morning dawned sunny, but cool for Florida. With temperatures in the 40’s, we were happy to have great coach heaters! Opening ceremonies were held at 11:00 am, followed by delicious ice cream floats for everyone, sponsored by Camping World. The afternoon activities provided us lots of options including a stroll through the vendor building with many items on display, plus some demonstrations at the booths. The cakewalk was held and deemed a success with lots of cakes changing hands! Several Winnebago-Itasca dealers were on hand encouraging everyone to just take a look at the newest coaches and see how they could fit our individual needs. I observed many “lookers” and perhaps several “buyers”. Seminars were presented throughout the rally on many topics relating to RV lifestyles. One that I chose personally was the “Easy Microwave and Convection Cooking”. Thanks to Janet Sadlack’s excellent presentation I now have knowledge how to really use this great appliance!  I still don’t know how she kept track of what was cooking where! We all got to sample the food she prepared and that was the best part!

Dinner was served at 5:30 pm, pot roast and all the trimmings, followed by the evening entertainment, comic Billy Scott. After his wonderful show, drawings were held for door prizes and raffles which none of us won! But there was hope as we knew there would be more opportunities to buy MORE tickets as those hat ladies from the Suncoast Winnies and pirates from the South Florida Winnie-Gators with their “Wagon of Cheer” kept circling the fairgrounds. Talk about your fabulous Easter bonnets and aprons – these ladies really pulled out all the stops on design! As for the pirates – can you imagine grown men and ladies wearing pirate costumes for 4 days? What fun!

Sunday morning breakfast was served at 8:00 am with eggs, biscuits & gravy, fruit, juice and coffee on the menu. The catering group, Rainbow Caterers, did a GREAT job on preparing and serving food every day. They were assisted by the Du-Bol Winnies handling beverage duties. The gospel group, “The Galileans” from Virginia, entertained us with their music and they received a standing ovation at the end of their performance. At 1:00 pm the event not to be missed was held – the ice cream social! Folks were lined up out the door and the Buccaneer Winnies group served everyone fast and furiously!

The Caloosa Winnies held a happy hour hosted at the coach of our presidents Barb & Chuck Wood.  It was great to see so many of us in the group. We kept expanding our circle to make room for everyone! Our group was responsible for hosting the “Wine and Cheese” event on Monday for the rally. We discussed how to set up and serve to make things go smoothly. Jerry Miller was thanked for making a sign for the group to display at rallies and campouts, including an official Caloosa Winnies flag, and a name plate with each members name hung on the sign.

Sunday evening dinner was served at 5:30 pm, corned beef & cabbage , salad, rolls, vegetables, and another “wonder” of Florida dessert – key lime pie! Entertainment was provided by a wonderful barbershop quartet, “Humdingers”, who regularly perform at Walt Disney World. They also received a standing ovation from the crowd, showing them how much we enjoyed their show! More drawings for prizes followed, but alas, none of the Caloosa Winnies won anything!  We really thought our luck HAD to change the next day.

Monday morning after breakfast some of our group attended the WIT seminar to get more information on the rallies and caravans sponsored by WIT. Dennis Burkholder spoke to the group and talked about GNR coming up in July. He also mentioned the WIT membership is over 19,000 which is the largest RV group in the country. He and his wife Bev were seen participating in many activities during the rally. John & Marlyn Fischer, WIT Eastern Area Representatives also spoke and answered questions about the rally/caravan program.

Games that tested our skills were presented in the craft hall by the Spacecoast Winnies, and we all found out just how good –  (Or not so good????) we really are! The “Red Hat Luncheon” was held at 11:00 am and the men were invited to join in! The Book Exchange was held in the craft building, hosted by the Panhandle Winnies. We observed lots of books coming and going....

The “Wine and Cheese” event was scheduled for 3:00 pm and our group met to set up about 1:30pm. THANKS to many helping hands, we set up the tables and decided on traffic flow and started pouring wine. We began serving at 3:00 pm right on time and the event ran very smoothly. Special thanks to all our members for their input and time making this a successful venture! Special thanks also to volunteers who helped out – Robert & Karen Demmerle members of Ononbago Winnies from Syracuse, NY; Cliff and Brigitte Gilmore, presidents of the “International Association of Local Chapter Presidents”. We finished up just in time to see the “Wonder Dog Parade” which is always fun to watch!

Monday evening dinner was again served at 5:30 pm, roast beef, chicken, salad, vegetables, beverages and cheesecake for dessert was enjoyed by all. The tables were beautifully decorated with all kinds of Florida reminders, beach toys, sunglasses, sand pails, strawberries, oranges, small boats, flowers, etc., thanks to the Seaside Winnies group. On the agenda was the Installation of 2005 Florida Winnie-Gators Officers. Our members Bud & Paula Geng were installed as Presidents. We cheered them after they took their oath, we’re proud to have them as members of our club! They both work hard representing WIT and always do a lot of behind the scenes work. Congratulations to all the officers for a successful reign. Entertainment featured Bill White, a singer and preacher, from Texas. Bill is the nephew of Jim Reeves, and told many stories about his late uncle, as well as his life experiences. He also received a standing ovation at the conclusion of his performance. Drawings were held once again for the prizes and once again we didn’t hold the right numbers! But we were happy to have supported the various charities and treasuries!

Tuesday morning came all too soon and it was time to leave and head for home. The experience of being at the rally was again very enjoyable, entertaining, educational, and FUN! We are looking forward to our next group campout April 7 – 10 at Encore SuperPark, Port Charlotte, FL.

If you are traveling in our area, please consider yourselves invited to visit our campouts! We love to have visitors to share our experiences and hospitality! Check our listing in “Who’s Inviting Travelers”.  You can be sure if any of the Caloosa Winnies are traveling in your area, we’ll visit with you!

Barbara Wood
239-945-0190