CALOOSA
WINNIES
May
Outing Report
By Nancy Miller
The month of May in Florida – what a beautiful time for a campout! Warm, sunny, low humidity, and balmy breezes – all a recipe for a GREAT long weekend for the Caloosa Winnies! May 5 – 8 our destination was the Fort Myers Beach RV Resort and now that “season” was over for all the snowbirds, we had the campground facilities mostly to ourselves. We were especially glad to see members Jim & Margaret Armstrong along for the weekend since we had missed them for several months. Other members attending were Chuck & Ruby Bagby, Bud & Paula Geng, Jerry & Nancy Miller, Jim & Jane O’Neill, JoAnne Weber, Barbara & Chuck Wood. Co-hosts for the weekend were Barb & Chuck Wood, and Jim & Jane O’Neill. Many of our members had already headed north – we call them “reverse snowbirds” – and we missed them! Thursday afternoon Happy Hour was held at the Armstrongs’ coach patio, featuring our first “Joke Telling Contest”! Some of the punch lines were, “....it tasted like peppermint!!” and “...if that car starts, I’m turning Catholic!” There were so many funny jokes told that no one could decide on a winner! This event proved to be so much fun we decided this will have “jokes” at future Happy Hours! Dinner was held at Sunflower Cafe nearby, and the remainder of the evening we enjoyed playing several games of “31”.
Friday morning the business meeting was held after breakfast, and most of the discussion centered around GNR since we have 9 coach families attending. Since this year is the 35th anniversary of the formation of the Caloosa Winnies, discussion was brought up about having special badges made commemorating this special accomplishment for each member to wear. A motion was made and seconded in favor of having badges made. Jerry Miller volunteered to head the project. The meeting was adjourned and the group caravanned to downtown Fort Myers to have lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack. The restaurant overlooks the beautiful Caloosahatchee River, with a nice view of the water and the yachts anchored nearby. Back at the campground some of the members played shuffleboard, or went shopping. One of our newest members, Chuck and Ruby Bagby, said they never played this game before. You sure couldn’t tell by us – they looked like pros to us! At 4:00pm we all went to the “World’s Largest Shell Factory” in North Fort Myers, and what an attraction! there are many buildings to roam around looking at displays of shells, Christmas displays, life sized stuffed wild animals, just a huge array of things to see. At dusk, the amazing and unusual “Waltzing Waters” show, also billed as “liquid fireworks” began, and we had ringside seats to enjoy the performance. The music and colored lights along with the fountains proved to be a superb show! There are only a few displays like this one in the world, and the company who designed this is based right in Cape Coral, a city across the river from Fort Myers.
Saturday morning was a special treat as we journeyed to Flippers Restaurant on Black Island, located in Lovers Key State Park, for our own private brunch. The scenery was beautiful as you can imagine, any place on an island surrounded by clear blue water is such a visual experience. The food was wonderful as we expected, and we enjoyed the leisurely meal. THANKS to Barb Wood for arranging this event for us. Barb and Chuck own a condo nearly and gave us a tour of the property, again with beautiful views! We spent some time walking on the beach, collecting shells and just enjoying the sunshine and sticking our toes in the water.
One of the great benefits of belonging to any camping group is the information shared by members looking for a solution to an RV problem. Chuck & Ruby had a problem with the RV step that just decided not to work! We all know it’s a mechanical thing, subject to all the hazards of travel. Bud Geng volunteered to look at the step to see if he could diagnose the problem. Lo and behold, after careful process of elimination, Bud discovered a loose wire causing the problem! He fixed it right on the spot, and the problem was solved! THANKS to Bud for taking this to task, he’s a handy guy to have in the group since he knows A LOT about Winnebago products!
Next on the agenda back at the campground recreation
hall was post time for the Kentucky Derby! Everyone had the chance to get
a ticket for their favorite horse. Tradition for the Derby at Churchill
Downs is all the ladies wear big fancy hats and everyone drinks Mint
Juleps. Well, we were not to be left out even though we were over 850
miles from Kentucky. The ladies had beautifully decorated hats, (and so
did some of the men!), and OUR Mint Juleps came from a “box” in
special plastic cups – without the mint!
Soon it was time for the race
and we were fortunate to watch it on a BIG SCREEN TV! It was almost like
we were there! Many comments were made about the odds on the horses and as
it turned out, the winning horses were really long shots!
Jim Armstrong held the winning ticket for Giacomo, the winner!
Jerry Miller and Chuck Wood had horses that come in at place and show. It
was a pretty exciting race, even though it actually lasted only a few
minutes. The pre-race pageantry is the most fun, both at Louisville, KY
and Ft. Myers Beach, FL.
A potluck dinner was next, with our co-hosts serving a delicious dish of baked chicken. Our usual assortment of side dishes made this a great meal! We have some of the best cooks in the WIT organization! Everyone pitched in for cleanup, and we were ready to play cards. Chuck Bagby, swears he never played this game before, but he took some of our quarters with a big smile on his face!
Sunday was Mother’s Day, with Happy Mother’s Day wishes extended to all the mothers in the group. Barb Wood made a delicious coffee cake that we all enjoyed with our juice and coffee. Soon it was time for everyone to head home. Many of the members will be taking trips away for the summer, and of course we’ll meet at GNR which will really be a fun time! Our next campout will be in October for those who would like to attend the Winnie-Gators state meeting at Sun ‘N’ Fun RV Resort in Sarasota. Our official group meeting will be November 3 – 6 at Encore Sarasota North, located in Bradenton, FL.
If you’re traveling in our area next fall, please consider joining us for a campout! We always welcome visitors! Look for our campout schedule in the WIT column “Who’s Inviting Travelers”. Plan to attend our 35th Anniversary party December 1 – 4 at Lakeland RV Resort in Lakeland, FL. if you’re in our area! We’ll see many of you at GNR!
Barbara Wood
239-945-0190