The Panhandle Winnies met for their February campout at the Southwind RV
Park outside Magnolia Springs, AL a mere 7 miles west of Foley off U.S. 98
and just east of Fairhope, AL. This month we had and exceptional gathering
of 24 member units to celebrate with a theme of Mardi Gras.  The weather was
absolutely wonderful with plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures during
the day for those who wanted it accompanied by cool evenings for pleasant
sleeping.  The campground is situated in a quiet farming community that
allowed us to escape from the hustle of our day-to-day activities yet close
enough for good dining and shopping. Our weekend wagon masters, John and
Nadine Ware along with Slick and Catherine Sherouse, arrived on Thursday
along with 11 other member units to take advantage of the weather and get an
early start to the weekends activities.  The wagon masters provided a warm
welcome to each of the arrivals and did an excellent job of decorating the
clubhouse.  John Ware brought a new game for our members to play, Golf Ball
Toss, that proved to be a hit from the time he put it out.  Members played
games from Thursday afternoon through Saturday.  We even had other
campground RVers stop by to watch all the fun we were having and that
afforded John the opportunity of selling two extra games he had made.
Although it is a simple game (it has to be for us to participate) some
participants in our group who had the scorekeepers on the lookout for
wayward flying golf balls.  The spectators also had to be careful of any
heckling because there was always a possibility of a "very poorly thrown
toss."  When it was all said and done, we all enjoyed the game and each of
those who participated had their own technique on how to toss the golf balls
to score.

Outside activities were not the only events that drew our participation
during the campout.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights had us gathered
in the clubhouse where we took advantage of camaraderie.  There were five
tables filled with members enjoying different cards games.  This was in
addition to those just gathered for talking about what had happened since
our last gathering and plans for future events.  Our Friday potluck dinner
was the start of the official weekends activities.  We enjoyed the excellent
food that the members presented to complement the delicious ham provided by
the wagon masters and then socialized late into the evening.  After our
Saturday breakfast that consisted of the wagon master's wonderful pancakes
and tender sausage, we held our monthly meeting. During the meeting, we
discussed plans for our participation in the Florida State Rally held at the
Fair Grounds in Orlando in March.  All those who were planning to attend set
their travel arrangements and schedules.  Also, the chapter members will
participate with our sponsor, Carpenter's Campers of Pensacola, FL, in a
Show and Tell scheduled for March 9th at the Carpenter's Campers facilities.
We also began discussing and planning for our attendance at GNR.  At the
completion of the meeting, we ventured outside to enjoy the weather and try
to better our techniques in tossing two golf balls tied together with a
14-inch string and make them do what we wanted them to do.  We also
practiced our beanbag baseball in preparation for the upcoming April shared
campout with the South Magnolia Travelers in Biloxi, MS.  The Travelers beat
us unmercifully last April and we plan to return the favor this year.  We
have a couple of secret weapons this year. Isn't that right Mickey and
Esper?

Saturday evening we all went to the Cracker Barrel Restaurant a couple of
miles south of Foley on highway 59 across from the Rivera Factory Stores
Mall where we took advantage of the excellent country style cooking ordered
from their extensive menu.  They were gracious hosts and did well to seat
all 49 of us and provide us with wonderful food.  We all met back at the
clubhouse to get several rounds of group photos for our chapter album and
the start of the evening's social card games and fellowship.  Our Sunday
breakfast was a potluck with numerous selections of scrambled eggs, assorted
breakfast meats and casseroles, fruit, and pastries along with juice and
plenty of piping hot coffee.  The wagon masters finished their duties in
exceptional style.

For our next gathering, we will be at our Florida State Rally in March but
our next scheduled campout is April 26 - 28 at Parkers Landing north of
Biloxi, MS followed by our May 17 - 19 campout at Wolf Bay Plantation in
Elberta, AL.