Panhandle Winnies
                   January Outing

The Panhandle Winnies met for their January gathering at the Holiday
Camping on the Gulf in Sandestin, Florida just east of Destin and Ft. Walton
Beach on Highway 98.  Camping on the Gulf is located right on the white sand
beaches of our gulf coast where if you wanted, step out your door right on
to the beach.  There were 15 member coaches attending this start of our 2002
monthly campouts.  We were again fortunate to have guests join us for the
weekend, Mickey and Esper McNair who joined us for the second time.  Their
first time was last year.  Since their first attendance, they have applied
to WIT and are waiting for their acceptance after which they plan to join
our chapter.
The wagon masters for this campout were Harry and Elaine Heinisch along
with John and Dottie Stabler.  John had the duty of providing all the
arrivals with a warm welcome, a broad smile, and welcome package.  John had
a great deal of help in greeting our members because the weather was
absolutely beautiful.
After a heated afternoon game of Pokino, our gathering in the spacious
clubhouse was rewarded with a delicious Friday night potluck dinner.  We
enjoyed all the different dished that were presented and then socialized on
into the evening.  There were several types of games ongoing as well as
catching up on who and what happened since our last campout.  After our
Saturday potluck breakfast, we held our monthly meeting.  We discussed the
upcoming Florida State Rally and our participation.  With the enthusiasm
that was voiced, we are expecting the majority of our members will be
attending in March.  We also discussed who would be attending GNR this year
and whether there are any state rallies before or after the GNR that we
could attend traveling to or from Iowa.  A rousing round of applause was
provided to John Ware for his unselfish giving to other members of the club
in keeping us on the road.  John is known as our club's mechanic who has
spent many hours under and inside coaches correcting all sorts of problems
as well as giving us helpful hints on upkeep and new innovations.  Thanks
John!  At the completion of the meeting, we were rewarded with three pearls
of "wisdom" provided by Burrel Sumner our resident humorist.  It is always
good to have such a selection of talent in our group.
Unfortunately our good weather did not last through out the weekend because
Mother Nature decided that our lovely gulf coast needed more rain along with
a dash of cool air.  Those who stayed in their coaches on Saturday afternoon
were somewhat gently rocked by the winds accompanied by the symphony of rain
on the roof, windows, and awning. Before the rains came, Kathleen Henderson
introduced several of our group to a new game she had picked up sometime
earlier.  It immediately caught the attention of the more sporting as well
as several passer-bys.  That evening, we stepped out to The Lighthouse
restaurant in Destin about 15 minutes west of the campground.  We all
enjoyed their 2-for-1 special that included an array of seafood dinners,
chowder and gumbo, and excellent prime rib.  With everyone satisfied, upon
our return to the clubhouse we resumed the evening games.  Sunday morning
the rain and wind had passed but left fog in its place.  Our wagon masters
provided hot coffee and donuts with a sprinkling of bagels for the early
risers.  This hit the spot and gave us the final opportunity to talk before
we started our departures.
Our next scheduled gathering is for February 15-17 at Southwind RV Park,
Magnolia Springs, AL followed by our March 16-19 gathering at the Florida
State Rally in Orlando, FL.