South Florida Winnie-Gators
DECEMBER 2006 OUTING REPORT
By Marlene Sholtes
The Marina RV Resort in Moore Haven was the site of our December Outing. This park is on the southwest corner of Lake Okeechobee. The weather was warm and 14 rigs arrived Thursday. Four more arrive Friday. Barbara Drapeau and Damaris Travers coordinated the Thursday evening meal, consisting of Hobo Soup with bread, crackers and coffee which we all enjoyed. The campground sponsors an ice cream social of which many partook. The wind started whipping up as we began decorating our rigs for Christmas.
We awoke Friday morning with a cold snap along with gusty winds that stayed around until Sunday morning. Arts and Crafts was a finishing-up session for those needing to fix a shirt for the March Rally and those completing the napkin holders. W.C. and Helen Herndon treated us to a champagne party to celebrate their 2006 40' Vectra. What a beautiful rig, it has everything in it, including a fireplace! Happy trails to you both. It seems we have a new rig coming in every month.
Friday's dinner for most of us was at the campground. For $6 they had chicken, gravy, potatoes, corn, and peas with peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert; and it was excellent. In the evening, we had a 50/50 raffle. The ticket sellers were Virgin and Peter Vandervlugt and Rose Weisman dressed in Santa aprons with some adornments. Debbie Fogel handled the money and Marlene Sholtes, Marlene English and Sylvia Smith took care of the ticket ripping. Bartenders Rick Bunn and Ken Perry supplied the beverages. The lucky winners were Barbara Drapeau, Rick Bunn, and Marlene Sholtes. There was also a country 'jam session' in the next room that kept us entertained.
Saturday morning the Club treated us to the campground's breakfast buffet. The cooks had a well-deserved break this morning. After breakfast we scurried around and delivered Christmas cards to everyone's rig, hoping the wind didn't blow any away. At 11 AM, we had our monthly meeting and had the election of officers and board members, to be installed next meeting. We discovered that Sandy Riley was sporting a beautiful diamond engagement ring. Her fiance, Mike Ryles, was attending the campout this weekend. We don't know where she was hiding him.
At 3 PM, we had our annual Egg Nog and Champagne Punch party and gift exchange. Many fine gifts were opened. For dinner Rick and Becky Bunn and Bob Gill prepared spiral cut hams and scalloped potatoes. The members supplied the salads and veggies which we all enjoyed. Later that evening we had our Christmas Party and Raffle. Members brought their favorite desserts, and we were visited by Santa's Naughty Raffle Elves. There was a night launch of the space shuttle Discovery, and we were alerted when it was ready to take off. We all rushed out into the cold night air and saw it light up the sky. What a sight! The campground judges arrived with a list of the three winners of the best decorated rigs. The winners were: 1st Bill and Marlene English; 2nd Joe and Marlene Sholtes; and 3rd W.C. and Helen Herndon.
Sunday morning we undecorated our rigs, gathered at the Herndon's new rig and enjoyed muffins with our coffee. We then said our goodbyes and wished each other a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!