South Florida Winnie-Gators

The November Thanksgiving Outing was held at Paradise Island in Fort Lauderdale. 15 coaches attended, and two member couples visited, Jan & Ed Miles and Chuck & Joan Seager. Other visitors included Rick & Becky Bunn’s grandsons; Jim & Sue Wilson’s son and his family; Chuck & Joan Seager’s granddaughter; former members Gary & Barbara Price; and our Friday evening entertainer Rock Powell. The weather was Florida perfect all weekend. In the low eighties, sunny with nice tropical breezes. Thursday evening some members dined at the Wine Cellar where they have delicious German and Hungarian food in a nice ambiance.

Friday’s 50/50 Happy Hour was another success with Marijo Bierie, Junior Raffle Babe, selling the tickets. Dinner consisted of “huge” hamburgers and cheeseburgers cooked on the grill outdoors expertly grilled by Rick Bunn, George Shaughnessy and John Bierie. This was accompanied by baked beans hovered over by Damaris Travers, Marlene Sholtes and Marge Shaughnessy. Our evening entertainment was a big hit! Performing were Ken Perry and his All Star Band featuring Rock Powell with his melodious vocals. They performed many types of music including the fifties, Motown and many different performers such as the Blues Brothers, Santana, Ray Charles, etc. Everyone was up on the dance floor. They are awesome and are booked to play at the Florida State Rally in March.

Saturday our breakfast was pancakes topped with apples and whipped cream accompanied with sausages. Many members participated in making alligator key chains assisted by Damaris Travers, Jean Fantelli, and Joe & Marlene Sholtes. Everyone was quite pleased with their key chains. The Pilgrim Raffle Babes, Becky Bunn and Damaris Travers, visited happy hour and sold many raffle tickets. There were 15 great prizes won by our lucky members.

Saturday evening we dined on a Thanksgiving feast! There was turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes and many, many side dishes supplied by the members. It all ended with delicious pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Yummy! We later played Crazy Cards, led by Damaris Travers and assisted by Marge Shaughnessy. The big winners were Ed Miles who won first, and tied for second were Peter Vanderlugt and Gary Price.

Sunday morning we were treated to scrambled eggs, sausage and toast prepared by George Shaughnessy and Rick Bunn. Of course, Charlie Travers supplied the coffee all weekend, as usual. He does such a good job! Our club is blessed with many members who do not hesitate to jump in to help out whenever help is needed. We then had our monthly board and membership meetings before we parted ways until our next campout.