Caloosa Winnies

May 2009 Outing

Buttonwood Bay RV Resort at Sebring, FL was the location for the April 30 – May 3, 2009 combined meeting for the Caloosa Winnies and Spacecoast Winnies. Co-hosts for the weekend were Sue & Bill Fuss, Bob & Chris Ross, Bud & Sue Swift, Bill & Doris Palmer. The weather was warm and sunny as everyone made their way to the park in time for Thursday Happy Hour. The Caloosa Raffle Chicks & Roosters (Gail & Gary Darner, Corinne & Pete Wightman) made an appearance! The team sold lots of tickets for the raffle prizes! Dinner was served at 5:30pm, Swedish Meatballs and lots of creative dishes prepared by all the cooks. An Ice Cream Social followed dinner. Sue Swift set up a Chinese Auction with lots of prize donations. Tickets were drawn for the raffle and auction and most everyone got a prize! Cards and games were played the remainder of the evening.

Friday morning the cooks were up early preparing our traditional pancake breakfast. At 9:30 am we all caravanned to a local bowling alley for an exciting morning of bowling! Most of the group had not bowled in 30 years or more so it was a sight to see! Scores varied from 30 to 180’s – what a great way to spend the morning! After lunch we all headed to the Sebring Race Track for a tour, and for the brave members some had rides in a race car around the track! Speeds ranged from 80 to 120 plus MPH – at the wheel was a professional driver so we were in safe hands! THANKS to Bob & Chris Ross for arranging this event!

At 4:00pm it was time for Happy Hour, followed by a caravan to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. Back at the clubhouse Bingo was on tap, followed with alligator hunting! With flashlights in hand we went to the river area behind the clubhouse and flashed lights into the reeds and found several alligators nearby! We counted at least 8 as we saw the reds of their eyes! Needless to say we kept our distance!

Saturday morning “Omelets in a Bag” was the menu – everyone made their own creations and enjoyed the results! Business meetings followed, and for lunch the guys cooked hotdogs and hamburgers on grills. Free time for the rest of the early afternoon was followed by an early start on our Kentucky Derby Party. Everyone was given the opportunity to create a special hat to be judged in our contest! Our judges were members of Seaside Winnies who came to join us for the celebration! The hat parade began, pictures were taken and awards presented in several categories! “Caloosa Mint Juleps” were served just prior to the beginning of the Derby race, bets were placed then we watched the race on TV. After the race finished we had our own Caloosa Horse Races! First we had a contest to name the horses, bets were placed on the horses, and the races were on! Lots of whoops and hollers and many happy winners in the audience!

Sunday morning was our gathering for coffee, donuts, bagels, & fruit before we all said our goodbyes. It was a fun weekend, thanks to all the members who helped and participated in the events!

WE LOVE VISITORS! If you are traveling in our area please feel free to join us! Watch our schedule in “Who’s Inviting Travelers”.

Nancy Miller
239-565-3115