FLORIDA PICKLERS

A Family Gathering ?

2012-01-22T22:30:00.001-05:00

On Sunday evening we gathered with some of our friends at the home of Art and Hedy. (While most of us have our motor home or 5th wheel - Art and Hedy own one of the park models here at Peace River). Hedy says the evening was a "medal celebration". This is the group that came home with 10 medals/awards last Saturday at the Winter in Paradise Pickleball Tournament over in Sun City Center.

Whatever the reason - it was an evening of fun, great laughter and an outstanding menu. Seated below around the table is Nate, Tom, Karen, Rich, Donna, Art, Hedy, Buddy, Diane..... In the bottom photo - Krystal is back at the table and Hedy begins serving up the food.

The evening started with your choice of beverage, but most of us enjoyed the freshly made fruit punch. The menu was 5 Star Quality and consisted of Chicken Cordon-Blue, Baked Potato, Peas, Green Salad and Biscuits.

I think it was when Buddy and Diane's bottle of champagne was opened that the story telling and laughter went up a notch or two. We heard about the teenage years from Rich and his wild weekly keg parties and bad driving habits. There was Tom - the good little alter boy and his "impure thoughts" about one of the Catholic nuns. And I learned that Krystal and I were much the same back in high school - both wanting to save the world - me as a nun and her as a missionary! But the best story of the evening was the office romance that brought Art and Hedy together 28 years ago.

And the evening was not yet over . It was time for coffee and dessert. And out came the biggest cheesecake I've ever seen. One half covered in blueberries and the other with cherries. Absolutely delicious - with seconds for Tom and Rich!

How fortunate we are to share such good times with such wonderful people and so blessed to be part of such a great RV family.

Friday Night Live - Downtown Wauchula

2012-01-21T22:12:00.002-05:00

We made a quick trip Friday night to check out the monthly Friday Night Live in downtown Wauchula. This month was Las Vegas Night. The Casino was open for gambling of your choice - Roulette, Black Jack or Texas Hold-Em.... A $10 or $20 donation got you your chips to gamble away - Big winners would take home the big prizes. Neither of us are gamblers - so we just walked around to see what else was going on.

Walking down Main Street we spotted the HART (Hardee Animal Rescue Team) Booth. Yes - that great big tall puppy caught our eye, but it was this beautiful female Beagle that got our attention. She was seven years old and they called her Grandma - because of her white face.......... She was a bit timid - but with all the excitement of the night that was certainly understandable. It was sooooooooooooooo hard to not take her home with us!

But we went on our way ........ but before leaving, Rich insisted we stand in this very long line so that he could have his Funnel Cake!!

It was a quick visit tonight and we headed for home.

An evening of celebration......

2012-01-21T21:39:00.001-05:00

Just recently on of our favorite couples here at Peace River decided to take that giant step - and were joined in holy matrimony! It really was not a big surprise to most of us. They really have so much in common, especially their love of music and "jammin"!

Thanks to Krystal and Nate who decided it was time that we help the two of them celebrate, we worked together to plan an evening with friends that we hope they will remember.

They were the first to arrive so I took advantage of the little remaining daylight to try and snap a picture of the two of them with their cake.

It was a perfect evening - beginning with a pot luck dinner. Most popular tonight was the Spaghetti. Mira - your sauce is perfection!! Krystal must have cooked 3lbs of spaghetti - and it was completely gone by the end of the evening. But - this group of people are great in the kitchen - there was a great variety of other dishes, h'orderves and sweets - that no-one went home hungry.

There was a bit of a chill in the air - so the campfire was perfect! We also had a guest book that we asked everyone to sign along with their home town. Below Rene and Mira smile as they leave the newly weds a few words.............

Below - the happy couple is surrounded by a few of their many friends that came out to celebrate with them tonight.

Congratulations Buddy and Diane - Best wishes to both of you!

The Guest List:
Nate and Krystal
Bob and Vicky
Vick and Judy
Rene and Mira
Tom and Karen
Art and Hedy
John and Carla
Earl and Cindy
Garth and Rosemary
Paul and Carla
Woody
Sally
Jim and Patti
Jim and Judy
Nick and Tonyia
Rich and Donna

Winter in Paradise- Pickleball at Kings Point

2012-01-14T19:01:00.001-05:00

We're always surprised when we visit Louann and her pickleball group at Kings Point in Sun City Center. She takes such great pride in putting on a fun day of pickleball for everyone of every age and every skill level. She is such a creative lady and that is most evident in the pickleball goodie bags and the pickleball awards she puts together for winners. Today, the weather was exceptionally cold so how appropriate that the goodie bags complete with juice, breakfast bars, crackers, cookies or chocolate bars also came with little note pads cleverly attired in colorful sweatshirts . Trophies awaited the first place winner, paper weights the second place winners, and bronze medals for those finishing third. Every item displayed either the Winter In Paradise Logo and/or the pickleball paddles.

Everyone arrived bundled for the blast of cold weather that set in over night. Last night we were playing in our shorts and t-shirts, but this morning we welcomed the low 40's and wind! Below at the check in table is Nate, Hedy, Art and Buddy.

How cold was it? Hedy's face tells it all! In the lower left corner is Scott Nelson, our fellow USAPA ambassador who drove all the way from Satellite Beach ( near Melbourne) on the east coast!! That's his son Joshua with him. And in the lower right is Pat, Zachary and Chris who drove down from our home community in Wesley Chapel along with Pat's wife Suzi and Zack's mom, Karen. Don Bass, also from our home community was supposed to be with them, and playing with me today..........but he tore his hamstring playing pickleball two nights ago.

As the day wore on it became a little more bearable; the sun came out and people started shedding layers of clothing. They call me a Polar Bear..... but check out Karen and Nate!!!!

Pictured below in the top four pictures are Karen, Hedy, Buddy and Nate. On the bottom row left is Jean who drove over from Torrey Oaks, and on the right is Louann and her partner Nadine. Congrats to Nate and Buddy on their Second Place finish!

Rich partnered up with Chris from Wesley Chapel. Art was supposed to play with Don Bass - so when he could not play, Rich stepped in and played with Art. They played off the medal match for 3rd and 4th place against Zachary and Pat - and Art and Rich brought home the Bronze Medal!! Below are pictures of Rich playing with both Chris and Art.

Karen, like Rich played with two partners today. She played with Hedy and she played with me. We started off pretty bad - and I'm just going to blame it on the wind, and a little nerves, despite the fact that we had some pretty tough competition. We were sure we were not in the running for a medal, so Rich and I took off for home. About 1/2 mile down the road, Nate called to say Karen and I were due to playoff for the Bronze. We Kicked Butt!!! Not really.........our competition was late for another engagement and had to leave. So by default we take home the Bronze!

And below - the rest of the gang from home. That's Karen and Suzi (in the blue) and Pat and 12 year old Zachary. Don't let his age fool you. He's really a very talented young man, and plays a mean game!

Rich and I did not play in the mixed doubles in the afternoon - but most of our friends did. So we're still waiting to hear the results.

The weather could have been a little more accommodating today - but it was a fun day with our pickleball family.

Reuniting with old friends.........

2012-01-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

It was the summer of 2007 when we met Marcel Lemieux and Louise Barette. We were traveling through New York State on our way to St. Clair Michigan, when we stopped to play with a group of pickleball players in Scotia, New York. The two of them were visiting from Quebec, Canada and we all ended up in the same place at the same time. Coincidence? Maybe so - but we have remained in touch since that time.

It was the winter of 2008/2009 that we planned to spend the season together, along with a few of our other pickleball friends at the Outback RV park at Tanglewood in Sebring, Fl. We got to know the two of them so much better that winter, both on and off the courts. Not only do they play a mean game of pickleball, they are professional clowns and magicians.

After returning home to Quebec, they both experienced some serious medical issues, Marcel with his heart, and Louise with breast cancer.

Today we saw them again for the first time since they left Sebring. And they are looking and feeling just wonderful!!! They drove down from Dover (near Tampa) today and spent the afternoon and evening with us. The two are very active with Pickleball Quebec - so it was a lot of pickleball talk. We did take a stroll along the River, cooked out some burgers and talked until after dark. They will be staying over in St. Pete Beach in February - so hopefully we can get together at least one more time before they head back north.

Florida FREEZE

2012-01-04T08:31:00.000-05:00

How quickly the temperatures here in Florida can change. Here are a few pictures of our home over the last week.............

The sun is shining brightly and Santa definately had to have wheels on that sleigh to land on this roof..........

And here it is again - lit up for the holiday season.........

But the forecast was for a Hard Freeze last night, so the trees and shrubs were covered to protect them. Hard Freeze means that temperatures will remain at freezing or below for several hours....It was well in to the 20's last night.

New Year's Eve 2011

2012-01-02T08:51:00.000-05:00

Well we didn't have Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber (did I spell that right?) but we had music and dancing and a little Karaoke, and we rocked the night away with friends, old and new, and rang in the new year with Dick Clark at the stroke of midnight!

But the celebrations started early in the morning. Bruce and Gena and our little Miss Darby, down from Tennessee to visit family over the holidays, took time away to come visit with us. We met up with the rest of the group at the pickleball courts about 9:00am............. Below is Gena with Diane, and Gena again. returning from a stroll with Darby.

Below. Bruce and Rich get in a few games with a few of the regulars. Rich is playing with Debbie, and Bruce with Buddy.... Cindy and Karen are playing with two players new to the game.....

About noon we headed to Paul's Kitchen for lunch where we threatened to send Buddy to another table when he ordered liver and onions - but in the spirit of the holidays, we graciously allowed him to stay! Always a good deal and a good meal at Paul's, and today was no different.

Around the table from the left is: Gena, Bruce, Rich, Me, Diane and Buddy.

And Darby - in her cozy carrying bag! This little one will stay in here forever if you let her.............she's comfy and and rests quietly content to just be with Mom and Dad.

It's been a strange kind of year so far here in Peace River. The most significant difference is that so many people that we spent time with last year are out west.............and we truly miss them. The park is very quiet - and there's a feeling of unrest that permeates the air most of the time. This is the first year in at least four or five that we're aware of that the park did not celebrate New Years eve in the parking lot - under the tent with music and dancing and fun and laughter until the stroke of midnight. It was a little sad.

But!!! We didn't say that ALL of our friends were gone this year! We've spent a lot of time with Nick and Tonya this year, and got to meet our neighbors Jerry and Nancy a whole lot better. Thanks to these four in particular - we had one absolutely outstanding and memorable New Years Eve Party!!!

Nick and Tonya rented the site adjacent to them to make sure we'd have enough room. With the help of Jerry and Nancy they set up two campfires, a lighted doorway AND dance floor, festively decorated, set up the music and Karaoke machine and invited all their friends. There had to be somewhere between 40- and 50 people who celebrated together.

We can't begin to remember the names of everyone we met......but the pictures below will give you a good idea of just what a great time we all had.

Tonya - with a few last minute details to be taken care of........and then she brings out the Big Pot of Chile!

Just mingling and checking out what's good to eat!

Stopping for a photo at the doorway is Sue and Todger.........They've been parked behind us for the past year or so........but will be leaving for Torrey Oaks on Sunday.

Our new bestest neighbors........Jerry and Nancy. Nancy used her oven for the very first time...........and fixed an excellent spiral Ham for the night. Perfection!!

Julie, Rich and the Zukas filling their bellies!

Julie again.......... Bob was a little under the weather tonight - so she didn't stay to ring in the new year.

Bill and Judy Leiberman, the Murays and Patti ( hey Chickie!!!) with hubby Jim. Patti and I work in the store together.

Tonya and Genny with her home-made redneck wine glass.

These three are having WAY too much fun........or one too many? Rich, Nick and John.

And still having a good time................

And almost everyone enjoyed the music and appreciated the dance floor.

And then there was Karaoke......Here we are singing along with Garth Brooks' I've Got Friends in Low Places.................

And then we gathered around the TV to watch the ball drop and to ring in the new year with a toast, champagne, hugs and kisses and wishes for a prosperous and healthy 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy Hour with the Carpouzis'

2011-12-29T08:06:00.001-05:00

Art and Hedy joined our Peace River pickleball family just last year when Rich and I put a paddle in their hands. Today they play every day, and Art has even taken to the tournament circuit! But tonight pickleball and non- pickleball friends alike joined together at the Carpouzis' site for Happy Hour.

Pictured below are our hosts for the evening, Art and Hedy, making sure everything is prepared and chatting with friends that stopped by. (top left ) Hedy makes sure everything is ready and calls the group to enjoy the huge array of great food and goodies. (top right) Art, joins Jay and park manager Lee Collins as they fill their plates. (bottom left) Debbie stops by to chat with Art, at that's Hedy with neighbors Taz and Carroll.

I thought I was the only one that didn't know enough to put a jacket on when it's cold - but it looks like I have a follower in Hedy!! From every one's attire you can tell that it was a rather chilly evening.

A few more faces in the crowd: Rosemary and Garf

Bob, and I missed a picture of Julie!!! Archie and Janet..
Bob and Julie just pulled in the park this afternoon.

Nick and Tonya

Karen and Tom

Brenda ( works in the office) with Krystal and Nate.

Dick and Janet...........who also just pulled in today.

Jay and Debbie.......

The food was absolutely great - Hedy made a big pot of Clam Chowder that was probably my favorite...... There was Sausage, peppers/onions, Goulash, Broccoli Casserole, Italian breads, some excellent dips with crackers or chips and tons of goodies for dessert!

We had a great, fun group out for the evening despite the pretty chilly weather!

Christmas Day

2011-12-26T08:50:00.000-05:00

Yes Santa came and brought us lots of goodies. Exchanging gifts for us is generally just filling a stocking. Larger gifts are something we both can use or share.

But it's the spirit of Christmas, not the gifts under the tree that we celebrate. It's the joy of spending time with family and friends. With Denny and the family so far away - it was their phone call that made our day.

Rich and I are great animal lovers - and waking up on Xmas morning when we had Beau was something we always looked forward to. He was always so excited about opening his presents - just like all little ones are.

We didn't have Beau this year - but we were blessed to have the chance to spend the day with one of our favorite canine friends. Little Miss Ava.

Nate and Krystal took off for Orlando to spend the day with family, so Ava spent the day with us. What a special little lady - so well behaved and such a joy to have around.

In the afternoon we met up with this handsome fellow who was out walking his Mom - Karen. This is Sammy!

And we received Holiday Greetings from Dixie and Dusty over in Sun City Center. Below they wait patiently for the OK to dive in and open their gifts.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:17:00.000-05:00

Our plans for Christmas Eve were to stay at home. We were planning a dinner of pasta, salad and Italian bread, and perhaps a glass of Blackberry Merlot.

I spent a good part of the morning (with the exception of about an hour and a half for pickleball), baking and making some peanut butter and chocolate fudge, and Rich made a large batch of his potato candy. It was about time to start the spaghetti sauce when Tonya stopped by and asked if we'd like to join them, along with John and Shelly for dinner.

About five o'clock we headed to Paul's Kitchen. (Where else?) When we arrived, Shelly realized that she had left her purse and phone on the table back at Nick and Tonya's - so John headed back to the campground!

But leave it to John to make a grand entrance! Below, he stops to flirt, just a little, with our waitress, Michelle.

The meal was excellent - everything from stuffed grouper, teriyaki steak, steak tips, beer battered fish to the big fish (shore) platter. Around the table starting on the left is Nick, Tonya, Donna, our waitress Michelle, with her Rudolf antlers, Rich, John and Shelly.

Nick and Tonya invited all of us over for a little holiday cheer which included Eggnog with a little spiced rum. Neighbors, Nancy and Jerry, and Gerry and Lee joined the group. Sitting around the campfire we took turns sharing a little of the true meaning of Christmas; Celebrating in the birth of Christ and giving thanks for the many gifts and opportunities that life has provided. Most precious is being with the people we love - be it family or new found friends.

I sure do hope I've been a good girl and Santa comes to visit tonight! Should I leave out the milk and cookies?

Merry Christmas

Friday night campfire..........

2011-12-23T21:43:00.000-05:00

We were invited back to Nick and Tonya's to share some snacks around the campfire. Pictured below starting top left: Bill and Genny. We remember these two from last year - Genny shows off her homemade 'redneck' wine glass! That's Nancy and Jerry on the right. They are parked next to us, and have been for the past couple of years, and this is the first time Nancy and I have met. In the center are our hosts for the evening, Tonya and Nick. Bottom (left) is Bill and Judy and our pickleball friends from Palm Beach, John and Shelly!

Any happy hour with John in the crowd is sure to draw a lot of laughter, and tonight was no exception. Tonight it was one of my favorites - The moon is round..........it has two eyes, a nose and a mouth.........Oh, if it was only that simple. Unfortunately - I'll just have to keep you guessing............it's just not the same unless John is there! Suffice it to say - that we all took turns trying to "copy" John's process of drawing the moon in the sand.

And tonight Bill (of Bill and Genny) celebrated his 79th birthday, and below Nick presents his cake. After blowing out the candles - we all share this sugary delight!

A small group - but lots of conversation and laughter. A fun night was had by all.

Oh ............that pickleball can hurt!

2011-12-21T16:29:00.000-05:00

And they say picklebll is a fun, safe game.....

This is the inside of my right leg. I knew that it hurt when I got hit - but overnight it changed to a nice bright purple!!!!

Who did the damage you ask. While Nate had managed to freckle my body with many a black and blue mark......

That slam from Rich accounts for my largest one to date!!!!

A night out with friends.......

2011-12-19T22:21:00.003-05:00

Over the past year, we've gotten to know as "annuals" here in the park, we seem to be spending a lot more time together. But in just a few days they'll be leaving for almost three weeks tNick and Tonya a whole lot better, and this year, since they joined us o visit with friends in the Orlando area.

So tonight ( instead of going to Bingo, which is where Tonya and I usually are on Monday evening) the four of us headed to Sebring for dinner at Homers Original Smorgasbord.

Most anyone who's ever been to Sebring has been to Homers at least once. It's a little better than 1/2 hour drive from the park, but well worth the travel.

We all made at least two trips to fill our plates and the food tonight was just as delicious as we remembered it to be. Before leaving the waitress was kind enough to snap a picture of the four of us.

Nick had mentioned, when we made plans to go to Sebring, that perhaps we could go checking out some Christmas lights after dinner. I remembered from visit to Tanglewood a couple of years ago the community of Sebring Village always had a beautiful array of decorated homes. So we headed for Sebring Village.......and we were definitely not disappointed.

Below are just a few of the pictures that I took as we spent nearly an hour driving through the streets decorated in true holiday style.

Some of our favorite "blow up" decorations.............. But I didn't see my name on Santa's list below. I sure hope I've been a good girl!!

This one brought back memories of our visit to the North Pole when our son Dennis was small.

In the center of the community is this large pond. There was a walkway that allowed to get a little closer and get some nice shots of the lights all around the water.

And so we closed the evening with another picture of Nick and Tonya before we left the village and headed for home. It was a cool night..........but perfect for sharing a little holiday cheer with friends.

Monday Morning Pickleball

2011-12-19T17:07:00.002-05:00

Generally I am working in the store here at the park Monday - Friday, so I don't get a chance to play in the morning, except on the weekends. But, I worked for Pat (of Pat and Woody) Saturday night and all day Sunday while they went on their Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas! So this morning I headed down to play with some new folks.

Below is Debbie, Woody and Garth................ Nice to see Debbie back on the courts.

Here is Judy and Debbie resting after the game. Judy just learned to play this year and is doing very very well.

Garth and Woody resting before their next game........

Another new pickleball player that we met this year is Cindy - playing below with Karen. A really good player........and it was nice seeing her and hubby at the Christmas dinner yesterday.

Mr T (Travis) and Baxter arrived back here in the park on Sunday - so Travis joined the group this morning. Below he partners up with Karen.

And I wish I could remember this gentleman's name who is playing with Woody. He is new to pickleball, just learned how to play and he partners up with Woody in his very first game.

Not a big group out playing this morning - but we sure had a great time.

Holiday Dinner at Peace River

2011-12-17T23:52:00.001-05:00

It always seems to take so much work to decorate and create the holiday atmosphere. After days of preparation and planning- it's over so quickly.

The Activity director here at the park worked just about non-stop the last couple of days, getting the room prepared and decorated, baking the turkey and ham and stuffing and gravy and hoping that everything would come together .

And from this picture you can see that well over 100 people filled the meeting house and filled their plates in record time. The day was very well organized, the array of food was fantastic and the smiles and full bellies was a sure sign that everyone enjoyed the day. We tried to get around and at least say hello to people we knew.

Below is Rich with Nate and Crystal....... two special people we always like to spend time with.

And joining us at our table today was Jen, Tonya and Nick (pictured below) along with Judy and Jim who left before I snapped this picture.

It's always a great time when people here at the park get together, but it's always extra nice to be able to celebrate and share the table with your friends.

Hometown Holiday in Downtown Wauchula

2011-12-16T22:38:00.013-05:00

It was a real hometown celebration in downtown Wauchula tonight during this month's Friday Night Live. Main Street and Wauchula's Heritage Park was glistening with decorations, lights, holiday music and live entertainment.

We had played pickleball until almost 6:00, finished dinner and headed for Main Street. By this time the festivities were well underway, and trying to get anywhere near the "main attraction: was pretty much impossible. So we headed on down Main Street taking in the crowds of people visiting vendors and attractions along the way.

Earlier in the month there was a huge parade in Wauchula. Even Peace River participated with their very own float - specially decorated by our friends Buddy and Diane. I think this float may have been one that was included in the parade. This one below is Hardee County's 12 Days of Christmas.

There were more vendors than we'd ever seen at any Friday Night live. Perfect for those looking for some unique holiday gifts.

At the end of Main Street, we stopped at the very last vedor ... This was actually the very first we'd seen last year, the first time we came to Friday Night Live in Wauchula! Once again we spoke with Barry and Jill Edgley, the couple we worked with last year when we did the benefit tournament for the Hardee Animal Rescue Team. This year they are running the Trust Again Pet Shelter (TAPS), where they currently board stray cats, but continue to secure funds to build appropriate shelter for dogs. Tonight, at their booth, they had several cages of cats, but these little ones really caught our attention!

From 6:00 to 8:00 pm - Santa was awaiting the arrival of the children of Wauchula. They sat on his lap and professed to be "good" and asked for their favorite holiday gifts.

These two handsome gentleman dressed in appropriate garb, were promoting the upcoming Power and Light Production of "The Story of Noah" which will be presented right here in Wauchula in the Spring. You can CLICK HERE for more information.

Keeping with the true meaning of Christmas, Real Life Church hosted a Living Nativity Scene. Children and adults alike entered into the area to visit with the Three Wise Men along with Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in the stable. It was like experiencing that Join the Wise Men as they visit Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in the stable. It was like getting a glimpse of what that very night might have been like.

Complete with donkey............

And goats. The children were truly enjoying this experience.

I so wish that we had been able to arrive earlier and brought along our chairs to sit and enjoy the "Spectacular Living Christmas Tree" performance by the First Baptist Church of Wauchula. The performance ran from 7-8 pm, but we could not get anywhere near close enough to fully appreciate this 30ft tall tree housing 70 choir members and a fantastic show of lights.

The first picture below - was the best we could in the dark, but you can see the choir members on each branch of this beautiful Christmas Tree..........

And from a little different angle - No way were we able to get any closer.

There were hundreds and hundreds of people between our camera and the tree - and but here are a few shots showing the great light show ...

This was without a doubt one of the most memorable Friday Night Live's we've attended here...... Celebrating the Christmas season here in Wauchula is definitely - First Class!!

The lines to the "Funnel Cake" was just way to long - so for the very first time, Rich did not get to feast on this greasy, sugary, delicious snack! But we did not make it back home without stopping for a little something sweet.

This year, right next to Domino's Pizza, the Pure Magic Ice Cream store opened. We have passed this place several times in the last two months, but tonight would be our first experience. We expected to see either a little soft serve - or a modest selection of hard ice cream flavor and perhaps a menu for a milkshake or ice cream sundae like most shops. I am so glad I was still carrying my camera on my shoulder. This was quite an experience!

Pick your ingredients and watch them magically make your favorite selection!

They begin by pouring liquid into one of these large bowls. Not sure, but looks like some type of "milk" product. Add the ingredients you want and watch them mix.....Add a little "nitrogen" and watch them stir through the mounds of smoke. And voila! I had the butter/pecan and Rich ordered Peanut Butter/Fudge. It was absolutely delicious! You've got to try this place, if you are ever in the area.

Campfire Gathering

2011-12-14T20:02:00.000-05:00

Rain on Sunday afternoon put a damper on our planned get together. But the weather was perfect Tuesday evening to gather around the campfire. It was a fun filled evening of sharing snacks, cooking kielbasa over the open fire, a little Karaoke, laughter, and conversation with new found friends.

Nick and Tonya had the fire blazing when we all arrived. Everyone brought along their beverage of choice, but a little of Nick's Flaming Cinnamon Whisky passed around the group, brought a few of us to microphone at the Karaoke station. Nick must really like The House of the Rising Sun- he shared that one with us a couple of times. But the whole group got into Row Row Row your Boat and a few timely Xmas Carols.

I know you're all expecting to see our usual group of pickleball players - but tonight we got to share the evening with some people we just met over the past few weeks.

Below (top left) is Jen, who travels alone - and we're so glad she found a spot directly across the road from us. (Top right) is Larry and Monique (best known to her friends as just MO). They too are parked here on the H Row but will be leaving the park on Wednesday taking with them their big winnings from Monday night Bingo! We look forward to their return to Peace River after the first of the year. That's Judy and Bill (bottom left) and Rosa and John on the right. Rosa and John will be going back and forth between here and Orlando this winter, while Judy leads the Walk Fit here each morning, and she and Bill will be spending the winter here in Peace River.

It was a fun evening - and I'm sure we'll be enjoying many many more before the season ends.

Pickleball - Saturday

2011-12-10T22:01:00.002-05:00

Well - I did go to play pickleball this morning, but there were not too many out on the courts today. It was Mark, Buddy, Art, Julie, Nate, Garth, and me!
Julie had only played a game or two when she pulled a calf muscle, so we put her on ice to rest...............Hope you're doing better Julie!!!!

As you can see I didn't get any pictures of us on the courts. It was our canine friends that got my attention today.

Below - Teddy is treated like a King! Julie provides a comfortable place to rest, while Dad ( Mark) provides a refreshing beverage!!!!

But Julie was quickly forgotten for this beautiful lady!

Robotics Competition

2011-12-10T21:42:00.000-05:00

Our grand-daughter, Chauna competed today in this event. She along with 10 other students from her school worked for the last month to put together their presentation in robotics today.

Thirty-five teams competed in the FIRST LEGO League regional tournament today at the Putnam Museum in Davenport.

Teams, whose members range from 9 to 14 years old, went head-to-head in timed competition with robots they designed. Their creations were to complete a series of tasks in 2 1/2 minutes, scoring points for each success.

The teams also compete against each other through research projects they present to judges. The topic this year focused on food safety.

At 11 seconds into the video below you'll see our little sweetheart! Third young lady from the left.

Thirty five team competed in this first ever event and Chauna and her team collected 108 points which put her team in 7th place!! We are so proud!!!!

Our daughter-in-law said she'd send us some pictures - but I was too excited to wait!!!

Catching up with friends.................

2011-12-10T21:30:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that we have been here almost two months. We had Nick and Tonya over one evening at our happy hour - but Friday evening was really the first time that we've taken the time to just sit down and talk................

On Fridy night they came over for a drink and snacks at about 6:00 pm. It was nearly 11:00 when we all called it a night! It was nice just sitting and talking about our summer, our families, our plans for the rest of the year, hunting, fishing, cars, jobs, memorable moments etc..... Every time we've been with these two it' been at a happy hour, with lot of other folks, a quick hello, when we're out on a bike ride or me meeting Tonya for Pokeno on the weekend. It was a fun evening. Hope we can do this again real soon.

Chauna at the Winter Concert

2011-12-05T22:40:00.000-05:00

Our grand-daughter, today at the Winter Concert at the Williams Intermediate School in Davenport, IA

Florida State Senior Games

2011-12-04T20:39:00.002-05:00

The Florida State Games were held Saturday and Sunday at the Kelly Recreation Center in Lakeland, Florida. First time that we had been here, and must say it is a beautiful facility. One of the best things about the Senior Pickleball events is sharing the day with our friends from across the area. As you participate in these games year after year, you make some really great friends.

As in most of the tournaments, Rich competed and I took the pictures! Pictured below Art Carpouzis from here in Peace River with Nadine and Louann from Kings Point , a few of the medal winners from Kings Point, Rich with his partner Gary from Avon Park, our very good friends and fellow USAPA Ambassadors, Nancy Meyer and Cindy Eddleman from Ft. Myers, Soliviata Smashers from Poincianna and Jimmy and Bill from Tanglewood/Sebring.

Rich was not scheduled to play until about 11:15 on Saturday, so by the time we arrived Art and Paul were just finishing their last game. Paul drove down from TT Orlando to play that day - and while they did not take home a medal, they enjoyed the competition. After Paul headed back to Orlando, Art hung around to watch Rich play, and helped to shag some balls during the games.

Pictured below are players from Tanglewood in Sebring, and from Kings Point in Sun City Center......................

And in the next phot are friends and fellow players from Solivita in Poinciana, Fl, Anna Maria Island and Fort Myers.

Saturday was the doubles competition so below Rich playes with his partner Gary Schinderle from Avon Park. These two played awesome, but the competition was really really good today. Congrats to both of them for bringing home the Bronze Medal.

On Sunday we returned for the mixed doubles competition and pictured below are some of the people we have come to spend time with from: The Villages, Ft. Myers, Sebring, Kings, Point, Spruce Creen in Summerfield, Solivita (Poinciana) and Avon Park.

And below is a collage of pictures of Rich and Linda competing in the mixed doubles. Once again the competition was outstanding, and while they kicked butt... in many a game, they ended the day in fourth place.

Despite the results - the weather was great, the competition better than ever and seeing all of our friends from the surrounding area was extra special.

ThanksGiving Day..............

2011-11-25T16:25:00.004-05:00

Rich and I always look forward to having dinner with our friends here at the park on Thanks Giving Day and this year was no different. But, with me working here this year, by the time I was able to sit down and enjoy my meal, I felt like I had been working for days!!!

On Wednesday, we set up all the tables and chairs in the meeting hall........ready for the finishing touches on Thursday. Judy is our new recreation director here at the park and she is one of the most creative individuals I have met. Her ideas for decorating the meeting hall were appreciated and enjoyed by everyone.

Below are some pictures taken after we finished the decorating...........

That's Judy in the upper left corner, and the fruit/vegetable baskets that we prepared as a center piece on each table. The tables were decorated with the usual festive colors and enough tables to seat about 128 people. The Wauchula Family Restaurant had cooked the turkeys and made the gravy. When not setting up - I spent most of the morning cooking and cutting the hams, heating and cutting the five turkey and preparing the serving trays.

Below is a picture of the room filled with Peace River family and friends.

While we missed being with our families today - we are so thankful to have such wonderful friends to share the day with. The array of food that day was unbelievable, with just about every vegetable and fruit dish imaginable, breads, potatoes, stuffing, casseroles and all the typical Thanksgiving day desserts and then some.

I wish I had found time to take more pictures, but I did manage to get a few shots of some of our pickleball playing friends sitting close by.

Pictured below top left is Joan with Travis on her left and her son on the right. And that's Shelly with her son and grandson.. I missed Dick and John who were sitting at the end of the table.

At our table (center picture) from the left and going around the table was Karen and Tom, our very good friends Don and Linda and Rich. Bottom left is Austin sitting with my co-workers, Patti and Jim. Me and Nathan bottom right. Krystal - I know you're reading this, and want you to know how much you were missed. But we are "thankful" that your nasty sprain is healing and we hope you enjoyed the "Thanksgiving day take out dish" prepared with love by your hubby!!

Despite the full bellies five of us made our way to the pickleball courts about 4:30. After about 3 games - my body was begging for a hot shower and a little relaxing - but Don, Karen, Art and Nate continued on.

Did I say the "five of us?"......Let's not forget our pickleball mascot: Miss Ava!

And...........I just could not pass up sharing this last picture............

" Hey Nate......you gonna get this one?....... "I don't know Don - where is it?"

Thanks for letting me share a little laughter!!

Hope that everyone had the chance to share the day with loved ones. Our day had a perfect ending - a phone call with our son Dennis.

Tha Bass Family visits

2011-11-24T08:08:00.001-05:00

Our very good friends from Wesley Chapel arrived in the park on Wednesday and will stay in one of the cabins for a few days. They didn't arrive quite early enough for morning pickleball, and the brief shower in the early afternoon almost cancelled the afternoon play. But by 4:30 the courts were dry and we had 5 or 6 of us out playing, with probably just as many spectators.

With play time finished we headed down to our place where Rich was cooking a pork loin on the grill. Seated below is Don, Linda, Dakota and Cheyanne. For all our dog lovers - keep Cheyanne in your prayers. He's getting old, losing weight and his health is declining.

Dinner was delicious - the pork roast seasoned and grilled perfectly. Potatos and asparagus and Italian Bread accompanied the meat. Don and Linda topped off the evening with their pumpkin pie and homemade brownies.

The beverage of choice tonight was Marguaritas!
They'll be joining us again today for ThanksGiving.

Paul's Kitchen with Keith and Marie and....................

2011-11-20T18:36:00.001-05:00

It has been so wonderful to see our friends Keith and Marie back in Peace River. Everyone will be glad to hear that Keith looks great and is doing very very well.

They are pulling out tomorrow and we won't see them again until after the 1st of the year, so we made plans to have dinner with them at Paul's tonight.

It started out just the four of us - but as you all know - this is a very popular , well liked couple so......................

FOUR QUICKLY BECAME 17!!!!!

It was difficult to get everyone in the picture, so our server took a picture from both ends of the table.

Top photo on the left......Austin, Buddy, Diane, Krystal and Nate's head!!! And on the right - Marie Keith, Tom, Karen, Donna, Rich, Art, and Joan....

Those you missed are in the bottom photo. Dick ( well at least part of him!) and his wife Joan on the left. And on the right, John, Shelly and Hedy and a much better shot of Nate!

Kudos to the staff at Paul's. The service was excellent. The food was delicious and topped of with a small piece of Carrot Cake for everyone. . If you are familiar with the portions at this restaurant, then you know that most all of us went home with enough for another meal. And most were headed to the pickleball courts..........

It was a great evening with friends....................

Friday at Peace River - and Friday Night Live!!

2011-11-18T23:11:00.002-05:00

It was off to work this morning for both of us...me at the store, Rich at the computer................but when work was done it was an evening of fun!!!

At 4:30 we all met at the pickleball courts for some really good games under the lights........... The first match was Rich and Paul against me and Buddy - a great game! Then it was Nathan and Krystal against Buddy and Karen.....

A jump shot for Nathan......................

Looks like the shot was just too good for the team of Buddy and Karen....

Another great shot by the Showalter family!!!!.....

And it was into the net.......................UGH!

But the team of Buddy and Karen came back on the next shot!!

And then it was Krystal and Buddy - and that's Paul on the far court!

Krystal is locked in on this shot as Buddy waits patiently..........And that's Art in the far court waiting for the serve. Some great action from Krystal and Buddy in the far court, and Karen, with Rich returning a great shot to Art and Paul.

And that is Hedy and Nathan planning their strategy!

We stopped playing about 5:45, headed for home, cleaned up and headed for Friday Night Live in downtown Wauchula. We had just parked the truck when we saw Keith and Marie across the road........and the four of us headed down Main Street to catch the action.......On the way we found Buddy and Diane taking a break and seated on the park bench..........

It was the first time that Keith and Marie had been here - so we wandered around checking out the Wauchuls talent participating in the local talent show, and stopping at many of the vendor stations. No pizza slices available at Giovianni Restaurant, so it was hot dogs at the next station. Rich and I had already stopped for a quick McDonald's meal. But this station caught our eye! It was a large array of baked goods.............and we hoped to stop there before we left to make a donation and take home some baked goods.

Tonight - Buddy's was taking folks on a tour of Wauchula.............

But these three opted for the "Funnel Cake" Wagon.... These guys will get back at me for sure for posting this picture.....................but Rich is enjoying his HUGE funnel cake with powdered sugar coating, as Keith and Marie share theirs - coated with Chocolate Powdered Sugar and Cinnamon.

This seems like a perfect time to end the night.............although I think that Keith and Marie were going to stop and the local Ice Cream Parlor for their final "treat" of the night.

For those of you staying at Peace River - you really should make Friday Night Live in Downtown Wauchula #`\1 n your agenda, on the Third Friday of each month............It's always a great night out on the town.

Celebrating 25 Years with the Shaak's

2011-11-14T22:44:00.001-05:00

Harry and Karen drove down from The Villages on Sunday, played a little pickleball, went out for dinner, spent the night with Keith and Marie, went out for breakfast, played a little more pickleball..................

But today was also Harry and Karen's 25th Wedding Anniversary. So Keith and Marie arranged for a group of us to meet at Paul's Kitchen for an early dinner to celebrate!

Here is the smiling couple of 25 years!

The food was excellent.........Beef Barley soup and warm bread to start of the meal. Lots of diversity at the table today - we had Grilled Chicken Salads, Steak, Fish & Chips, Burgers, Reubens...... and all the fixins.....
Below is a picture of our group: (starting at the head of the table) Harry, Karen, Donna, Rich, Julie, Bob, Rich, Tina, Marie and Keith.

Up to this point, no-one had mentioned the anniversary - and then Keith held up his glass ( just water folks) and we all sang "Happy Anniversary" About 30 seconds later the waitress came out with this huge dessert for Harry and Karen.
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I think that most EVERYONE indulged.........

We had a great time.

Happy Anniversary Harry and Karen!!

Sunday Morning at the Pickleball Courts

2011-11-13T22:22:00.001-05:00

Back on the courts this morning and caught some pictures of some new folks in the park..........

Lou and Paul - totaly unaware of the folks out for a Sunday morning walk!

Carol and Marie - Great Form Marie!!!

A duo of ages - the youngest of the group -Julie and the oldest of the group Art!

Waiting to play is Linda with hubby Bill.

Hedy and Keith - Was it a bad shot or what? What's your problem?

Lou, Paul, Hedy, Julie and Art!

Looks like Hedy and Keith are back on "playing terms!" Hedy, Keith, Marie and Carol (left) . But Julie makes a great stretch for a great shot!

Good Game .............Linda, Keith, Paul and Julie

Happy Hour at our Place ........

2011-11-10T08:18:00.001-05:00

I guess that tonight I spent a lot more time walking, talking or eating all the great food then taking my pictures.....But I did manage to grab a few more faces of those that arrived or were not at the last one at Nate and Krystal's.

Bob and Julie have been here for about a week. We haven't seen these two for almost three years so it has been great seeing them and spending time here and on the pickleball court.

And this is Nick........without his wife Tanya!!! But I did catch her in a group picture later..

Paul and Carla just came in last yesterday, so I missed Paul at the pickleball courts. so glad that someone remembered to invite them.

And Hedy - who made the awesome sausage/onions/peppers! But once again I missed hubby Art..

And the reason that we set up the Happy Hour - for Tony and Louann. Lou always organizes a couple of pickleball events during the year, and several of us from the park make a point of going to Sun City Center to play. We've been trying for a couple of years to get these two to come over with their RV and spend some time with us. They came in on Tuesday, and leaving on Thursday - so we made sure they got to experience the good times that we always have.
This is Tony and Louann pictured below.

Also joining the group tonight and probably in the group pictures below were Keith and Marie, Stan and Sally, Nate and Krystal and Woody and Pat. And I did manage to get a picture of Diane and Buddy - They were heading out to entertain tonight at one of the nearby parks but stopped long enough to say HI and have a bite to eat!

The food was absolutely excellent tonight! Goulash, Sausage with peppers/onions, Macaroni Salad, Waldorf Salad, Spinach Salad, Roll-ups, Chips and Dips and Crackers.............. And I did manage to find Tanya (blue shirt) and Art (with Hedy) at the table.

And the array of desserts were so inviting, that many (like Rich) made a stop on their way to the food table.

There were homemade cookies, apple and lemon meringue pie, brownies, lemon cake and Carmel/chocolate dipped apple slices. And probably even more that I can't remember.

With our ThermaCell Repellent, and the Citronella Candle that Tony brought along - the mosquitoes were kept at bay.........and we had a great evening.

Dinner with Pickleball Friends

2011-11-04T19:03:00.000-04:00

Tonight a group of us headed over to Nicholas Restaurant in downtown Wauchula for dinner.

Great variety of specials tonight in addition to their regular menu. Add the soup and salad bar and warm solf rolls and everyone went home full and happy!

It was the first visit to this restaurant for many of us..........and chances are we'll go back again.

Seated above on the left: Julie, Keith, Marie, Buddy and Diane. And on the right: Bob, Rich, Donna, Carla and John.

The Showalters Host our First Happy Hour

2011-11-02T18:55:00.001-04:00

Winter in Peace River is now "officially" underway. On Tuesday evening Nate and Krystal invited the pickleball group over for and evening of great food and conversation. We gathered at their site for our first happy hour - and for a while shared much of the space with those pesty misquitos!

Below are our great hosts for the happy hour - Nate and Krystal. Thanks for the bags of Halloween Candy you shared with all of us!!

Pat and Woody!

Stan and Sally came over from Torrey Oaks to join in....

Diane and Buddy

Austin, Arik and Lee - Lee is the new park manager.

Carla, Marie, Keith and John. It was especially nice to see Keith and Marie. Keith is doing great and looking great. We all know it's been a tough year for him.......and he's just getting over having Shingles!

And Me and Rich!

And before the night was over - Little Miss AVA came out to say hello. What a sweetheart! She made the rounds and made new friends.

Thanks Nate and Krystal for a very enjoyable evening. Let's do it again real soon.

Peace River Halloween Party/Dance

2011-10-30T01:17:00.000-04:00

What a nice time we had tonight. Halloween celebrations started early today with fun and games earlier in the day, trunk and treat in the parking lot for the kids, and then the party and dance in the meetin' hall.

Kudos to the staff, who did a great job with the decorations and to everyone who brought so many "goodies" for the evening.

Music was provided by many of the players who take part in the regular "jam sessions" but the leaders of the group tonight were Buddy and Diane. Great Job you guys. The music and singing was super!!

Below is Diane and Buddy dressed for the night as Dolly Pardon and Cole Porter, and with the rest of the band........

Below is the Showalters - Krystal and Nate donning their Western Attire for the evening.

As for Rich and I - we're not much into dressing up, but we kind of did tonight; me as the spider laday and Rich as the Buck-an Ear Quarterback!

Lots of fun and dancing..............More pictures below of the all us enjoying the evening on the dance floor.

Non Stop Entertainment............

2011-10-26T22:18:00.000-04:00

It started around 5:30 this afternoon and it didn't stop until about 7:30. Nate, Austin, Buddy and Rich played pretty much non-stop pickleball, and drew quite a few spectators in the process.

I think I was there first, then along came Art and Hedy. A couple I had not met before stopped to watch for a while. I think the mosquitos chased them away. Diane showed up a little bit later, and Travis and Baxter even stopped for a few minutes.

These guys must have played a dozen games tonight - it was really fun to watch! Enjoy the pictures.

It was Buddy and Nate...................

Vs - Austin and Rich.....

Shots that tested your flexibility and reach,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

And your quickness and eye/hand coordination at the net....

And then it was Nate and Rich.........

Taking on Austin and Buddy...........

More lobs............

And positions the body just is not used to!

And letting nothing get by........to the bitter end!

GREAT SHOW YOU GUYS!!

WHEN'S THE NEXT SHOWING??

2011-10-25T08:08:00.000-04:00

DINNER OUT TONIGHT.

It was a nice treat tonight to catch up on summer travels and share dinner with our friends Buddy and Diane. It was pasta night at Giovianni's in downtown Wauchula. Great meal. Great company

Peace River Pickleball - Cont...

2011-10-25T08:04:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful Monday morning, and the rest of the group was out to play.

Here's Art and Travis.......... I got It.........Who got it?

Barb and Mitch back this morning.......then it was hugs and handshakes to say goodbye, since they were leaving this morning.

Phil and Kappy........Phil met up with Art and Hedy this summer up in Main. His first time here at Peace River. He'll be heading on down to Bonita Springs for the winter. I'm sure we'll catch up with him at some of the tournaments this winter.

Waiting to play - Art, Woody, Dave, Hedy and Mitch

Run Woody... Run.........Dave and Woody

Nice play Hedy.................with Phil

Oops! Over the net Barb! Playing with Woody against, Dave and Art

Keep your eye on the Ball!!! Art and Kappy

We played for better than two hours. When I left Art, Kappy, Dave and Wody were still going at it.

Our first week of Picklball at Peace River

2011-10-23T22:36:00.000-04:00

Time sure does fly by when you're having fun. Can't believe we've been here a full week already. Already the pickleball players have been out on the courts either in the morning around 9:00 am, or in the evenings around 7:00 pm.

This picture was taken after playing tonight. Mitch and Barb are leaving tomorrow, heading for Homestead, FL for the winter, so I wanted to make sure I got them before they left. Pictured above from left to right, Austin and Dad Nate, Mitch, Barb, Diane and Buddy. Woody didn't come out to play tonight! That's a first!!! Heard that Art and Hedy were back in the park, so I'll probably head down in the morning to see if they come out to play.

Back to the ballgame now - GO RANGERS!!!

Back in Peace River

2011-10-19T15:55:00.000-04:00

We were on the road early from The Villages on Sunday morning. We had a wonderful time there this summer, but both of us were ready to move on. The drive down to Wauchula was uneventful. A quick stop at WalMart for some needed cleaning supplies and it was still morning when we arrived at Peace River.

The park is still a little slow........not too many people there yet, but the weather could have a little bit to do with that. Here's a look from the back side of our RV. As you can see the water is still pretty high.

It's still part way up the ramp and the overflow section is still pretty much flooded. Probably be close to a month before that section is ready for any parking.

Woody was down checking out the water level when we arrived, Buddy and Brenda stopped by a little while later. We spent the better part of the day unpacking and setting up. It's not like moving from one location to another pulling the RV. After sitting all summer long there was a ton of cleaning to be done. It will probably take us two or three days to really get settled in.

No food in the fridge yet so we headed out to Paul's Kitchen for dinner. Rich had the roast pork and I had the turkey...............and we took enough home for another meal for both of us.

On Tuesday it was pretty much more of the same. Sorting and organizing. At about 7:00, headed down to the pickleball courts where Buddy, Nate, Krystal, Woody and Paul were waiting. Only got to play about three games before it started raining!!!! Great to see our friends again and so glad that most of them wil be here for the season.

Tomorrow I have to make a trip to Tampa for a dentist appointment. Had to break down and call today - hope it's nothing too serious. UGH!!! Please, please, please .... I hate the dentist so much!!!! Extra prayers tonight will be appreciated!!!

World Series starts tonight.............GO RANGERS!!! Sorry Den.

Does This Thing Float?

2011-10-10T18:34:00.001-04:00

That was the message we got today from Buddy and Diane along with these pictures.

We got a call earlier today from Lee (Peace River Park Manager) that the park was flooding. She thought that ours would be OK, that there was probably 6-8 feet before it reached our tires.

I don't think Buddy was talking about the canoe................

Rich also talked to Lee and Gerry who DID have to move their motor home before the water reached their step level. They are parked on the corner now just across the road from ours. He promised to keep an eye, and give us a call if he thought we'd have any problems. Also said not to worry, that they would move it if need be. Just another example of how great RV people are!

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE PEACE RIVER AT ZOLFO SPRINGS * UNTIL WEDNESDAY EVENING * AT 2PM MONDAY THE STAGE WAS 17.3 FEET * MINOR FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND FORECAST TO CONTINUE * FLOOD STAGE IS 16 FEET * THE RIVER WILL CONTINUE RISING TO NEAR 17.6 FEET BY THIS EVENING. THE RIVER WILL FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE WEDNESDAY EARLY AFTERNOON. * FLOOD HISTORY... THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 17 FEET ON SEP 2 2004.

A little too close for comfort................

Saying Good-Bye

2011-10-10T15:04:00.000-04:00

Wow - how quickly good times come to an end. The rainy weather continued all of Saturday night and all day/night on Sunday. So being stuck inside we made it a "sports" day, watching the Bucs LOSE and then watching the St. Louis Cardinals LOSE!!!! We just couldn't win, no how this weekend; be it the weather or the games!!!!

But we did enjoy a great dinner of Pork Loin, baby potatos, green bean casserole and fresh made biscuits. A little later in the evening - just to get outside, we made a trip to Ollies for a late night ice cream treat.

Den insisted on "departure" photos so I've posted them below.
RICH and DENNY..................... What a handsome pair!!!

THANKS DEN FOR COMING DOWN TO MY SPACE FOR THIS ONE.... I KNOW IT'S A LONG WAY DOWN

THE FINAL "WAVE" GOOD-BYE :( Den is on his way to Apopka, Fl to visit with an Army buddy from Korea...............many many moons ago.

Hated to see him leave. Only cried for a litle while.
We love you, Den

A Short Visit from Dennis

2011-10-09T08:44:00.003-04:00

Dennis left home (Davenport, IA) early on Friday morning. It was a beautiful day and he was making good time for most of the day. He stopped just south of Atlanta around midnight, and was back on the road about 6:30 Saturday morning. Unfortunately, his welcome to Florida was RAIN. It started raining on Friday evening here and it has not stopped since.

He phoned when he was about 20 miles away and Rich and I sat on the front porch anxious for his arrival. And FINALLY he and his SPYDER pulled in.

Fortunately he was well equipped with the proper rain gear!!!. At least it had slowed to a sprinkle so he could unload and come in out of the cold and damp weather.

The weather put an immediate halt to any plans for the day, but it was wonderful just sitting and talking and catching up. We did head out about 5:30 for dinner - and it was back to the Lighthouse Point Restaurant down in Sumter Landing. A glass of Blue Moon and a great meal!! Outside I managed to get Rich to "almost" stop shivering long enough to snap a picture of Dad and Son........

Before heding home though, the guys decided to make a stop at Dunkin Donuts to take home some sweets! That late in the day the choice of donuts was VERY limited and they joked with the waitress that buying a dozen would wipe them out for the night. They settled on just a half dozen and we laughed and lauged and lauged all the way back home as Dennis repeated the words of that waitress: " You Can't Have the Eclair"!!!! You had to be there to appreciate it.

Believe it or not we turned on a movie at 8:00 called 10.5. It wasn't until 10:00 that we realized it was one of those Part 1, Part 2...... Rich made it about half way through then headed for bed........but Den and I made it till the end, then called it a night!

He'll be here through Sunday and then head to Tampa area to visit more of his family. We had planned to meet with the group in the morning for some pickleball - but the forecast is 70% chance of rain....................

Time with the people we love is so precious. The laughter and conversation made it so easy to forget the bad weather outside and tomorrow will be the same.

FAMILY UPDATE.............

2011-09-17T14:55:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I've updated this with some pictures of Dennis and the family. We always wish that they'd move closer, and if Dennis could get a transfer this way, I know he'd take it. Work keeps both of them busy, but even when they're not working they stay very very busy..........and mostly with the kids.

Dennis works as a Criminal Investigatr for the Department of the Army/Civilian out of Rock Island, IL, and the job sends hims to all parts of the US and beyond. Over the last two or three months he's been to Alabama, Pennsylvania and most recently returned from a trip to Camp Dary in Italy. But when he's not working he's a HUGE Bandits Fan and drags the family to all the games. And he loves his Spyder. The picture above was taken in August during the Combat Vets Motorcycle Association Ride. They rode 12 hours/175 miles and raised over $1400. ........" great company, awesome bikes, fabulous routes and for a great cause!"

"TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME" and the family did just that, and Dennis set it up for her to throw out the first pitch on her birthday!!!!

During the summer both of the kids played baseball......Above Dalton playes with the West Davenport IA., Pony League ALL STARS. ......"he went 7-7 hits, few scores and pitched four innings not allowing a run, with 5K's. Wow and Woohoo!"

And aren't they growing up so fast...................... Chauna and Dalton head out for their first day back to school.

And now that school has started, our Chauna tried out an made the school's Volleyball A Team.

Denny will continue to travel and his next trip is to ISREAL in October
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BUT HE'S GOING TO STOP BY AND SPEND A DAY OR TWO WITH US AROUND THE 8TH OR 9TH OF OCTOBER, BEFORE HE LEAVES. LOOKS LIKE HE'S GOING TO RIDE THE SPIDER FROM DAVENPORT IOWA HERE TO THE VILLAGES!!! WOW AND WOOHOO!!!

No Pictures Today!

2011-09-16T20:29:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the last day here for our Louisiana friends. We all went for lunch at TooJays and had a really nice time. Really going to miss dining out with Prissy - yesterday it was all about the Beef Brisket. Is it sliced or shredded? ( No stringy today). It was very important that our waiter understand that it should be ONLY bread and meat! Marty and I went for the Reuben, Rich the Chicken Pot Pie and Sharon the Chicken Quesadillas. I have never seen such large Quesadillas before. Sharon gave me one to take home and it was delicious. After the meal, Sharon ordered a chocolate cake and cheese cake that was shared around the table.

It was another of those days - where the camera was in the pocketbook, but I never thought to bring it out!!!

That evening we had our last girls night out going to Bunco at the Sterling Heights Rec. Center. I had my first big win, taking home $56 since I had 23 wins out of 30 for the night.

But then it was the real goodbye. They took off for home early this morning.
Rich and I enjoyed their company so much while they were here, and we hope that we can make it to LA again this year for the Mid South Regional and meet up with the three of them again.

Pickleball at the Kissimmee-St. Cloud Senior Games.....

2011-09-14T19:04:00.065-04:00

The season began on Monday for the Florida Senior Games, with the first of many being held at the Solivita community in Poinciana, Fl. Poinciana is located near Kissimme and not far from the Disney area.

Neither Rich nor I registered to play in these games. That's not unusual for me, but since it was just a single elimination event, Rich decided to pass on this one. Our friends from Louisiana however, knowing they would be here registerd to play in doubles, mixed doubles and singles competition. On Monday they held the doubles and singles. They graciously picked me up at about 6:00am, and I rode along with them to watch and to see some of the players/friends we hadn't seen since the season ended back in March.
Solivita is an over 55 active adult community and is absolutely beautiful. They have seven lighted pickleball courts in Freedom Park where the tournament was held.

Below is Gloria and Gail (back court) friends of ours from Tanglewood down in Sebring.

Margie Diaz - always the clown and always making everyone laugh, poses for the camera!!! Actually - this gentleman provided rides to and from the restroom which were past the adjoining tennis courts. Everyone appreciated it.

On the back court is Linda (left) and Diane, also from Tanglewood playing against a couple of players from Solivita.

Below, the Louisiana crew, Prissy, Mary and Sharon wait to be called for their first game.

Mark, with little Jimmy makes the overhead shot without a problem. These guys are also from Tanglewood.

The return is low to the feet, but Mary gets to the ball as he partners up with a guy from Solivita.

On the far court is our good friend Nancy, from Ft. Myers, and her partner Jan who flew in from Michigan to play with Nancy. She does spend most of her summer here in Florida and teams up regularly with Nancy. They are playing a team from The Villages.

Below (back court) Prissy (left) and Sharon play in the Gold/Silver Medal Match with friends of ours from Solivita, Margie and Kathy. Kathy stretches for a great return.

Jimmy and Mark take a break.............and watch the games for a while.

Jimmy joins the Tanglewood Ladies.... Suzanne, Gloria and Linda..........Diane must already be on the court. Linda was on her way and stopped for the photo.

A Rose among all those Thorns............Prissy shares the shade with a group of guys from The Villages.

Below - Sharon readies her paddle to return the ball. Coach Mo would be proud!

Marty, in his singles match. Paddle ready and eys on the ball!

Is it the Sun? No...........it's the ball. Great form Prissy!

And it ended up a successful day for everyone.

Gloria and Gail pictures with the Silver Medal winners, took home the Gold! Jan and Nancy played well, and settled for the Silver. Both of them also medaled in the Singles. Linda and Diane took the Gold!! Prissy and Sharon, played a really tough match against the Solivita pair and took home the Silver, They both took bronze in the Singles. Mark and Jimmy came out on top in their age group and took home the gold. And Marty took the Bronze in the Singles.

Stringy Roast Beef

2011-09-14T18:45:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we invited Marty, Prissy and Sharon to our place for dinner. Now, let me tell you, that planning a meal to share with friends is generally not a difficult task. But Miss Prissy is such a pickly eater that I had to go through a dozen choices before we were able to settle on the menu. She finally said "yes" to "Do you like Roast Beef." However it had to be "stringy", which I interpreted to mean very very well done and falling apart. So I figured that all day in the crock pot should do the trick. I generally do a chuck roast with lipton onion soup mix and cover it with water and let it cook all day long........

We added mashed potatos and gravy, corn , green bean casserole and biscuits and sat down for a delightful dinner with our friends. Everything was delicious - if I must say so myself. But more important, the guests were satisfied.

We finished off the meal with a Key Lime Pie!
And Prissy and I almost finished off that bottle of Marguaritas that we started last week!!!
We have enjoyed the company of these three sooooooooo much. It's going to be hard to say good bye.

Back to the SunRise.............

2011-09-10T18:25:00.001-04:00

Saturday morning like most others was back to the pickleball courts. Got there about 7:30 today and not long after, Marty and Prissy and Sharon all showed up. It was a little overcast today, which made for a little more comfort on the courts. Good crowd out playing today. They were still playing when I headed for home about 9:40.

It was shower and change and head on over to the SunRise Cafe for breakfast. Today the Louisianna crew would be joining us. Jeanne was at the court today and Prissy convinced her and Mo to join us.

As we waited for the rest of the group to show up .................Marty smiles nicely for the camera, but Prissy...........well Prissy is just being Prissy!!!!

And Sharon makes the rounds talking with everyone at the table. I switched seatsrs with her so she could sit in the center of the table and talk with the rest of the group. ( Nothing like getting the waitress confused when there is a big group!!) From the left that's Ray, Charlie and Joe...............and our very patient waitress in the back. She did have to put up with a bit of a rowdy group this morning.

And below is the whole group.........

Men: Ray, Charlie(hidden), Joe, Rich, Mo, Ray and Marty. The women: Lorraine, Joan, Jeanie(standing), Louise, Sharon, Jeannie(of Moe and Jeannie), Donna and Prissy. Breakfast is always pretty good there........but it's the people that make it so great!

Girls Day Out...........

2011-09-09T18:13:00.002-04:00

Our friend Sharon Richard arrived back here in The Villages last night, and will be spending the week with Marty and Prissy. The Villages shuttle dropped her off down near Sumter Landing last night about 9:45. I think that the three of them must have spent half the night eating and chatting! The plan was that we would meet this morning for pickleball; Prissy was to call me and let me know where they would be playing.

Rich and I were both up early and Rich headed out to play not long after 7:00. I expected to hear from them by 8:00 at the latest. I mean they've been out on the courts not long after that each morning all ready! About 8:25 I decided to give them a call. Marty informed me that the ladies were not yet out of bed!!!! Oh well.............. I left them to get up and around and headed to Churchill for a few games. New plan was that they would pick me up about 11:00

And they DID!!!!! We headed to the Cane Garden Country Club for lunch. (Sharon on the left, Prissy on the right) Absolutely beautiful place, and right on the golf course. We sat outside and watched all the golfers either arriving via golf cart, or already out playing. An absolutely beautiful day for dining out. The meal was excellent , and very very reasonably priced! The waiter was such a nice young man.............and was kind enough to take the picture of the three of us.

We left Cane Garden and headed less than 10 minutes away to the Bacall Recreation Center for Bunco. Back in June when the two of them were also visiting here, this was the place where we first learned to play. It brought back memories of Cay - the lady who taught us to play, and the lady who was warmly deemed by Prissy as an Honorary CoonAss! Don't even ask.........I'm not sure I understand yet, but I do know that it means "You're OK!" Unfortunately Cay was not there today............but Prissy shared the pot for the 15/15 today. (Yes, you win if at the end of 30 games, you have won 15 and lost 15). Sharon came close and I ended up with 16 wins/14 losses - which means we won absolutely nothing..............But we laughed a lot and had a great time.

Before leaving, Prissy insisted that we all have our picture taken with "Humphrey Bogart" who in his white tux and sunglasses greets everyone who comes to Bacall.
Thanks Sharon and Prissy for a great girls day out.

See you at Churchill in the morning.

Dining - Louisiana Style

2011-09-04T09:19:00.004-04:00

Saturday evening we were invited to join Marty and Prissy for dinner at their Villa. We arrived just after 5:30 and the evening got progressively better by the minute. There is seldom a time when Prissy does not have a smile on her face or isn't telling a story that makes you laugh till you can 't stop! She's definitely one in a million........God Bless you Marty!!!!

Also visiting for a few days was Prissy's sister-in-law, Susan (sitting at the bar) In the top photo, Prissy is shucking her eggs for the potato salad and below, dinner is just about ready and Rich lends a hand slicing the bread. And did you noticed that the bottle of Margarita's sitting on the counter in the first picture has been replaced by a Margarita in my glass.....

In the meantime - Marty is finishing up the sausage on the barbecue grill....

The guys had already had one bottle of beer...........but Marty brought out the good stuff for dinner; the Mississippi Mud! We laughed even more when Marty told us he actually found this in the Publix Supermarket right here in Florida................and reading the label we learned that Mississippi Mud is actually made in Utica, NY!!!

But before dinner was served - Marty and Prissy presented us with this lovely gift. She and Marty had personally selected a variety of "Louisiana's" favorite food selections for us. It was amazing.

In addition to the Creole Jambalaya, Gumbo Mix, New Orleans Fish Fry, Etouffee Mix and Gourmet Pralines, was a huge bag of LSU Tiger Tators, Hot Sauce, Barbecue Sauce and Pepper Jelly.............and of course the BEADS!!! And this was not presented without some additional laughter! First were the two cups; one a lobster the other a CRAB. Given his morning "attitude" it was unanimous that the Crab cup belonged to Rich. AND...we needed the hot sauce that was in the basket for the dinner table!!!

Is this an amazing feast or what! Shrimp and Crab Gumbo, Sausage, Potato Salad. Absolutely Delicious. Neither Rich nor I had ever had Gumbo before and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The potato salad was so much different than we had ever had as well, with the potatoes mashed smoothly with eggs, mayonnaise, mustard and sweet pickle salad chips........a great variation.

And then she brought out the dessert. Again, it was important for us to understand that if we liked it, it was HER family recipe, and if it was bad - it was Marty's family recipe. They didn't have a name for it - but it really did remind us of a dessert that we had many years ago at one of our favorite Greek Restaurants in Connecticut- where they called it "Sex in a Pan"!!!!
Does that help in describing how good it was?

It definitely brought a smile from this rowdy group!!!!

Thanks Marty and Prissy for a fabulous evening, the left overs, the laughter the great food, and the beautiful gift.

Those Louisiana Folks are Back............

2011-09-02T10:45:00.026-04:00

What's so amazing here is that, when you say good-bye to one person , you say hello to another. The Villages is just one of those places that once you come here, you just keep coming back. And yesterday - our good friends ( are you reading this Pirssy - yes you're a good friend!) Marty and Prissy from Louisiana came back for another two week visit. They were here for two weeks back in June....... I don't know whether it's The Villages, or just Rich and I they really wanted to see. Anyway - they called after their arrival last night at about 7:30............

And this morning they joined our group at the Churchill Recreation Center for pickleball. That's Marty in the Yellow Shirt, playing with Prissy. I noticed that I also caught a picture of Jeanne, (of Mo and Jeanne) in the same picture. She's the one in the far court with that red paddle. In the picture in the center/right is one of my very favorite people here in The Villages. Diane Bromstad. Those of you who may watch HGTV may be familiar with her son, David Bromstad - a Designer on the program and the host of Color Splash. Also in that center right photo on the far court is a couple from Baltimore visiting their mom here in The Villages. Prissy and I met up with her and her mom this afternoon at the Bacal Recreation Center where we played Bunco for about three hours!!

Prissy's sister-in-law is arriving tomorrow and plans are to have dinner with them. Prissy made some Louisiana Gumbo and salad......and Rich and I will take the bread and the Marguaritas!

Back to the US Open Tennis .... where they are switching back and forth between the Murray and Nadal matches. Maria Sharapova lost today. YEAH!!! And we are watching the weather channel closely as the Louisiana area, where Marty and Prissy live is expecting a lot of rain which could cause some local flooding...............Cross your fingers and say a prayer for them tonight please.

Saying Good-Bye to Linda and Jenny

2011-08-31T10:07:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, right after pickleball at Saddlebrook, Linda and Jenny will head back to Seabring. We've enjoyed visiting with Linda and we know she's not yet ready to leave all her new pickleball friends!! And we enjoyed spending time with Miss Jenny too!!

Rich worked with Mo again on Monday night at his weekly pickleball clinic and then Linda and Jenny joined us for dinner and drinks........ What a little sweetheart that Jenny is. She enjoyed the treats..........and a little chicken too! It was fried chicken and potato salad tonight. And Linda......thanks for the bottle of wine. Another enjoyable evening of conversation and laughter . I wouldn't be surprised to see her back here real soon.

COOKING WITH RICH

2011-08-27T13:15:00.000-04:00

Originally plans were that Cathy (pickleball friend from Solivita) would be arriving at The Villages and spending a few day with Linda. The three of us had planned a "girls" night out. Unfortunately, Cathy was not able to make it. So Linda and I decided to still make it a night out.

Linda and I were going to eat out, so as I was preparing to leave, Rich headed for the kitchen to prepare his evening meal....

While colleting all the necessary tools and ingredients, he made a special point of telling me what a great meal I was going to miss. Having suffered through this meal before I was very glad to be heading out! I don't really know what it's called - but he calls it pizza! Using Bisquick - follow the directions for making biscuits - roll out the dough and place it on a pizza tray. (There was no pizza tin at this villa - so he improvised and used to small cake pans). The topping is a pound of ground beef seasoned with italian spices and a can of tomato soup. Top it off with cheese and Voila!!!!

I left before he put it in the oven......

I picked up Linda just before 5:00 and we headed to the Spanish Springs town square.

Music was already playing and the square was filling up fast with cars and golf carts and people finding seats to enjoy the music and dancing.

I didn't expect to find a place to park right on the square and thought we need to park a distance away and walk back, but as we made the circle we were lucky to find a golf cart vacating one of the parking spaces.

First stop was at Gators Dockside. We thought we'd head inside, out of the heat, and have a drink before dinner. Dockside is a very casual sports type restaurant/bar As you walk in the door there is this absolutely HUGE aligator.

The lighting inside was not good at all, so the pictures were really bad. But I managed to salvage part of one. That's Linda getting friendly with the Gator!

We headed outside and decided to find a seat, listen to the music and enjoy the entertainment/dancing for a while. Generally, this time of year it's not bad finding a place to sit, but I couldn't believe how many people were out tonight. A couple was getting ready to leave so we snatched two seats just one row back from the dancing area.

There dance floor was rocking tonight with line dancers. And when played the Electric Slide the square was packed with dancers, including ME! They danced the electric slide three times in a row, each time the music was a little faster!!!!

It didn't take us long to figure out why so many people were out. The guy who was the DJ was so entertaining, so funny. He would change outfits frequently, depending on the song being played. I guess when you live here you get to know the best of the entertainers.

And here he leads the crowd in a dance I've never seen before. At the RV Parks we do the macarana and the chicken dance. This was Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds!!! You have to see/hear it to believe it!

We walked down Main Street a ways thinking of having dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, but the wait was more than a half hour, so we decided to go back, get the car and head to Applebees. It was happy hour, two for one, so we shared, and each had a glass of wine. They have a very nice under 550 calorie menu and we both opted for the 7oz sirloin with shrimp, potato and brocolli. It was excellent. It was after 9:30 when I finally dropped her off at her place and headed for home.

It's Saturday afternoon now, and as I update this blog, I'm sharing a piece of Rich's left over Pizza for lunch. It's really quite good. Really....... I'm not kidding................Rich - you can take over the kitchen and fix dinner any time you want.

Sumter Landing with Harry and Karen

2011-08-21T20:40:00.000-04:00

Our friends, Harry and Karen are still here, but only for a few more days. Today we made plans to meet up with them down at Sumter Landing. Close enough for both of to take the golf carts and to meet there early enough to get a parking spot close to the square.

We were only about 2 minutes from the square when Karen called to say they found a good parking spot..........so we circled the square until they flagged us down. Perfect! Above - Rich and Harry on the way to Cody's Roadhouse....

Cody's is situated on the banks of Lake Sumter and you can eat inside or outside with a view of the lake. Outside is always nice - but it was just a little to warm to enjoy...........

Loved the casual atmosphere, with gas pump handles for door knobs, and peanut shucks all over the floor.

Karen, Harry, Rich and I - about to enjoy our meal. Two for one drinks so we ordered a Bud Light on draft..... Everyone opted for something different tonight, but everything was very good. Rich had the Blackened Mahi Mahi, me the Chicken, Karen the Salmon and Harry the Steak!..

And this is Chris, our friendly, smiling, very accomodating waiter... This was a great choice Karen. Thank You.

After dinner we sat and talked for a while and then walked back over to the square where the music had startee and people were already out dancing. The line dancing here is great, but with my bad knee I have not been able to catch up on a lot of the regular dances.... These guys dance at a pretty advanced level. But I managed to get out two or three times. The lady in the blue dress in front of me is actually one of the instructors, the guy on the right is George and behind him is Marie. I don't usually see people I know in the square, but these two are pickleball players who generally play at Churchill with me, but have been playing recently at Pimlico and recognized Rich before they did me.

And Harry and Karen and Rich just sat and enjoyed the music, while I was out dancing. But they look like they are enjoying the nice evening. It actually started to sprinkle and we thought it was going to rain..... but it was just a few sprinkles and it moved on.

I had to get this picture. Just behind where we were parked we spotted this red Corvette. And these two little ones enjoying the music in the back seat!

Coach Mo's Pickleball Training Clinic

2011-08-16T18:35:00.002-04:00

One of the things that Rich does every time we come to The Villages is to work with Coach Mo as one of his "assistant coaches" when he does his weekly pickleball clinics for The Villages Residents. On Monday night, Mo reinstated his weekly clinics at the Churchill Recreation Center. The hot weather in the summer, keeps the bigger crowds away, which is an excellent opportunity for those who do attend to get a little more one-on-one training.

Rich is an avid follower of Coach Mo, but off the pickleball court we both enjoy socializing with him and his wife Jeanne. But today it was back to "pickleball business".

When Coach Mo speaks - everyone listens. He is probably one of the very best pickleball coaches across the country today. And today there was a pretty good group out despite the very very hot temperatures.

Right there in the front row is our friends Karen, and Linda, and in the middle, just to the right of Rich is Harry. The guy in the back row with the yellow shirt is Dick and one of the guys that I play pickleball with regularly here at Churchill in the mornings.

Coach Mo generally has a couple of people helping him with the clinic, and those people he hand picks, and are generally competitive medal winners that he has worked with and that he knows are able to help individuals to improve their games. Above Coach Mo works with the players on one court, while Rich takes the other.

"Point your shoulder in the direction you want the ball to go"...... Harry gets a little one-one one, while working on the forehand/backhand shots.

Above Rich and Mo demonstrate proper ground strokes.....

An here one of the other "assistant coaches" Pete joins Rich and Mo and Linda in a demonstration of the "soft game".

Well.............it was supposed to be the "soft game" -but it looks like someone got carried away!!!

Karen (left) and Harry across from her, and Linda, far right take to the courts with the rest of the group to practice the "soft game".

And even as the "coaches" take a break the conversation is still "pickleball"!.
We'll probably be back here again next Monday for more training.

By the way- Rich's calf muscle is doing pretty good. As you can see he's got the calf wrapped, but he's back on the court. I too went out to play on Monday for the first time since I went to the doctor for my knee. Wore a brace, but made it through four games without a problem.

On Tuesday - Karen and I met up at the SeaBreeze Rec Center for BUNKO!! Karen had not played before, and neither of us won any money but we had a really good time. I was just ONE bunco short of splitting the $116 pot!!!!

Tomorrow, Linda and Jenny will join us for dinner, and on Thursday I'm going with Karen and Harry to play indoors............. A few more days and Rich will be back on the courts twice a day!

Back to the Lighthouse Point Restaurant with Daytona Beach visitors...

2011-08-14T17:52:00.003-04:00

Saturday, Rich went back out on the courts for the first time since he pulled the calf muscle. Did some easy drills and only played a few games so as not to irritate it too much. I expect that he will be back out on Monday for a short time as well. I went over to the Seabreeze Rec Center for Bunco in the afternoon and won $15!!!! We had pretty much settled in for the evening, and checking through the Channel Guide we found there was absolutely nothing on TV that either of us wanted to watch. So we hopped on the golf cart just before 8:00 and headed down to Sumter Landing. There was DJ there tonight, and we arrived just as they were getting ready to do the Cuban Shuffle!!! I went back out after that and did two or three more line dances. Good test for the knee....; today it's fine!!! So, I think I might join the group at Churchill for a few games in the morning and see if the knee will hold up. Hope So!!!! I took a couple of pictures last night, but they were pretty bad. There was a beautiful moon out last night - but my camera did it no justice at all :(

Today we got to meet some new pickleball friends. Anita Rimler is our newest USAPA Ambassador for Daytona Beach Shores here in Florida and with the help of her husband George they will be introducing pickleball in the Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach area. We had never met them, but since they were new to the game we put them in touch with our friend Coach Mo. They made the trip over for some "private lessons" with the Coach today.

Pictured above is George and Anita, Coach Mo and Rich.

We met up with them at the Laurel Manor Courts and then headed down to Sumter Landing for lunch at.............where else? The Lighthouse Point Restaurant. By now, if you have been reading this blog you know that we've been there at least four or five times in the last couple of months. It's definitely one of the locals favorites. George and Anita opted for the house specialty " Haddock". George with the platter and Anita with the sandwich. Mo ate light with the clam chowder. Rich opted for the Burger and Fries and I had the Reuben . As always everything was excellent. I have a feeling that George and Anita will be back here in the near future to play with some of the pickleball players here. They were already talking about an extended stay in October so they could take advantage of The Villages PB 101, 102 and 103 instructions as well as Coach Mo's intermediate skills clinics.

Tomorrow will be pickleball in the morning and then Rich is going to help Mo with his Clinic in the afternoon. I'll go over and grab a few pictures since Linda and Harry and Karen are planning on being there. Tomorrow night will be Bunco at Churchill, and then Tuesday morning I think I'll join Karen for a little Zumba Gold in the morning, and then she and Harry are coming to Bunco in the afternoon. Wednesday we've invited Linda and Jenny over for dinner. The calender is filling up...... the week will pass too quickly.

Reuniting with Old RV Buddies...........

2011-08-11T16:13:00.000-04:00

We have not seen Harry and Karen since the winter of 2010 when they were at Thousand Trails in Peace River. It was Harry and Karen, Keith and Marie, Buddy, Dick, Rich and I who painted the lines on the pickleball courts that winter.

Since then, Harry and Karen have sold their motor home and bought a home in the Village of Hadley in The Villages. They decided to get away from the heat in Pennsylvania, so they came to spend a few weeks down here in The Villages, but need to get back north in time to see the grandchild off to school.....

We were so surprised to get an e-mail telling us "We are Here!!" So we met up with them last night at the Oakwood Smokehouse. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday you get a full rack of ribs with two sides and garic bread for $11.99. I'm not a big red meat eater, so I opted for the shrimp.... but they said the ribs were "excellent".

They are only here for a couple of weeks, so we're going to try and get together for Mo's clinic on Monday, some Bunco one afternoon, pickleball indoors next Thursday at the Baptist Church in Oxford, and dinner out one more time at Sumter Landing before they head out.

It was really great seeing them again.

Visiting with Linda and Jenny

2011-08-08T10:42:00.002-04:00

On Sunday we were invited to visit and dine with Linda and Jenny. Linda often plays pickleball as Rich's mixed doubles partner in several of the Florida Senior Games. In the past she has come to visit with us when we stayed here in The Villages, but this year decided to bring her little one with her and rent a villa for the month of August. She and Jenny arrived last Monday and since then Linda has been on the courts every day and sometimes in the afternoon, enjoying the competition and meeting new friends.

I had made a cole slaw earlier in the day and we had picked up a bag of treats to take for Jenny.   After all - it was very important that we make friends with this little guard dog. And we did ...... Jenny is a minature Schnauzer - a little timid at first but warmed to both of us; epecially after the treats! But you can tell she really loves her Mom!!!

Linda had burgers, potato salad and a choice of adult beverages for our pleasure. She put Rich to work at the outdoor grill and I helped her a little bit with her new laptop. We had a wonderful visit and I'm sure we'll see a lot of these two while they are here.   We never did do dessert - so Linda put the eclairs in the freezer and promised to bring them with her when she visits with us.

And, by the way - Rich is out of pickleball commission for a little while. Pulled a calf muscle during his first game on Sunday!!!  I guess it can happen even if you're always good about stretching and warming up before you go out on the court, which he always does.  We iced it frequently yesterday and he keeps it wrapped during the day. He says it feels a lot better already today - so we'll continue the ice for another day and with a little rest he may be back out there sooner than he thinks.

Breakfast at SonRise Cafe

2011-08-06T13:38:00.002-04:00

Well it's Saturday and that means the group will be getting together for breakfast at the SonRise. The people who work there are just wonderful - and always have at least two or three tables ready, knowing that we'll be there.

On Monday our good friend Linda, who lives down in Sebring, Fl., arrived here at The Villages. She and Rich play together frequently as pickleball mixed doubles partners in most of the Florida Senior Games. She loves pickleball as much as Rich and has found some pretty good players here that have welcomed her with open arms. Tomorrow we get to see the Villa she's staying in and get to visit with her little dog Jenny!!

We invited Linda to join the group for breakfast this morning. Since we had a new face at the table we needed another group photo!!! The waitress had a hard time getting us all in the picture today.......we lost Ray and almost lost Linda!!!! Pictured above are : (the guys - Ray's left hand only - Ray, Golf Cart Jo, Charlie, Pete and Rich. (the ladies) Lorraine, Louise, Joan, Linda (at least the top of her head) and me.

Since we meet at 11:00 - some do breakfast and some do lunch. Rich usually opts for the basic eggs, homefries, sausage or bacon and toast - but today it was the waffles with blueberries and whip cream. This seemed do draw an AHHHH from most everyone at the table, so it made sense to pull out the camera. Those of you who know Rich well, know that this size portion is usually just an appetizer for him!!!

As usual the food was good, And fun conversation and hearty laughter is always on the menu and enjoyed by everyone.

Dinner with Friends

2011-08-05T08:56:00.001-04:00

Well, on Saturday we were back at the Son Rise for breakfast with the group. It seems someone brings a new friend or visiting friend/relative along almost every week. I think we had twelve again this past Saturday. Rich still makes the "Dunkin Donuts" trip, four to six mornings a week and gets his free donunt or muffin. I joined him and the crew a few days ago; a cup French Vanilla coffee sounded good that morning.

But on Wednesday we met up with Coach Mo and Jeanne for dinner. Jeanne is taking her yearly treck to Nova Scotia to visit family, and she'll be gone for about 19 days. With my injury, I haven't seen her on the courts, so we needed to get together before she took off. The Lighthouse seems to be the restaurant of choice this year. We talked about Giovianni's Italian, TooJays, Cracker Barrel or Lighthouse. It was Mo's decision that "if it doesn't rain, let's go to the Lighthouse; if it rains we'll do TooJays"

We'd been getting some afternoon showers, but we were spared on Wednesday, so took the golf cart ride to Sumter Landing to the Lighthouse. As usual the meal was excellent and the view of the lake was beautifull. The guys went for the house favorite - the Fried Haddock Platter, while Jeanne and I opted for Shrimp or Scallops. The atmosphere and conversation was so casual and comfortable tonight, that we sat for a very very long time before saying goodnight.

Injuries ! What a Bummer!!

2011-07-25T14:59:00.001-04:00

It seems like forever since I've been able to play pickleball, and it seems like Rich is playing non-stop!!! I've lost track of time, but it's probably been close to four weeks now. Twisted the knee on the pickleball court. Rested it for better than a week. Tried to play, but called it quits after two games. Waited another week and purchased a brace for the knee which allowed me to play for several days in a row. But last Saturday, with the brace on it hurt like a hoot when I turned for a backhand shot. Seems like when I stop or start real fast or move the knee to the side that it just feels like something is "moving" and it hurts! Went to the doctor on Monday hoping to get an MRI an see what's wrong. He told me he "thought" I had bruised the ligaments, even though I was not in any pain, and could walk OK - just not too fast. Even though I insisted that I did not need a shot of cortizone........HE INSISTED that I did. The shot didn't hurt at all, but the knee sure did for the next two days. He's on vacation until August 19th...........................and whatever was wrong with the knee is STILL wrong.

In the meantime, Rich is playing every day and sometimes twice a day. Last year it was him who was having the medical issues with his feet and was out of commission. And while I truly wish I could get back on the court, I am so happy that he is able to make up for all the time he lost last year. He is definately taking advantage of every single day.......

But what is that saying? "Count your life with smiles and not the tears that roll." And over the past few days I've had some pretty big smiles.

Got a chance to talk with my good friend Barb(pictured above with hubby Dennis) who is now out in Oregon. We were hoping that she and Dennis would head back to Florida this winter.... but it's not going to happen this year. In the meantime she looks great, feels great and called to tell me that she won her very first PICKLEBALL GOLD MEDAL!! She and Dennis took the Bronze in the mixed doubles. But in the ladies doubles she to the Bronze in the B Division and the GOLD in the C Division. Congratulations!

Then yesterday I put the knee brace on and decided to go for a walk. It was just after 7:00am. I hadn't gotten a block from the house when I heard someone make a smart remark.................And when I looked up I saw these two cyclists stopped in the middle of the road. After removing the sunglasses, I was shocked to see our friends Ken and Lynn Corbett!!! It took me a couple of seconds as they donned matching helmets and bright neon colored shirts!!! But Ken and Lynn it was!!!!! I was so surprised because they were about 23 miles from their home down in Leesburg. But that's nothing unusual for these two. They were on their way to Oxford before they headed back and said that this was their 8th Sunday in a row for a cycling road trip. Gosh I wish I had the camera with me!!!!! These two looked like a couple of professionals in the "Tour de France"!!!!!!

What a great surprise! Absolutely made my day!!

Checking out Orange Blossom/Country Club Hills

2011-07-18T16:29:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we made plans to meet up with another of our Villages friends, Kathy and Greenie. We met Greenie back in 2008 when he was the USAPA Regional Ambassdor for the Atlantic South. When we visited The Villages back in 2009 we had the pleasure of meeting his lovely wife. Since then we have made a point of spending time with them whenever we're in the area.

The two of them had suggested the Orange Blossom Country Club for breakfast/brunch one Sunday while we were in The Villages last year, and for one reason or another we never made it there. So it made sense that the first time we got together this year that we meet at the Country Club. It was nice catching up with what they've been up, and we learned that they had just returned from a family visit to Michigan, Kathy continues her volunteer work, and Greenie's health allows him to get on the pickleball courts just a couple of times a month.

After breakfast we decided to check out the rest of the Village of Orange Blossom. In addition to the golf, the Country Club and the beautiful swimming pool, it is also the home of the Paradise Recreation Center, where, like all the otheres include tennis/pickleball courts and lots of indoor activities.

One of the very oldest sections of The Villages, it is located at the far east of the city just east of Hwy 441/27 and not far from the Spanish Springs Town Center.

Orange Blossom and one more Villages just a bit further south are Modular Home communities, and many of them, like pictured above are located along the shores of this small lake. Also along this small lake is Paradise Park with.....
large shade trees and a picnic area.

A variety of Florida water foul and birds as well as these shore birds that appear to be a couple of american coot......... Was looking for some sandhill cranes but didn't see any today.

There was an abundance of shore birds including these beautifulWhite Ibis.
..........

And of course the water attracts a multitude of ducks.

Adjacent to the water area is Paradise Dog Park.........where Villages meet up and let the little ones wander and run and play.

And if you have the urge to sharpen your hunting or target skills a hugh Archery Range is located just down the road from the dog park.

So many times as we have travelled by car through the Villages we have passed under this bridge that crosses highway 441/27. We've been through many a golfcart tunnel, but we have yet to use this "golfcart bridge".

And from right here in Pardise Park you can hop on the golf cart path and make your way to shopping and entertainment on the other side of the road.

And today there was a good bit of traffic.

And the rest of the day was just being lazy........................

Sumter Landing for Market Night.

2011-07-16T11:16:00.001-04:00

The afternoon rains have kept us a bit secluded in the afternoons this past week. Fortunately the storms have held off long enough for us to get out in the AM for some pickleball. By late Thursday afternoon the skies had cleared and it looked to be a decent evening, so we decided to take a ride on down to Sumter Landing again. Thursday night was market night.

We took a stroll around the square to check out all the vendors. A little something for everyone.......luggage, beautiful wood carvings, hats, sports paraphernalia..........

And what would Market Night shopping be without a PICKLEBALL BOOTH! Lots of paddles and shirts and bags and I really liked the towels. A little bigger than a regular hand towel and bearing a pickleball emblem of some sort. Very nice for $12.

Where else but The Villages would you find a booth to help you with the makeover for your Golf Cart? And as you travel the golf cart paths and check out the abundance of golf carts, you continue to be amazed at the creativity of some.............

And as we continued on around the square, didn't we find another "creative" example?

And if you don't want to fix up the one you have.............Here is one that was for sale. Lots of fliers and stickers, but didn't see the price........

Finishing our browsing we decided to sit for a bit and listen to the entertainment. It was still early in the evening, but the crowd was already starting to build.

Many arrived early. The "feels like" temperature this evening was 100 degrees, so the early birds were able to find the shade under the trees. We listened until the band took their break, and decided it was a bit too hot to stay much longer. The lines at the refreshment stands were real long as the everyone was trying to get the last drink before the end of happy hour!

So we vacated our parking space and left an opening for the next arrival.

It really isn't bad trying to find your way around. There are directional signs all along the paths..........

But despite all the signs, you often stop to ponder where you are. And so the traffic jam, as two young ladies two carts ahead of us stop in the middle of the road to check their map!

We took the tunnel to cross to the other side of the Buena Vista Trail which would take us back to our Village.

And for those of you who were not real sure.........Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Independence Day at Sumter Landing

2011-07-05T10:08:00.000-04:00

Surprisingly, they do not have fireworks here in The Villages. I'm sure there is a history behind that decision, but I have no idea what that might be. But the folks here still have a great time celebrating the 4th of July. Rich and I decided to take a ride down to Sumter Landing after dinner this evening...come take a ride with us............

Tonight we decided to take the ride by golf cart tonight. For those of you have not been here before, you'll see that there is pretty much always as many golf carts as automobiles on the road no matter which way you head.

This is about a 15 minute drive by golf cart. You'll see that these two carts ahead of us were headed our way tonight. This is where we come off the main road on to the golf cart path that takes us south along Buena Vista Boulevard.

Stopping for vehicular traffic......... Yes, just like driving in the car we have our stop signs and directional signs.

We stay to the right at the golf cart circle as we approach the entrance to the Arnold Palmer Country Club...........one of the many Championship golf courses.

Left on Old Mill Road - where we share the road with the automobiles, as we head toward the town square.

And now - it's trying to find a place to park!! Not always easy to find a spot close to the town square.....but once more around the circle and this car would be gone........and we would one of the carts that took its place.

Almost there.......................

Hadn't been there for long before the entertainment started. All the dancers on the square took to their seats as The Villages Drum Corps and Twirlers took center stage..

We listened to patriotic songs and watch the twirlers as they entertained the crowds.

Typical garb tonight - Yes that umbrella is a hat!!!

The crowd (and this is just a small portion of the whole!) stand and wave their flags as everyone sings "Proud to be an American."

Fire Batons.....the twirlers entertain with the "Flames of Freedom".

We decided to head on over to take a ride on the boat that takes a short cruise around Lake Sumter.............where we are greeted by Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty!

LAKE SUMTER LINE... All aboard!

The beautifully manicured golf course across the way........

The bridge on Morse Boulevard. We were told that this bridge was modeled after the London Bridge. On the grassy area there in the middle is a golf cart parking area . It is know as the senior's "lover's lane". There are several parking spots here where residents park each night to watch the sun set across the lake.

You've seen a picture of this place a couple of times. The is the Lighthouse Restaurant where we've been to eat a couple of times already..... A great view from the lake, and that's the boardwalk along the edge of the lake adjacent to the town square.

It was a fun evening................

2011-07-04T08:43:00.002-04:00

Happy Fourth of July

Not a lot to update everyone on over the past week or so. What do you do when your in The Villages and you're pickleball fanatics? Well, of course,play pickleball as often as you can. With the 108 +/- courts, it certainly isn't hard to find a place to meet some great players and some really nice people. And we have been so fortunate to have done just that.

Sine my last update, our good friends Don and Linda left for home and the days have been spent either playing pickleball, catching up on the Casey Anthony trial, or heading out (me) in the afternoon to Bunco. I hope to get back out doing some line dancing, once this knee is better, and Rich has found a fellow pickleball player to play a little billiards with. Of course we continue our regular Saturday morning breakfast with friends at the Sun Rise.

This Saturday the breakfast group decided to meet at the Outback Steakhouse on Sunday to celebrate the holiday. There were twelve of us last night (Pete and Barbara, Mo and Jeanne, Joe and Louise, Ray and Lorraine, Charlie and Joan, Rich and I). They pulled two round tables together, instead of a long table, that made conversation among the group a bit difficult - but we definately managed. I'm sure that by the time we left, many a patron was ready to see our roudy group leave. By roudy I just mean we were enjoying the evening and our laughter was a very clear indication of that.

Dinner and Music................

2011-06-28T07:46:00.000-04:00

Rich and Don took off early this morning for Pimlico and played pickleball until probably 10:30 when they arrived back soaking wet and tired!! A quick bite for luch - finishing up theleft over slaw and macaroni from yesterday with a sandwich and cold drink.

Don had to get on the computer for a bit to check on work stuff, but for the most part we were just lazy and sat around talking or catching up on the Anthony trial.......

About 5:30 we headed down to Sumter Landing to the Lighthouse Restaurant for dinner.

We had stopped here at the Landing and walked along to boardwalk last year, so we knew they'd like to go back. The tour boat was out with passengers enjoying the beautiful evening..

Inside - we enjoyed a fabulous meal three of us getting the haddock platter, and Linda opting for the Salmon. Everyone was bad..........with the guys getting fried ice cream or (Rich) the fried snickers bar!! Linda and I shared a slice of keylime pie. Annd the coffee and conversation and it was a pefect time.

It was such a beautiful evening that we headed up to Spanish Springs town center. Tonight was supposed to be "market nigh", when all the vendors are out and their is music and dancing on the circle. With the threat of rain, only a few vendors were out, but we sat until close to 9:00 enjoying the music and dancing.

Good Friends come to visit............

2011-06-27T08:30:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, our very good friends Don and Linda arrived. They didn't have to come far.... but we're sure glad they came. We look forward to their company for the next few days and showing them around The Villages a bit........that is when Don and Rich are not out on the pickleball courts

Linda (smiling in the back, sitting on the sofa) while Don presents us with a lovely gift..............

And.................our two favorite (canine) boys! Cheyanne - top photo who is 14 years old, and really starting to show his age........and Dakota, who is ten and at times, still thinks he's a puppy.

Back to the gift! Two beautiful Tervis glasses.........Long story behind this, but we complmented the ones they had the last time we visited ........and they remembered how much we liked them. What is especially "special" is that another friend and fellow pickleball player, Rene made the pickleball patches that are on the glasses. What a talented lady!
Thank you Don and Linda.....and Rene! What a great surprise.

The guys are out on the pickleball court now.......and Linda and I will tune in shortly to the Casey Anthony trial.........at least until the guys get home.

REMEMBERING DAD

2011-06-19T16:18:00.002-04:00

"The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God; I call him Dad"
(Author Unknown)

John L Benjamin - I (Donna) lost my fater when I was only 13 years old....... but he was indeed one of the greatest gifts in my life..........This is the only picture I have of my faher, thanks to my brother Dave. Happy Father's Day Dad!!

"Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad." -- Anne Geddes

Three generations of Dad.....This is a picture of Rich's Dad, Robert at the age of 73, Rich at the age of 43 and our son Dennis at the age of 23. Taken in Elmira, New York. One of our favorite pictures................We lost Rich's Dad not long after we relocated to Florida.

"It's only when you grow up, and step back from him, or leave him for your own career and your own home—it's only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it. Pride reinforces love." -- Margaret Truman

...... a couple of our very favorite pictures of our son Dennis - as he becomes a dad to Chauna for the first time, and to Dalton - the second time.

Today we celebrated Father's Day

A morning of pickleball for Father Rich, a phone call from Son Dennis and a Chocolate Chip Cookie for the sweet tooth.

Wednesday, Pickleball, Red Sauce and Stormy Weather

2011-06-16T18:05:00.000-04:00

Wednesday morning had to be one of the hottest mornings since we've been here. The humidity was so high that I swear my t-shirt was soaked before I finished my first game of pickleball. I arrived a little later than normal; good thing, because I was one of the last to leave. Today was Marty and Prissy's last day here at The Villages, and they made sure they took full advantage of morning pickleball. Prissy was so exhausted from the heat and sun (and no breakfast) that she stopped in the middle of the last game. By this time Rich had also stopped by, not planning on playing, but they got him on the court for one game anyway. During that time, Tom, one of the Villages players took Marty and Prissy to look at a Villa............Everyone is eager to show them their Villas or homes for sale or rent! But yes...........we were the last to leave,and made plans to meet later in the day.

About 5:30 we headed to Lake Sumter Landing where we met up again with our Louisiana friends at Red Sauce, a great Italian resaturant on the town square. It was happy hour until 7:00 so we all indulged. As usual - the meal was great. I had my camera in my pocketbook..........and FORGET to get one last picture of our friends. They would be heading for home in the morning.

We thought about sticking around the square for a while, but before dinner was over we could hear thunder in the distance, and the sky was beginning to look pretty threatening. Since Marty and Prissy had come in the golf cart, it made sense that we let them head for home before the storm. So we hugged and said good-bye and promised to stay in touch! We will really miss them. I'm sure they'll be glad to get back to their air-conditioned pickleball courts!!

We had not been home long before the skies got really dark, the wind started blowing and the storm had arrived. The picture on the bottom left was taken from the front porch, the others from the outside patio before the rain. The storm the night before had set off the fire alarm in the house, knocked out the TV reception and opened the garage door!!! Tonight was not quite as eventful......only lost TV reception for about 10 minutes, but the lightening show after the storm was awesome!!!

Birthday Celebrations with Friends.

2011-06-12T17:02:00.001-04:00

Today was my birthday! Yes I'm a Gemini. Those of you who know me well, know my dual personality........so no surprise there!!!

For the past couple of years, when we've visited The Villages friends who live here have suggested that we try the Sunday Brunch at the Orange Blossom Hills Country Club. Until today we never got around to it. When Rich asked where I'd like to go for my birthday I suggested that we ask our visitors from Louisiana to join us for brunch. Located in The Villages this country club is located on Water Tower Circle......Yes - that the water tower in the back of the picture.

The hardest part of the drive there was trying to find the entrance to the parking area from the circle. When we did some of the folks out front told us to make sure we check out the pool! Is this beautiful or what? Beautiful water falls makes this a very inviting place to be, and at 11:30 am people were starting to gather under the sun.

The Brunch was excellent and very very reasonably priced at just $6.95. There was a huge egg/omlett station with most any ingredient you could think of. To accompany the egges was an array of ham, sausage, bacon, potatos, pancakes, cornbeef hash, biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit and danish.

And I send a very special Thank You to Marty, Prissy and Sharon for the card and birthday cake.

Rich does the honors............and shares a slice with everyone. Delicious- Chocolate with Butter Cream Icing.

Smiling for the camera - Marty, Sharon, Me, Rich and Prissy. Thank you all so much for making my day extra special.

Another full day of fun with LA Visitors

2011-06-12T09:10:00.003-04:00

Back at Churchill this morning for pickleball. I arrived just after 7:00 and it was another of those sunny, muggy mornings where you break out in a sweat just watching people play. Sharon and Marty and Prissy all came over to play again a little bit later and by 9:30 I left them to head for home and get ready for our Saturday morning breakfast.

By about 11:05am, everyone who was meeting at the Sun Rise Cafe this week had arrived. Not quite as many as last week; but there were eleven smiling faces for this weeks photo! Pictured above are (left) Louise, Sharon, Donna, Prissy, Marty and Charlie. (Right), Joe, Rich, Lorraine, Ray and Joan.

The owners and staff here at the Sun Rise are great. They expect group of pickleball players every Saturday and always have the tables ready. The food is always good. But - it's not Paul's Kitchen where we can get the very same breakfast for $1.99 instead of $5.........But where do you find this many people having this much fun at Breakfast!

And today was VERY entertaining as Joe and Sharon exchanged jokes....Rich says that in addition to his great jokes, when the guys meet each morning at Dunkin Donuts, Joe brings his list of trivia questions from the local paper and everyone tries to see if they can beat Louise"s( his wife) score. Joe is also well known for his Karaoke - But today the two took turns making us laugh; Sharon with her Louisiana "Boudreaux" jokes. Charlie - who was sitting way at the other end of the table came down to our end to listen!

We're so glad that Marty and Prissy and Sharon got to meet this crew! We will definitely miss them when they head for home, Sharon on Monday and Marty and Prissy on Wednesday!

But the day was not yet over. By the time we finished breakfast it was a little past noon and Sharon and Prissy wanted to play Bunko again today. Prissy is so hooked on this game that after playing the previous day she went back to the Recreation Newspaper and found where Bunko was being played every afternoon until she has to leave. Today we played at the Mulberry Rec Center. Sharon came home with a few dollars extra today! I'm sure they'll be looking to go to Lake Miona tomorrow after Sunday Brunch!!

Today was Girls Day Out.........

2011-06-10T18:40:00.002-04:00

This morning everyone showed up at Churchill Street for pickleball. Rich went to play with the big boys over at Saddlebrook. Our friends from Louisiana have really fit it well at Churchill - the crowd is very friendly there and they have welcomed, Prissy, Marty and Sharon without question. Of course all of them are pretty good players.

By 9:30 I had played better than two hours so headed for home. I had made plans to meet Sharon and Prissy for lunch today. They suggested the Mallyor Country Club - so I picked them up about 11:30.

They have a really nice menu with a great selection of lunch items at a fairly reasonable price. ( Of course - I have to remember that I am not in Wauchula!!)

This is Sharon and Prissy in the picture above in front of the Mallory Square Country Club. Before we left - Sharon asked "What are we going to do now?" She had already checked out the Recreation News paper and suggested that we head out for an afternoon of Bunko!! Prissy and I had never played before but decided to give it a try. There was a big group of players at the Bacall Recreation Center ( about 16 tables of four people). We had a GREAT TIME!!!! Prissy and Sharon more than me since they both won $10. But Prissy and I were hooked, and will probably go back again!

Tomorrow we'll meet again at Churchill and then head to the SunRise Cafe for our Saturday morning breakfast. I asked them to join us on Sunday for a Breakfast Buffet at the Orange Blossom Country Club - so that should be a good time. We are really going to miss these three when they head back to LA!!

An evening in Spanish Springs

2011-06-09T11:06:00.000-04:00

Wednesday evening we made plans with Marty, Prissy and Sharon to meet at the Spanish Springs town center for dinner at KatieBells. KatieBells is the only "resident only" restaurant in The Villages. It's a beautiful two story Western style opera house where Villages go for great meals, fun and dancing. There is entertainment there every day and includes show bands from all over the country.

The first objective when you arrive at the town center is to find a place to park. Tonight was "Market Night" which means that all the vendors had their booths set up selling their wares. The band was playing in the center of the circle so people were checking out the vendor booths, dancing to the music, enjoying their favorite beverage or just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful evening. Some even brought their family pet! In the center photo - KatieBells is the large building you see on the right.

When we arrived at KatieBells - the first decision was whether to eat upstairs ( steak house/fine dining) or downstairs (lighter fare and close to the entertainment and dancing). We had never eaten downstairs before, so left the decision to our guests. So glad that they chose downstairs. A little noisy and hard to carry on a lot of conversation - but all part of the festive nature of the evening.

Wish I could remember the name of the group that was playing tonight, but I can't........but I do remember that they were very very good, really got the audience included and the dancers on the floor.

At the country music brought out all the line dancers and country couples line dancers. Some of them were excellent dancers - not hard to tell they'd had some training.

And others just took to the floor, made up their own dance steps and were almost as entertaining as the band! As Rich watched this couple dancing - he recognized him as Scotty - one of the pickleball players in the group that he plays with at La Hacienda in the afternoon. They were having a great time!

Marty and Prissy take to the dance floor! Sharon and I also did a little line dancing joining about 30 other dances for the Electric Slide.

Love this picture of Marty and Prissy. Looks like they're having a good time.

Finally a picture of Sharon!!!!! The group shot after dinner. Marty, Prissy, Sharon, Rich and Me. I know - hard to recognize when not in our pickleball attire!!!!

It was after 8:00 as we headed for home.........and the sunset was absolutely beautiful. This picture really does not do it justice at all........but the best I could get from the car window!
A perfect ending to a perfectly enjoyable evening with friends!

Sharon Arrives from LaFayette!

2011-06-06T19:52:00.006-04:00

Another day in paradise here in The Villages. Up bright and early. Rich headed over to Pimlico to play picklball and I went back to Churchill Street. Yesterday another fellow pickleball friend arrived here in The Villages from LaFayette, LA. We met Sharon Richard the first time a couple of years ago at the National Senior Games Championships in Ft. Lauderdale, and then met up with her agin this April at the Mid South Regional Pickleball Tournament in Mandyville, LA.

Sharon arrived late last night and will be staying for the week. She's staying with the other couple that's also here from LA - Marty and Prissy. All three of them showed up to play this morning at Churchill Street, and I think once again - we were probably the last to leave the courts. This afternoon at 3:00 were back at Churchill for Coach Mo's Clinic.

Above is Prissy and Sharon practicing what they've learned today from Coach Mo.

And here - Coach Mo is autographing Sharon's Visor, and Prissy's Shirt!!!! They keep telling us that the folks back in LA are so jealous................

It was VERY hot on the courts this afternoon; I think the temperatures reached almost 97 degrees. So it was lots and lots of water during our lessons.

Following our lessons with Coach Mo - we all met at the Lighthouse Point Restaurant here in The Villages that overlooks Lake Sumter. They are famous for their Haddock fillets - so tonight all but Marty opted for the Haddock Fish Platter. Marty went for the daily special - which was very pituresque.......... and looked like an array of shell fish atop some sort of flatbread , with a vinigarette dressing drizzled atop......

The restaurant has some great outdoor dining, but tonight Mother Nature decided to send us a brief thunder storm.......... a little to wet and windy for sitting out. But even from inside, there is a great view of Lake Sumter.

And should you decide to do so.......you can walk the boardwalk along Lake Sumter Landing.

During Dinner we made some plans for the next few days. Tomorrow morning I am meeting these guys at Odell Rec Center at 8:00 for pickleball. It is Market Night at the town square in Lake Sumter landing tomorrow - so we'll stop there and then head to Coconut Cove Rec Center for some evening pickleball around 6:30. Sometime in between, Prissy and Sharon are meeting the Realtor and looking at a new Courtyard Villa!!!! Wednesday morning is pickleball back at Churchill Street, and Wednesday night is dinner at Katie Bells. Thursday morning is pickleball at Bacall Rec Center, and we'll all meet for breakfast at the Sun Rise again on Saturday!! We' re going to miss these guys when they leave for home.

Southern Oaks Villas Social

2011-06-05T20:55:00.000-04:00

At the pickleball courts on Friday, Sue and Phil invited Rich and I to join the rest of the residents (those who have not gone back north) of the Sourthern Oaks Villas at the Churchill Street Rec Center for a Pizza Social.

Here in The Villages there are several Villages. For example we are staying in the Village of Lynnhaven. Within each Village there are your various sizes of single home, there are smaller "villages" of courtyard villas, and others which are "villages" of patio villas. We are staying in Soutern Oaksm which is all "patio" villas.

Sue and Phil planned the social as a way to get to know your neighbors, meet new neighbors and people like us who are visiting the neighborhood.

Five dollars per person got you in the door where we all mingled and talked for a while and then shared some Pappa Johns Pizza and Salad. Someone made some great brownies, fruit salad and watermellon for dessert. In the picture above, folks are starting to arrive and find a seat, Rich finds a couple of ladies in the neighborhood who play pickleball, party planner Sue.......addresses the group, Rich with Al and Yvonne - the first two people we met tonight, and the bottom is party planner Phil.......making sure the pizza's are ready.

After eating, Rich headed over to the Billards room to shoot a little pool and I joined some folks for a game of "Southern Oaks Scramble Bridge" . We all took to tables of four, and learned the rules of the game. Trump in each game, 10 points for each trick, keep score, keep your partner for four games then switch tables...........My table was (top) - Joe and JD who was my partner and (bottom) Denise and me. JD and I did AWESOME taking 730 points to our second table. I joined a table of three guys - Jim, Phil and Rich.....where I racked up only 530 more points. Top three scores won lottery tickets.

So glad we decided to go..........it's always fun meeting new people and making new friends.......... It was a very enjoyable evening.

Saturday at the SunRise Cafe

2011-06-04T15:17:00.001-04:00

I'm so glad that I had invited Marty and Prissy to join the group that playes at the Churchill Rec Center. They are a fun group to play with - and I guess that they made our Louisiana couple feel welcome; they came back to play on Saturday morning.

We invited them to join us for breakfast at the SunRise Cafe. Several players ( and their non pickleball playing spouses) often meet here on Saturday mornings at 11:00. Today there were 14 of us. Pictured about are (left- front to back) Pete, Charlie, Rich, Jeanne, Mo, Lorraine (hidden) and Joe. (right - front to back), Ray, Joan, Donna, Marty, Prissy, Ray ( almost hidden) and Louise. Lots of food and laughter today!!

And our birthday boy.....who celebrated his ?0th birthday today. You'll have to guess! Jeanne said if I was putting this on our Blog to tell everyone it was his 50th! I don't know..................he certainly doesn't look THAT old!!!! (HA!)

We arrive at The Villages

2011-06-04T15:06:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday morning, June 1st, we closed up the 5th wheel for the summer and were on our way to The Villages, Fl before 11:00. With the exception of some pretty heavy rain storms along the way, the 3 hour trip was uneventful. But we were so glad that the rain held off until we had finished closing things up.

We arrived around 2:30 having stopped along the way for a quick lunch and a coffee refill at McDonalds just south of Clermont, and then again at McDonalds in Leesburg so Rich could get a milkshake!

We were back in familiar territory; this was the same villa that we stayed in last year. On Thursday morning Rich headed out to Pimlico Rec Center to play pickleball. I headed out to Publix to stock up on groceries for the week. I whipped up a batch of Chicken Enchilladas and we ate in that night. A very nice couple that we had met at the pickleball tournament in LA in April Marty and Prissy Martin, had arrived for their two week visit and we made plans to hook up the next day.

So on Friday morning Marty and Prissy met me at the Churchill Rec Center where we played pickleball for a couple of hours. We were the last ones to leave the court! Above are both of them along with Rich and Coach Mo. Rich had hooked up with Mo and set up some one one one pickleball coaching for Marty and Prissy for Monday evening at the Pimlico courts.

Rich, Marty, Prissy and Mo..............

Our Last Day - Lunch with friends.

2011-05-31T17:14:00.000-04:00

Well, it is our very last day this season here at Peace River. Did the final packing of most everything inside today, tied down the boat and bikes and we'll pack up most of the stuff in the vehicles tonight after the sun goes down.

We should be on our way to The Villages before noon tomorrow!

But we took a break this afternoon to have lunch with friends. Nick and Tonya and Joy and Richard (the Ranger ) joined us today at The Breadboard Restaurant. We were going to do dinner, but Richard had to be to work at 4:00 so we met at 2:00 for a late lunch/early dinner. The menue/food here is much improved. The salad bar was excellent, and everyones lunch (Chicken Fajitas, Fish Fry or Delmonico Steaks) was delicious. I'm sure we'll see all of them again next Fall/Winter as Richard will be here as a Ranger, and Nick and Tonja now have an annual site. It was very enjoyable today and we're so glad we had the chance to meet one last time to say goodbye.

Our Last Day in Cocoa Beach

2011-05-28T22:08:00.000-04:00

Can not believe how fast this week has sped by! Seems like we just got here and tomorrow morning we'll be packing up and heading out!

But there was one more day of pickleball...........

Scott Nelson has been so great about arranging time for all of us to get together at the South Beach Community Center. He scheduled the courts for 10:00 am this morning. It was just a small group today Scott and Larry, Dave and Debbie, Rich and I. We played for about 2 1/2 hours and some really competitive games. This is the most pickleball we played since we returned from LA.

A quick lunch again at the SunRise Cafe.....and it was back to the pool, where we sat until after 8:00 pm and then Rich grilled some burgers for dinner. It's been a fun week - and kind of sad to have to leave.

Another Day In Paradise(Cocoa) Beach

2011-05-27T22:28:00.000-04:00

Today is officially the beginning of the rainy season here on the east coast of Florida and in keeping with tradition, the forecast was for rain around the area. Here on the beach we had a 40% chance of thunderstorms. We headed out to the pool a little earlier than normal - about 9:30. Just after noon we heard thunder off in the distance and it started to cloud over. Fortunately - only a few sprinkles . Not even enough to send us inside. I made some lunch and we ate at the pool and about 2:00 it was time for another batch of White Russians.

At 3:00 I left Rich at the pool and headed over to the activity center for line dancing. Most of those who attended today were beginners, but we had a great time. Jo was a great instructor and a very good dancer. When the class was over Jo and I did a couple of the more advanced dances for everyone. We did Come Dance with Me and Cruisin.

After dancing (Rich was STILL at the pool) it was time to start getting ready for dinner. Plans were to meet Dave and Debbie at the Lobster Shanty at 5:30

If you ever make it to Cocoa Beach make a point of eating here at the Lobster Shanty. Easy to find right along SR A1A.

Very pretty outside. This is the front entry way............

Where you can stop and buy some food and feed the fish.

There was still a threat of rain - but we felt pretty confident that we'd be safe eating outside overlooking the Intercoastal Waterway. By the time we were seated the sun was actually shining - and we questioned our decision to sit in the hot sun.

But it wasn't long before it started getting cloudy again - And actually across the water it was pretty dark and you could tell it was raining.

But we stayed - and enjoyed an excellent dinner. Everyone had something different, Talapia, Haddock, Bay Scallops or Apricot Chicken........and TWO baskets of corn fritters!! (Actualy Deb took home about four from the second batch). The food was delicious.

We sat and talked and watched the people during dessert. (Pudding or ice cream came with the meal) As you can see it's very casual and they get a pretty good number of diners.

While waiting for your meal - or after dessert several people stroll out on to the dock to watch and feed the fish.

It was a beautiful evening - a great meal and it was so nice catching up with Dave and Debbie.

Pickleball - No Camera and Calzones

2011-05-26T19:05:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday we skipped breakfast, sat around the pool for a while and then headed to Walmart! Remember the batch of White Russians that I made yesterday? Well, from what Rich tells me - it wasn't just the Sudoku puzzles that were killers. While I really don't remember this, he insists that while we were walking the beach Tuesday evening, that I dropped my camera in the sand THREE times. I only remember ONCE!!!

By some miracle, I was able to download the pictures of the beach, but on Wednesday morning there was no getting that camera to work no matter what we did.

So - off to Walmart for my early birthday present. We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner back at the Sunrise Cafe, since we were headed back to Melbourne Beach for some pickleball. We arrived just after 5:30 and our friends Dave and Debbie Christian were already there. Unfortunately, I had to charge the battery before I could use the camera............so no pickleball pictures that night!!! But the camera will be with me when we meet them for dinner Friday night at the Lobster Shanty.

It was just after 8:00 pm when we headed back to Cocoa Beach - too late to eat, so we just stopped for some ice cream on the ride back. The most important thing was that we made it back in time to see the second half of American Idol --------YEAH SCOTTY!!!!

Today was another relaxing one at the pool, with a light lunch and much smaller batch of White Russians!
For dinner tonight it was off to Anacapri Pizzeria. Just a short walk from the Resort, this was one of the places that we ate last year, and wanted to make a point of returning again. Last year Rich had ordered the Large Calzone - which took up two plates...............

Tonight he ordered the small.................. So you can just imagine how bit the Large is!!

And I had the small Stromboli. As it turned out we shared. We actually shared . The only difference between a Calzone and a Strombli is that the Calzone has Ricotta Cheese. So we each had 1/2 Calzone and 1/2 Strombole. I thought the Calzone was better!!! Rich preferred the Stromboli!!! Guess we'll know next time...........

Still some daylight left.........so heading back out to the pool

Another day of sunshine...............

2011-05-24T22:26:00.000-04:00

The night of pickleball must have really tired us out. We haven't played much at all since we came back from LA.............and so it was nearly 9:30 when we finally pulled out of bed.

It was just before 11:00 when we arrived at the Sunrise Diner for breakfast. The western omlet that Rich had was HUGE! A quick stop at Publix to pick up a couple of steaks to cook out later and we were dressed in our swim suites and out at the pool just after noon. About 1:30 after a dip in the pool, it was time for an afternoon beverage. So I went back to the room and whipped up a couple of White Russians.............PERFECT and DELICIOUS!!! After two drinks the Killer Sudoku puzzels were indeed killers!!!!

There is a really nice pavillion here at the resort wit about 6 or 7 grills for cooking out and several picnic tables. There is also a kitchen area adjacent to the pavillion with four stoves and a refrigerator, so it makes a great location for a picnic. Above Rich grills our steaks and asparagus to perfection!

Oh yeah..........Back at Publix? Rich did pick up this white cake with butter cream icing for dessert!! This should last until tommorrow anyway!!

After dinner it was time for a walk on the beach. A quick walk between the two buildings - donw the plank and on to the beach.

Rich snaps a picture of me wading ...........................

For those who don't want to walk.............do like this guy and take a ride. The tide was out so lots of packed sand for an evening ride. The two buildings in the back are the Ocean Landings Resort.

Back in time to catch the finale of American Idol. GO SCOTTY!!!

Monday at Cocoa Beach

2011-05-24T21:55:00.001-04:00

On Monday we were out at the pool early enjoying morning coffee. I went back to the room and fixed us a quick breakfast - an English muffing with peanut butter...............and we continued to sit at the pool for most of the day.

That evening we had been invited to play pickleball at the South Beach Community Park down on Melbourne Beach - about a 45 minute drive south from Cocoa Beach. Scott Nelson - one of the USAPA ambassadors for the area asked Rich to clinic for some of the players. So the plan was to arrive between 5:30 and 6:00 - do the clinic for about an hour and then play.

There were a bout 13 players from the Melbourne Beach area, and three that drove down from Merritt Island. Pictured above is the group from Melbourne Beach. They have a very nice set up there with three courts for playing. The only problem, even though the divider was pulled down the center of the court was that it was pretty noisy during the clinic with folks playing basketball on the other side of the gym. But we had a wonderful time meeting some new pickleball players - and we are planning on coming back on Wednesday to play for a few hours. That's our friend Scott on the far left with his son just next to him.

We enjoyed the drive down along SRA1A that follows the Atlantic shoreline and passed by Patrick's Airforce Base.

We arrive in Cocoa Beach

2011-05-24T21:28:00.000-04:00

Well we headed out on Sunday morning. Nick and Tonya stopped by about 9:30 to say goodbye, which was really nice. We were ready to leave about 10:30, so finished packing the car and stopped at Pauls for breakfast on our way out of Wauchula.

We arrived at the Ocean Landing Resort on Cocoa Beach about 2:00pm, unpacked and settled in for the week. It will be nice here at the beach; the temperature today was in the mid 90's with 100% humidity. What a great time to be near the water , where you always have a bit of an ocean breeze.

What a great room .......Walk out the door an up directly up the ramp to the Terrace Pool. There are two pools here at Ocean Landings and the Terrace Pool is our favorite - as the majority of the adults seem to frequent this pool.

Here's a better look at the pool from the second floor..............We spend a lot of time here - a dip in the pool, do a few puzzels, a dip in the pool.......

This is the other pool. The little building in the back is a great place to grab breakfast in the morning, a quick lunch or your favorite beverage. This was early in the morning - so not too many people around yet. We headed out to this pool not long after we arrived and spent a little time sipping a cool drink and enjoying the ocean breeze.

Nothing special on Sunday evening - we did an early dinner just across the street at Denny's, watched a little TV and called it a day.

Peace River's last two "newbies" for the season

2011-05-18T16:14:00.001-04:00

I don't think that Rich and I have ever had this much fun teaching pickleball to "newbies". Monday was a "beginner session" followed by play time, and Tuesday was a "strategy clinic" followed again by a few games.

The new park manager (top middle) Lee and another PR employee (Patti) who works in the store wanted to learn to play. Lee has actually played before, but it was all new to Patti. I don't think we've ever laughed so much on the courts. Patti is a "hoot" - trying to remember when she should stay back, when she should come up, and when the ball needs to bounce........and Lee just keeps telling her how great she "looks" on the court.

Had a Great Time .........and the new manager has a really great sense of humor! We welcome her and wish her well.

Happy Hour in May?

2011-05-15T23:06:00.001-04:00

What a really nice happy hour we had this evening. Weather here the last few days got us all to wondering if it would really happen, but........it did. What is our typical summer weather came a little earlier than normal. May is generally one of the driest months here in Florida, but the last two days saw the return of our afternoon thunderstorms. And this morning we had another around 5:30am. But the rest of the day was just beautiful, the humidity low and a nice breeze.

About 6:00 this evening you could find several of us gathering at the site of Nick and Tonya. The sun was still shining, but the breeze was very pleasant, so we shared a little of our favorite beverage and a little conversation.

Nick was the Chef tonight and cooking on the grills was a little Kilbasa that we shared as an apetizer with some chips and cheese and crackers.

This is Patti and Jim. They are originally from just outside of Chicago, but have been here in Florida working at an ELS park in Crystal River. Patti now works in the store and Jim is the head of maintenance. All settled in - so those of you visiting next year will probably see them around. We're getting them out to the pickleball courts tomorrow night! You're sure to remember her.....she's always got a smile on her face.

This was the first time that we met Jenny and Bill. Very nice couple who have an annual site here Jenny brought along a delicious dish of homemade peanut brittle!

Joy and Ranger Rich. Nice to see Rich out and about and smiling! He's had his share of problems this winter, both with his motor home and with his health. But he is doing great now!

And the hosts for the evening, Chef Nick and Tonya.

Nick had prepared a batch of Ribs and also grilled an absolutely amazing Brisket on the grill. To accompany the main dish we had baby potatoes, beans, grilled asparagus ( absolutely delicious, Patti!), corn, pasta salad and rolls. For dessert Joy had backed a scrumptious Chocolate Cake.

As the sun set the breeze continues, which was great - kept the mosquitos away!!

Now how often do you see folks in Florida gathering around the heat of the fire in the middle of May? The breeze had died down, but the temperatures had also dropped into the low 70's. So a few had donned the sweater or light jacket. Perfect weather for a happy hour! It was nice meeting some new people and making new friends.

Pickleball at Kings Point

2011-05-15T16:20:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, Rich and I headed over to Kings Point in Sun City Center to play with Louann and some of the players there. Like here, a lot of their players are snowbirds, so they don't have a real big group playing regularly - but plenty enough to keep three courts going that morning.

Below Rich and Paul take on Jane and Walter..........

Nadnie - twisting to return the ball, while Louann crosses her fingers!

Delores and Robert - they were Nadine and Lou's opponants.

Rich and Artie vs Colin and Walter

Rich and Paul vs Artie and Jane

Didn't get Tom playing on the court - but after several of the players had left these two diehards were still ready to play

As for Louann, Nadine, Robert and Colin........I think the picture tells it all.

As always we had a great time playing with our friends at Kings Point.

Summer is Here and so is the new Park Manager!

2011-05-13T21:59:00.001-04:00

You can tell there's not much going on here at TT Peace River, when I'm spending my time taking pictures of these very frequent visitors to our site. Most of you know that we're parked way back on the H Row. Many a visitor says they couldn't stay back here with all the "snakes and alligators". Well we haven't seen any snakes or gators, but here are a few little ones that dropped by the other day while I was sitting out doing my Killer Sudoku Puzzles.

This fellow (?) was making his way north via the path that cuts along the edge of the woods. Made me think of our beagle "Beau". He's pounced on one of these more than one time..

As we were returning from town later in the day there was a dozen turkey buzzards at the entrance to the park feasting on a dead armadillo.....Hope it wasn't this little one.

We are awakened each morning with these little ones running across the roof of the RV. I remember the first time - when Rich saw one run across the skylight in the bedroom. I think this one thinks he's know an official member of the Donald family- making himself at home at the picnic table bench.

At times there's 5,6 or more of these little squirrels playing and chasing each other up and down the tree. Again..........Beau would have had a ball. One of his favorite past times was trying to climb the tree to get one of these.

I told you they think they're part of the family. We definitely do not feed them, but they have come right up on the patio.........This one stops nicely to let me snap a picture!!

Anyway - we have just over a week before we take off for Cocoa Beach. The days are getting longer and longer, with not too many people around. And the weather is turning so hot an muggy. We had a nice thunderstorm this afternoon, though that seemed to cool things down a bit.

For those of you that frequent TT Peace River - Elnor, the park manager this past year has left the park. We talked to her before she left to wish her well in her retirement. She's looking forward to not having to work any more. And the new park manager has arrived. Her name is Lee Collins; and she is coming here from TT in Orlando. She has Rich doing some research on getting some new posts put in on the pickleball courts, and I'm trying to find some pictures of "members" for a project she's she's working on.

Tomorrow we're heading over to Kings Point in Sun City Center to play a little pickleball with Louann and her group. Lee and Patti (she's the new ranger that's working in the store) have asked for pickleball lessons. (Lee wants some one on one coaching from Rich. She's determined to beat (badly) her friend Arik. So Monday and Tuesday nights are scheduled for training and playing. And on Sunday we're all meeting at Nick and Tonya's for a cookout.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-06T09:07:00.002-04:00

On Thursday evening we were invited to join Russ and Jodi for a celebration of Cinco de Mayo.

Above we all relax and enjoy a refreshing beverage, some natchos and salsa, cheese,crackers and pepperoni and fresh veggies. That's Russ and Jodit (top) and new found friends Tony and Marilyn who just pulled into the park today.

And here Russ makes a toast - to Cinco de Mayo, friends and to Jodi's absolutely SUPERB Tostados with pulled pork. Another enjoyable evening of fun, food and lots of laughter. ( I won't share some of the stories told of when we were younger - just in case the kids are reading this!)

Dinner with Friends........

2011-05-04T22:59:00.003-04:00

We had a very enjoyable cookout and evening with friends here at our place today. The plans were for the six of us to get together for a cookout, early in the evening and then head down and play some pickleball.

This is Jodi and Russ. We met them here at Peace River earlier in the season, and they were back here for just a short stay. Russ received his summons for Jury Duty down in Punta Gorda, but so far has not been called in. He has to call one last time tomorrow, and if they decide they won't need his services. the two of them will be leaving the park and begin their travels north. First stop is for their grandsons' ( twins) highschool graduation. We've really enjoyed getting to know them a little better - both on and off the pickleball courts. Hope they make it back this way next year.

Everyone had arrived a little before 6:00. Rich cooked the hot dogs, and I made a pineapple coleslaw and deviled eggs. Jodi made a great potato salad, and Krystal served up the Cookies and Cream Ice Cream for dessert.

It was so great to visit with Krystal and Nate ( and AVA!) We haven't seen them since our trip to Orlando back in January. The last we spoke the family was staying in Orlando for the summer, and we were already making plans to get together at The Villages. Looks like they will be heading for North Carolina instead. We were so pleasantly surprised when they came to Peace River for a couple of nights so that we could get together one more time before they left. We wish them well and look forward to meeting up again in the Fall.

Well - we never made it to the Pickleball Court! As the sun went down, there was a great breeze - so NO mosquitos!! It was nearly 9:00 pm by the time everyone left for home. By 9:30 Nate and Krystal were packed up and on the road back to Orlando.

Life is full of surprises........just when we thought the happy hour season had ended in Wauchula........ We shared another great evening. This one with our New friends Jodi and Russ, and very special Old friends, Nate and Krystal.

There is still some pickleball life at TT- Peace River

2011-05-02T23:01:00.000-04:00

Once Bruce and Gena left, we though we would be pretty much on our own, trying to find something to do until we left for Cocoa Beach.

As I was out walking this morning, a pickleball couple that we met earlier in the year stopped me before I made it back home. It was Jodi - of Russ and Jodi, who came back down here to Peace River from Orlando to wait out the storms up north in their hometown. So they'll likely be around for a few more days.

Since the days have been so warm, we made plans to meet on the courts tonight for some pickleball at 7:00 pm. We played about six games, and then were pleasantly surprised when Nate of Krystal and Nate, appeared at the courts. It must have been close to 9:00pm by then, but they were just pulling into the park to stay for a few days, before Krystal had to return to work.

It was late and getting dark, so we let them get settled in for the night. But, I know their time here will be short - so we MUST get in a little pickleball and probably a little cookout - the six of us. Maybe a breakfast at Pauls? Can't wait to see my friend Krystal; it's been a long time since we saw them in Orlando.

Bruce and Gena leave early Saturday

2011-04-29T13:29:00.000-04:00

Bruce and Gena have been here most of the winter at TT Wauchula. Well.............we usually laugh when we say that, with so many trips they needed to make down to Venice/Englewood for one thing or the other.

Thursday evening was one last time that we could get together. So we picked them up about 5:30 and headed for the Acapulco Mexican Restaurnat. It was taco salads, enchillada or quesidias and everything was very good.

After dinner, Bruce and Gena invited us back to their place for dessert. Actually, they knew we wouldn't turn down one more chance to see our Little Miss Darby!!! They will be taking off, heading to Tennessee early Saturday morning. Bruce says he want's to get on the road before the Love Bugs!!!!

Before we said our farewell, Miss Darby had a little surprise for us. A delicious Carvel Ice Cream Cake. I guess the ladies at Sweetbay had a pretty hard time understanding what she was trying to tell them. She told the lady to write " Darby Says Goodbye" and if she could't fit GoodBye - just say Bye...
As you can see it came out DARVY SAY BY. (Bruce added the E to BY before we arrived) No matter.....It could have said ARF.............and we would have loved it just the same. She is a real sweetheart and very lucky to have such a great mom and dad!

We enjoyed their company this winter, and we will miss them.

HAPPY EASTER - HOME WITH FRIENDS

2011-04-24T23:12:00.001-04:00

It was nice to be home for Easter. We had dinner today with our very special friends Don and Linda. Linda's brother Bob who we have not seen in a couple of years was also joining us. Don and Linda were the very first people we met when we moved here, and over the years we have shared many many a holiday together. They are more like extended family than friends.

When we arrived, the dining room table was almost ready for our afternoon feast. Only thing missing was us and the food!

One of our very favorite places to spend the day - out on the lanai with a refreshing drink and enjoying nature.

There is always something to watch from the lanai looking out over the pond and the berm. Today was no different. We spent some time out here after dinner watching the birds dive for fish, and even saw one of the small gators on the other side of the berm. In the past we have observed deer feeding just along the line of trees at the water's edge.

And we can't forget two of our favorite furry friends...........The top picture is of Cheyenne, who sadly, is getting on in age. He's 14 now, the arthritis is setting in and he's not hearing too well. Cheyenne was just a puppy when we moved here in 1998, And sitting in the recliner is Dakota. He's a few years younger , and still being active - quite annoying to his big brother at times. But a special guy just the same...........loves to play, eat and bark at the thunder!!

And now on to dinner!! We enjoyed some cheese and crackers and a glass of wine before our meal.......and then feasted on ham, baked white and sweet potatos with all the fixins, green bean casserole and fresh rolls.

Don and Linda made up these cute easter candy bags and placed one at each table setting. After dishes we sat again and enjoyed cookes and Black Forest cake for dessert. Cleared the table and met on the lanai for cold drinks and conversation.

A perfect place to snap a picture of the group. Top left is Don and Linda. Top right is Linda with her brother Bob. And that's Rich and I beside the easter eggs!!

It was after 5:00 when we headed back for Wauchula. As we headed down Bruce B Downs, I had to snap just one more picture...........as we were stopped at the red light about 500 ft from getting on to I-75 south........

A typical Florida site......Sandhill Cranes who think they are human..... We had gotten used to seeing them walking down the middle of the road in our community.....but this is the first time I'd seen them so close to the busy traffic. They are absolutely beautiful birds........

As we headed south on I-75 we hit some rain showers.......and it rained until we were heading west on 674 through Sun City Center.........But we had enjoyed a beautiful day, a delicious dinner and the company of great friends. Not even the rain could ruin the day.

Happy Easter Everyone!!

A visit from some Tanglewood Picklers

2011-04-23T15:13:00.001-04:00

Rich had received a few e-mails from Charles Kuehn over in Tanglewood in the past week. If you've been to Tanglewood then you know about the concrete area located between the pickleball courts and the tennis courts. This is the area where four or five times a year they have their monthly "bash" parties and everyone comes out to dance to the music. They already have some pickleball lines painted there and they sometimes set up the temporary net for a practice court.

They are looking to paint the court and re-paint the lines and they were looking for the best way to make the surface non-glare and non-slippery for the pickleball players, but not too tacky for the line dancers.

So Charles brought a few other of the pickelball players from there and came over to Peace River to check out our courts. It was a pleasant surprise, since we don't have any players left in the park. Pictured above (back row, left to right) Doug, Charles and Bob from Tanglewood. In the front row is Gloria, also from Tanglewood and Chris. Chris is 16 years old, and in the park for a few days with his grand-parents, who came along this morning to watch him play. He's a very good player. So, since Rich's knee is bothering him, it was Chris and who took turns playing with the visitors.

It was a pretty hot morning.........but it was fun getting out to play for a little while.

Denny and his Spyder WIN Facebook Photo Contest

2011-04-23T12:10:00.003-04:00

This is a picture of our son Dennis on his Spyder RT taken by one of his friends somewhere along the California coast.

He entered this picture in the Facebook Photo Contest. It was selected as the winning photo!!!

The Spyder team at Spyder.brp.com posted the picture and their interview with Dennis about his 5,000 mile bike trip from Davenport Iowa to California.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE/INTERVIEW:

April 22nd 2011

Facebook Photo Contest: Midwest to the West Coast

Dog Days of Wauchula!

2011-04-20T11:49:00.001-04:00

Every day more and more of our friends are leaving Florida. This past week it's been down to just a little more than a handful....... and Stan and Sally have returned to Torrey Oaks from their Carribbean Cruise.

Definately the Dog Days of Wauchula. Not just because the temperatures during the days are reaching into the 90's, the humidity is on the rise and the air conditioner is running non-stop, but we have been enjoying some very REAL dog days!!

Do you all remember Darby - the pretty little Chiweenie that Bruce and Gena rescued? Well they took off on Friday night to see the Passion Play here in Wauchula so they dropped Miss Darby at our place about 6:30 and she spent about four hours with us. She was back again on Saturday evening when we had Bruce and Gena over for a cookout and again on Tuesday when her Mom and Dad had to make a trip to Venice. We will definately miss this little one (and Bruce and Gena too!) when they leave for Tennessee.

Above Miss Darby and Buddy's Mr. Pooh Bear were in attendance at our gathering on Tuesday night at our place. ( I think they are talking about getting together again in Tennessee!!)

We decided on a little get together on Tuesday evening to say our final good byes for the summer. Buddy and Diane were leaving on Wednesday morning, Stan and Sally within the week and Bruce and Gena next Saturday.

Stan and Sally came over for dinner, and then about 6:30 Buddy and Diane and Bruce and Gena headed over to join us for dessert. Pictured above is Rich, Stan, Buddy and Bruce.

And then Rich got a picture of us ladies. Gena, Me, Diane and Sally.

It was a very enjoyable evening. What better way to end the season than with good food and great friends!

2011-04-11T08:48:00.008-04:00

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

GRANDDAUGHTER

Our sweet granddaughter, Chauna, turned 12 this month. She is a great sports fan, playes baseball and loves to go to the local baseball and arena football games. They live in Davenport, IA - so right now they go as often as they can to cheer on their local Quad City River Bandits. That's our little Miss Chauna pictured with the River Bandits' Mascott - on her birthday!

She was even more surprised when our son Dennis had set it up for to throw out the First Pitch at the baseball game that night!!!!

After a great pitch - she stops for a photo with one of the players........

And.........as usual we don't get to see Mom (Crystal) very often........she seems to be behind the camera when the family phot0 is snapped. Above Chauca celebrates her birthday with Dad and Brother Dalton.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart - We love you!!!