Jammin at the Pool......

There has been a lot of work going on here at the park and one of the biggest projects has been redoing the spa and the pool.  While the spa is still not open the pool looks great.  Tuesday evening we had the "grand opening" of the pool.  It was like a happy hour at the pool -  bring your beverage, your chairs and a snack to share. 

Below are a few pictures of some of the crowd.... including Art and Hedy, Bob and Lavern and Rich and I. 

Unlike our happy hours, however, was the entertainment.  Better than 20 "jammers" played for the crowds.  Our very favorites of course were Judy ( who works with me and is the rec director here) who joined the jammers to sing Amazing Grace,  Buddy and Diane - with Boot Scoot Boogie and Coal Miner's Daughter and Garth and Rosemary who performed their newest release of the Pickleball Song.  Both of them are great singers and songwriters.   We understand that they also wrote an RV song - but they must have sung that one after we left.   

 

The mosquitoes were beginning to dine on Rich and I so we headed out.  It was really a nice evening and something a little different for folks here at the park to enjoy!

Pickleball Clinic at Tanglewood

On Saturday and Sunday March 24th and 25th, Rich was invited to the Tanglewood Community over in Sebring to do a pickleball skills/techniques clinic.   Linda Kramer, his mixed doubles partner helped him out on both days.  

On Saturday I went down and grabbed a few pictures, but I had to work here at the park on Sunday.   There was a really great group of players there on Saturday - about 20 people in all.   On Sunday we had some pretty bad rain here in Wauchula - but a call to Linda confirmed that the weather was OK for Rich to return.  There were nearly as many players participating on Sunday.  

 

The pickleball club had previously purchased Coach Mo's 21 Skills Clinics Video and one player each day went home with  their very own!

I really enjoyed seething some of the folks there again,  Rich had a great time both days...........and a very special Thank You to Linda for helping with the clinic!

A New Restaurant in Town

Thursday evening Buddy and Diane went with us to try out Billy's Good Eats.   If you follow this Blog, you know that we often dine out at Paul's Kitchen.  Rumor has it that the owner of Billy's is the father of the owner of Paul's!  Nothing link keeping the business in the family!  The building is much much smaller than Paul's, but the atmosphere and the menu are very much alike.  The prices just a little bit higher.  Tonight we feasted on Broiled Scallops, Bonless Ribs and Fried Fish all of which was very very good.  The best part of the evening was getting to visit with Buddy and Diane. 

Friends Visit for Dinner

Today, Tonyia and Nick joined us for dinner.  Tonyia has been after me for a while to fix my Goulash, so tonight it was Cesar Salad, Crusty Bread and  Goulash. 

 

 The meal was good but Tonyia's dessert, an excellent Apple Crisp from her Mom's recipe box,  was absolutely delicious.

It was another nice evening with friends, just enjoying our beverage of choice, a nice meal and some great conversation.  We always enjoy spending time with these two.

An Evening with Mike Thomas

Sunday evening, Mike Thomas returned to perform here at Peace River.  The meeting house was not filled to capacity but the people who were there were treated to a very enjoyable evening. 

 

We've seen Mike before and we like the way he always seems to keep the audience involved, and his patriotic section will bring everyone to their feet  and once again brought tears to my eyes.  

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

We've been trying to get together with Nate and Krystal, but with our work schedules it hasn't been easy.  A recent change to the weekend schedule for Krystal and I and the end of the pickleball tournament season for us made time for us to finally spend an evening together this past weekend.

As luck would have it, Tom and Karen were staying over at Torrey Oaks, and like Nate and Krystal we haven't had the chance off the pickleball courts to sit and spend some time together. So it made perfect sense to ask them to join us. 

Tom and Karen gave us this Shamrock.  It's Beautiful!  Thank you both!

I know the dinner should have been more the traditional - like corn beef and cabbage,  but tonight it was cooking out.  Krystal started us off with some delicious potato skins.  We finished the first pan and sent her back for more!!  Add some crackers and cheese and some Margaritas and we were off to an enjoyable evening.  Dinner was chicken kabobs, pineapple slaw and Karen's potato salad. ( A recipe I have to have!)

We enjoyed the company of these four so much!  We really got to know a lot more about each other, sharing stories about everything from where we were from, our favorite male and female recording artists to how as couples we all met.  And  we finished the evening with another of Krystal's creations for dessert!  Excellent! 

 

For each petal on the shamrock

This brings a wish your way -

Good health, good luck, and happiness

For today and every day.

~Author Unknown

Travis Hosts Happy Hour

On Wednesday we were invited to Happy Hour at Travis' place.  When we arrived at about 5:45, there was already a large group circling the yard.  We greeted our hosts (both Travis and Baxter), added our Fruit Salad to the food table and found a place to sit for the evening.   It was a beautiful evening; perfect for meeting up with friends.  Below is Travis and Baxter -   Travis acting up for the camera!

 

I can't even begin to remember all the great food that evening - but Travis fixed  Ham, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans - and I know that Pat of Pat and Woody prepared the gravy and Keith and Marie brought that great Waldorf Salad.  And to top it off - there was probably just as much for dessert - including some delicious Strawberry Shortcake.   Below is everyone lined up on their way to the food table.

 

Don't know exactly how many people were there - but we tried counting chairs, and lost count somewhere around 45.  So - suffice it to say that there was anywhere between 45 and 50 people enjoying the evening.

Below are some pictures of the crowd - Even though the majority of the people there were pickleball players - there were quite a few that we had not met before.

This first couple sitting with Woody and Pat stop and talk to me all the time - but for the life of me I just can't remember their names!

 

Some familiar faces below - Marie, Rich, Krystal, Nate and Mr. Arcuri, and that's Bob Shirley in the back row.

 

And that's Karen, Garth, Rosemary, Mira  with Mitch, Tom and Art in the back row.

 

Judy and Jim, Bob, Bob Stevens............

 

 

So many of these people we see on the courts - but some of them are so new!

 

My Ground Hog Day tournament mixed doubles partner sitting with Lou
.

 

And of course - there always has to be a clown!!!!  What a good sport Carol!

 

It really was a great evening - Great weather, great company, great food!    How can you NOT enjoy this lifestyle?

Heartland Senior Games

Last weekend was the Heartland Senior Games, which are held every year down at  the Tanglewood Community in Sebring, Fl.   A little less than 100 players registered for the games and this year they were able to set up FOUR pickleball courts on their tennis courts, which gave us a total of eight courts for the tournament.  It worked out really really well.   We didn't have anyone else playing from here at Peace River, but a lot of our friends from around the area were there.  It was great seeing them all again.........

The men's and women's doubles competition was played on Friday.  Below are : top photo -  Mike and Richard from Torrey Oaks playing against Jim and Tim from Solavita, Stan from Torrey Oaks partnering with Dennis from Tanglewood, and Gary Miller and his partner also from Solavita. 

And the women:  Nancy Meyer and Marcia Freso from Ft. Myers,  Louann and  Nadine from Kings Point, Sun City Center,  Linda and Diane from Tanglewood,  Sally from Tanglewood with her partner, Fran from Tanglewood, and  Margie Diaz and Cathy Miller from Solavita.

And below is Rich and his partner Gary Schinderle from Avon Park.  These two have been playing together for a couple of years now and have done very well.  Today it was the Bronze Medal....... Congrats to both of them!!

 

On Saturday we returned for the mixed doubles competition, and once again some pictures of some of our friends:  Tim and Cathy from Solavita,  Marcia and Bryon from Ft. Myers, Mike and Nancy from Ft. Myers, Jim and Margie from Solavita, Sue and Gary from Avon Park, and Stan and Sally from Torrey Oaks.

 Rich and Linda did very well - they never lost a match.  But the very last game for the gold medal was against Jim and Margie from Solavita . They won the first game, lost the second and the third was a nail biter!   But they finished with the Gold 

Great Finish!

Congratulations to our friends who also took home the medals!
Ladies
Sally and Fran - Silver
Linda and Diane - Gold
Margie and Cathy - Silver
Marcia and Nancy - Silver

Men
Stan and Dennis - Bronze
Byron and Rob - Gold

Mixed
Stan and Sally - Silver
Marcia and Byron - Silver
Mike and Nancy - Silver
Jim and Margie - Silver

Pickleball Tournament at Harbor Lakes

WOW...........am I behind on updating my Blog!!!  Back on March 6th, ELS held their annual Sarasota and Ft. Myers Expo.  This year for the first time, the Harbor Lakes RV Resort in Punta Gorda hosted the pickleball event.  Kim Harper, the park manager at Harbor Lakes had contacted Rich and I a few months ago asking for some help in setting up the mens' and lady's draw.   We were happy to help out......plus I got the day off work to go and play!

We had 12 people from Peace River compete in the pickelball expo....... We competed against teams from Harbor Lakes, Bay Indies (Venice) and Terra Cia (Palmetto),

Below are the men:  Bob and Jim, John and Rene and Art and Garth!  

And here are the women who competed:  Karen, Hedy, Krystal, Karla, Marlene and Me.

It was a great day.  Harbor Lakes did a great job.  They only have one pickleball court - and the fence is very very close to the serve line - and the ladies played there in a random round robin.  There was also one tennis court where they laid tape and set up two portable nets for two pickleball courts, and the men played there.
Throughout the day water, sports drinks, soda, sandwiches, veggies, fruit, energy bars, and dessert were available for all the players.   A very large tented area was set up with the food and lots of tables to get out of the sun, rest and eat lunch. 

Peace River did GREAT!   Finishing in First Place was John and Rene!! 

For the ladies - since it was a random draw six places were awarded.  First place to Carla: Second Place to Krystal: Third Place to ME: and sixth place to Karen.

 

All in all there were 40 players who competed in the tournament.  Below is a picture of the entire crew!!

 

One Last Night out...... Have Fun - We'll Miss You

Jim and Patti left the park on Tuesday morning and we will them the very best as they travel first to Florida's west coast before they head out west to visit with family. 

So it just made sense to get together one last time.  They both like the Bread Board Restaurant, so we picked them up at 5:00 and headed there for dinner.  Bread Board does a very nice soup and salad bar, but we have never  been big fans of their dinner menu.  Tonight was pretty good though.  They guys went for the Fish and Chips and Patti and I both opted for the Meat Loaf.   After sending it back to be heated - we both enjoyed the meal - and even had enough to take home.

WELL !!!  That was until Patty dropped hers in the parking lot!! Oh My!!

We stopped off at Pure Magic Ice Cream on the way back and treated them to some ice cream.  Always get good service and great ice cream here!!!

We headed back to the park and as we were dropping them off and saying our good bye's Patti says " Oh I wish we could get a picture of the four of us!  Well I did have my camera with me, but it was dark and not too many people around.  But wait..............There was this couple walking down the center of the road!  And yes  they did stop and take our picture!

 

Rich, Me, Patti and Jim..............Special Friends

A visit from the Peace River Gator

It used to be Stumpy and then it was Stumpette..................Have not seen either of them in a long while, but we do have a resident gator here at Peace River.
Below, Mark, one of the guys on the maintainance crew  found this little one down by the river and brought him in to the store the other day........

Mark, Rober and Patti - inspect our visiting gator.

Amazing how gentle they seem when they're being held..........

A few more close-ups..........

Is that a smile?  The gator I mean...............

Brenda and Judy grabbed the ruler.............This little one was about 2 1/2 ft long.

And a close up of one of his legs.   Check out those claws!

We and several visitors to the store enjoyed the visit.  And then Mark took him back to hisfavorite place along  the Peace River........