FL: Buccaneer Winnies

Our final official campout for the year was at Horseshoe Cove in Bradenton with our amazing hosts Diane and Frank Cippola. Frank and Diane were at the campground early Wednesday. BAD and Walt were a bit late as they got stuck on 301 behind the Watering Truck. Mike and Mynett arrived also.  Dinner that night was at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar. But can you believe they had no clam strips! Our official campout started on Thursday May 12 with Jorge and Orti, Darvin and Barbara, and Terry and Joan arriving and  setting up camp. Happy Hour was at Cippola’s site with everyone catching up and enjoying our snacks. We played our usual nickels in the Club House and had Pizzas from Verona’s Pizza which was awesome. Of course the resort didn’t want the gate code given out so when the fellow called Diane to say he was there. Diane and Walt went out to get them. Diane earned her new nickname “Road Runner” since as they went out the door Walt said he heard a ‘beep! beep!’ and she was off. After dinner members shared some very interesting stories of their experiences before we played Nickels... until they came to lock the clubhouse and we all headed back to our campers. Leaving the pizza in the club house fridge for later.

Friday dawned with a cold breeze to the point some even broke out their jackets and Frank put on jeans. Who expected a cold front this time of year?  But it sure made for some beautiful camping weather all weekend and we all enjoyed it. Friday AM breakfast  was on our own and then we gathered at Cippolas for our Hot Dog lunch with all the trimmings.  Wow! More great stories. It is always great to hear what everyone has been up to and experiences they have had. After cleaning up we had a Couple’s Elimination  Corn Hole Competition. Much laughter, screams of “I got it in” and applause rang out through the campground before Jorge and Orti were proclaimed The Champions!  What time is dinner? “Check your itinerary” Which became the battle cry for this Campout. Friday night we went up early to the club house for a Pot Luck dinner. What a Spread! This campouts cooks were Awesome Honey! During the meal Orti and Jorge were given their Championship Corn Hole Award. And of course more laughter and clapping.  Then we played more games of nickels. Laughter and shouts of ‘I need that’ filled the hall as Frank the ‘Vulture’ took all our numbers and Myneyte rolled a 7 for Diane  and then of course Jorge who took all our nickels!

Saturday morning we headed to the clubhouse for our Pancake/Bacon Breakfast due to the attack squirrels and feral cats at our campsites. Judy and Charley hadn’t gotten there so the plan was to save them some pancakes but in the haste to clean up the pancakes got pitched. Sorry Charley! Charley was a good sport about it. We had our meeting sharing ideas for next year. Ideas for new campout  sites collected and everyone was encouraged to send in any other thoughts they might have. Then we headed back to the campsites. Charley and Judy joined us. Dominoes was the game of the day back at the campsite. Lunch was on our own but after a big breakfast most of us forgot about it and continued the play. Well until suddenly the awning dumped water on Orti and Judy. More screams and laughter. Nothing puts a damper on this group. When is Happy Hour? “ Check your itinerary” We collected the Twin Sheet sets for one of our charities Sleep in Heavenly Peace and tab tops for the local Shriners Hospital. Dominoes continued then on to Happy Hour with more great stories shared. We left for dinner at Wheat and Water! Another great find. Great food and service. John and Lucy were able to join us and shared stories of their house renovations. Saturday evening found us back at the clubhouse for one final night of games. However it was locked up tight. People in the park passing by were very helpful and Diane found someone who knew the security guard  who came and let us in.  Joan seemed to role 12s a lot.  Mike need all the numbers. Judy and Terry collected our moneys. Mynett was afraid to roll for Walt but this time she rolled a 12. The rest of us laughed and put our nickels in the cups. Finally at 10 we headed back to our campers.

Sunday morning we enjoyed our Continental breakfast before breaking camp and heading our different ways. A few people had theirs muffins to go while the rest of us enjoyed one last  beautiful morning before heading out some to homes and some on the road for summer travels. Suddenly it was remembered that the pizza was still in the ‘fridge. More laughter, comments etc! Who has more fun the. People? Hopefully someone will enjoy it. There are no official campouts over the summer but as usual we will have meet ups until the fall so keep an eye out for the emails. Any suggestions let us know.

Travel safe and enjoy!