FL: South Florida Winnie Gators

SOUTH FLORIDA WINNIE GATORS
March 2020 Outing Report
By Raenelle Robinson

Nineteen coaches rallied at Torry Island Campground for our March outing. This was our fourth annual visit to this city-run park located near Belle Glade on Lake Okeechobee. The weekend turned out beautifully with cool nights and warm days and mostly sunny skies.

Thursday 3/5:

Happy Hour 4-6: BYOB – We gathered at the screened-in patio/rally room for Happy Hour, to kick off our March (St. Paddy’s Day) Rally. The Becky Board was on display with a welcoming greeting. The Becky Board, creatively filled out each day by our Chairman of the Board, is a way of keeping the members aware of rally activities each day. For dinner, the Club provided 3 types of Sloppy Joes/buns, coleslaw, 2 varieties of chips, and pickles. Many thanks to the three gals who prepared tasty varieties of sloppy joe dishes for our Thursday evening meal. Since good restaurants are few and far between in the Belle Glade area, it was much appreciated and brought us all together to kick off the weekend!

Friday 3/5:

Thanks to a patient teacher, some of us enjoyed another monthly lesson in the art of
Mahjongg! Later in the afternoon six or seven of us gathered at the screened patio, pushed back the tables and chairs, and enjoyed an hour of vigorous Line Dancing lessons. Music and detailed step demonstrations provided by veteran line dance teacher. Many thanks to our Irish Lassies who raised up a good sum for our first 50/50 raffle of the month. Half was added to the Club’s “Pot of Gold” and 3 lucky winners grabbed up the other half. “Be gosh and Begorrah” the lassies did jigs around the lads this night! Many members prepared a dish to pass for dinner and walked or drove to Torry Island’s community building just outside the campground. A delicious fish fry/buffet dinner ensued, followed by blue grass music/dancing provided by a couple of excellent pickers! Some of the Rowdy Bunch stayed to do a bit of “high-kicking” dancin’ for as long as the music continued to be played and the lights stayed on.

Saturday 3/6:

Breakfast was prepared by three member chefs, the early risers munched on ham/cheese/egg scramble with croissants, butter, jams and jellies. It was scrumptious! Always appreciated, is the morning regular and decaf coffee prepared by our venerable brew team. Preparations for our Irish corned beef brisket feast began at noon with the arrival of the “blow” pots, gas tanks, and burners. Pots of water were immediately set to the burners. (Filling and heating the water to boil is a time-consuming process!) The potatoes and the onions peeled. The spices were measured into the coffee filters and tied them up with kitchen string. Some last-minute shopping was done at the local Winn Dixie to pick up a few needed items. There were many “cooks” observing the simmering pots making sure the meat and veggies were boiled and removed at the appropriate times. It should be noted that this feast is one that takes all day and an all-out effort to prepare! 

Two naughty Leprechauns snuck in the back door to confiscate more of our dollars for another 50/50 raffle at Saturday’s happy hour. They dazzled us all with their charm and tutus. They rounded up another good sum in ticket sales with 50% going to the Club’s pot of gold, and the remainder split 50/30/20 for three lucky winners. One last lucky winner received a free two-day campout next month. As always, thanks to: Rick, “the last ticket emcee” Bunn, and Bob “booming voice” Wiersum for calling the tickets drawn both nights. The corn beef brisket was carved and many other members made sure the veggies were boiled and removed at the appropriate times. All came together a for a tasty corned beef brisket dinner with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions. (Thanks to all who helped in some way to make this year’s Irish dinner a success.) And wow, the desserts provided by the members rounded out the evening’s superb meal! A large, roaring campfire was enjoyed by many following the dinner. And a final nightcap of Irish Cream closed out our March campout as we toasted another memorable Rowdy Bunch rally!

Sunday 3/7:

We waved farewell and wished all safe travels until next month at Upriver in North Ft.
Myers.

Comments

Comments on this post are moderated, so they will not appear instantly. All relevant questions and helpful notes are welcome! If you have a service inquiry or question related to your RV, please reach out to the customer care team directly using the phone numbers or contact form on this page .

There are no comments yet. Be the first to leave a comment.