FL: South Florida Winnie Gators

The South Florida Winnie Gators March Campout was held at Little Willie’s RV Resort in Arcadia, Florida March 3rd to 6th, 2022 with 24 coaches checking in. Early arrivals on Wednesday gathered for Happy Hour and enjoyed time to visit and catch up on everyone’s news. A large group of folks later enjoyed dinner at the Magnolia Seafood and Grill in downtown Arcadia.

Many more of our Club members arrived on Thursday, settled in, and gathered in the afternoon for Happy Hour. No formal dinner was planned but there were many nice restaurants available for those who wanted to dine out.

Friday was an activity-loaded day beginning with six Instant Pot owners gathering at 8:30am to get organized for the evening’s meal preparation.

At 9am, our energetic games director led another fun Shuffleboard tournament with about 20 members competing for prizes. The courts were very fast and made for an exciting competition.

A special luncheon was held at Mary Margaret’s Tea and Biscuits in historic downtown Arcadia. The 18 guys and gals who attended were treated to a lovely and delicious English tearoom experience.

Friday Happy Hour began with a Club-sponsored Bar and Gift Raffle with 16 gifts available to win. Lots of lucky folks went home with a great new item for their home.

Our amazing bartenders kept our glasses filled, surprised us with samples of a delicious, new “drink of the month”, and made Happy Hour so much fun.

The Instant Pot gang was back in the kitchen at 6pm prepping the food for the Sloppy Joe meal to be served at 7pm to 50 people. The home cooked dinner included slaw, chips and desserts.

This month we were celebrating St Patrick’s Day with all things Irish. The hall was decorated with traditional green emblems and members were all decked out in their finest, or funkiest Irish outfits.

Saturday began with a special “Build Your Own Omelet” breakfast.  Many hands helped prep the omelet condiments which included ham, mushrooms, peppers, onions, and cheese. Each member placed eggs in a Ziploc baggie and added whichever items they wished to be cooked by our chefs who manned the boiling cauldrons. Sausage and biscuits were also provided. The monthly Board Meeting and General Membership meeting were held after breakfast.

After the general meeting, eight of the gals met in the club house to play a few rounds of Mahjongg.  Our Master of Mahjongg, M, worked patiently with three relative Newbies to the game; while four other gals who had graduated to a more self-sufficient level played several lively rounds.

Saturday afternoon found our Club chefs tending the blow pots containing our annual Irish feast of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. The Saturday Happy Hour and Club sponsored 50/50 Raffle began at 4pm. There were 3 lucky winners of cash prizes and 1 winner of a free campout. Everyone got in the Irish holiday spirit dressing up in their creative green outfits. The delicious corned beef dinner was followed by ice cream and cookies for dessert.

Gayle Putman