February in Florida: Part II

Our days by the lake continue to be punctuated by fun activities. We had a great block party last Saturday evening: good food, good friends, and much fun. Our coach faces the cul-du-sac. This is good: we can watch the comings and goings of our neighbors and join impromptu meetings as they occur. Other sites in the park are drive-in rather than back-in. Views of the lake from the coach are great, but you cannot easily see what is going on behind you. Our neighbors are clearly the most enjoyable part of Crystal Lake.

We, with Don and Diane, saw Englebert Humperdinck in concert last week. He is still in excellent voice, and his music brought back many memories. He's an excellent showman, and we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Fort Myers.

Wednesday night we attended a dinner-dance at the clubhouse. The food was super: prime rib. The music was Mo-town from the Sixties. There sure was a lot of "shakin' goin' on". These dinners have been sold out all season. At $15 per ticket, it is a bargain!

Saturday is officially "Fun Day". This is an annual event that begins at 8:00 AM with coffee and donuts followed by a craft-fair and bake sale, followed by lunch. At 1:00 PM assorted resident teams gather to compete for prizes. The games include shuffle board, water balloon toss, ring toss, wheel spin, golf putting, and ladder golf, among the challenges. The competition ends late in the afternoon with a mystery ride - scavenger hunt. Each team rides around the park to locate the lot on which an object is hidden using a list of objects. This is done using any transportation mode, but it is a timed exercise and the park is 3-miles in circumference. The day ends with a dinner and awards at the clubhouse.

We have a new team this year: Chuck and Donna; Don and Diane; Bob and Inga; and ourselves. We don't expect to win anything, but we plan to have fun competing.

The traveling group that went to Orlando earlier has decided to go Wesley Chapel, FL in March. Where is that, you may wonder. It is north of Tampa, about 175-miles from Naples. That is the only area campground we could find for the three coaches on short notice. We leave March 12 and return March 18. The activity agenda is being developed. At least one baseball game has been scheduled. It should be an interesting trip. Larry has modified his Chinook and wants to test it before heading to Washington state in May.

Our daughter Karen arrives in Tampa March 18 and will be with us for Easter. We look forward to seeing her and have planned several activities. She will enjoy the sun and get some rest while here. March is still cold in Virginia.

Yesterday was the coldest day we have had in February: 45-degree morning temperature. Today is much warmer. Tomorrow's morning temperature will be back in the 60 - 70 degree range. The space heater felt good at get up, and staying in bed was easy.

This is it for February! We'll be back next month.