| JULY - AUGUST 2009 CHAPTER NEWS |
| FLORIDA EAGLE SAMS Our June campout was held at Wekiva Falls with 13 rigs plus guests and some drive-ins. Friday started off with very soggy conditions. Just as everyone started arriving, the heavens opened up with approximately 2 inches of rain. We camped at an “old campground” but new to us this month. It is under new management and is undergoing renovation at this time. We didn’t have what you might call a clubhouse, but at least we had a “tent roof” over our heads. The rain made it quite warm and muggy and the ground quite soggy, but we made the best of it and had a good time in spite of the weather. Friday night we enjoyed a :taco salad night.” Everyone brought different ingredients for the taco salad. All seemed to enjoy it; it was a nice change from our usual “potluck.” After dinner we played card bingo followed by a game of survivor (a question and answer game on how to survive the elements, first aid, bug bites, etc.). After that we played our usual Friday night card games, dominoes, etc. Saturday we dined out at Captain’s Cove restaurant. It was a nice place, the food was great and the view was nice as well. July found us at Tropical Palms Resort with 10 member rigs. Friday started off as a lovely, hot summer afternoon and then the rains came (par for Florida) just as we were getting ready to go to the clubhouse for our supper. However, a little rain never stopped us from eating. We had our usual potluck supper and, as always, everything was delicious. After dinner we played “card bingo” and then proceeded to play other games. Saturday evening we met at an “all you can eat buffet” right across the street from the campground. How convenient is that? After dinner we returned to the clubhouse for more fun and games. A great time was had by all. GATEWAY SAMS Starke KOA at Starke was our campground for the July meeting. There were nine RV’s at the meeting. The heavy rains of Thursday were missed on this weekend. We did have a typical afternoon thunderstorm on Saturday. Glenn and Christine Yearous were the hosts. The Frey’s awning was placed to good use as our grand group slowly arrived. The small cement patio was in the shade. Most of our group found something that they could chew up at nearby steak house. The buffet allowed us to choose our food (but little beef was available). After our supper some gathered at the meeting room to exercise away some of the calories. Early Saturday the fog was lifting as the sun started to heat up the day. The early risers are up and walking their dogs. Most of our members went to Granny’s Country Restaurant. GETAWAY SAMS June campout was at Lazy Days Rally Park, Seffner. We had a very good time as we always do at this park. July campout was at Wild Frontier RV Resort in Ocala with eight rigs present. We went out to eat at Red Lobster Friday night. We played bingo Saturday with great prizes. The hosts, Jeanne and Harriet, did a great job. GO-SEE-UM SAMS The May meeting was at Live Oak Campground, Arcadia, with nine rigs and two guests present. Saturday the group enjoyed a marvelous home-style dinner prepared by Cathy and Bob Lindsay. The group had a great time playing 31, Canasta, Mexican Train and Beanbag baseball. The June campout was at Indian Creek Campground. The fun began with a potluck supper. We brought our own meat to grill and everyone brought a covered dish to share. Afterward we played 31. Bright and early Saturday morning the group ventured out to Fort Myers Beach and took a “Party Boat” ride. July was a campout weekend at Neapolitan Cove RV Resort in Naples. Five rigs attended plus another couple joined us for Saturday supper. This was a quiet, relaxed weekend. The heat kept us inside for most of the day. Friday the group supped at Perkins Restaurant. We then returned to the campground for a game of 31. Saturday the group went to Tin City and then met at Joes Crab Shack for lunch. August got off to a great start when we took a trip to Up River, a nearby campground popular with our chapter. The campground is in North Fort Myers. The weather man was not kind to us forecasting rain for most of the weekend. We had nine rigs plus two other couples who came for a day. Friday evening the group went to supper at Hogbodies, a restaurant just up the road from the campground. Saturday we had a potluck supper at the clubhouse. Due to the weather we occupied ourselves playing games. JAX RAMBLING SAMS Our hosts for June were Carol and Earl Davis who took us to the Starke KOA. Thursday’s early bird was under a cloudy sky that soon produced major thunderstorms and some flooding at the campground. The campground had adequate provisions for the rain water to run off and the Florida sand absorbed the remaining puddles soon. Our camp sites did not have hard surface parking but within an hour the rain estimated to be nearly 3 inches just provided wet grass and lingering wet spots. Four couples came in as earlybirds. Glenn saw four accidents on US 301 between Jacksonville and Starke. Ann bought a new game - Ladder Ball - which allows us old folks to play an outside game. It has to be disassembled to store again in the RV. That evening we went to Sonny’s BBQ for our supper. The sun shines and the clouds are to the north and south but sunny bright in Starke. Friday we went to Granny’s Kitchen in downtown Starke for our breakfast. That evening we ate at the Trout River Seafood Restaurant. After supper many went to their RVs and watched the good cable channels provided. July had us camping at Casey Jones RV Park at Lake City. The weather was so nice that many of our members arrived a day early. We had six rigs camping. We went to the Texas Steak House for supper. We were so hungry that the roasted peanuts were eaten in great numbers and the hulls joined the mess on the floor. We were able to eat at five so there was plenty of sunlight to enjoy after supper and even some interesting conversations. Friday was another hot day but the park fixed the air conditioning units for the meeting room. After the Thursday supper in the crowded steak house we had a pizza supper from the nearby Little Ceasar's. Sunday morning we went to the IHOP for breakfast. ST. JOHNS PAL-A-TAKA GOOD SAMS The July campout was held at Wilderness RV Park with six rigs including grandchildren since it was “bring your grandchildren to camp” days. We also had guests. Since we had the grandchildren we grilled hotdogs and hamburgers along with all the favorite sides. The kids had a great time meeting each other, swimming, riding bikes and playing games. The adults also enjoyed the same thing with the exception of riding bikes. We thought better of that idea – not that we couldn’t do it but the bikes were just way tooooo small.:) Everyone had a great time. August campout was held at Wilderness RV park with nine member rigs. One couple decided to become honorary members but we welcomed a new couple. SUNSET RAMBLERS The July campout was held at Wekiva Falls Resort in Sorrento. Several had problems with their rigs but teamwork and some tires for a trailer and some parts for a 12 volt outlet managed to get everything fixed. We went to Logan’s Roadhouse for supper. The food was good and the conversation was good. After supper we gathered at Rich’s rig. With the fans going the summertime bugs were not too bad. Several went on the boat ride Saturday. The captain pointed out the various turtles, alligators and birds along the way. It was nice to be out in the peace and quiet of the river. We passed a couple of canoes and a couple of kayaks but otherwise had the river to ourselves. The August campout was held at Indian Forest Campground in St. Augustine. A couple went for a boat club dinner. Several visited a shoe outlet and a few other outlets. Needed a trip to Camping World for parts. Everybody went to Sonny’s Bar-B-Q Friday evening. Saturday several went to the flea market and then a couple went to the farmer’s market. After an early lunch, most went to Gene Bundy’s funeral wearing the colors of Sunset Ramblers, Getaway Sams or State Staff. |