GATHERING AT GIOVANNI’S MAIN STREET, WAUCHULA, FL

Larry, who went bowling with us on Monday, told us about a Torrey Oaks group that gets together at Giovanni’s Restaurant on Main Street every Tuesday about 5 o’clock for Pizza, Etc. We had never been to Giovanni’s so decided to join them. And I'm glad we did. The Pizza was recommended, but Ken and I decided to split the Eggplant Parmesan which came with the soup and salad bar and we ordered a second salad bar. It was wonderful and just the right amount of food so we did not have to doggie bag any leftovers!!

This is the group of eleven at our table. There were as many or more of the group at another table, but we did not meet them.

One thing different about Giovanni's -- they invite you to bring your own bottle of wine to enjoy with your meal. Here Ken and I are enjoying a bottle of Burgendy that Sally and Stan gave us for Christmas.

The Burgundy was from Pahrump Valley Winery and it was delicious!! Pahrump Valley is located in Nevada, West of Vegas and a little East of Death Valley. It is probably best known as the home of the Chicken Ranch Brothel which was moved from Texas to Nevada some years ago. Stan and Sally toured the Brothel as well as the Vineyards when they were out there.

Pictures of our group.

Upper right: Diana and Phil. Lower right: Mary Ann and husband. We just met the four of them at dinner. Upper left: Ray and Jane, bowlers. Lower left: Larry and Sally (she gets around)! Center: Sally and Stan.

It was a fun evening at Giovanni's!! We'll certainly go again but probably not every Tuesday evening!!

PICKLEBALL AT TT PEACE RIVER (CORRECTED)

There have been lots and lots of Pickleball players at Peace River this season.

Some of the action!!

Waiting to play!!
Those who are waiting to play line their paddles in the basket hanging beside the courts. Today there were 15 players waiting to play!

Renate is ready!! Let’s play!!

Dave and Keith go for the same ball!

Faye and Christie were really happy to win a POINT!

At least I LOOK like a winner!!

Rich watches Ken take the ball.

Eddie shows Travis a new move!!

More action on the courts! (Click on the collage to enlarge. Click the Back Arrow to return to the Blog.)

BOWLING AT BOWL-OF-FUN LANES

Last year our friend, Stan, coordinated a lot of the recreational activities at TT Peace River, Wauchula, FL. This year, Stan and Sally purchased a site at Torrey Oaks, about 7 miles north of Peace River. Stan is coordinating some of the recreational activities at Torrey Oaks now. A huge loss to Peace River!! One of the activities Stan is involved with is Monday Bowling at Bowl-Of-Fun Lanes. On Monday, December 28, a group of us joined Stan for a fun afternoon of bowling!!

It turned out there were five bowlers from Torrey Oaks: Stan, Sally, Ray, Jane and Larry.

And five challengers from Peace River: Austin, Nate, Krystal, Faye and Achor Ken.

So we divided the group for a competition between Torrey Oaks and Peace River. The end result was that Torrey Oaks won all three games, but we gave them a good run for their money. It would have been a bit more even if Stan and Sally had disqualified themselves as “Professional Bowlers”!!! Nevertheless, a fun time was had by all!!!

Some of the action:

Austin was low scorer in the first game and with some instructions from Stan, he ended up high scorer in the last game!! Good Job, Austin!!

[I "Stole" these pictures from Krystal's Blog.]

CHRISTMAS DINNER WITH GOOD FRIENDS

Sally and Stan were at it again!! They invited us to join them for Christmas Dinner at Torrey Oaks along with Donna and Rich and another Rich who frequently plays Pickleball with us.

Before dinner we gathered at Sally and Stan’s for drinks and good times.

Sally and Stan enjoying our company!!

Faye and Ken enjoying our drinks!!
Dinner was $3 each and the club provided turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy. UMMMM Diners brought numerous luscious side dishes for a very enjoyable Christmas dinner.

Sally and Donna spreading Christmas cheer to Rich and to Ken and the other Rich!!

How did I miss out on that!!!

After eating, there was some entertainment provided by the new entertainment lady at Torrey Oaks. She passed out tambourines and maracas and had us get in front of the group and play while she sang "La Bamba". That was OK and fun at first but she went on FOREVER!!! Then there was Karaoke by a couple of guys. That was about as good as our rhythm section!! HA HA

Sally really got into the act!!

We provided the rhythm for LaBamba (don't know the two in the middle).

Thanks Sally and Stan for a great time!!

PS. Some of you will recognize these as Donna's pictures. I forgot my camera!! Thanks Donna.

VISIT WITH KEN'S DAUGHTER, STACEY

On Tuesday morning, December 22, we drove over to Englewood to visit Ken’s daughter, Stacey for the day. I had mentioned to Ken on the way over that I would love a good Grouper sandwich. Stacey knew the right place to go. She took us to The Gulf View Grill where she knew they had Grouper sandwiches for $5!! What a deal!

View from our table at the Gulf View Grill.

View in front of me!! UUMMMMM!!

After lunch, the bartender took our picture as we posed in front of their Christmas tree!

Then we stopped by Stacey’s bar where she is a bartender herself, but Tuesday was her day off!

It was a nice “local bar” where everyone seemed to know everyone. In fact, one of the ladies at the bar owned a retail seafood place across the street. Stacey had mentioned she and her friends had Stone Crab claws from there a few days before.

What a great idea!! So, I bought a dozen Stone Crab claws for lunch the next day $$$. We said that was going to be our Santa Claus!!

Cracking Stone Crab claws is quite a job!!

Oh, I forgot to mention. As we were leaving Englewood, we stopped in the Walgreens on the corner and got our H1N1 influenza shots!! It was a breeze.

RETURNING TO TT PEACE RIVER, WAUCHULA, FL

Weather at TT Orlando was really cold, windy and rainy the last few days of our stay there, so we did not get out much. So when we moved from TT Orlando to Peace River on Monday December 21, it was a thrill to be met at the gate when we arrived!! Sally, Renate and Donna left the Pickleball courts and ran over to give me a welcome hug!! That meant a lot to me, especially since Orlando was so dreary!!



We set up quickly because Stan had arranged for group bowling at the Bowl-Of-Fun Lanes in Wauchula at 1 o’clock! There were six of us bowling. Ken and I did better than we expected – actually we were afraid we might not even be able to hold the bowling balls!! It was a lot of fun bowling again after almost a year. Stan has arranged for bowling every Monday afternoon. It’s about time to go again!!

After bowling, Sally and Stan invited us to there place at Torrey Oaks for dinner and a few games of Euchre. They were renting a site at Torrey Oaks but since moving there, they have purchased a site on the golf course. They are really excited about it. And we are excited for them, too!!

PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT AT TT ORLANDO

This is unprecedented!! Terry of America Choice RV (they sell RVs at the campground) approached some of the players and asked if we would like to have a Pickleball tournament and offered to give prizes from their store to the winners!!


In spite of not knowing what the prizes might be, we decided we could not pass up such an opportunity!! So, on Tuesday we had a Pickleball Tournament here at TT Orlando. There were 13 players – a good turnout for this time of year.

Ken and I ran the tournament using the Partner Switch format.

Some of the play.

Here are the players!!


At the end of the tournament, the winners were revealed!!


Travis 1st Place, Renate 3rd Place and Ken 2nd Place.


And Terry came through for America’s Choice and presented store credits to each of the winners –

$30 for 1st Place to Travis

$20 for 2nd Place to Ken

And $10 for 3rd Place to Renate

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners and to ALL the players.

POST TOURNAMENT HOT DOGS!!

Diane and Jack invited all of us to their site for Hot Dogs following the tournament!! Everyone had a great time!!

During the party Ken presented jars of pickles to “the Biggest Losers” with lowest scores at the tournament!! Vickie and Faye tied for that honor with Zero wins and 11 points each!! Thanks a lot, Ken!!