Friday, May 29, 2009

THE GREAT BLIND GOLF CART RACE AT TT CHESAPEAKE BAY!!

It was Memorial Day Weekend 2009 and the crowd gathered to watch and participate in the annual Blind Golf Cart Race at TT Chesapeake Bay. It was a beautiful day for the activities. Participants took to their carts in teams of two. The driver was blindfolded and attempted to negotiate the course (a Figure 8) by following frantic instructions from the team navigator. Teams raced against the clock and were judged by total time to negotiate the course, plus points for any penalties.

Delores and Diane came to watch in Diane’s new brigt RED Club Car!

Ken even came out for the event.
He drove himself over using his cane to accelerate. He should have been in the races! HA HA
Ru, our Assistant Manager, directed the race, with Barb and Shannon helping with the officiating.
Brad was the MC, announcing race times with his own colorful comentary, providing music, between the racers, etc.
Brad caught me taking his picture.
Diane refused to race with Mike, so guess who said, “I’ll race with Mike!” Here we are making a practice run, learning the course. Mike has his eyes open, but later he will be blindfolded. He thinks if he leans far enough to the left, the cart will go left!

Oh No!! In our second practice run, I forgot Mike had his eyes closed pretending to be blindfolded. I yelled “Stop, Stop!!” But it was too late. We crashed into another cart in the middle of the figure eight!! It was so funny! No one was hurt.
But I can’t say the same for the front left tire of our golf cart!! (See Below.) Although the race was about to begin, we were number 17. Mike thought he had time to make an unscheduled pit stop. He drove with a flat to the Maintenance Shed and pumped up the tire. He came racing back laughing – “Jimmy Johnson can’t do better than that!! A 2-minute pit stop!!”
Great job, Mike. Everything is A-OK now!!

Mike getting his blindfold.

Here we are, ready to go. BOGGADY, BOGGADY, BOGGADY. LET’S GO RACING, BOYS!!
Ooops!! First penalty! And we just started!
Oh, Dear!! Second penalty!! Notice Barb giving the fingers to indicate our penalties!!

Oh Crap!! We hit a bale. That means we have to back up to get around it. How much time will THAT take??
Keep going, Mike. Can’t you tell which way I’m pointing!!??

Note the flag in the right corner. We're at the finish line!! Hit it, Mike!!!!!
There were more than 22 teams in the race. Here are some of OUR friends who also participated!!

Pickleball player, Amy and her young driver. They are the ones who crashed into us during the warm-up!! Or did we crash into them?? Anyway, we all got to the center of the figure 8 at the same time!!!
Amy’s husband, Tom and his partner. He’s also a great Pickleball player. (You’ll see these guys again later.)
Billy Babb and driver Gilbert. Gilbert is always challenging Ken to a Pickleball match, especially now!!! (You’ll also see them later.)
Pickleball Players, Wayne and Linda
.
Linda can’t wait to get her blindfold off!!

Friend Buzzy and his driver!! Either Buzzy can’t navigate or his driver can’t drive!! They were ultimately disqualified for driving over the flag at the finish line!! I think this picture is hysterical!! I love it!!!
Buzzy trying to redeem himself. This time he fired his driver, changed carts, and brought along Little Bear to help navigate!! You can just about see him sitting in the middle.
The Winners!!

Third Place: Billy and Gilbert. WOW!! I don't believe it!!! Just kidding, guys!!
Second Place: Sorry, I don’t even know these two expert racers.
First Place: Tom and his driver. CONGRATULATIONS, TOM!!
And LAST Place: Two pretty young ladies who gave it a good try!! At least Mike and I beat them!!!

WHAT A GREAT JOB BY THE STAFF, ALL THE PARTICIPANTS, AND THE SPECTATORS!! Let's do it again next year!!!

PORK ROAST DINNER WITH JUDY AND STEVE!


Eating Again!! Judy and Steve invited us to join them and others for pork roast on Saturday evening. It was delicious and lots of fun!!
I think I’ve about had it with Ken!! Note the cane CLUB!!
Linda and Wayne could not come to dinner – they had to go to a wedding. They clean up pretty good, don’t they?
Thanks Judy and Steve for another delicious dinner and a fun evening!!

LINE DANCING AGAIN!!

Ru asked if I would teach some line dancing at TT Chesapeake Bay on the weekends!! Me??? How far I have advanced – from teaching the Cupid (Stupid) Shuffle one evening to actually teaching line dancing!! I love it.

But, I could never have done it if not for my friend, Suzanne, who has been providing me with all kinds of music for dancing. Suzanne is also an excellent line dancer. She helps me remember the steps. THANK YOU, SUZANNE!!! We really had a good time together, didn't we?

Here is the group we had on Saturday afternoon! I was amazed. The children showed up for The Electric Slide and Cupid Shuffle!! We all had a fun time -- young and slightly older!!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

OUR FIRST EVENING OUT!!!

Mike and Diane came down to Chesapeake Bay on Thursday afternoon for the Memorial Day weekend, and invited us to dinner tonight at their place. We were so excited to go because this would be our first evening out in three weeks, since Ken’s knee surgery on April 29. Mike prepared delicious Blackened Dolphin and Wahoo and Diane had the trimmings of yellow rice and mixed vegetables. UMMMMMM!! After dinner we all enjoyed strawberry shortcake!! Thank you Mike and Diane for everything!!


Wednesday, May 20, 2009

KEN CONTINUES TO RECOVER FROM KNEE SURGERY!

Ken’s recovery from knee surgery is progressing well, after the surprise set-back of a minor heart attack the first of the month. Two days a week a visiting nurse comes to check his vitals, particularly his Coumadin level which seems to be extremely important.

And, a Physical Therapist (Robin) comes to the RV three times a week to help him with bending and stretching the muscles and tendons in his knee, walking, etc.

Robin arranged for the orthopedic doctor to prescribe a CPM machine for passive knee exercises. Our doctor does not normally prescribe the machine, but because of Ken’s heart attack, Robin almost insisted that he prescribe the machine for Ken... It has been an enormous help. Ken uses it three times a day for two hours each. His knee bend started at 51% and is now up to 98%. The max is 120%.

Ken going for the Max!!

One afternoon Robin helped Ken down the steps and took him for a short walk outside.

Now he goes out for a walk every day. I drive him in the golf cart over to the sidewalk beside lodge where he does not have to walk on the grass or gravel.

One day on such a walk, we ran into Ru, our Assistant Manager, and Sharon who also works at the campground. It was a good opportunity to put them in our Blog. We told Ru she needs to include a Walker Race as one of the Memorial Day activities!! HA HA

MARK & CHRIS COME TO CHESAPEAKE BAY

Pickleball friends, Mark & Chris, stopped by Chesapeake Bay on their way back up to Canada. It was so good to see them again. They brought a big surprise with them. After leaving Tanglewood they stopped by Lazy Days RV Dealer outside Tampa and picked up a new 42-foot Phaeton by Tiffin Motors, the same manufacturer as our Allegro Bus. So Mark and Ken enjoyed comparing notes. What a beauty it is. Only has four large flat-screen TVs!!

They did get in a game of Pickleball while here, but not with us!! And they took me out to a local German restaurant for dinner one evening! That was yummy!!

One afternoon they came over to challenge Ken in a Wii game of tennis!! What fun they all had!!
Chris challenged first! She is a serious competitor!
Then it was Mark's turn! He's having too much fun! Ken doesn't look like he's doing much, he's so laid back, but that is his strategy!!
Then they go at each other!