SOME OF THE ACTION ON THE PICKLEBALL COURTS!

Sun., Nov. 10 - Just some of the action on the Pickleball courts this morning!!  Ken and I had already played and left.  I came back for pictures.

Frank and Bob played -

Diane and another Bob.

Nate and partner against -

Rene and Jack.

A group waiting between games.  Mike, Vicki, Krystal, Frank and Joe.

FUN WITH STAN AND SALLY

SALLY AND STAN AT TORREY OAKS

Thur, Oct 31 -  We have know Stan and Sally for years.  In fact, we met them on the Pickleball courts at TT Orlando in the Spring of 2003 when Ken and Sally "butted heads" over a point!  After the match Sally was furious.  She picked up her paddle and bag and prepared to leave the court.  Ken stopped her and in his persuasive way, convinced her to stay.  That was the first time we met Stan and Sally and we have been close friends ever since.  In fact, Ken calls Sally his second wife!

For years we would meet at the Thousand Trails parks in Florida and even out west during the winter season.  Then, in 2009, Stan and Sally bought a site in Torrey Oaks, a private RV Park just north of Wauchula.  We have already been together several times this season, either at our place in the Thousand Trails park for hamburger night or at their site at Torrey Oaks.

Sally made arrangements for a group of us to go to Paul's Kitchen for dinner tonight because she had coupons offering $4 off your bill of $20.  Sounded good to us, even though we had just recently dined at Paul's.

We arrived at Stan and Sally's before the rest of the group, all from Torrey Oaks.  Time for wine and conversation!

Stan acting crazy like he frequently does!!

But Stan can be serious sometime!!  Notice the beautiful landscaping at their site.  They back up to the adjoining golf course.

The background for our picture is their brand new fifth wheel!

Shortly after the pictures, the rest of the group arrived.  We all enjoyed another glass of wine and lots of talk, and then we were off to Paul's Kitchen!!  Thanks guys for a fun evening!

PIZZA PARTY WITH STAN AND SALLY

Mon, Nov. 04 - Tonight Sally and Stan invited us to their place for Make-Your-Own Pizza!  While we were enjoying drinks and snacks, Sally's brother Jim arrived.  He was on his way from the Villages, where he recently bought a home, to Fort Myers for a softball tournament.  Stan and Sally were a convenient stop on his way.  It was fun meeting him and listening to stories of sibling rivalries as they were growing up -- Sally with all of her brothers.

And now it was time for Pizza!  Sally and Stan provided large size tortilla for the crust and a tray of makings for Pizzas:  Pizza sauce, jalapeno, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, Greek olives, bacon, pepperoni, cheeses, etc!!

Then we each chose our own ingredients.  Two Pizzas almost ready for the grill!

Pizza chefs proud of their finished products.

Ladies' Pizzas on the grill.

 We were happy with the end result, too!

Now it's time to enjoy!!!!!  HA HA

UUMMMM!!  Did you notice all of the Pizza pans?  Each of us had a set of two pans.  One pan had holes in the bottom for the grill.  Pizzas were grilled to perfection and then slipped onto the second Pizza pan for serving!  Great idea!!  Really neat!

What a fun night!!  Great idea!!  Thanks again guys!!

PICKLEBALL AND DINNER WITH LINDA AND MARK!

Sat, Oct 26 - We have now moved to Thousand Trails Peace River in Wauchula, FL for a couple of weeks.  We were surprised to see that improvements had been made to the two Pickleball courts.  The courts have been resurfaced and concrete extensions have been added to the ends of the courts so we no longer step off onto the dirt!  And a nice high fence was installed around the courts.

We had a group of eight playing on Saturday morning.  Mark and Linda O.

Opponents Ken and Nate.

Nice game!

Linda strikes a pose!!

Benches and a large shelter was built to shade players and spectators.  Here are the other four players:  Heady, Art, Faye and Krystal.  Unfortunately, did not get us in action!!

DINNER WITH LINDA AND MARK

We were surprised and delighted when Linda and Mark said they were leaving on Sunday and they would like to take us to dinner at a restaurant of our choice.  Just because!!  We chose Paul's Kitchen because they had not eaten there, and anyone who has ever been to Wauchula knows about Paul's Kitchen home cooked meals.

A sample of Paul's Kitchen home cooking.  I had read on line that we must try their Fried Green Tomatoes, so we started with the tomatoes as appetisers.

Meals included Soup and Salad and Entree.  Mark ordered the Steak and Shrimp Combo as his Entree.

All of the meals also came with choice of potato, black eyed peas and rice.

Just a note for your information!  We all had so much to eat that none of us had the soup although it came with the meal!

Thank you so much Linda and Mark for the treat and for being so nice!!  We will certainly miss you!

ANOTHER VISIT WITH TRACY; ENJOYING THE STABLES

Wed, Sept 23 - We had another delightful visit with Ken's daughter, Tracy at the ranch where she lives in Sanford, FL.  In an earlier article dated October 8, I mentioned that there were stables on the property housing about twenty horses.  Today we walked over to see some of the horses.

In the first stable were several beautiful small horses.  They are a particular breed but I can't remember.

Ken feeding a peppermint drop to one of the small horses.

In another stable, Ken and Tracy make friends with one of the show horses.

This collection of bridles will give you some idea of the number of horses stabled here.

Faye and Ken with a beautiful grey.

Saying Good Bye to us as we leave the stables.

Have you ever seen a treadmill for horses?  I noticed a note posted next to one of the stalls stating the amount of time the horse was scheduled to spend on the treadmill.  I thought that was curious!  As we left the stables we passed by the horse treadmill!  What an interesting apparatus!  And so BIG!!

When we returned to the main house, I excused myself to use the Powder Room to wash my hands after playing with the horses.  You will recall from my October 8 articlet that each room in the house had a different animal decor.  Well, this is the Zebra Room!

Before dinner, we enjoyed drinks in the sitting alcove in front of the house overlooking one of the pastures.  Beyond the pasture you can just barely see County Road 427.

Later we gathered in the Elephant Room for dinner.

Tracy had prepared another elegant and delicious meal.  This time it is Mussels and Clams Linguine with White Wine Sauce!  UUUMMMMMM!!

Dinner by candle light!

Thank you Tracy for entertaining us so royally!!

AMAZING LOBSTER FEAST AT OUR CAMPSITE!!

Fri, Oct 18 - Almost every morning for the past two weeks, since we have been at TT Orlando, Pat, Barb and I would leave the Pickleball courts and meet at the refreshing (burrrrr) pool for Water Aerobics using my Billie Jo CD.  It was there that we met Bonnie who joined us in the water each morning.

Here we are trying to keep warm in that COLD COLD water!!  Faye, Karen joined us for one day, Barb, Bonnie, and Pat.

Yesterday (Thursday) morning, Bonnie mentioned that she had found out about a wholesale seafood outlet in Orlando where you could get fresh Maine Lobster.  She and her husband Clyde had bought some and had them for dinner the night before.  She said they were wonderful!!  The catch was:  You had to have a special license to deal with a wholesaler to be able to buy from the seafood outlet.  Bonnie had such a license because of her Bling Bling business and she offered to get some Lobsters for her new Water Aerobics friends!  Thus, a Lobster Feast was planned for Friday afternoon!!

Our Chef Mitch checks out the Lobster that Clyde and Bonnie had just picked up from the seafood outlet.  Barb watches in the background.  After seeing the Lobster, Mitch quickly made his decision to steam the Lobsters rather than putting them on the grill.

Happy hour while waiting for our Lobster:  Pat and John

Barb and Mitch.

Bonnie and Clyde.

Faye and Ken.

The Lobsters are ready!!  They look amazing!!!

The Lobster Feast is on!!  Lobster, Corn-On-The-Cob, Green Salad and Breads, followed by Bundt Cake and Coffee!  It was divine!!!

A feast on my plate!!

Thank you everyone for making this an AMAZING LOBSTER FEAST!!