Campground Goings On In February

This post has been a long time in the making. Not because nothing's happened, but because I've been so busy with our Seminole Campground friends I've just not spent much time at the computer. 

Several of us are taking long, fast walks in the morning and it's nice to chat with friends while I walk.  Nancy began walking with me in early February and in about a week Linda joined us.  Mary walked one day but the 45 minute long hard asphalt walk caused her shin splint pain so she opted for the bicycle over the sneakers.  

Our group of friends continues the usual cycle of planning food events, going to food events, discussion of the just-finished food event and then it starts all over again.  We do some other things too, but nothing matches these food events.

This is Nancy standing in front of her coach with her drearly little hibiscus.
It took almost a full month, but Nancy has managed to almost kill this otherwise nice looking plant.
In this photo, it's reduced to 15 leaves and one sickly blossom.  It fares no better today. Brown thumb.

Also during February our good friends Pam and Joe drove down from Bushnell for a day visit. It was great to get to see them -- and their sweet dogs, Izzy and Ally.

Pam and Joe trying to coax Ally to eat her food.
Ally knows that if she doesn't eat her food, Joe will try to coax her with tasty dog biscuits.
Ally doesn't eat her food -- and she got some tasty dog biscuits.

When Valentines Day rolled around, we celebrated by, what else? Scoring another food event. Today was the barbecue rib special at Mr. BBQ in Lehigh Acres. One of our neighbors' son manages the restaurant. The food was great and the price was reasonable!  Just what retirees love!

Valentines Day lunch special at Mr. BBQ in Lehigh Acres.  Delicious fall-off-the-bone ribs!
Nancy, Ken, Mary, Fran, Wayne and me.

Another day, three couples of us drove to Cypress Slough for an afternoon walk.  Here a diverse array of plants occur in recognizable zones of a wetland ecosystem. The morning was cool, but by mid-day, when the sun was high in the sky, we were very comfortable in a sweatshirt.  It is unimaginable, but we did not eat while we walked Cypress Slough. 

We did eat on the way home though.

That's Wayne patrolling the boardwalk.

"Okay all you stupid hard-shelled nitwits... watch this. I can fly."

Our neighbors, Mary and her husband, Fran.

The Cypress Slough walk was wonderful. It's a 1.2 mile boardwalk built over the wetland. We saw several alligator, large and small, along with a wild pig who walked directly under the wooden walkway where we stood directly over her.  We could hear her babies making piggy sounds nearby.

Scenes of the slough

Air plants are all over the place.

More scenes in the slough.

Directors of the Wild Kingdom for today.
Left to right.... Wayne, Nancy, Ken, Fran (trying to hide) and Mary (contemplating a jump).

A rare photo of an elusive wild female roaming retirement gnome.



Nancy in her very realistic squirrel costume.

Ken and Nancy.
Funny thing...  Just after I took this photo, my camera batteries died.  Hummm.

Later that week, during one of the ever-popular "food discussions" the next eating event was planned.  It would be a soup dinner. The weather was perfect.  Cool after sunset and that would necessitate a campfire.  We enjoyed taco soup, white chili, potato soup, cornbread, biscuits and other goodies.  So much food was brought, in fact, that we had to have left-overs the following night. 

Mark and Wayne plotting to overthrow the campground government.

Yup, I'm gonna eat the whole thang!
Dale really does have teeth.  But he forgot them tonight, I guess. 

Just a real good picture of a beautiful friend, Linda.

 Mark is doing the buzzard dance.
Nancy is bewildered at his antics. 

Mark and his good friend from Illinois, Jimmy.  Charlie watches from a distance.
Jimmy is known as the "Gate Nazi"
He is also an Ambassador for Alabama's Gulf Shore Region.

Our neighbors, Brad and Barb enjoy soup and cornbread.
 

Rick (center) with Steve and Ruth.
Don't give me that look, Rick!

Nancy lost her pie.
Fortunately, I found it for her.

Nancy and Ken's son, Brian, his wife and their three children came down for a visit in February too.  Well, Brian's wife and three children actually came for a visit. Brian played golf in Naples while Karen, Alana, Ally and Brady enjoyed non-stop activities with Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Ken. They are a great family and we enjoyed spending a little time with them.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any real good photos of these really wonderful children. 

Nancy, her daughter-in-law and the grandchildren. Wayne is on the far side.
We were talking to a neighbor who has a beautiful, talking Cockatoo.

Then last Monday night our gang gathered again for Fran's special French spaghetti sauce.  As is customary, we all participated in the dinner,  I think there must have been a crowd of twenty or so for dinner and I must say, Fran's secret recipe sauce is about the best I've ever eaten.  Delicious.

Notice Wayne's empty glass.
Also notice Mary holding tightly onto her wine bottle.



Dale has teeth in this picture. 
Unfortunately, he's lost his mind we now fear.

Master Chef, His High Cookness, Fran.
And no, he didn't divulge the secret recipe

The spaghetti hungry mob.
Yes, that's Wayne's orange and blue Auburn croc and nice white ankle socks.
We dress real nice in retirementville.

So, you ask, who are all these weird people with whom we've become acquainted.  Let me name them and tell you their home state.  None of us knew each other until we came to Seminole Campground.

Dale and Linda are from Ohio



Brad and Barb are from Connecticut

Ken and Nancy are from Pennsylvania



Steve and Ruth are from Massachusetts

Mary just wants everybody to have a good time.
Mary also likes to sing "Tiny Bubbles"....
 

Mark and Janie are from Illinois.
Janie sometimes can be forced to watch the Illini play basketball.
She doesn't know, however, what a football is.

Rick. Without Louise.
Louise went home to Massachusetts for a week to check on home and family.
She returns to Florida later this evening.

Stephanie and her husband, who's name I do not know.
Stephanie is the reservations genius for the campground.
He is some kind of high-powered computer science wizard.

Charlie and Joyce.  Joyce surely had too much to drink. She looks blurry.
They are from Kansas.

Fran and Mary are from New Hampshire.  
 

Wayne and me.
We're the full-timers. We're not from anywhere.