Florida Crackers Chapter of FMCA: January 2017 Arcadia Rally

Florida Cracker News

Jan. 16-20, 2017 –Little Willie’s, Arcadia, FL

President's Message:

Our January rally at Little Willie’s in Arcadia was very well attended and, as usual, we all had a great time. We played games, played golf and had wonderful food. Thanks to all the members that stepped up to do the preparation of the great meals we enjoyed.

VERY IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE: We must have your reservations for the March rally in Moore Haven by Feb. 1^st and the April rally at Jekyll Island by Feb. 13^th. If we do not hear from you by these dates, the balance of the reserved RV sites will be released for regular customer use.

Looking forward to seeing you at the February rally from the 12^th to the 16^th at Blueberry Hill in Bushnell, FL.

Gene

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Although this was an unhosted rally, our members came to the rescue and helped every time they were needed. What a bunch of great folks we have in our club. Speaking about members, we are pleased to announce we have another new couple. Bob & Joan came to their first rally with us this month and joined on the spot. They look forward to meeting the rest of you down the road. Since we have another Bob & Joan and last names don’t go in since it’s posted online, I normally provide a last name initial for duplications. Guess what! They also both start with S. So this couple will be Bob & Joan Sm. and the other couple will be Bob & Joan Se. for this and future issues.

Even with no hosts, we didn’t go hungry. Tom & Sandi S. started us off with a Welcome Dinner of delicious Sloppy Joe’s, hot dogs, sauerkraut, and several varieties of salad. Kudos to these first-timers who did a phenomenal job of putting on a great meal. Don C. and Norm & Jan D. topped 5 lbs. of spaghetti with an excellent batch of meatballs and spaghetti sauce served with garlic bread and salad. Bob & Joan Se. provided a scrumptious ham and scalloped potato dinner. Nancy carried on without Vi who had to cancel due to motorhome problems by enlisting the aid of Don C., Norm & Jan D. and Donna & John R. for an omelet in a bag breakfast. What a team effort! Nancy & John supervised getting names on bags. Then members got to place their choice of a nice variety of ingredients into their bags. Donna and Jan were in charge of pouring in the egg mixture and sealing the bags. Then the bags were sent on their way for Don to boil them in large pots of water and then to be ultimately delivered by Norm.

Ham & Scalloped Potatoes Chefs Bob & Joan Se.

Spaghetti Night Chefs Don C. & Jan D. and
Welcome Dinner Chefs Sandy & Tom S.

Omelet in Bag Chefs Norm D. & Don C.

The entire Omelet in a Bag crew

We had our usual fun with games. There was plenty of competition playing bean bag baseball but the gals took back the title by winning 2 out of 3 games. Judging by past rallies, this will get reversed next time around, guys, so be patient. We also played Left, Right, Center and then Faith and Jim won the pot twice playing Nickel, Nickel. Of course, we also had fun with Happy Hours, 50/50 and Kangaroo Races.

Gene and many others reported they enjoyed their golfing outing. This event has become so popular that Gene is going to try to work it into every rally’s schedule. Hosts and hostesses, please always check with Gene before sending out your fliers as the day and tee times will be at the mercy of golf club availability.

The rest of us enjoyed some down time or went looking for adventures elsewhere. Several took the recommendations from our last visit and journeyed to Joshua Groves or K&J Meat and Produce. Besides purchasing the honeybells at Joshua, this time we also sampled the orange and vanilla (pineapple is also available) homemade ice cream cones. Folks, Norm & I recommend making that a team excursion on our next visit to Little Willie’s. Not only was the ice cream very good but the small size was plenty generous and only cost $2 each. It's only available during certain months so we were glad January was one of them. Several of us also enjoyed shopping, going out to eat breakfast in town, or visiting friends or going to the Tampa RV Show during free time.

Some of our members found out just how closely knit and caring a group they belonged to when they were delayed on their adventures. Both couples were impressed that phone calls were placed to track them down and inquire about their wellbeing when they didn’t show for meals. There’s no doubt this club is like a family and each one of us is an important member of it.

Lynn brought in boxes of yarn and crochet material which was quickly scooped up. She plans on bringing more to the next rally so let her know if you’re interested in some.

We had a special treat when former long-time members, John & Janie Y. came for another visit along with Carol & Dave C., Janie’s cousins. This time John brought along his keyboard and entertained us. It was such a pleasure to have him play and sing for us again and we got to enjoy hearing so many good songs from decades past.

John & Janie and cousins Carol & Dave. (Dave mysteriously
disappeared during importing of the photo).

Our next rally will be Feb. 12-16 (Sun.-Thurs. due to the Monday flea market) and held at Blueberry Hill in Bushnell. A lot of you have already indicated you’ll be there so it should be another well-attended rally. Bill & Peg S. and Lyle & Phyllis L. will be our hosts and Rich & Ellen W. have graciously offered to help with two of their breakfast meals.

As a reminder, Jim P. will be hosting a table top steering wheel cover for the Feb. rally but he needs to know immediately if you would like to participate or even have one made for you. The estimated cost is around $8-$9 each plus whatever cloth cover you’ll be using. He will only be buying the wood he needs for members who indicate an interest so please don’t delay giving him a call.

Jim & Karin P. have also graciously volunteered to host our March rally in Moore Haven and will be providing all the dinner meals and activities. They ask that anyone attending please consider volunteering for the breakfast meals. All days are currently available so please let them know your preference by calling or e-mailing immediately so your breakfast meal can be included on their flier.

DON’T FORGET - we need to know if you are planning on attending any of the remaining rallies this season so campgrounds can release the extra sites Gene has reserved. This is especially true for the April rally in Jekyll Island since it is a State Park. If you don’t contact Gene by 2/13, you will miss the opportunity to be part of this rally since the Park will release whatever sites remain to the public.

As long as you’re getting all these reminders, here’s one more that’s extremely important and a problem that comes up frequently. Please keep in mind that any check you write to our club must be made payable to FLORIDA CRACKERS and not to our treasurer. This will assure you get proper credit and Don’s deposits stay clean and separate from his personal account.

Thank you all again for your help. Whether you cook, provide clean-up after meals, or just help another member in need, your participation is always appreciated.