Our Last Full Day on Pine Island and Then Off to Venice!

Yesterday, Wednesday, we met up with Chuck and Melissa at 8:15 for our morning walk.  We went towards St. James City and back to complete our 10,000 steps.  Then we went to our separate "homes" and started some preparations for our departures on Thursday.  Ken started putting things away outside while I did the laundry at the CG laundromat and then cleaned Waldo. Both were necessary!  After lunch, we met them at 1:15 to play shuffleboard. We played 2 games (Chuck and I won both) and then we joined the CG Pool Party already in progress.  They gave away many prizes (none of us won!), and had free food, beer, and wine.  They had set-up many tables and chairs on the patio around the pool and also had a DJ there.  A fun time was had by all.

Chuck and Melissa walking from their home to ours for our
morning walk! 

Ken's last photo for this trip of the palm plantations!

Ed the bartender at the pool party.  Love the hat and shirt!

The pool party was well attended - about 400 people!

 After the party, we played one more game of shuffleboard - Ken suggested that the winner take all and we would play to 100.  He thought Chuck and I would refuse the offer, but we were up for the challenge.  We won that game "big time".  Back to our motorhomes to complete some more chores before going back to Chuck and Melissa at 6:30 to play more games.  What a fun evening.  We didn't say our good-byes since we planned to see each other in the morning.

Note the final score!

Inside Chuck and Melissa's beautiful motorhome!

Another fun game night!

We were up today, Thursday, at 6:30 and got ready to leave Pine Island.  Just as Ken was getting in the drivers seat to pull out of our campsite to go out to the entrance to hook-up the CRV for our trip to Venice, Melissa and Chuck were coming up the road from their campsite.  We couldn't have planned it any better!  Somehow we always seemed to be attuned to each other.  So, we pulled up behind each other at the entrance to the campground and got our tow CRV's ready for the trip.  They were heading to Daytona to meet up with Chuck's aunt and uncle and we were meeting my sister and her husband in Venice.  We only had a 1 1/2 hour drive.

The 4 of us are ready for "take off"!

If you look closely, you can see the rainbow!

We hugged and said our good-byes.  It was sad, but we know we will be together for another week in 1 month.  The end of that week will be the really sad time!!!

We arrived at Ramblers Rest in the Venice area around 11 without incident and we even made our 1st gas stop in Waldo.  Ken is really enjoying driving!  It was a bit cooler today and very windy following some storms during the night. Cindy and John came to Ramblers Rest when we were pulling into our site.  They hope to buy a motorhome before summer, and John was interested in watching Ken do all the hook-ups.

We are impressed with the many improvements they have made to this CG since last winter.  They redid the pool and totally redid the area around it. Also totally remodeled the office and the bathhouses.  They updated the billiard hall, the clubhouse, and added a pickleball court.  They improvements are so well done, especially the pool.

These "cabanas" by the pool look so inviting!

The heated pool water was very warm, but the strong breeze
would have been very cold when you got out!

The 4 of us chatted inside Waldo after we were all set-up, and then I finally got to go to one of my favorite places to eat when in Florida - Sonny's for their pulled pork sandwich.  (It is one of John and Cindy's favorite places too!) It was as good as we remembered.  A quick trip to Wal-Mart and then back to the CG to take a walk and place some shuffleboard.  The courts here are very fast!

A victory for the "sisters"!

Saw this hawk while we were playing shuffleboard!

So nice to have John and Cindy here in Florida until next Tuesday!
They are staying 10 minutes away from the CG at a Holiday
Inn Express.

Back to Waldo for a light supper and some game playing.  We had a nice time together and look forward to going with them to Lazydays tomorrow.  Who knows, maybe they will have a new "2nd home" after that visit.  They are excited to get started with their RV adventures!