1st Full Day on Pine Island

Ken was awake from 5 AM on but only got up at 6:30 to do some reading and listen to the news.  I did some reading in bed and was up by 7:40.  

We quickly got ready, had some fruit, and then Chuck, Melissa, Ken and I rode our bikes to the pickleball court at 7:30.  We thought we should be there early since they only have 1 court and we weren't sure how many pickleball players might be in the CG.  No one came the whole time we played, so we won't get up quite this early in the future!  We played until 9:10 and had some really good volleys.  It was fun and gave us some needed exercise.

Nice sunrise at the pickleball court!

Ready for the 1st pickleball with the 4 of us for 2016!  We
were excited!

Back to Waldo to shower and get ready to go to the VFW here on the Island for lunch.  Reggie and Paul had invited us to join them there around 11.  Before leaving, Ken and I went through our photos looking for some of his great bird photos to send into a contest that the Audubon Society is having.  It is quite a job to go back over so many past photos and try to find the best ones. These were some of Ken's favorites -

John stopped by to show us how to get onto the CG's WiFi system.  We appreciated his help.  By 11 the 4 of us left and drove to the VFW for their Mexican Lunch.  We sat with fellow campers for the park and had good food and company, but I don't think we will be in a hurry to return.  It was way too busy and hectic for the 4 of us!

We did a little driving on the island, returning to the CG around 1:00.  All of us were tired from getting up so early and playing so hard (well, maybe not!), so the 3 or them took a nap.  I spent the time making some phone calls, answering some text messages, and talking to Sierra Trading Company where I recently ordered some Sun Protective clothing.  I would highly recommend checking out their website.  You can get some tremendous bargains and they really aim to please.  One of the items I received was defective, and instead of having me return it, they said I should donate it and they even allowed me to pick another item and just pay the difference between the defective one and the different shirt, minus any shipping.  He also included a $10.00 gift certificate.  I was impressed by their service.  Also, I had bought the same long sleeved shirt at an outdoor type shop in Sarasota for $72.00 and bought the same exact shirt in a different color from the trading post for $14.95.  I couldn't believe it!  They get overruns or some of last year's models and sell them out at tremendous savings.

At 3:00 the 4 of us walked to the small clubhouse to meet Cindy and John to have a cornhole tournament.  We had so much fun competing as couples. Chuck and Melissa were the overall winners.  There were many very close games, but they were victorious.

Not a bad setting for a cornhole tournament!

Don't you just love Cindy
and John's fancy boards?

A bunch of serious cornhole players!

We headed back to our motorhomes around 5 and Ken and I made salads with sauteed chicken, onions, and peppers.  So good.  After cleaning up, I worked on the blog and Ken spent time coming up with a "driving route" for the many different places we plan to go to tomorrow, including my dermatology follow-up appointment.  I certainly hope I can be done with the bandaging when in the sun.

Chuck, Melissa, John, and Cindy arrived at 7:30 for an evening of game playing, which included Skip-Bo (men won), 5 Crowns (Women), and Up the River (Women).  We ended the evening around 11, but a fun time was had by all!