Our Ladies Style Show and Super Bowl

We just finished our 1st Style Show at the park with 3 different Awesome stores with 15 of our ladies modeling.  I surely can’t show you all 15, but these were my favorites.  These Ladies modeled from Lionels Western Wear in Weslaco.  They wore their fashions from their head including jewelry, down to her shoes and boots.   Such Beautiful and colorful items.  lionels-1

This all first started when I was invited to another park last year for their Ladies Fashion Show.  Our friends from McNabb, Jan and Bob Shuster are at Paradise park.  I attended with Jan and thought how beautiful it was, but thought Eastgate could never do anything like that, as we are so much smaller, and don’t have that kind of cash flow…..For that matter, nor could I…..I certainly don’t have the experience to know how to put together something so elegant as theirs.  As an Event last year, we went to beautiful Villa De Cortez in Weslaco for lunch.  20170217_150029.jpg

Sandra from Lionels Western Wear, which was one of the stores at Paradise Park,  came and modeled several items.  It was so much fun.  After our lunch several of us went down the street to her store shopping.   We were so Impressed.  I talked with Sandra as how to do a style show at the Villa De Cortez.   She said I should call her this past fall when we all arrived.

 

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My Friend Cicily Mahoney

This fall, after we all arrived, I realized the Ladies Luncheon was having a hard time come up with entertainment.  So I mentioned to Linda and Cheryl about the Fashion Show.   They were so excited.  So we contacted Sandra and set a date.  Several weeks before, Linda and Cheryl made appointments at all 3 stores for fittings.  We not only had Lionels Western Wear, also Wells of Weslaco and Bec’s of McAllen.  Those 2 girls worked so hard transporting all 15 girls to 3 different stores for fittings.  Each store had 5 ladies model 2 different outfits.  The day of, The stores arrived and set up their close racks in Lila’s mobile trailer right next to the hall.  That become the dressing rooms.  Each store had 1 room for their 5 girls to change.  20170215_193139.jpg

They were all so elegant and full of fun as they modeled.  Nancy was demonstrating her imaginary gun concealed in the pocket built into her purse.  20170203_153659.jpg

Pat was just so cool in her red flowing Poncho with black boots and her Cowboy hat.   20170203_134500.jpg

Of course we had Frances looking so beautiful in a black and white top. Her outfit was from Bec’s in McAllen.   All the ladies wore beautiful exquisite jewelry and shoes.  Sandra’s store is full of gorgeous Jewelry.   The show was just fabulous. lionels-5

A huge Thank You to Linda and Cheryl for all their work and of course the ladies from the 3 stores that traveled to bring this fabulous show to our park…..Many of the ladies are planning  fun shopping days.   20170203_120501.jpg

The hall was decorated in bright bold colors.  The girls made bright paper tissue flowers and suspended them from the ceiling.  They purchased bright colored table clothes and bought flowers from Progresso Mexico as centers pieces.   The luncheon tables were filled with so much awesome food.  Everyone brought a dish to share…..lionels-4

So See We Can Do a Style Show….It May Have Not Been Elegant as Some Are…..But

…….We Did It The Eastgate Way……

And we had a BLAST

It was so much fun and everyone so enjoyed it.  So next event was Super Bowl.  We left the flowers up in the ceiling, but I saved all the tables cloths for our Potato Bake next month.  Finally the Super Bowl was decided.  Falcons and Patriots.   Red and Blue.  My 2 favorite colors.  This year was so much easier to plan.  I wrote notes and saved grocery lists from last year.  I have learned if you write a plan when you begin and a summary when your done of good things and recommendations for change, it is so much easier the following year.  So it was much easier.  The menu this year was Brisket, Lil Smokies, Shrimp, Nachos and Cheese, Crackers, sausage and cheese, Veggies and dip, Soda and half barrel of beer. We asked for everyone to bring a snack to share.   Rich bought the briskets at Sams and found a new caterings service/bar that would smoke and season them.   They were fabulous.  20170205_172621.jpg

I found a cool looking inflatable ice tray for the table in the shape of a football stadium for the shrimp and veggies.  During the season I’ve been collecting things for door prizes.  I ended up with 25 items.

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…..2 white boards with all the prizes listed….my placemats and centerpieces…..

 

Top prize from Joe Shannon was a Garmin Fitness Tracker bracelet.  I had a fishing rod from Johnnys True Value, Yankee Candle for Quips and Quotes, and many many good gift certificates as well as other things.   It was grand.  Of course they went through not only the half barrel but another half of a half barrel.  I made center pieces of footballs from brown paper and Megaphones in Red and Blue.  It really looked nice. 20170205_155141.jpg

………And What A Game…….I don’t understand football but I did watch the last half.  It was sure an exciting game.  I didn’t take to many pictures that night, as it was such a busy evening.  We went up by noon to decorate and set up.  By 8 pm my feet were dead.  We left around 11 when the hall was finally cleaned up again

…..Back to Normal for another DAY…..20170209_082653.jpg

I will finish with a new picture of our pots in place in the Entrance of our Park.  I coated them with couple of coats of concrete sealer in hopes it will protect the pots from the harsh summer months.  The pots came from Progresso Mexico.  Bought them and had a Mexican wheel them across the border, straight to the truck.  He even put them in the back and put down cardboard for protection.  All for $48 for both including a $10 tip.   What a Deal……… So now the girls planted them with petunias, and they are

………BEAUTIFUL…….. 

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Winterfest at South Padre Island on The Gulf

Winterfest is held every year on the island.  It is an all day music festival of 5 musical groups that are playing in the Valley for the winter.  Last year we went and the weather was so cold.  They had it in the indoor water park at Schlitterbahn.  It was still cold   They had patio heaters running but it didn’t help.  I usually get a pair of tickets free as its one of the perks with the job.  Rick from Schlitterbahn came up and gave me my bundle of tickets to sell in the park.  He is the manager or chairperson for Winterfest.  As the date came closer we realized it would be warmer weather.  We decided to spend the nite at Schlitterbahn.  They were running a special of $59  for a nite.   Great way to spend the evening.  Finally the day came and the weather turned out to be beautiful.  It was a little chilly but sunshine blue sky and no clouds.  We met some friends their.  Ron and Theresa Fisher our friends from AdventurelandS met us their, and Alice and Tom met us also.  20170125_115012.jpg

We enjoyed watching and listening to the bands at the Outdoor Water Park.  It was a beautiful outdoor Tropical setting.  We were served a Shrimp or Chicken Basket from Shrimp Haus.  Then we decided to take a walk to the crossover bridge that took us to the beach on the Gulf.20170125_115134.jpg

This is the bridge view from the concert area.  The water park of course is drained right now for the winter.  We took a walk up the stairs behind the stage area to get to the bridge.

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From the top of the stairs we had a great view of the Concert area.  Onward we went, all 5 of us, as Tom stayed back.  He can’t walk that far.   We crossed over the bridge and the boardwalk extended a long distance ahead stopping at the beach with the ocean lapping on the sand…..20170125_133033.jpg

What a beautiful view it was.  Left to Right.  Alice from Maryland, Theresa and Ron from Nebraska, and Rich.  Were all Eastgate folks…..lol….We headed on down the boardwalk to the Gulf.  20170125_133548.jpg

It was a beautiful day, a little windy and beautiful blue sky.  The sand was so pretty and the sea gulls were flying around enjoying the wind and the waves.

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The view up the beach to the hotels was so beautiful.  The haze in the air made the hotels look so magical.  People were just walking and enjoying the sun, water and the sounds of the waves lapping on the beach.  Rich found a chair that someone carried down from the Water Park….lol….received_1354518004569754.jpeg

Theresa snapped this picture.  One of the few pictures that I allow of me…..lol….

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We walked back up to the Concert   This is the view from the top of the bridge over the drained Water Park.  20170125_115045.jpg

We went back to our seats by Tom.  This was the view of Schlitterbahn Water Park from our table.   We stayed for the rest of the performances.  20170207_075654.jpg

This is John Sager.  He is a performer from Branson.  Very Popular in the Valley.  He is an Awesome singer and has won many Awards.  The last performers were the Port Isabel Mariachi Band.   They were awesome also.  Wonderful musicians and singers and only High School.  They played last year also.  We all finally left, and stopped at the Schlitterbahn Resort to check in.  Alice and Tom and us were staying the nite, and Theresa and Ron heading home.  But not before we had supper together.  We headed to Louie’s Backyard.

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Its a really cool restaurant on the Bay side of the Island.  Most everyone had the Sea Food Buffet.  Of course I don’t like fish so I had Prime Rib.  After a great dinner and conversation we all left.20170125_182519.jpg

Outside was a Catamaran taking off with a party group.  The music was blaring and laughter in the air.  Such a beautiful Sunset.  The lights on the boat were so pretty as it went floating by.  Finally we said goodbye to Theresa and Ron as they were driving back to Harlingen.  Tom and Alice and us went back to the hotel to enjoy a peaceful evening in our hotel room.  In the morning we headed back to Harlingen 20170124_140710.jpg

We have been doing crafts on Tues.  This is our latest one.   I’ve been trying to do things cheaply and using recycle.  These are water bottle made into Whirlygigs.  They are colored with permanent markers.

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This is the finished product.  Really easy and very cute.  Great project for kids….lol

or Seniors????

 

Happy New Year! Where Did Dec. Go

December is almost over, in fact it might be after I get this posted….lol…We’ve done so much in the park already.  The park is almost full.  Some have driven or flew home for the holidays, including Canadians.  They are starting to return now.  After January 1st, they will all be back.  The ones who don’t come till after the holidays will probably all come by next week.  We’ve been ……BUSY BUSY BUSY…..We scheduled a Downtown Historical Jackson Street walk.

It was a beautiful day.  Harlingen offers this tour every Saturday to the public free of charge.  Over 20 murals to see, and so much history.  We did this as an Eastgate tour.  Its so nice for everyone to be together.  Lunch after of course.  20161216_092729

Racheal from SegValley Tours came for Coffee and Donuts and brought one Segway.  After her demonstration, she invited everyone to try it out in the parking lot.

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Margene who is 84 and her daughter Kathlynn, and Rachael, owner of SegValley Tours

So much fun was had by all.  This was their chance to fulfill their bucket list.  Next we had our Annual Golf Cart Christmas Parade and after was Ice Cream and Singing Carols.

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The carts were all decked out in Christmas lights and decorations.  A group of ladys walked ahead of the carts dressed as the Reindeer and sang Christmas Carols.  They traveled all over the park ending at the hall for the rest of the party.  Of Course Santa was their too….fb_img_1482885997722

We had our Christmas Dinner, with platters of ham and everyone bringing a dish or two to serve at their table.  Also the table decorating contest.  fb_img_1482885968815

They all out did themselves this year.  The tables were beautiful, from fun and festive, to beautiful and elegant.  This was the first place winner.  Great group of people who put so much effort into their Gingerbread Truck and Camper.  The hill was also lite up with lights.  Awesome Job.  mistys-family

Rich’s brother John came down from Illinois to be with his daughter and family from New Braunfels Tx.  Its about 5 or 6 hours away.  They met down on South Padre Island for Christmas.  We went down the following day and spent the nite.  Misty, Mark and the kids had a great time on the beach. mistys-family2

They enjoyed fishing on the jetty.  The fog was pretty thick that morning.

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You could see it just come in and blow through the island.  It was hanging pretty low.  This was an awesome picture of the fog covering the lower part of the hotel.  The top part just appeared out of the fog like a ghost.  20161227_140444

Also the  Pirate Ship cruise went by.  It was rather spooky too with the fog that was present.  They offer games and pirates fighting.  A very authentic feeling of a pirate ship.  After Mistys family went back home, John and Glenda came by and spent 2 nites.  We took them to Progresso Mexico for their first time every.20161230_140634.jpg

They had a great time.  It is quite an experience for anyone.  We sat down at the Red Panty Bar on the tables on the street.20161230_151341.jpg

Ordered a few drinks and Glenda took it all in.  Street musicians playing drums and trumpet as well as a man playing guitar behind us. 20161230_162333.jpg

Now this is what every women loves including me of course…lol…..Shopping for jewelry from the street vendors. 20161230_143754.jpg

Now this was in a store for sale.   Beautiful isn’t it. The price on it is $250.  I love it.  Now if I had a house, …..lol….and a little extra money, I would certainly remodel my bathroom around this toilet.  They also have sinks…..lol.. The following day we went to the 77 Flea Mkt.  It is so big you can’t see it all in one day.20170101_001557.jpg

Rich did find a new pal.  This is for Scott and Brandy at the bar.  Were not sure if its a “Sally or Sam”….lol….Scott already has “Bones and Trixie”, so this will be a nice addition to the family.  We spent New Years Eve with a group of friends.

We spent the nite with a fire pit and Tom smoked a brisket…..At midnite the fireworks in town were huge.   They went off in all directions.  The next day we heard a lot of people woke up because of all the noise.  Happy 201720161221_183321

Some of the lights of our park.  This is 2 Mesquite Trees.  The owners have them decorated so beautifully.  They are near the entrance and give the park a great impression when you pull in…..20161221_183704

This camper is in the RV section.  It is beautiful and complete with music as you drive by.

“Happy New Year 2017”

……May it be everything You Want it to Be…..

 

 

Christmas is Coming At Eastgate

Christmas is on it’s way here at Eastgate.  We took all the Thanksgiving decorations down and set a date to decorate for Christmas.  Many of the girls showed up and in an hour the tree was up and the hall was decorated.

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The South Hall looks so nice especially with the new paint job this summer.  I’ve been busy planning lots of activities and trips for the rest of the season.  It going to be a grand year.  Our good friends Larry and Cici, have been looking at trailers.  They want to leave theirs here permanently and not pull it back and forth.  So we went shopping with them.

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They found a beautiful 39 foot 5th wheel, and also a golf cart.  They have the golf cart at home already and the trailer will be delivered Tue.  This picture was taken in the RV Sales lot.  They have this rickshaw to run customers around in.   Rather cool.  The salesmen drove the bike while Cici and I were in the seat.  Larry and Rich took the Golf Cart.  They are standing in front of their 5th wheel.  So Tuesday will be their day to switch their belongings to the new trailer.

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I would like you to meet Randy the Reindeer.  lol.  Now I have an Accomplice that came to me with this story and plan.  Randy hides Every nite.  My Accomplice texts me a Clue.  I put out the clue on FB and in both halls by 10 am every morning.  So this has been going on for just over a week.

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Here is Randy’s story.  Last week we almost lost him.  Someone dropped him in Nite Deposit.   Today he was found and went to Progresso Mexico.  I don’t know if he crossed over or stayed in the car in the parking lot.  But he returned.  So this little game is starting to take off.  It seems we are getting more and more participation, and lots more people are getting a kick out of it even if they don’t hunt.  The clues are supplied by my Accomplice.  Today the Clue was….1, 2, 3,  Strikes….Your out…..    So finally he was found by a yard statue of a baseball player.   So they aren’t really that hard.

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We have also started Crafts finally.  This is Alice and Cici with their Tomato Cage Christmas Trees.  These are so easy.  Turn your cage upside down.  Use a zip tie to tie the wire ends together.  Wind the lights around and tie them, then your garland.

Our next project is a 6 point star.  Our friends from Canada, Glen and Kathy found one at a garage sale back home and brought it.  Another friend Roberta got all the sticks from our trees that are trimmed and cut a whole box sticks all the same length.  So the only cost was zip ties and twine to join points and a set of 100 lights and decorations.   Another very easy and cheap project.

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Our Christmas Decorations ….My Tomato Cage Tree, Stick Star….and Toilet….lol

Now the other morning at Coffee and Donuts, another couple was with us.  The question was “Why is the toilet in front of your trailer”  lol.  Well, the reason is,  one of the trailers needs one replaced.  Rich found this one at Habitat for Humanity….So he brought it home and it will be installed next week.  But until then, its our conversation peace.  So I said wouldn’t it be funny to sit on it and put that picture in the Eastgate Video at the end of the year.  So later that day,  …..THIS IS WHAT I WAS TEXT….

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So So Funny,  I want you to meet Rob.  He even had to pull his pants down.  OMG……I told him,  Love the Pic, but sure can’t put this in the video,  Some of these people would have a heart attack……No sense of humor….But WE ALL LOVE IT…..HILARIOUS……

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Last nite we had our first Entertainment here in our South Hall.  Jeff Gordon was here.   NO, NOT the Race Car Driver…..The Singer….

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He did a great job,  Elvis, Tom Jones, Conway Twitty, Glenn Campbell,  Neil Diamond, Merle Haggard, and more.  He was originally from Bloomington Illinois.  His daughter lives in Washington Illinois.  Only  1 hour from my town.  He now travels the south in the winter and heads to the Mid West in the summer.  Today we had a Christmas Bazaar at the hall.

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Lots of neat crafts.  Crochet and knitting,  jewelry,  woodcarving, and even lights made out of liquor bottles.

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This past week was by Grandson Austin’s 6th Birthday….Also Dexter had his 2nd Birthday.  So the boys shared a birthday party

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Yes, Dexter is a Very important member of the family.   He is another son….lol…Dexter is a good boy and always poses for pictures.  But he doesn’t look to happy about his hat does he…..lol

 

 

 

 

Catching Up On Activities Around the Park

Their has been so much going on that I have not written about.  It seems life at Eastgate is so busy.  Never a dull moment.  On the other hand, the other problem is that I have had to find another way to transfer my photos to my laptop from my phone.  I did have my phone synchronized to Facebook.  All of them would go directly to fb and I could choose those to download to my laptop to write the blog.  Now Facebook has done away with that feature.  They have started a new App called Moments.  So far I have not found it compatible to the laptop, only the phones.  They seem to want you to share your pictures with everyone else.  That’s really not what I do.  So I’ve had to find a new cloud for storage.   That has been completed, and now I am moving forward again.  My phone is not quite a year old and it seems it ran out of storage already.  You mean 2550 pictures + is too many?…..lol….I guess…..I went to see about an internal memory card.   Well Samsung 6 doesn’t have one…..Darn…..So I have had to  download remove at least half my photos in the phone.  So now I think I have it figured out…..Its 2 steps forward and 1 step back….lol….That’s just the way it is.

In this blog I am just going to cover some of the things briefly that have been going on.  First we have started a Garden Club.

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We only have five members.  lol  Pretty small.  We decided our first challenge was to spruce us our entrance.  It is full of Aloe and Mother in Laws tongue.

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Very uninviting.  We wanted to completely redo it with plants that would flower and have different textures.  Now how does one raise money?……Have a Plant sale….lol…The girls drove through the park and found lots of plant starts that people wanted to get rid of.  They found old pots from people, used tin cans and milk cartons to repot in.  We advertised, we would take any pots or items that people were getting rid of.   We received more plants and pots.  We also made some mosaic blocks for the garden.   We scarfed up cement stepping stones from everywhere,  and also found some broken ones.   lol….We made many of the blocks.  The girls are now pros at mosaic work.  Finally we held our plant sale on two different

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Saturdays during the Jam.  That would help bring in people.  We set up by the office so we were in great site of everyone.   All in all we did great.  We made over $250.  That was amazing.  Today several of us went to Grimsells, the Garden Center and we’ve come up with a plan of flowering plants.  Now just submit it to Debbie and get her blessings and away we go.  Now we feel good about presenting the owner with our plan and ask for the balance that we may need.

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This sign will be moved also as it is a blind spot as we leave the park.  Their is a bicycle path, right by the street, following the length of the park.  Soon this should be transformed.

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One day we were all going to go to Boca Chica Beach at Brownsville to collect shells.  Alice and I couldn’t go till late morning.  The others left early trying to beat the tide.  Low tide was around 5 am.  Well we didn’t meet up like we planned, but it was a beautiful day.

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The sound of the waves crashing to the shore and the feel of the sea breezes whipping across your face and hair are just indescribable. So beautiful.  The beach is so untouched by the real world.  When vehicles drive over it, it doesn’t take long for the tracks to disappear due to the raising tide.

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The sea gulls are flying around, and here and their you see the lone fisherman.

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One night I went to the grocery store and found this little gem sitting in the parking lot.

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I thought it was really pretty neat.

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We had a Ladies Day luncheon.  Some wonderful food, and wonderful decorations.

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So much food.  What great cooks they all are.

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Their was so much food, we could have feed another fifty people.  These were the decorations hanging from the ceiling and the fans.  The girls made them.

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I’m saving them for Easter for table centerpieces.  To pretty to not use again.

We also hosted a Super Bowl Party.  We served Wings, smokies, Nachos and Cheese, veggie tray, Shrimp and Cheese Ball.  Everyone brought a snack to pass.  It was Great, more and more food.

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20160207_165711My Cheese ball….Pinterest is so full of ideas.

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We had prize giveaways and a Kindle for the Grand Prize giveaway at half time.

Next on the agenda is our Woodcarvers show here in Harlingen.  This year I haven’t done any woodcarving.  My friend Cici entered for her first time this year.

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She received a First Place, a Blue Ribbon……She was so excited.  Her Dolphin is beautiful.

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This was the table of our club. We have lost several members this year.  Some real talent.  These Hummingbirds were carved several years ago as a club project.

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This year this project won a 3rd, but also won Peoples Choice.    All of our parks carving members had something in this project.  Notice the hunter by the tree.  The dogs have the raccoons cornered in the tree.  ……lol…..Peoples choice is an honor.  These group projects are all on display in our north hall.

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Now my last piece is about a couple who has become good friends.  Gail and Dewey have been together for several years now.  Gail has been coming to the park for around 20 years with her husband.  Dewey had been coming over 15 years.  Gails husband died 5 years ago, and Dewey and his wife divorced.  They had been friends for years but they finally got together as a couple and are so happy together.

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Gail is so sweet. She plays pool with the lady’s.  Dewey plays with the men.  They have decided to move back to Missouri near her kids and grandkids.  They were so excited to begin their new adventure together.  Gail put her trailor on the market and it sold really fast, so they left last week.  We will so miss them.

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This year when we first got here, Gail had fallen and broke her arm.  She had a lot of fun with her cast.  Her daughter had sent her some stickers and she had us all autograph it. She couldn’t play pool till recently, but she still came and gave everyone moral support and visited.  ……..Good Luck Gail and Dewey……..I told them…Their the lucky ones, most people leave here in a box…..lol…They are heading for a new……” NEW ADVENTURE.”….Miss you both…..