Lake Wales, FL – Mar 2023

Wow – what an amazing month it was.  The culmination of over a year in planning, Saddlebag Lake Resort community celebrated its 50th anniversary.  And what a week-long party it was!  More on that to follow. I also spent some time with family, and got my left eye shot with a laser.  All in all, a pretty good month!  So lets get into the details.

Saddlebag 50th Anniversary

It was a week-long party like no other.  The planning started a year ago with the 50th Anniversary Committee (which I found myself a part of about mid way), that set up all the events, lined up the entertainment, and rallied all the various clubs to participate in their own way.  Decorations were bought and hung, 50th merchandise was made and sold, practice sessions for the various shows and events were held, and the community buzz was set.  The weather was picture perfect for sunny central Florida for the entire week, with moderate to warm temps, low humidity, and absolutely no rain to be found.  It could not have been any better.

The event week started off with a group of three residents jumping out of an airplane and landing in the golf range in the community near the lake.  Each had large flags flown behind them, along with smoke streamers attached to their feet.  It was a perfect jump followed by a perfect landing right in the middle of the field.  One of the resident jumpers who goes by the FB name of Baglock Palmer did a great entertaining video highlighting the jump from his perspective.  It’s just over five minutes long, and can be viewed HERE.  Later in the afternoon was the antique car and speciality golf cart show.  There were lots of nice classic cars present, as well as a host of interesting looking golf carts – including those pictured here at right bottom.  It was a great show with lots of attendance.

Next up was a 4-hour afternoon setup of the history of Saddlebag.  The community historian Jean Pray has done a fantastic job of creating chronologies of the community history, and presenting it in a way that is very interesting and easy to follow.  Community pioneers (those that owned here since the beginning) Barry and Wendy Parker were also present to share their vast knowledge and experience going back many decades.  I spent several months updating the community history video slideshow making the titling consistent, adding picture transitions and a background music soundtrack, and bringing it up to current from about 2005.  That video was running in a continuous loop on a TV in the hall hosting the history event, and was watched by many folks and was very well received.  If you are interested in the community history, check out the  video slideshow below.

Then each day of the week there were various activities, social gatherings, and food.  For example, a group of pontoon boat captains setup a schedule for afternoon tours of the lake.  Hundreds of folks signed up and participated – some of which was their first time actually being on the lake.  The ride included lake history, lake conservation efforts, and fish population activities.  Also, each of the various clubs held events.  For example, the shuffleboard club had a shoot out competition, the fishing club had a fishing tournament, the golf club had various longest drive, closest to the pin, and putting challenges, and the list went on.  So many activities to choose from.

Oh, and did I mention food?  There was coffee and donuts one day, brisket lunch another day, hot dog social on another, pulled pork sandwiches another, and the list goes on.  All of that, coupled with social gatherings at various places like the club house, pool side, or at the beach pavilion, rounded out the seemingly never ending activities throughout the week.

And at each days social gathering, there was live music provided by a variety of groups – some of which are even residents of the community, while others were brought in from the outside.  There were dances, pool parties, a wonderful kitchen band show, and some just plain old sitting in the shade events enjoying the live music.  It is absolutely amazing just how much fun you can pack into a week long celebration.  Hats off to the 50th committee for organizing and pulling off an absolutely amazing week-long event, and to all the clubs for their share of the entertainment.

The week ended with two performances of a show titled the Spirit of Saddlebag.  Kathy Ruf, a winter resident, has a background in music and choreography, and was asked by the committee to produce a show that would demonstrate the strength, resiliency, and just plain old fun that is present in Saddlebag.  She of course took on the challenge, and created a spectacular show like no other.  This was to be a multimedia show, with both live action and video components, along with a collection of various music.  Kathy enlisted me to work with her on the show to produce the videos and organize the music, and to run those during the show.  It was a ton of work but oh so enjoyable and rewarding.  I have to admit, I mostly just followed her show outline, inserting various videos and music at key points during the show.  It wasn’t until it all came together that I saw the vision she had long before me.  She truly has a talent for this sort of thing, and the end result was an amazing show.  We video recorded both the morning and afternoon shows so that I could then produce a final video of the event to share with those unable to attend.  If you’ve got the time, about 54 minutes worth, to watch the show, I’m confident you will enjoy it.  So, here it is for your viewing pleasure.

Fun Day

And if all of that activity wasn’t enough, a week later the community celebrated Fun Day.  Not held for the past several years due to the pandemic, this event goes back many decades.  After the 1981 clubhouse expansion there was a men’s club sponsored chicken BBQ.  Then in 1982, an event was held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the community.  Many residents commented that those were “Fun Days” – and thus was born the annual event that started in 1983 known as Fun Day.  Not taking the 50th celebration into account, Fun Day represents the annual big event for the community with a huge morning parade, followed by lunch and entertainment under the oaks (an area of the community with lots of oak trees, plenty of picnic tables, and an amphitheater stage for entertainment).  Each year Fun Day is assigned a theme, and this year was the 60s.  The parade featured groups dressed up in theme appropriate garments, floats created to also represent the common theme, as well as Grand Marshals – a resident team selected based on their overall contribution to the community.  This year Mike and Nancy Kabasinski were selected for their many years of service managing the Citizens Assisted Patrol (CAP) program here in the community.  I had seen videos of previous Fun Day events, but this was my first opportunity to see one live.  And boy, it did not disappoint!  It was an amazing event, and the creativity among our residents to come up with the dress and floats was truly fantastic.

I was fortunate that the parade route would take it right past my front yard.  So, I sat out there and video recorded the parade as it went by.  From that, I created this short video of the parade just to show you all just how creative and committed these folks are.  Spoiler Alert – The Michigan group entry featuring Sitcoms from the 60s won best of show.  It really was well done and deserving of the win!

Friends and Family

I had the pleasure of enjoying get together lunch and spending the afternoon at my cousin Louise’s place in Palm Bay.  Also present was  my other cousin Denise, and my four brothers and their significant others.  Also joining us from the west coast of Florida were my aunts and uncles Marge and Ray, and Evelyn and George.  It had been a few years since I’d last seen them, and it was a lot of fun catching up.  We had a wonderful historical family favorite meal “Beef à la Mode” – which is a French variation to an American traditional pot roast.  It was cooked to perfection and tasted much like mom used to make.  Thanks Louise and Denise for a terrific lunch and get together!

Next, I got to spend a few days with my brother Gerry.  He was kind enough to come out to be my designated driver for when I had eye laser surgery.  For whatever reason, I neglected to get a single picture of him or us while he was here.  I just brain farted and totally forgot – sorry about that.  But we had a great time having a few great meals including a visit to Woodys BBQ, First Watch for after surgery brunch (I was starving as I had to not eat after midnight due to the anesthesia), followed by dinner at one of my favorite places in historic downtown Lake Wales at a place called Wales Point.  Also, on Wed and Thu evening, we enjoyed the absolutely perfect evening weather to sit around the campfire partaking in some adult beverages along the way.  As for the surgery, early indications are that it appears to have been successful.  From all the trauma this eye has endured for several years since the original issue, it developed glaucoma – which is a high fluid eye pressure situation.  That’s not good for the long term health of the eye.  Before the procedure, I was measuring mid to high 20s of pressure, and the day after the surgery, it was down to 13 – which is a significant improvement, and more in line for where it should be.  So, for now, I’m calling this a success.  But like all things, long term success remains to be seen.

Travel Plans 2023

Drum Roll Please … I have finally completed all my trip planning for the 2023 season.  And wow, is it gonna be an epic year.  I had originally intended to continue my westward progression, spending time in AZ, UT, then up to MT, ID then finishing in NV.  However, I’m celebrating my 50th anniversary of graduation from elementary school (yes, elementary school and NOT high school).  I went to the same elementary school from 1st thru 8th grade, and mostly with the same neighborhood kids.  So, we all became very close over those many years, and have mostly remained in touch through today.  So, a few of us planned out a get together weekend with dinner, golf, happy hour social, and goodbye breakfast for the first weekend in Oct.  So, I need to be in NH for that event.  Since I’m heading all that way there, and it’s my hometown where I grew up and have lots of friends and family, it only made sense to spend a couple of weeks there to reconnect with folks.  Then, as I head south to get back to Florida for the winter, I’ll be passing through MD where my daughters and grandkids are located, so I want to spend some time with them as well.  So, to make this all happen, I needed to limit my western visits to mostly Arizona and Utah for this year, then I’ll work my way east through WY, NE, IA, IL, OH, and NY on my way to NH.  Overall, this years trip is going to be quite the adventure spanning 216 days (7 months), with 44 stops, covering 7,500 miles.  I’ll be visiting lots of friends and family along the way, and will visit a dozen national parks – most for the very first time.  This will include the Petrified Forest, both the North and South rims of the Grand Canyon, as well as Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks.  I’ll also be spending a week playing around in Lake Powell (assuming they still have water there), and will get a second chance to get a tour of the NCAR center in Cheyenne, WY.  Lastly, I’ll be spending a week at one of my favorite campgrounds located on Grand Island, NY, and will eat at one of my favorite restaurants, Dick & Jennys,  located therein.  So, there you have it.  The route is all plotted out, all the campgrounds have been selected, and reservations have been secured for the entire trip.  So, in roughly two weeks I’ll be heading out to get the party started.  I’ve still got lots of things to shore up here at the home base, and some maintenance on the truck and RV to finalize before my departure.  I need to make quick progress on those tasks so that I can get out of here on schedule.

Final Thoughts

Well, as noted earlier, this will be my last edition form here at the home base in Lake Wales FL.  My next edition will be when I’m back on the road, back to my full time travel, and reporting on my various adventures.  I’ll spend the next couple of weeks wrapping up things here, securing all my yard items in the shed, driving my car to my brothers house who has graciously offered me his garage for summer storage, setting up my leave-behind Internet access and security camera, finishing up the maintenance on the vehicles, then hooking up and taking off for my next 7 month trip.  To say the winter flew by would be an absolute understatement.  I really feel like I just recently got here, and now it’s time to leave again.  I guess that’s what retirement living is all about.  But in any event, I’m certainly having the time of my life, and enjoying every minute of it.  I look forward to spending time in AZ and UT, then darting across the country over to the east coast, spending time with friends and family there, then ultimately heading back south to ride out another winter here at the home base.  Then in 2024 and subsequent years, wash and repeat.  What a life!  Anyway, I hope all of you are doing well, and I’ll catch you on the flip side.  Be well and safe travels to all!

I only show a sampling of my adventure pictures here in the blog, and do so mostly in collage format for brevity and ease of reading. If you want to view an album containing individual full fidelity and hi-res images of all my travel pictures related to this specific blog, click the image below. Enjoy!