Hello Fellow Gators!
The Gators had a wonderful time watching the Holiday Boat Parade at Juno Park. We shared delicious potluck food in the afternoon. In the evening, we enjoyed watching a spectacular array of festively decorated boats cruise by. Everyone had a lot of fun!
Our Holiday Dinner is now on sale. Please join us at this wonderful annual tradition this Saturday evening. We are having a DJ with music at the event and dancing afterwards! We will hold a raffle at the event with prizes!!! The grand prize is a week's stay at the first floor two-bedroom apartment in a beautiful, renovated mountain home in North Carolina! Thank you, Estela Basso, for the donation! Raffle tickets will be on sale at the event. You must attend to purchase tickets.
We are offering an affordable new option for a boat-only trip (without an extension) for the Vienna to Budapest Bike and Barge at a low price of $3.995.
We have several exciting major trips on our docket that are mentioned elsewhere in this blast and are posted on our website:
- Vienna to Budapest Bike and Barge on July 25-31, 2026
- Budapest to Vienna Bike and Barge on July 28-August 8, 2026
- Budapest to Vienna Bike and Barge (Boat-Only) August 1-8, 2026
- South Africa and Victoria Falls Tour on September 8-22, 2026
We have some local Special Activities event that are mentioned elsewhere in this blast and are posted on our website:
· Bike Ride at Grassy Waters Preserve on January 10th led by Kevin Dickenson
· Lake Okeechobee Camping and Biking Weekend on February 20-22, 2026
Some other events I am working on include:
· PopStroke Mini Golf in West Palm Beach when the weather gets cooler.
We also have some Social events on our calendar:
· Happy hour this Friday at Waterway Café
- Holiday Dinner on Saturday, December 13th at Grande’s Bella Cucina
- Full Moon Dinner at the Beach on Saturday, January 3rd
- Pinball Event at Pinball Dudes in Jupiter followed by lunch at Jumby Bay in Abacoa on Saturday, January 17th.
- The Gators will have a booth at the Hot Cars & Chili Cookoff in North Palm Beach on Saturday, January 26th. We will be entering the chili cookoff. We need volunteers for our team. Please contact Lisa Smelcher for details.
Please join us at our happy hours. You can meet other members and make new friends or reconnect with old ones! I would like to thank Letti Falko, Lorain Lyon and Ben Smith for their ongoing help as Gator Happy Hour Ambassadors.
I will continue to plan our weekly Friday night happy hours. Our VP of Socials, Lisa Smelcher, will be organizing some occasional Saturday happy hours.
I am looking forward to seeing you at some of our events and meeting our new members.
Thank you,
Sharon Long
VP of Special Activities
Mobile: (561) 768-6365
wmarussich@comcast.net
