Hello Fellow Gators!
We wish everyone and their families a joyful holiday season. We are looking forward to a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
We have an exciting new “Music City” fall getaway trip to Nashville, staying at the Margaritaville Hotel downtown on October 11-16, 2026. For a price of only $1,290, double occupancy, you can enjoy the Jimmy Buffet “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere” ambience at the Margaritaville. We will be only 2 blocks from Nashville’s iconic Broadway, where you can experience the country music scene, bars, restaurants, honky tonks, distilleries, historical sites, and much more. It is also fall leaf viewing season and you can visit nearby parks to view them. The trip includes a club happy hour and a club dinner.
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.
Please join us on Saturday, January 3rd for our next Full Moon Dinner on the Beach. Please contact VP of Socials Lisa Smelcher for details.
We have several exciting major trips on our docket:
- Vienna to Budapest Bike and Barge on July 25-31, 2026 (sold out)
- 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
- Nashville Margaritaville Hotel Fall Getaway on October 11-16, 2026
We have some local Special Activities events 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
· Surf Fishing event at the beach in February
We also have some Social events on our calendar:
· Happy hour this Friday at Asian Fin
- 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 Cook-off in North Palm Beach on Saturday, January 26th. We will be entering the chili cook-off. 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
