Hello Fellow Gators!

Our Pontoon Boat Event was a lot of fun. We had a great time partying on the boat and viewing the beautiful sights along the Intracoastal. Thanks go to Lisa Smelcher for organizing it and to Chris Laux for driving.

Please join us at PopStroke Mini Golf on Saturday, April 11th.

Please put our Membership Picnic on Sunday, May 17th on your calendars. It will be at the Carlin Park Beach Pavilion.

Lisa Smelcher is leading a weekend event at Manatee Landing near Weeki Wachee on June 12-14. We will stay on the river and kayak plus join in an optional pontoon boat ride on Saturday. Please contact Lisa for more information or to sign up.

Join us on our 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.

We have several exciting major trips on our docket:

· Vienna to Budapest Bike and Barge on July 25-31, 2026 (space for a single male or a single female)

· Budapest to Vienna Bike and Barge on July 28-August 8, 2026 (space available)

· Budapest to Vienna Bike and Barge (Boat-Only) August 1-8, 2026 (space available)

· South Africa and Victoria Falls Tour on September 8-22, 2026 (wait list)

· Nashville Margaritaville Hotel Fall Getaway on October 11-16, 2026 (space available)

We have some local Special Activities events that are mentioned elsewhere in this blast and are posted on our website:

· PopStroke Mini Golf Event on Saturday, April 11th.

· Snorkeling at Phil Foster Park on Wednesday, May 6th at 10:00 AM

· Weekend at Manatee Landing on June 12-14, 2026

We also have some Social events on our calendar:

· Happy hour this Friday at Bonefish Grill

· Membership Picnic at Carlin Park Beach Pavilion on Sunday, May 17th

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