Merry Christmas to All!

Our home for the winter is Elite Resorts at Citrus Valley in Clermont, FL, only 4 miles from our location last year. You may remember that we mentioned it in an earlier blog this year when we were scoping out the place. Paul, Anne, and Scott had gone with us, and we had selected 3 spots near each other. (Of course Scott had to cancel his reservation since he’d be staying in NC to battle his cancer.) Paul and Anne arrived a couple weeks before us and were happy to see us upon our arrival.

After Bill and Terri left on the 1st, I helped decorate the clubhouse, and then it was time to put up our Christmas decorations. The weather has fluctuated greatly since we arrived, some days in the low 80s, some days in the high 40s. One night after our decorations were up, the cool air outside and the warm air inside produced a fog on the window creating a nice wintry effect.
This resort has a number of activities with even more to come after the first of the year when the remainder of the snowbirds arrive. One activity is every Fri. night at 6 it's happy hour (BYOB) followed by gator races at 7pm. What are gator races you ask? Well, there are 6 plastic gators on a table each numbered 1 – 6, and bets at 25 cents each are placed on the gator you think will win the race. Two large die are thrown, and if for instance a 3 and a 5 appear, then gator 3 and gator 5 are moved up one space until one of them reaches the finish line. The pot is divided among those who had the winning gator so depending on how many bets were placed and how many have the winner determines how much you win. I won $1 the first race, but our friend, Ed, was the only one with the winning gator on the last race and won $15.70!

On Dec. 13 a Toys For Tots event was held here, and everyone was to bring a new, unwrapped toy and a dish to share while the resort provided 6 foot long sub sandwiches. The turnout was beyond expectations with plenty of food and loads of toys under the tree including 3 bicycles! Florida’s version of Mr. and Mrs. Claus were in attendance (Santa was in shorts), and the local fire dept. brought their hook and ladder to transport all the gifts. When it came time to load, everyone in attendance formed two lines facing each other, and we passed the gifts from the tree to the truck…what fun! As a special surprise ladder rides were provided to all who wanted. What a treat not only for the grandkids in attendance but several adults also took a ride. I had planned on going but when I went back outside after the 50/50 drawing was announced, the ladder had a glitch and they had to stop giving rides, but I hear the view was spectacular.











The following Sat. afternoon a craft fair was held in the clubhouse. I took my hand painted ceramic ornaments as well as some other none craft items but they were things we’ve had in storage that we thought might make nice last minute gifts. I was pleasantly surprised that there were 8 other vendors besides me but there was basically no advertisement for it, so customers were minimal. However I did sell a pewter snowman tray for $3 so it wasn’t a total loss.

Other than that Russ has been playing golf once a week with a group who call themselves the Travel Golf Club. They play on a different course around the area each week and right now there are about 50 in the group but it’s supposed to grow to about 100 after the first of the year. I’ve participated in the power walking class a couple times and plan to do more after the holidays including joining the water aerobics class (the pool is supposed to be heated!)

We haven’t been to the parks much this month mainly because of the huge crowds, but Russ and I did see Chita Rivera narrate the Candlelight Processional a couple weeks ago. She was as wonderful as last year and sang along with most of the songs. And after the crafts fair, Russ wasn’t feeling well so I went by myself to see Whoopi Goldberg narrating the Processional. Me and everybody else in the world it seemed! The standby line was longer than I’d ever seen, and knowing I’d never get a seat for the 5pm show, I staked out a spot behind the ropes at the very back of the pavilion. You can still see and hear but not quite as good. Whoopi did an excellent job for her first time and was obviously a huge draw.

And what better time to see the narration of the nativity story than on Christmas Eve. Russ and I joined the crowds for the Candlelight Processional last night, just missing being seated for the 6:45 performance but being first in line for the 8:15 showing. Our seats were right on the center aisle about halfway back, just behind the reserved seating…perfect (except I didn't have my camera). Guest narrator was award winning actor Edward James Olmos, who did an excellent job…very moving and he even sang along. He dedicated what he called “the greatest story ever told” to our troops and to the Disney family, as he was a close friend of Roy Disney who passed away last week. We concluded the evening by watching the special holiday fireworks and enjoyed a leisurely walk back to the car. A lovely end to a wonderful evening.

Hope your holidays have been merry and bright, full of wonder and delight!