RIDERS CLUB

by Bob Frazee

In mid-July, club members Robert & Terry Hopkins and Bob Frazee, along with 3 other individuals, left on a motorcycle adventure to the Canadian Maritimes. Since most of us were departing from different points, we decided to meet up in Bar Harbor, Maine. After a trip of 2 to 4 days we all made it to Bar Harbor. We then took the ferry to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. After spending the night in Yarmouth, we rode along the eastern coast of Nova Scotia to Halifax, NS where we spent a couple days sightseeing. We visited the Citadel Army Fort

Our next stop was Cape Breton, New Brunswick, where we spent 2 days exploring the Cabot Trail, and the Cape Breton Highlands National Forest. The Cabot Trail is considered one of the top ten motorcycle rides in North America, and it didn’t disappoint us; except for the weather which was mostly cloudy with some light rain for part of the day.

After leaving Cape Breton, we rode to Caribou, NB and picked up another ferry, which took us to Prince Edward Island. From the ferry dock in Wood Islands, PEI a 90-minute ride got us to Charlottetown, PEI, where we stopped for lunch. Robert and Terry decided to spend a couple more days exploring PEI. The rest of us continued west across PEI and took the bridge back to Port Elgin, NB, where we spent the night.

At this point, the weather was threatening to take a turn for the worse, so the plans to go to Newfoundland were scrapped and it was decided to start the trip home. The next couple days got a little tricky as a series of storms was crossing our path SW back to the US. We did manage to avoid the worst of the storms back to St John, NB and then on to Calais, ME the next day, although we did get caught in a few showers. From Calais, we continued SW through Maine and stopped in Gorham, NH for the night.

From Gorham, the next leg took us through the mountains in NH and VT. Then a ferry ride across Lake Champlain into NY and into the Adirondack Mts to Lake Placid. After a night in Lake Placid, we headed back to central NY, where we each went our separate ways.

by Julie Creamer, President

What a great summer at Ladies Beach Club! With the launch of many new Special Interest Groups (SIG), we stayed connected and entertained! We played plenty of Mah Jongg this summer by adding play on five Thursdays in addition to our Monday sessions! We played Retro Mah Jongg three times using first the 1965 National Mah Jongg League card followed by the 1979 card. Both cards were very different from what we are accustomed. We also invited the Mah Jongg players from the Woman’s Club downtown when they were closed for two weeks. It was great fun!

The Around Town special interest group met three times during the summer, led by Beverly Burchard. We attended two productions at the Earlybird Dinner Theater on Ulmerton Road and went on a Starlite Dinner Cruise.

We are looking forward to more exciting SIGs starting this fall! Patsy Warmack, our SIG Ambassador, is coordinating book clubs, creative groups, and looking for ideas!

Cyndi Deermount has planned an exciting year of programs for us. Starting in September we will step back in time when St. Pete celebrated the “Festival of States”. It was to mark the end of winter and to encourage SnowBirds to stay longer. Residents were organized by their home state - we will recreate the festival and encourage members to sit at the table marked with their birth state.

by Rich Treinen

AWing Shooter tagged Two Way introduced us to a new shooting venue. Wednesday evenings, at the Skyway Trap & Skeet Club, is Annie Oakley night. It’s a game very similar to knock out on a basketball court. However it’s played on a trap range with shotguns. The players line up in an arc 27 yards behind the machine that throws the target. Starting at the left, three are players designated to shoot, in order, at a target. If shooter 1 misses, shooter 2 takes a shot and if shooter 2 misses, shooter 3 tries. A mark is recorded if you miss and one of the following shooters breaks the target. If it’s the 3rd shooter, shooters 1 and 2 both get a mark. If all 3 miss, no marks are received. On the next target, positions 2, 3 and 4 are the shooters. There is one other important rule. If a shooter ahead of you breaks the target and you shoot anyway, you earn another mark. When you earn a mark, you move to the end of the line. A player is knocked out of the game with a 4th mark. The game continues until only one shooter remains. This game is very challenging, loaded with friendly yet unwelcome criticism and is an absolute blast.

So who was Annie Oakley? She was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. At Skyway there is a modern day Annie Oakley. When Ashley shows up on Wednesday evening all the male shooters get noticeably nervous.