Friday fun

Friday was our 4th anniversary, and we enjoyed several things...

We went to pool "noodle" exercise (using pool noodles for strengthening in the water) as well as a water aerobics class.

For lunch, we took our friend, Laura, out to the China City Buffet.

Over lunch, we talked about a project that she is involved with in the park - making mats for the homeless by weaving the mats out of plastic shopping bags. I had thought I might join this group -- they crochet, macrame, or weave the mats. Laura had 3 woven ones that she had completed -- this is a picture one of them rolled up that she has also tied with a "rope" also made of shopping bags. She creatively used bags from different stores to create a pattern! I'm still planning to go to one of their meetings, but it could be that the space required for making the mats is more than we have easily available in Gracie.

There was a "Thank Goodness I'm Retired" (TGIR) party in the Bistro...

... with music and dancing...

... many people turned out.

Tom and Cheryl, two of the folks on the Entertainment Committee in the park, were celebrating their 7th anniversary. They always have matching, "interesting" outfits!

Later in the evening, there was the Friday Night Dance in the Ballroom. The band was Thaddeus Rose, and we enjoyed them a lot -- playing quite a variety of music styles. The dance was sold out and a lot of folks were enjoying dancing!

Carl had wondered before we came this season if there would be enough live music options to satisfy him. When he and Sue were at Val Vista Villages a few years ago, the Villages had 10 live music events a week -- varying afternoons and evenings. The music events were free, but you had to pay for drinks and snacks (he thinks that you could bring a bottle of water, but that was it). Here at Venture Out, the main "organized" music event is the Friday Night Dance each week, with a live band, $10/person for tickets, but there are other options through the week -- TGIR on some Fridays (it alternates with a Trivia contest and Karaoke), Musical Jams (musicians in the park or from the area come together to jam together), Music on the Terrace (also musicians from the park coming together to jam together), and other events for special occasions (Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day, Leap Day). Some of them have a ticket required, many are free; to all you can bring your own snacks and drinks. Sometimes snacks and non-alcoholic drinks area available for a reasonable fee ($1 each) - but you can still bring your own. So, Carl is finding that the music options here at Venture Out are plenty sufficient for his wishes!

We had a very nice anniversary celebration!