Prior to Greg beginning his vacation Bill & Jane made a day trip with John & Carol Schiltz to Venice Beach, Florida which is about two hours south of Zephyrhills right on the Gulf of Mexico. The beach there was absolutely gorgeous.
A planned tour on "Just Ducky" (a combination land and water tour of Venice in a retro-fitted WWII landing craft) was foiled when we pulled into the parking lot only to see "the Duck" pulling out of the back driveway and starting the tour early - with a full boat! Oh well, Jane and Carol shopped as John and Bill sipped the fine brews of local establishments. It was fun day capped off with supper at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Wesley Chapel.
Greg arrived in Florida after flying from Buffalo, NY on Wednesday, March 12 and stayed with Bill & Jane at Forest Lakes for one week. The first day he was kind of tired and spent time sunbathing by the pool,
Greg arrived in Florida after flying from Buffalo, NY on Wednesday, March 12 and stayed with Bill & Jane at Forest Lakes for one week. The first day he was kind of tired and spent time sunbathing by the pool,
then he, Bill & Jane went to the Moose Club for chicken wing nite. That evening they played round-robin shuffleboard and Greg was soundly defeated. Welcome to Florida! 
Thursday the trio went to Busch Gardens in Tampa for the day. Greg and Bill were determined to ride every coaster in the park - and they did!
The two top rides were Sheikra, which goes up 200 feet then drops straight down at 90 degrees on the first hill. The other is Montu - rated among the top six coasters in the country. You are upside down for a good portion of the ride as you rocket thru seven major inversions. 
Thursday the trio went to Busch Gardens in Tampa for the day. Greg and Bill were determined to ride every coaster in the park - and they did!
The two top rides were Sheikra, which goes up 200 feet then drops straight down at 90 degrees on the first hill. The other is Montu - rated among the top six coasters in the country. You are upside down for a good portion of the ride as you rocket thru seven major inversions. 
Both coasters are floorless and were quite a thrill! Bill, Jane and Greg got to see Herman's Hermits in live concert while there. The show was awesome with lead singer Peter Noone
singing "There's A Kind Of Hush", "I'm Into Something Good", "Leaning On A Lamp Post", "Saturday's Child", "No Milk Today", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "East-West" and many other of their hits. People were cheering and waving British flags and it was like being back in the sixties - at least for Jane and Bill. They also got to see "Irish Thunder"
perform on stage in the Budweiser Beerhall. They are a singing and dancing troupe performing Irish classics before a packed house. Oldies but goodies were sung at another venue titled "Wop a Dappa Doobob" similiar to Sha-Na-Na.
Of course wild animals abounded on the Serengeti including Asian elephants, rhinos, meerkats, zebras, giraffes and alligators. Free beer from the hospitality house and a final look at the Clydesdale horses 
capped a very busy day. 
Friday our trio hooked up with John & Carol Schiltz
to experience Wild Bill's Airboat Ride 
in Inverness, Fla. 
It's a real airboat zooming up and down the Withlacoochee River in search of wildlife and upclose viewing of alligators in their natural environment. The adventurers actually got glimpes of three gators 
but Jane, Bill & Greg got soaked as they made the mistake of sitting in front of the boat driven by a frustrated NASCAR wanna' be. Oh well, you dry out quick in Florida. 
They had an interesting lunch at an Inverness diner called "The Cockadoodle Cafe" featuring mostly, of course, chicken. That night they dined at Winners Sports Bar in Wesley Chapel and watched the Sabres lose to Toronto.
Saturday started with a trip to Tampa and a tour of the Florida Aquarium. You have never seen so many sharks,
stingrays, blowfish, turtles and eels in your life - 
and they even have penguins 
who perform a walk (or waddle?) right in front of the crowd. A large cruiseship was parked right next to the aquarium in Tampa Harbor waiting for its' next cruise. 
Saturday started with a trip to Tampa and a tour of the Florida Aquarium. You have never seen so many sharks,
stingrays, blowfish, turtles and eels in your life - 
and they even have penguins 
who perform a walk (or waddle?) right in front of the crowd. A large cruiseship was parked right next to the aquarium in Tampa Harbor waiting for its' next cruise. 
The trio jumped aboard a trolley 
following the tour and scooted off to Ybor City -
a section of Tampa like Armory Square only bigger and wilder. They had lunch at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company 
including some awesome home-made brews such as elephants foot ale. 
Rain cut the visit to Ybor City short and our trio returned to Forest Lakes to watch March Madness.
Easter Sunday started with a packed Mass at St. Joseph's Church in Zephyrhills. Following that Greg and Bill traveled to Lakeland to watch the Detroit Tigers play the Cleveland Indians. It was a great game that ended in a 3-3 tie after ten innings. Next year the Indians are moving to Arizona for spring training - must be too much sun in Florida. That evening Jane cooked an awesome Easter steak dinner with Dick & Judy Hagle as their guests. The night was topped off with a game of Phase 10 which Jane won - again.
Monday started with a trip to Webster and the largest flea market in Central Florida. Greg was amazed at the variety of merchandise available and the prices which are so low for most everything. Jane found a jewelry wholesaler who unfortunately fed her growing appetite for pretty trinkets. Our trio left there each carrying several bags of "must haves". That afternoon Jane & Greg went to Bealls, a Florida discount chain featuring summer clothing. Jane had a 20% off card as well as Monday being "senior 15% off" day, so Greg ended up with most of his summer wardrobe at a tremendous bargain.
Tuesday started with more lounge time at Forest Lakes poolside. The water stays between 80 and 84 degrees even with cooler nights - thanks to the miracle of propane. Greg invented a new shuffleboard game featuring 12 pucks so that three shufflers can play at once. Strange alliances were formed to battle whoever was in the lead - if the inventor of shuffleboard knew what was going on he'd roll over in his grave. That evening Bill, Jane, Greg, John & Carol all went to their favorite Mexican restaurant in Wesley Chapel for another awesome meal. Following that the men went to Winners Sports Bar to watch Syracuse blow a 22 point lead to Umass and get kicked out of the NIT - and also to watch the Sabres blow a 3-1 lead to Ottawa and lose 6-3. That's the end of both teams season - we are not returning to this bar again.
Wednesday Greg packed up all his stuff and flew back to sunny Buffalo and the real world. The temperature was only about 50 degrees cooler upon arrival. It was an awesome and fun week which required considerable recuperation time for Bill & Jane.
LAZYDAYS
On Thursday Bill & Jane teamed up with John & Carol Schiltz to visit Lazydays RV Extravaganza near Tampa. This place is nothing short of amazing. First there is a large campground for people trying out their new RV's, or waiting for service, or just passing through. The campground is expansive and was filled with every RV out there. Next there is the service department - featuring 200 available bays - which was booked up completely when we visited. Then there is the sales department, which is broken down by makes into their own separate sections. There are 1600 class A coaches to pick from - it would take two weeks just to look inside them all. A large Camping World store is also on site and guess what - they have a free lunch for anyone who wants to stop in and help themselves at the massive cafeteria located in the main building. The grounds are all immaculate and punctuated with large southern oaks, beautiful flowers and shrubbery that would make Pam Hachey proud. Anyone who likes camping should visit Lazydays at least once in their lifetime.
following the tour and scooted off to Ybor City -
a section of Tampa like Armory Square only bigger and wilder. They had lunch at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company 
including some awesome home-made brews such as elephants foot ale. 
Rain cut the visit to Ybor City short and our trio returned to Forest Lakes to watch March Madness.Easter Sunday started with a packed Mass at St. Joseph's Church in Zephyrhills. Following that Greg and Bill traveled to Lakeland to watch the Detroit Tigers play the Cleveland Indians. It was a great game that ended in a 3-3 tie after ten innings. Next year the Indians are moving to Arizona for spring training - must be too much sun in Florida. That evening Jane cooked an awesome Easter steak dinner with Dick & Judy Hagle as their guests. The night was topped off with a game of Phase 10 which Jane won - again.
Monday started with a trip to Webster and the largest flea market in Central Florida. Greg was amazed at the variety of merchandise available and the prices which are so low for most everything. Jane found a jewelry wholesaler who unfortunately fed her growing appetite for pretty trinkets. Our trio left there each carrying several bags of "must haves". That afternoon Jane & Greg went to Bealls, a Florida discount chain featuring summer clothing. Jane had a 20% off card as well as Monday being "senior 15% off" day, so Greg ended up with most of his summer wardrobe at a tremendous bargain.
Tuesday started with more lounge time at Forest Lakes poolside. The water stays between 80 and 84 degrees even with cooler nights - thanks to the miracle of propane. Greg invented a new shuffleboard game featuring 12 pucks so that three shufflers can play at once. Strange alliances were formed to battle whoever was in the lead - if the inventor of shuffleboard knew what was going on he'd roll over in his grave. That evening Bill, Jane, Greg, John & Carol all went to their favorite Mexican restaurant in Wesley Chapel for another awesome meal. Following that the men went to Winners Sports Bar to watch Syracuse blow a 22 point lead to Umass and get kicked out of the NIT - and also to watch the Sabres blow a 3-1 lead to Ottawa and lose 6-3. That's the end of both teams season - we are not returning to this bar again.
Wednesday Greg packed up all his stuff and flew back to sunny Buffalo and the real world. The temperature was only about 50 degrees cooler upon arrival. It was an awesome and fun week which required considerable recuperation time for Bill & Jane.
LAZYDAYS
On Thursday Bill & Jane teamed up with John & Carol Schiltz to visit Lazydays RV Extravaganza near Tampa. This place is nothing short of amazing. First there is a large campground for people trying out their new RV's, or waiting for service, or just passing through. The campground is expansive and was filled with every RV out there. Next there is the service department - featuring 200 available bays - which was booked up completely when we visited. Then there is the sales department, which is broken down by makes into their own separate sections. There are 1600 class A coaches to pick from - it would take two weeks just to look inside them all. A large Camping World store is also on site and guess what - they have a free lunch for anyone who wants to stop in and help themselves at the massive cafeteria located in the main building. The grounds are all immaculate and punctuated with large southern oaks, beautiful flowers and shrubbery that would make Pam Hachey proud. Anyone who likes camping should visit Lazydays at least once in their lifetime.
After departing Lazydays our two traveling couples went to Ybor City for snacks and drinks 
and a ride on the trolley - John got some free ride tickets from a homeless woman who preferred walking.
That's all for now. Bill & Jane will be leaving Florida soon headed for Red Bay, Alabama, the home of Tiffin Motorhomes. They hope to have some service work done on the Phaeton, take a tour of the factory, and rest up from a busy winter at Forest Lakes.
and a ride on the trolley - John got some free ride tickets from a homeless woman who preferred walking.That's all for now. Bill & Jane will be leaving Florida soon headed for Red Bay, Alabama, the home of Tiffin Motorhomes. They hope to have some service work done on the Phaeton, take a tour of the factory, and rest up from a busy winter at Forest Lakes.
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