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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Class Gathering in Naples, Florida March 16 – 23, 2014

Nine of us got together for a week of memories and fun in Naples this past week:  Sue, Larry, and Laurie put the event together and hosted us; Will and Betsy buzzed down in Will’s Miata; Rachel, Mary P., and Karen H. flew in from their northern homes; and I drove down from Hollywood, MD.  And let’s not forget the spouses who put up with us for the week:  Paul, Rykken, and Patrick.
GNID Gathering
We hung around at Sue’s and Paul’s for much of our downtime to reminisce and watch the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico (I’ve yet to see the mythical flash of green) and freely invade their fridge and booze stocks.  Our excursions included:
  • Lake Trafford and an airboat ride to look for alligators and birds;
Roseate Spoonbills
  • A trolley tour of Ave Maria, the catholic community being developed by the former owner of Dominoes Pizza;
Ave-Maria-Oratory-640x431
  • The Naples Botanical Gardens with this year’s wonderful Legos constructions;
Legos Butterfly
  • Corkscrew Swamp, and wonderful sanctuary for birds and swampy creatures;
At Corkscrew Swamp
  • A pontoon boat cruise through early morning fog to bright and warm sunlight into Estero Bay;
Pontoon Boat
  • A bocce ball tournament at Larry’s & Rykken’s club.
Bocce Ball
And then there were the lunches and dinners…
To see all of my photos from the reunion, click here:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9tt3vcngvfadvwr/fkMc9LnvS1

And here's a link to Laurie's photos:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/szmgj7miamc87rq/N_x6FrQfdJ

Don’t forget upcoming events:
  1. WOSA/FWS reunion in Baltimore July 11-14.  Go to the FWS website to register.
  2. A class gathering at Vivia’s, on Lake Norman, North Carolina, in September.
Posted by Hank.