MARCH_2015_NEWSLETTER__1_ 9.2 MB

THE MIATA CLUB OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA http://www.miataclubofsouthwestflorida.com
MARCH, 2015
______________________________________________________________________________
Board Members
Jean Fischer, President
305-389-7864
[email protected]
Jess Dunham, Past Pres.
239-731-8226
[email protected]
Jerry Williams, Vice Pres.
864-436-2902
[email protected]
BY JEAN FISCHER, PRESIDENT
Lisa Hammond, Secretary
239-339-7050
[email protected]
Noni Cockrum, Treasurer
239-278-1729
[email protected]
Donna Noyes, Membership
And Events Coordinator
239-454-5665
[email protected]
Sandy Bowers, newsletter
Editor
239-567-2149
[email protected]
Gary Blessing, Webmaster
239-910-4610
[email protected]
Dealer Liaisons
Steve Bowers,
Palm Mazda, O’Brien Mazda
239-567-2149
[email protected]
Ruth Brewer, Cox Mazda
h
517-331-4618
[email protected]
NEWSLETTER DEADLINE 25th OF EACH MONTH
PASSING THE BATON
What a great and exciting year this past year has been for me. I have not
only had the privilege of serving as your president of the Miata Club of
Southwest Florida, for 2014, but meeting all the great members this club
is comprised of that I now can truly call friends.
Still fairly new to the west coast area of Florida, I find everything here
new and exciting. I have had the chance to see and experience so many
new attractions, drive on great back roads, and taste the flavor of so
many new restaurants (most of which, I must admit, I never would have
given them a chance).
I have a suggestion for us old timers, and I’m now putting myself in this
category. We all have friends or groups we tend to hang out with, its only
normal. Have you noticed that when new members come to their first
meeting, they tend to find seats in back corners, not wanting to stand out.
I know because Dick and I did the same thing on our first meeting, sitting
up against the back wall, trying hard not to stand out. It really didn’t have
the effect I wanted though. That was the night I became President.
Here’s some great advice for anyone toying with the idea of becoming the
next president of our club…..don’t hesitate to step up to the plate. You
will be surrounded with the really wonderful members behind the scenes
who do all the hard work, help with all the plans, and make the job of the
President really easy, while you can take all the credit.
NEXT MIATA MEETING
THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015
WHERE: Victory Lane Café 239-995-0340
4120 Hancock Bridge Parkway on the southwest corner of
Orange Grove Blvd., next to CVS, N. Ft. Myers 33903
TIME:
Meeting at 6PM, dinner preceding
REPLY TO: This month only, reply to Noni Cockrum at 239-278-1729,or
Email [email protected]
PLEASE RESPOND BY TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015
SAVE THE DATES !
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Monthly Miata Club Meeting
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Palm Mazda—Car Show, Food,
And entertainment
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Annual Picnic and Installation
Of Officers
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Monthly Miata Club Meeting
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Progressive Dinner
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Snook Haven Lunch and
River Cruise
EVERYONE NEEDS A LITTLE SUNSHINE
By Sandy Cole
I guess March eyes are upon us. We certainly hope it will be a lovely, healthy, pleasant filled month with
lots of natural sunshine. If March comes in like a lamb, can we predict there will be minimal needs for additional sunshine for our members and their families? And, may we also wish that all those family members and friends who are able to escape the cold and snowy weather will be blessed with cooperating temperatures and our warm sunshine. We trust they will travel safely, as well.
In February there were several members to whom we sent cards. Larry Hammond was in the hospital, but
is reportedly home now. Roland Cournoyer had gallbladder surgery and Jean Fischer had surgery on her
hand. Fortunately, I have not heard otherwise, so we can only assume all three are recovering and should
be able to join in all the activities soon. We were also sad to learn that Elaine Weisbaum’s mother passed
away. Our condolences were sent to Elaine and Ron Lindensmith. Considering the size of our club membership, February sunshine needs were not excessive.
It is always a pleasure to celebrate another birthday. So, Please join me in wishing the following Miata
Club members a HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Jean Blessing, Debbie Conrad, Thom Erhardt, Judy Keane, John Keane,
Pam Koslow, Forest Pirovano, Jane Rollins, Clayton Smith, Jim Soller, Marcia Strumwater, and Judy Yando.
Wow, a whole dozen who have special days this month!!
Please take care. We shall see you soon.
Sunshine Sandy
IT’S MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL TIME !!!
All memberships to the Miata Club of Southwest Florida expire on March 31,
2015. A copy of the membership form is available on our club’s website
(www.miataclubofsouthwestflorida.com). You must fill out and sign the
membership form. Dues are still $24 per year per car. You can pay at a
meeting, or an event, or mail your renewal to Donna Noyes. Her address is
on the membership form. Please renew now for another year of fun and
friendships with our great little cars !
PALM MAZDA EVENT AND CAR SHOW
BY STEVE BOWERS
On Saturday, March 14, 2015, Palm Mazda, one of our club’s major
sponsors, will host a big and fun-filled event for our club . They are
going “all out” with a car show with trophies. There will be entertainment with a DJ playing oldies music, a catered barbeque lunch, including water and soda, an ice cream
truck, and raffle items. They will have a tent set up with tables and chairs so we can relax out of the sun
(mother nature wouldn’t dare bring us rain!).
Registration for the car show will be between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Plan to attend even if you don’t
want to enter your car for judging. However, I encourage as many of you as possible to enter your car. All
you need to do is give your “baby” a bath. The judges will be doing all of the work. You never know….you
may have that winner!
Email Steve Bowers at [email protected] if you plan to attend and whether or not you will show
your car. Palm Mazda is located at 1603 Tamiami Trail (US 41) n Punta Gorda.
When ordering from Duragloss Car Care Products- 1
-800-638-7245 or www.duragloss.com use the promotion code #10-25 to receive a 10 percent discount
on your purchase of any of their products. This is
available to all Miata Club members.
HOWL AT THE MOON
BY ROGER AND LINDA BUNDY
The 4th annual Howl at the Moon on Feb. 2 was a great success. We had 12 cars and 21 brave souls venture out on a cloudy and
misty afternoon. We staged at Love's Truck Stop on Bayshore Rd just west of I75 (exit 143). Arrival was set for 5 PM. with all
participants arriving on time (way to go Maury)! It was a short hop (2miles) down Bayshore Rd. to our dinner destination, Hog
Body's BBQ. Our tables were ready and the food and service was great. Many including yours truly ordered the baby back ribs
that was the special of the night. YUM!
We exited the restaurant for the drivers meeting and lo and behold the sky had cleared up, the stars were out, and there it was
rising from the east a bright full moon. With tops down we headed east to SR. 31, then 1.2 miles north to North River Rd. howling as we went. We traveled east on North River Rd. for 10 delightful miles with no street lights and no traffic, just us in our
Miata's enjoying the view and occasionally watching the road. At Alva we turned south to cross the bridge over the Caloosahatchie River. Just before the bridge we turned off, parked, got out of our cars and gathered for a final howl at the brightly shining
moon. The guys howled first and it was determined that Dana Breda was the best male howler and then the gals and Elaine
Moore was the best female howler. They each won a gift certificate at DQ. We then jumped back into our cars, crossed the
bridge, and turned right onto Palm Beach Blvd, traveled 10 miles to the corner of SR 80 and SR 31 where we gathered at the
Mobil Station to say our goodbyes. We hope everyone who came to howl, had a good time joining us on this little adventure.
Dinner at Hog Body’s…..we need nourishment to Howl
The moon, the moon!
Is Roger showing us where the moon
is?
The Howlers
SUNRISE—SUNSET
ORMOND BEACH TO CEDAR KEY—FEB. 6-8, 2015
BY JESSE DUNHAM
Club members started arriving at McDonalds on Jones Loop Road for our Sunrise/Sunset weekend. There
were 23 of us - Gary Bedwell, Steve & Sandy Bowers, Dana Breda & Sandy Rusin, Bob & Noni Cockrum, Jess
& Sandy Dunham, Dick & Jean Fischer, Mark & Debbie Generales, George & Sherry Christensen, Kim & Sandra Carless, Donna Noyes & Neal Titer, Norm & Audrey Schott and Paul Shilinsky & Marcia Strumwater. After a drivers meeting we caravanned up to Zolfo Springs, where we met up with Norm & Audrey
Schott and continued our drive to Haines City for lunch at Nikko’s Egg City. Nikko’s was ready for us. All left
with their bellies full and ready for the rest of the trip up I-4 through Orlando.
If you have taken I-4 in that area you know it is busy all the time and hard to keep several cars in a caravan. We regrouped at the rest area past Orlando for the final leg of our drive to Ormond Beach and our
night’s stay at the Best Western. This is a very nice hotel right on the beach. We had rooms overlooking
the Atlantic Ocean. But with all good things come some bad and our bad was a strong wind blowing off the
ocean - how can I say this without swearing - it was really cold! But we prevailed, because I saw many of
our members walking the beach wearing coats and gloves! For dinner on Friday night we went to Betty’s
A1A Café where we had another very good and enjoyable meal.
Best Western Hotel
View from hotel
Betty’s A1A Cafe
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE…...
SUNRISE-SUNSET CONTINUED…..
Saturday morning about 7:00 a.m. there were several members on the beach waiting for the sunrise (cool,
but no wind) and what a beautiful sunrise it was. I’m glad I was on the beach for the sunrise because I was
told if I hadn’t shown up they were coming to our room and dragging me down. I think I made a very good
decision. With pictures taken we made our way into the hotel for breakfast.
. After breakfast, we started our journey across the state with our first stop at Barberville Aluminum and
Ironworks. I can’t put into words what this place is but there are pictures on our Facebook page where you
will get an idea of what I’m talking about. Just after we parked our Miatas (parking was sparse), the Porsche Club arrived and they had to park on the edge of the road. I got the idea they weren’t too happy about
where they were parked and left in about ten minutes.
Barberville Aluminum
Here’s Sandy, and Sandy, and Sandy,
and Sandy!
After Barberville, we made our way to Lena’s Restaurant where they had our tables all set up for lunch. The
service was great as was the food. They gave us a gift certificate to be used on our next trip in the area. Did
I hear repeat event? After we left Lena’s we made a short jaunt to Sweet Jane’s Candy store where dessert
(Whoopie Pies) was at its finest; there were many flavors and even ice cream filled ones. With our sweet
tooth satisfied we made a stop for fuel at Loves travel center in Ocala to top off our tanks for the trip to Cedar Key. I had chosen Hwy 326 for the drive across the state as there were many horse farms in the area. I
must say that was about all. The weather had warmed up and most of us now had our tops down.
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE………..
SUNRISE-SUNSET CONTINUED……...
We arrived at our hotel mid afternoon. Most of us stayed at the Island Hotel in Cedar Key with others at
the Dockside Motel. The Island Hotel was built in 1859 making it 155 years old. It was quaint to say the
least, with sloping floors and beds you needed to have a ladder to get into for our height challenged people. Prior to dinner we gathered on the balcony to exchange “stories” before heading to the pier for pictures of the pelicans (beggars) and sunset. We had enjoyed a cloudless day with a beautiful sunset. After
all the pictures were taken we walked over to Steamers Bar and Grill. Unfortunately, the restaurant seated us next to the band which never took a break-”memories!” After dinner we walked back to our hotel.
There were no TV’s in the rooms so some resorted to playing Scrabble. I could say some were better at
Scrabble than others, right guys. After a good night’s sleep we had breakfast (bed and breakfast style)
courtesy of the Island Hotel. From there, all were on their own to do whatever as they returned home.
We really got lucky with the weather for this weekend—Thursday, the day before we left, it rained, we
had sunny skies for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and then on Monday it rained again. Mother Nature
must drive a Miata!
Our hotel
The porch rockers
Steamers restaurant upstairs
Hotel tour
The sunset….why we are here!!
Jess and Sandy Dunham, our
“tour guides”
The porch swingers
“Quaint” town of Cedar Key
No TV? Play Scrabble (or relax…)
MIATA CLUB OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
ANNUAL PICNIC AND MEETING – MARCH 21
Please join us for our Annual Picnic and Business Meeting to elect new officers at the Lakes Regional Park on Saturday March 21 from 11:00 am to 3:00pm. Lakes Regional Park is located at
7330 Gladiolus Dr. Ft. Myers, FL. 33908. (Gladiolus Drive just West of U.S. 41). The club will provide a lunch catered by Victory Lane Café including Pulled Pork, Barbequed Chicken, Roasted Red
Potatoes, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, bread, rolls and butter, and Iced Tea. You may also bring your
own beverages. Please note that Lakes Park is a “NO ALCOHOL” park - - - - so please be careful
and discreet if you decide to bring wine or beer or something a bit harder (can or bottle cozies come
in handy!). For dessert, we would like a few volunteers to bring some goodies – let me know if you
would like to sign up and what you would bring.
We have reserved Pavilion B-2 which provides covered seating around picnic tables for up to 90
people. You may also bring your own folding chairs if you’d like. Parking is $5.00 all day, or, $1.00
per hour, and the machines in the parking lot accept both dollar bills and credit cards. Use parking
lot #2, turn right as you enter the park and lot #2 is the first left. In addition to the great company
you‘ll be sharing, the park offers amenities such as fishing, bicycle and surrey rentals, paddle boat
and kayak rentals, and many lovely walking paths to walk-off your lunch. There is also a miniature
train ride and train museum (extra cost) that both children and adults enjoy and a lovely botanical
garden. Check the park’s website for an overview of the facilities. http://www.leeparks.org/
Facility_info?Project_num=0101
ALL MIATA CLUB MEMBERS ARE INVITED, BUT YOU MUST SIGN UP BY MARCH 14 SO THAT
WE HAVE A CORRECT HEADCOUNT FOR LUNCH. YOU WILL ALSO NEED TO PROVIDE A
REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT OF $10 PER PERSON WHEN YOU SIGN UP. As in past years, this
picnic is free for members so please note that the deposit will be refunded to you when you arrive at
the picnic or if you cancel before March 14. You may pay this deposit with either cash or a check
and you can give it to me at the February monthly meeting or at one of our upcoming events, or you
may mail it to me (address below). THE DEPOSIT OR ANY CANCELLATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MARCH 14. More detailed directions and information will be provided as the date gets
closer. If you have any questions, contact me.
Donna Noyes
17721 Canal Cove Court
Ft. Myers Beach, FL 33931
239-454-5665
BIG CAT HABITAT AND GULF COAST SANCTUARY
BY DONNA NOYES
My thanks to Audrey Schott who suggested this outing and made the arrangements with the Habitat and
the restaurant. I think I can safely say that we all enjoyed the day.
On Friday, February 20, with record-breaking low temperatures in Southwest Florida, a group of adventurers headed off to Sarasota to visit the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary. Thirteen Miatas left
McDonald’s in Punta Gorda mid-morning, after a drivers-meeting held indoors because it was so cold outside. Even though the drivers’ instructions clearly showed that the caravan would use side streets to get
to Rt. 17, the caravan leader (me) was too busy gabbing to her passenger and ended up turning onto I-75
instead. Nothing like starting off the drive with a wrong turn! Luckily, everyone followed and we did end
up on Rt. 17 just a few miles later and the rest of the drive went as planned. Upon arrival at the Big Cat
Habitat, we were all herded in military fashion into our parking places - - - those Habitat ladies directing us
were tough! We also met the rest of our group there – 5 additional Miatas, for a total group size of 34.
Our cars did look awfully nice lined up so orderly.
Once we entered the Habitat, we were free to roam at our leisure. There were several large and magnificent bears, many beautiful and elegant lions and tigers (and a couple of “ligers” – a cross-breed of a lion
and tiger), some colorful birds, and a variety of other rescued animals including camels, a zebra, ponies,
alpacas, ostriches, monkeys, and the cutest little goats that I have ever seen (I wanted to sneak one of the
little baby ones out in my coat pocket!). Our visit concluded with an entertaining animal show, featuring
“the world’s smartest dog”, 4 of the lovely birds, a magnificent lion with a full long mane, a white Siberian
tiger, and one of the ligers. Seeing the loving relationship between the trainer (9 th in the family to do this
work) and these animals was really enjoyable.
After our departure from the Habitat, most of us headed for Der Dutchman, a great Amish restaurant not
too far from the Habitat. They had two long tables all ready for our group and we were all soon enjoying
the good Amish cooking. More than a few of us took home some treats from the bakery, me included.
Our Miatas
The group
Who is watching who?
Buck was everyone’s favorite bear!
The Liger
The “world’s smartest dog”
The white Siberian tiger
The lion and Liger
Der Dutchman
SNOOK HAVEN AND MYAKKA RIVER CRUISE
BY DONNA NOYES
Joyce and Jerry Stanley are planning an event for the club on Sunday, April 26. First, we will have lunch at
Snook Haven in Venice, FL, where we can listen to one of their local entertainers. Then, at 1:30, we will go
on a one-hour tour of the Myakka River, operated by Logan River Tours. This will be on a 29-passenger
pontoon boat. Cost of the tour is $16.00 per person, tax included, cash or check only. If more than 29 folks
sign up, we will try to arrange a second tour.
More details and directions will follow as the date gets closer. We will have a caravan leaving from Punta
Gorda or you can plan to meet at Snook Haven. Mark the date on your calendar. Contact Joyce Stanley if
you have any questions or would like to sign up now. She can be reached at 219-671-0038 or 219-613-7506 or [email protected].
Check out these websites for more information:
http://www.snookhaven.com/
http://www.loganrivertours.com/Brochure.pdf
The Miata Club’s Progressive Dinner will be held on Saturday, April 18. Our four host
homes are as follows:
Appetizers: Parker and Elaine Moore, 11821 Royal Tee Ct., Cape Coral
Salad Bar:
Jay and Leslie Schmitt, 4114 NW 11th Terrace, Cape Coral
Entrée:
Rick and Charlene Hayman, 24627 Buckingham Way, Punta Gorda
Dessert:
Dick and Jean Fischer, 119 Seville Pl. SW, Port Charlotte
The club extends its thanks to these members for offering their homes so we can continue this fun and popular event! Details will follow at a later date.