9-6 Staying Longer

Making Friends

I think I forgot to mention that we have decided to stay at Fun Valley for another week. We had so much fun and met so many folks that we really enjoyed being with that we just could not leave. Our last day here was suppose to be Saturday but here it is Sunday and we will now be here until next Saturday. A lot of our new friends left but a few have stayed and I am sure we will make many more new friends this week. Of course there are also people here that we dance with from Georgetown and Sun City and we have gotten to know all of them much better. When you dance with these folks at club dances you get a few minutes between tips to socialize but being here we have had time over breakfast, lunch and dinner to get to know them much better and participating with some of them in the other activities has also expanded our relationships.

Having Fun

Today we hung out at the Minnie and relaxed until 5:30, which was opening dinner for the week. This week the the cuers for rounds are Jerry and Lucy Pate from Round Rock Texas. The callers are Brad Caldwell From Georgetown and Wade Driver from Spring Texas. While relaxing Larry read, I worked out and did some Sudoku and Flo slept and kept me company outside when I did my workout. This weekend was Labor Day weekend so Fun Valley was busy with families. The families were playing Frisbee, fishing, riding bicycles, paddle boating, walking around and doing other activities. So after I finished my workout Flo stayed outside in watched people while she sunned.

Tony and Martha Burghart Round Dancing

Brad Caldwell and Jerry Pate doing an after party skit

In the evening we attended the opening dance, there were seven squares and a lot of round dancers. Everyone had a great time dancing. The after party was very entertaining. The staff did a couple of skits. The first skit was with Brad Caldwell and Wade Driver playing a foreign visitor ordering room service. The second skit was with Brad and Jerry Pate playing a dentist patient at a discount dentist office. This skit was hilarious. The snacks we had were sandwiches, chips, water and soda prepared by the hosts Gene and Cindi Young. We had a super time. 

9-5 Wiener Roast

Cooking Dinner

Today was a very relaxing day at Fun Valley. People were leaving and people were arriving for a new week of fun and games. The dancing doesn't began until Sunday night. All day we just hung around the Minnie. Larry read, I did some Sudoku and Flo slept. I worked out for a half hour and Flo kept me company outside. I even took a little nap. In the evening Larry and I went over to Brad and Paula's cabin for a wiener roast. Jerry and Lucy Pate and dancers from all over Texas that knew Brad were there. Wieners were roasted over a camp fire, I cooked Larry's and mine and I had an extra one that I gave it to Lucy. I don't think I have ever roasted wieners before so it was a lot of fun figuring how to do it the right way. Along with the wieners we had a lot of snacks. We also put together and roasted S'mores over the campfire. I put the S'mores together and Jerry cooked them on the fire with a rack that made three at a time, this was so cool. While everyone was talking, laughing, eating and enjoying themselves it started to thunder and sprinkle rain so everyone decided it was time to call it a night. Jerry and I cleaned the table where we made the S'mores, chocolate had melted on it. We didn't want to leave a mess for Paula and Brad to clean up nor did we want to attract bears. The wiener roast was a blast, we met a lot of people and got to know people we have danced with a little more. 

Let the fun begin

A group of us roasting wieners

The S'mores are ready to be cooked

Clint roasting a wiener and Jerry making S'mores

           

9-4 Closing Day Activities and Dance

What a wonderful day!!! This morning we had fun playing games. Last night at the dance they needed another lady to compete in miniature golf so Larry held up my hand and volunteered me, now I had to find a caddie, we met so many new people this week that I really like but I narrowed it down and asked Wanda, she happily agreed. We found her some clothes to wear in the dance hall. The caddie does not carry clubs, they are responsible for distracting the other golfers when they were up to hit their ball. The game was nine holes of miniature golf. The ladies had the first nine holes of the course and the men had the last nine holes of the course. Larry took pictures while I played golf. Everyone had a magnificent time and spent the time joking around and laughing. The winners will be announced tonight at the after party. The next game was the horseshoe finals. It was fun watching the two teams throwing the horseshoes. The next activity was the ladies Polish horseshoe competition, which I was in. There were four teams of two playing Polish horseshoe so one pair of teams used one set of bars and the other pair used another set of bars. The two teams that won moved up to the final. The object is to get exactly 21 points, if you went over 21 then points were deducted from your score.  My teammate was Betty and we won the final game. When the Polish horseshoe finals were over we had the paddle boat finals. We had a lot of fun watching the paddle boat finals. The morning was a lot of fun.

All the golfers and caddies together

Morris, Jamie, Wanda (my caddie) and me

getting ready to putt

Betty all dressed up in her caddie outfit

throwing a Polish horseshoe

My teammate Betty throwing a Polish horseshoe

getting ready to start the paddle boat finals

Trying to paddle a straight course

 In the afternoon we had a great workshop with Brad and Bear. Our workshop was an hour long and was no stop dancing with five couples. It was a four couple square where the fifth couple rotated in and another couple rotated out of the square. We danced for 30 minutes straight when Brad and Bear decided to let us rest. This was a lot of fun. During our break another couple showed up so we did a six couple square singing call.

One of the gorgeous outfits this couple wore at the dances

Dan and Kathy Amburn from Florence TX

Receiving my trophy for winning the Polish Horseshoe

 The dance this evening was the last dance for the week and many of the dancers are leaving. It's sad to see them go but some of them have to go to work. There were five squares and many round dancers and the theme tonight was Hit Parade. Brad and Bear made a list of 40 top songs and the dancers voted on the songs. The top six songs were the songs Brad and Bear used during the dance tonight. The dancers were requested to wear square dancing attire and they did. We had a super time. The after party was an award ceremony where trophies were given out to the winners of the games. During the ceremony Brad and Bear joked around. Today we celebrated one birthday (our friend Sharon) and a 50th Anniversary, our snack tonight was ice cream and cake.   

9-3 Eat, Dance, Play and have Fun!!!

                                                       

Having Fun

We are having so much fun at Fun Valley. They serve you three home cooked meals a day buffet style. The food has been excellent and it would be really easy to over eat, we are trying hard to limit how much we eat and are doing a pretty good job of it.

Today we had a super workshop with Bear and Brad. We spent half of the workshop with six couple squares in a hexagon, where you have three head couples and three side couples, this was a lot of fun. You really have to think about where you need to be. The second half was DBD, where you were put in different positions that you're not used to being in, we actually do quite a bit of DBD so this was not as difficult for us as for others. Bear did the hexagon portion and Brad did the DBD portion.

Mike and Sharon in the Paddle Boat Preliminary Race

The horses lined up at the gate

The booth where you place your bets

Betty cheering on the horse she owns

Jockeys on their horses at the gate

While at Fun Valley we didn't just square dance there were other activities. Yesterday we played miniature golf. After the workshops this morning there was a paddle boat preliminary race. It was fun watching the race. This afternoon we had horse racing, this was a blast. There were six horses. It cost $3 dollars to be an owner for each horse. The owners had to hire a jockey, I was a jockey in two races. Then you could bet on the horses for $1. At the end of each race the owner of the horse that won would get the $18 dollars that was taken in on selling the horses. The people that bet on the winning horse got their payback. The first race I bet $1 dollar and won $8 dollars. It was a lot of fun and we were glad we went. This morning during our workshop I signed Betty and me up to compete in Polish horseshoes so after the races we met to practice. I have never played Polish horseshoes so we had a great time.

Doing the twist during the After Party

In the evening we went dancing. The dance started out with five squares and round dancers. We had great squares all night. The after party was outstanding. Brad entertained the crowd by singing songs doing imitations of other singers (Sanatra, Elvis, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson), he is really good at it and while we have heard him do this before he is so talented that you never get bored with it. Bear did a fantastic job at singing Cats in the Cradle. After Brad and Bear sang they played songs so the dancers could dance to them. We had a fun time at the dance.

9-2 Free Day From Square Dance Workshops

Playing Miniature Golf

Wow, we had a super day!!! Today's schedule was laid back, no square dancing workshops, Annie had a round dance workshop but Larry and I aren't round dancers. Larry started the day by taking Flo for a walk, then we went over and had breakfast. We have met a lot of wonderful people not only to dance with but also to socialize with. Most of the people here paid for the package that includes meals so all of us show up around the same time to eat and we get the opportunity to sit and visit with the folks we dance with, this has been terrific. After breakfast we played a round of miniature golf. It has been years since we played and we had a lot of fun. Then we walked through the gift shop and around the park. While we were walking around we saw beautiful chain saw carvings. We walked around for a couple of hours. The facility is gorgeous. When we got back to Flo she was happy to see us. After saying hi to her I took her for a walk. 

Larry standing on a bridge that goes over the river.

One of the carvings on the grounds

Playing miniature golf

In the afternoon we hung around the Minnie and relaxed until it was time for the evening dance, which had the Wild Wild West theme. People were dressed as sheriffs, Miss Kitty from Gun Smoke, saloon ladies and men from the Wild Wild West era. Larry and I wore our Southwestern outfits. There were five squares and a lot of round dancers. We had a ball dancing. The after dance party was great. Today the square dancers were putting on the skits. They had two skits, one about a restaurant that will serve what you want and the other one was about a hamburger cafe. The dancers did a super job. There was a third skit, which was put on by Brad, Annie and her husband Carl. All three skits were funny and very entertaining. Great Day!!!!!  

  

Annie cuing the round dances

One of the dancers Wild Wild West outfit

The restaurant skit being performed by dancers

Square dancing A moves

Brad and Paula enjoying round dancing

9-1 Another Great Day of Dancing

Bear Miller and Brad Caldwell

Today we had another great day at Fun Valley. We started out with a wonderful breakfast and then there was a special activity for the dancers to participate in called fishing for your super. Larry and I aren't fishermen so we did not participate but others had a great time. The morning dance workshop was really good. Brad worked us on improving some of our plus skills and showing us many different looks at specific calls.

During lunch we visited with Brad, Bear and another couple. We had a very interesting visit about square dancing and how Brad and Bear call. In the afternoon Brad took some of the dancers to Creede Firehouse to dance and the ones that decided to stay behind Bear had an afternoon workshop. We stayed and attended the workshop. Bear was outstanding, we had terrific dancers and we were able to work on really cool stuff. We did a six couple square tip, worked on some dance by definition (dbd) stuff and learned eight ball. Eight Ball is where all the dancers move one position to their right. Sometimes the ladies are men and the men are ladies, this can be very confusing but a lot of fun. Everyone that were there said they had a super time.

After the afternoon workshop we had a couple of hours to spend with Flo. We took her for a walk and we took showers. It was a beautiful day and Flo had been cooped up in the Minnie so I sat outside with her for a little while. Then Larry and I went to dinner. While we were in line a couple we did the workshop with told Brad what we did and how much fun we had. 

Round Dancing

Brad, Paula and Betty Round Dancing

In the evening we had a great dance. There were five squares and a lot of round dancers. The squares we were in were very good. During one of the round dancing tips Brad danced with his wife Paula and Betty. We have seen him do this before but it was still amazing to watch. Some of the moves he had to turn the ladies so he had to lift each arm for the ladies to turn under. He is a super round dancer. The after party was very entertaining. The staff did a couple of skits and the snack tonight was fruit (strawberries, apples, water melon and bananas) and a cobbler. We had another great day of dancing.     

8-31 Learning Something New

Larry and Bear Miller

Yesterday during dinner the round dance cuer (Anne) asked if anyone was interested in learning round dancing. She said if she could get five couples she would do an introduction to round dancing for the workshop today, Larry raised his hand to make the fifth couple. Ever since we got into square dancing people have been trying to get us to round dance so when Larry raised his hand our friends were excited about it. This morning at 9:00 we went to the square dancing hall and had a beginners workshop for an hour and a half. We were introduced to seven basic moves, way too much thrown at us in one session but we did have fun.

After the round dance workshop we stayed for the square dance workshop, which only had two squares. This was a little disappointing but we went over some moves people were having problems with. The workshop was a lot of fun.

Flo and Larry walking over a wooden bridge

Flo rolling in the grass during her walk

The afternoon square dancing workshop didn't start until 2:30 so we had a couple of hours to spend with Flo. We walked her around the park before we went over and had lunch. The workshop only had one square but we did learn how to do a few more moves in different positions. 

Advance Square Dancing Workshop

Round Dancing during the dance

In the evening we had a dance, the theme was mustaches. I didn't have a mustache so I wore one of theirs. The guidelines say the only dance that you need to dress up for is Friday night so we were dressed casual but when we showed up a lot of the dancers were all dressed up so tomorrow we will dress up. There were six squares tonight and a lot of round dancers. We had another super night of dancing. After the dance they had a after party where the staff did a couple of short skits and served hot dogs and Frito corn chips as a snack.