Hello Fellow Gators!

We had a great time at the snorkeling event on May 5th. Thank you to Ben Smith for leading this.

We had a wonderful time at Pinball Dudes on Friday, May 8th at 3:00 PM. Thank you to Ben Smith for leading this. We also enjoyed the happy hour at Copacabana afterwards.

We will have another Full moon Dinner on the Beach on Sunday, May 31st. Thank you to Lisa Smelcher for leading this.

Please put our Membership Picnic on Sunday, May 17th on your calendars. It will be at the Carlin Park Beach Pavilion. The theme is: “Celebrate Your Club - Wear your something alligator-related!” Please contact Lisa Smelcher if you would like to volunteer to help out.

Lisa Smelcher is leading a weekend event at Manatee Landing near Weeki Wachee on June 12-14. We will stay on the river and kayak plus join in an optional pontoon boat ride on Saturday. Please contact Lisa for more information or to sign up.

Join us on our exciting new “Music City” fall getaway trip to Nashville, staying at the Margaritaville Hotel downtown on October 11-16, 2026. For a price of only $1,290, double occupancy, you can enjoy the Jimmy Buffet “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere” ambience at the Margaritaville. We will be only 2 blocks from Nashville’s iconic Broadway, where you can experience the country music scene, bars, restaurants, honky tonks, distilleries, historical sites, and much more. It is also fall leaf viewing season and you can visit nearby parks to view them. The trip includes a club happy hour and a club dinner.

We are offering an affordable option for a boat-only trip (without an extension) for the Vienna to Budapest Bike and Barge at a low price of $3,995.

We have several exciting major trips on our docket:

· Vienna to Budapest Bike and Barge on July 25-31, 2026 (space for a single male or a single female)

· Budapest to Vienna Bike and Barge on July 28-August 8, 2026 (space available)

· Budapest to Vienna Bike and Barge (Boat-Only) August 1-8, 2026 (space available)

· South Africa and Victoria Falls Tour on September 8-22, 2026 (wait list)

· Nashville Margaritaville Hotel Fall Getaway on October 11-16, 2026 (space available, single male wanted)

We are planning a bike and barge to Vietnam and Cambodia for November 2027. It should be on sale at the Membership Picnic.

We are considering a trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto for 2027 and are trying to gage member support for it. Please let me know if you would be interested.

We have a local Special Activities event that is mentioned elsewhere in this blast and is posted on our website:

· Weekend at Manatee Landing on June 12-14, 2026

We also have some Social events on our calendar:

· Happy hour this Friday at Hokkaido

· Membership Picnic at Carlin Park Beach Pavilion on Sunday, May 17th

· Full Moon Dinner on the Beach on Sunday, May 31st

Please join us at our happy hours. You can meet other members and make new friends or reconnect with old ones! I would like to thank Letti Falko, Lorain Lyon and Ben Smith for their ongoing help as Gator Happy Hour Ambassadors.

I will continue to plan our weekly Friday night happy hours. Our VP of Socials, Lisa Smelcher, will be organizing some occasional Saturday happy hours.

I am looking forward to seeing you at some of our events and meeting our new members.

Thank you,

Sharon Long

VP of Special Activities

Mobile: (561) 768-6365

wmarussich@comcast.net