The fun and games!

My first night there I was grabbed by about 3 guys wanting to know if I was going downstairs to play bingo. It seems that various veteran groups in the area schedule various events/activities for the vets and my very first night we got to play bingo! It was Christmas in July so instead of yelling bingo, one had to shout, "Merry Christmas!" One old fart won about 3 times and kept yelling bingo instead of the phrase that pays. You should have heard the screams of, "You are disqualified, you didn't say the right thing." And then there was the guy who wandered in who was not a resident. The villagers went nuts demanding to see his wristband to prove he was a resident and not some impostor. After attempting to scam his way into this high stakes bingo game, he was finally forced to surrender his card and walk away with his head down. I won $3 of VA bucks to use in the canteen for snacks!

Thursday morning I made the across campus trek to the farmers market on the North side of the compound. It wasn't much of a farmers market, but I was given 2 of the best peaches I have ever eaten.

Thursday afternoon I was again grabbed by my now buddy Jeff wanting to know if I was planning to attend the river boat ride in St. Charles. I told him I had not looked into it as I figured I was too late. He quickly informed me that Mary, who runs most of the activities, was looking for more people to go. I was finally able to locate Mary and was able to sign up. Apparently the VA has a large bus that accommodates wheel chairs that they use for outings and such. We left at 4pm and had a wonderful ride on the Fox River and a fabulous fried chicken dinner that couldn't be beat. We finally arrived home at 9pm and I must say, between making sure my roomie went pee BEFORE we tried to go to sleep and the long day of fresh air and sunshine, I slept like a baby.