The month of October rolled on at Grand Horizons with new activities and old. This community certainly can keep people busy as much they want to be.
We have our old reliable fun things to do like card playing, mahjong, shuffleboard, exercises, bingo, dominoes and so much more. That’s in addition to new and exciting things like the movies that Rich Wagner is showing in his home and other things to come.
From what I understand, “Fun with Art” with Luella Wheeling, and other activities that were put on hold during the summer, will start shortly.
In the meantime, Grand Horizons had its monthly connoisseur luncheon on Oct. 11. This month the connoisseur lunch was at Golden Corral.
“We had 50 people and we filled the Tuttle Room,” said Sandy Lindke, who hosted this event along with her husband, Al Lindke. “It took us a good hour to get our fill of food and friendship.”
Denise Stewart and Pidge Elliott found smiley face stickers on their chairs, indicating that they had won the thank you prizes of $10 gift cards for Walmart. After the luncheon, about 20 people gathered together in the Lindke carport to spend the rest of the afternoon with drinks and laughter.
There also was something that we never had before, and it was taco night on Oct. 16 in the community center. It was hosted by Andy and Margaret Castonguay. Helping out in the kitchen to do the cooking and serving were Annmarie and Chick Shackewyc. There was additional help, as almost everyone helped out in several different ways.
I spoke to Andy and he told me that they served 91 people and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. They had taco bowls with toppings made from scratch.
These bowls were made in a deep fryer and for toppings they had lettuce, diced tomatoes and onions, salsa, cheese, black olives, and sour cream. The toppings on the meat created a nice meal.
After the main meal, they had cake and coffee or iced tea. Later in the evening they had poker, plus hand and foot. So it was a day to be remembered.
Marty and I will join our friends at Grand Horizon shortly, but in the meantime, on Oct. 13, we took a day trip which was a 1.5-hour cruise from Haddam, Conn. We took this ride on the River Quest and experienced the lower Connecticut River.
It was a lovely crisp day, and we passed by the Goodspeed Opera House that was built in 1870 and has terrific plays and musicals like “Annie” and “The Sound of Music,” and so much more. We saw a swinging bridge that is 100 years old and is the fifth oldest swing bridge. We also saw on this trip the Gillette Castle and several yacht clubs.
On the river we saw many canoes and speedboats with people fishing, and we saw some beautiful homes and some schools, plus some inns that were converted into apartment buildings.
At one point on our cruise we observed, from the water, the Essex Steam Railroad. This was a beauty of a train with many cars.
We also saw the Chester Ferry that took passengers across the river, and we actually got to see another tour boat called the Betty Thatcher. We just waved and hooted to one another as we passed. We observed many birds such as the tree swallows and several nests being built by the birds. Some were completed, and we actually saw a bald eagle in one.
One thing in particular that was something to see was a helicopter taking off. It was some site, and the airport had several more planes and gliders.
We enjoyed the ride and that it was fully narrated. All in all, it was a relaxing day.
By Helene Rubenstein
