Yes, I'm now an official Red Hatter of Cedar Key.  I went with the gals on Tuesday for our monthly luncheon.  In case you don't know what a Red Hatter is.....it's just a group of women over the age of 50 getting together to simply HAVE FUN! There are no "rules."  Only that you must wear a red hat and purple outfit and have fun.   And fun we had.  We went to the beautiful Plantation Restaurant in Crystal River for lunch.  I rode with my friends Ingaborg, Rachel and Betty.  Here they are at the restaurant.

By the way......take a guess at how old Betty is (on the far right)  She turns 90 on August 2!  I'm just astonished and I keep telling her, "I want to be like YOU when I grow up!"  What an inspiration she is and she really makes me realize even more that it truly IS a matter of "you're ONLY as OLD as you feel."  Betty is in excellent health, she's a retired RN, had 6 children, is as sharp as a tack and partakes in all the ladies events and social things on the island.  Amazing!  And I'd bet anything it's all that activity and busyness that keeps her looking and feeling so young.

Here's a shot of Betty and me together.

And here's one of the tables of our gathering......there were 24 of us there, so we couldn't all sit together.

And here's a group shot of all of us on the beautiful staircase at the restaurant.

We had such a great time.  Laughing and talking and just.......having fun.  But the luncheon wasn't the end of it.  Five of us then took off shopping.  We spent an hour and a half walking around Bealls.  But oh.....that wasn't enough shopping for these females.  Nope.  Then we went on to the Crystal River Mall and shopped some more.  We walked and walked and walked and met at 4:00 at the Food Court.  I got an iced coffee to revive myself.  I won't lie.....I was pretty tired.  I looked at Betty......oh yes, she kept right up with us for all that shopping......and said, "I'm exhausted.  YOU must be really tired."  She gave me the sweetest smile and said, "Well, dear.  Yes.  I'm a little tired."  What a woman!

We left the island at 10 that morning and got back at 6:00.  That was a full day, but so enjoyable.  And I'm so excited about next month's Red Hat gathering.  We're going to Orlando to see "Menopause, The Musical"  I've heard it's fantastic!  Any of my readers seen it? 

That will be another very full day.  We'll probably leave the island about 8 a.m.  It's almost a 3 hour drive to Orlando from here.  We'll stop for lunch.  The show starts at 2:00 till 4:00.  And then we'll head back.  So I'm really looking forward to that.

The lunch is nice, the shopping is fun, but it's just the camaraderie of being with some great females that I love.  So many different subjects and topics discussed.  From books to movies, to children and grandchildren.  They're such a great group and I'm really happy to be part of it.

Not to mention......I love wearing my pretty red hat, wearing purple and acting as silly as I want.  At this stage of the game.....I earned it.  Being a Red Hatter is one of the perks of getting older.

See you here next time.............