Anyone snowbirding this winter?

[goosifer]

For several years my wife and I snowbirded in St. Augustine, FL. Last winter we stayed home in western NY. This winter we are semi-snowbirding. We will be gone for about 6 weeks. We have a 10 day cruise booked a couple weeks from now out of Fort Lauderdale (Panama canal, et al.) and then we are going to visit several cities on the gulf coast of FL, St. Augustine, and Savanna, GA, doing 4-5 days per city. With the passing of our dog in November, our schedules got a lot more flexible. I always have mixed feelings about being away for so long, but I can't complain.

So, anyone else snowbirding or semi-snowbirding this winter?

[Nomad]

Yep ! Got a house rented in North Port FLA for the month of Feb .

Stopping in the Villages for a few days on the way down ,to visit wife’s best friend  ,who,lives there year round , and again on way home to visit my sister and bil, they own a house there ,but just winter in it . 

Honestly one ,month  doesn’t give us enough time to visit all the friends, relatives , and my former co workers on the FD in FLA, not counting the ones in North ,South Carolina and Tennessee.

First time for us, still trying to figure it all out .

sorry about your dog, our old Beagle is coming with us ..... We waited to long to book a house and only 8% were open, add a dog and it became limited . Most are booked a year or more in advance .

St Augustine is an interesting place ,was there a few years back .

Edited January 2, 2019 by Stay at home Nomad

[goosifer]

6 minutes ago, Stay at home Nomad said:

Yep ! Got a house rented in North Port FLA for the month of Feb .

Stopping in the Villages for a few days on the way down ,to visit wife’s best friend  ,who,lives there year round , and again on way home to visit my sister and bil, they own a house there ,but just winter in it . 

Honestly one ,month  doesn’t give us enough time to visit all the friends, relatives , and my former co workers on the FD in FLA, not counting the ones in North ,South Carolina and Tennessee.

First time for us, still trying to figure it all out .

Enjoy your trip. Just think of Florida as southern Georgia, and things will make more sense.

Actually, we settled on St. Augustine as it was one of the few cities on the Atlantic coast that had dog friendly beaches. It's a very dog-friendly town in general.

Edited January 2, 2019 by goosifer

[DirtTime]

Enjoy you time down there, and I hope the weather cooperates better this year then the past few years.

[GreeneHunter]

My wife and I are thinking about doing that next winter for a month or two , just have to decide to retire this summer and call it quits !

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Hog-Axis hunting 2 weeks in Texas and will be at Disney 2 weeks.      Feb and March!.  

[sits in trees]

I'm planning on the complete opposite. I'm looking for a place in Canada to spend the summers where temps still go down into the 50s at night and 70 is a scorcher in July. Double plus when the shit hits the fan in the US Canada will be the only viable option for me.

[Jeremy K]

My parents bought a place last year , this is their second year going south for the winter and they hate it already. 

[sits in trees]

I apologise in advance but this we all must head south herd mentality baffles me. Florida is full of annoying old people who can't drive. The Carolinas is nothing but dumb people hooked on opiods and you can forget Georgia. Then you have Tennessee, Kentucky, naa. All adds up to debilitating heat and humidity and bugs. The South will never be for this Yankee

[Lawdwaz]

6 hours ago, Four Season Whitetail's said:

Hog-Axis hunting 2 weeks in Texas and will be at Disney 2 weeks.      Feb and March!.  

That sounds like two vacations, not “snowbirding”.

[landtracdeerhunter]

Had to read the title twice, thought it said snowboarding, LOL.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

That sounds like two vacations, not “snowbirding”.

So it has to be at least 6 weeks to be called snowbirding in your book? Call it whatever trips your trigger.


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[Bigfoot 327]

I am currently vacationing in North Palm Beach and visiting family. Can't see me ever being a snowbird, but who knows with Cuomo doing his best to drive me from NY.

[Nomad]

2 hours ago, Jeremy K said:

My parents bought a place last year , this is their second year going south for the winter and they hate it already. 

Why do they hate it ? Also what did they buy ? My folks spent 30 winters in FLA. in a mobile home park with tons of activities, trips and so on, many friends from up here all around them ,they were as busy  or slow as they wanted to be.

My Dad had a little shop in a large shed and repaired all kinds of things for the widows ......

Did they buy in a retirement community , or a stand alone house/ condo somewhere ?

 

[Jeremy K]

26 minutes ago, Stay at home Nomad said:

Why do they hate it ? Also what did they buy ? My folks spent 30 winters in FLA. in a mobile home park with tons of activities, trips and so on, many friends from up here all around them ,they were as busy  or slow as they wanted to be.

My Dad had a little shop in a large shed and repaired all kinds of things for the widows ......

Did they buy in a retirement community , or a stand alone house/ condo somewhere ?

 

They bought a place in one of those 55 and older joints. They just said it's boring there ,my dad was jazzed to be able to run in nice weather all winter but he blew his knee out over the years and is scheduled for a full replacement when they come back North. My mom misses the grandkids the most.

[goosifer]

9 hours ago, Four Season Whitetail's said:

Hog-Axis hunting 2 weeks in Texas and will be at Disney 2 weeks.      Feb and March!.  

Have a meal at Pappadeaux or Papasita's if you get the chance. They are regional restaurant chains with very good food.

I went to Disney World once. My wife told the story on her blog years ago:

Quote

A number of years ago we went to a conference being held at the Swan and Dolphin at Walt Disney World Florida. I hadn’t been to Disney since Sonny-boy was 10, and Hubby had never been there. With that in mind, I wanted to take Hubby to the Magic Kingdom if the opportunity presented itself. There was a day prior to the start of the conference that was open so people would have time to visit the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom… whatever Disney Theme Park(s) they want to go to.

With much er, encouragement, I convinced Hubby to go to the Magic Kingdom. We were at the park when it opened that day because I know it was not only our best chance to get on the rides that normally have very long lines – even with fast pass, but it would be less crowded.

We hit all the highlights that I wanted him to see. Of course the park got more and more crowded as the morning went on.

At around 1pm, Hubby looked at me and said, “What are all these damn kids doing here?”

At that point I knew two things: it was time to leave and it was unlikely I’d get Hubby back to an amusement park anytime soon.