Finally!!!! The wheels are rolling and this years Operation Snowbird is underway! We’re on the road headed south, escaping the cold, snow, and ice that is winter in New England. Ever since the first snow fall, I’ve been counting the days and anxiously awaiting the start of Operation Snowbird. Goodbye to long underwear and frigid temps. Hello to shorts, warm weather, and palm trees! This will be our sixth year spending part of the winter in Florida. It feels so good. I’m sure that everyone has a different definition of what the good life entails. For me, it definitely includes spending the winter in Florida.
To the right, is a current picture of what we’re leaving. No more shoveling snow or stoking the wood stove (my sons now have that job for the next 3 months).
Below is a picture of where Operation Snowbird is taking us. Warm weather, sunshine, and longer days are just with 2-3 days of driving from New England. If you’re retired and have the motivation and means, its such an easy choice.
The duration of Operation Snowbird will be about 8 weeks. Our first destination is Siesta Key outside of Sarasota. We’re staying a week at a small municipal campground that is a couple of miles south of Siesta Key Beach. Siesta Key is one of the loveliest beaches in Florida. The beach is flat and wide and brilliantly white. The beach sand is actually not sand but rather its crushed quartz deposited over a million years ago. Other destinations in this years Operation Snowbird are described in this blog entry Wintering in Florida
The start of Operation Snowbird (the migration phase) requires about 3 days of driving. We’ve got about 1,400 miles to go but we’re in no hurry. We’ll drive around 450 miles each day making overnight stops in Maryland and South Carolina.
That first rest stop, when we get our first view of palm trees and feel some warm humid air, feels so good.
Hello, Sunshine State!
