My Snowbird Lifestyle – The First 30 Days

Well, it’s 2016 and this is my first blog post of the new year!  This marks three years of traveling and blogging for me.  Some would call it a blogiversary.  For me, it’s been a collection of great experiences and I’m grateful that I could do all of it.  For this post, I’m writing about the first 30 days of my snowbird lifestyle wintering in an RV park in Florida.  But first, I want to share some quick thoughts about last year and the upcoming one.

Unlike some other bloggers, you won’t get any self-absorbed year in review reflections from me,  Really, who cares about how many miles I drove, the routes I drove, or the number of states I visited.   Maybe someday I’ll look back and take a count but not now.  Traveling isn’t about keeping a score.  It’s about going places and enjoying the moments and new experiences.  

And as far as objectives or goals for 2016, mine are simple and basic. For 2016, I’m just hoping that I:  wake up each day, have no pain, have the means to sustain myself, don’t shit my pants (or the bed), don’t get hurt, don’t contract another disease, maybe learn something new, and nobody I know gets hurt, sick, or dies. I just want the basic things of life, as I know them, to keep working for me for as long as possible.  That’s it, simple, basic, and hopeful.

So now let me tell you about the first 30 days of my snowbird lifestyle in Florida.  We arrived in southwest Florida in early December and are staying on the same site at San Carlos RV Resort & Marina again. This will be our third year of RV snowbirding. The park is small and cramped but its in a great location and the people who stay here are great – almost all are repeat snowbirds.

Here are some highlights from our first month.

The Weather

The sunshine state lived up to it’s name.  We had mostly sunny days for the first month, but it was very hot and very humid for the first 3 weeks.  Daytime temps where in the mid to high 80’s and the humidity was in the 90’s.  These temps were about 10 degrees above the norm. It made for sticky days and sticky nights. It was pretty good beach weather when there was a breeze but It was uncomfortable to sit out at night.  We had our AC unit running most of the time.  That is, until the AC unit broke.

AC Problem

After about 10 days of non stop running, my AC unit stopped cooling.  The fan would run but the compressor wouldn’t kick on.  I had my AC unit replaced last year, so this is was a fairly new unit.  I called my dealer and they couldn’t look at it until February.  There was no way I could go that long without AC in this climate.  I needed the AC working ASAP.  So, I called a mobile RV repair service.

The good news is that they were here within 24 hours and fixed my AC unit within 20 minutes.  My failure turned out to be caused by a broken cooling fan.  The tech said it was a known problem with my unit (which I confirmed online).  The bad news, It cost me $230 to fix, the repair guy took cash or check only, and he doesn’t file warranty claims. Oh well, I had AC working again and figured I’d try to file the warranty claim myself.  But, I also learned how vital AC is in southwest Florida.  We spent one sleepless sticky night in 85 degree temps.  Something that was not very comfortable.

The Bugs

Florida is known for its bugs.  The Noseeums (also called sand flies or midges) like the moist hot climate and they have feasted on me. These buggers are worse than mosquitos.  They go right through the screens and I’m not sure there’s a bug juice made that will repel them.  The only defense is to go inside, close the windows, and turn the AC down to the 60’s.

I learned (boy did I learn) that the anticoagulant in their saliva (the stuff that lets them drink your blood) that’s left when they bite you is what causes the itch and swelling.  It’s an allergic reaction.  It takes about a month to build up some immunity so the bites don’t swell up.  I had a couple of miserable days itching but I think I’m now able to tolerable these fiendish blood sucking devils.

Finding my Groove

I like San Carlos RV Park and the area because there’s lots of things to do all within a short bike ride.  There are nicer places inland but they don’t have the nearby attractions.  In the park, we play in the weekly corn hole tournament on Wednesday afternoons.  There’s usually about 20-25 people who play each week.  It’s a great way to socialize and meet the people in the park.  I have yet to win a game, but it’s still a fun time.  On Saturday nights there’s dancing at Parrot Key Caribbean Grille.  On Sundays’ we go dancing to live music down at Doc Ford Rum Bar.  Monday is jam night at Bonita Bills with local musicians just showing up to play.  It’s some of the best music you’ll hear.  Friday is pizza night at Rays. With my snowbird lifestyle, there’s not too much sitting around.

Being Active

With no car and the RV parked at my site, my main mode of transportation is a bicycle.  All those years of serious road biking makes this super easy for me.  I bike to the bank, to grocery stores, to restaurants, and to the beach.  I bike all around the RV park to pick up the mail and dump the trash.  I’m constantly on the bike and end up doing a few miles each day.

Being active is a great by-product of this snowbird lifestyle.  And the warm weather has been great for it.  My favorite activity so far is riding my big fat tire bike on the beach.  I ride over the bridge to the beach and bike down the main road a few miles and then slowly ride back on the beach.  It’s a nice way to go the beach without actually sitting on the beach.  The beach is 7 miles long and great for riding.  I like going over every few days and it feels so good to be doing this in January!.

Reconnecting with Friends

The RV park caters to returning snowbirds.  Last year we met many people and it’s been nice reconnecting with the folks who we me met last year.  Some where here when we arrived and others arrived after the holidays.  There’s lots of good people around and all this social contact is a nice aspect of the RV park and snowbird lifestyle that I enjoy.

The RV park and the beach area was very busy over the holidays, almost too crowded with vacationers and characters.  But in January, the crowds have thinned out and the more mature and laid back snowbirds have flocked in. These are my type of people.  No ones in a hurry and most have a smile on their face.

I’m looking forward to my next two months.