We’re just wrapping up 3 months of snowbird RV park living in southwest Florida.  It’s been our longest RV stay in one place.  While many of our snowbird friends are staying put for one more month, we’re starting a slow migration north.  We had a great stay in Fort Myers Beach.  In this post, I’ll summarize the highlights of the last month of our stay.

Weather

February’s weather could not have been better.  There were no hot and humid days like we had in December and no rainy cold periods like we had in January.  In February, we had several long stretches of nice warm sunny weather.  On most days the temps were in the mid 70’s.  There was no need to run the A/C.  Nights were cool in the low 50’s, causing us to run the heat on some nights.  Overall, it was very comfortable in February.

It felt like the ideal weather that we have in New England during the summer.  For all but a couple of cool mornings, most days my attire was shorts and tee shirts.  And there were no bugs or maybe I just didn’t notice any.  The weather during February was the perfect reminder for why we come to southwest Florida for the winter.

Beach Time Favorites

With all the great weather, going to the beach was my favorite pastime in February.  I would usually ride my bike over the Matanzas Pass Bridge to the beach at least 3-4 times a week.  In February, I just keep doing the favorite things that I enjoy doing.

Newton Park was my favorite beach hang out.  This uncrowded section of beach is just 3 miles south on the island.  I liked to park myself on a bench or sit under a shade canopy and just read a book or do some people watching for a couple of hours.

Bike riding on the beach was another favorite activity.  At low tide, the beach was wide and hard packed.  Whenever I rode down to Newton Park, I usually biked down on the road and then rode back on the beach.  It made for a nice 6-8 mile ride.

On my way back in the afternoon, I’d usually stop at a beach bar for some food, a drink or just to listen to some music.  Many places have live music in the afternoon.  Some of my regular stops were Junkanoo, The Cottage, and the Dixie Fish Co.  The Salty Crab was my favorite stop.  On Saturdays, I enjoyed listening to James and Kat sing any song that I requested.  As a regular customer, I got to know them and the staff.  They all did a great job with service and food.

There were a couple of days that were good for kite flying (good steady wind with no crowds). The wide beach at Bowditch Park was the best place to fly my Prism Snapshot speed foil kite.  This kite takes two hands and lots of concentration, but it’s lots of fun to fly.  lying makes me feel like a 12 year old again.

Exploring Fort Myers

In February, the Mrs. asked – “where is downtown Fort Myers?”  The Cape Coral-Fort Myers area is a big sprawling urban area with over 600,000 people.  We’ve driven through much of the southern part of Lee county, but had never stumbled upon the downtown area of Fort Myers.  So, one day we rented a car and went searching.

We found the downtown area about 7 miles away up along the banks of the Caloosahatchee River.  The river district of the city is a nice area of trendy shops and casual restaurants.  It encompasses a dozen city blocks that have undergone a recent rehab.  We had lunch and checked out an outdoor sculpture exhibit that was on display.

We also visited the Southwest Florida Museum of History which is just a few blocks off the downtown area.  The museum is small but has some nice exhibits on the origins of area.  I learned that Fort Myers was originally established as an army fort during the Seminole Wars. It was named for Col. Abraham Myers who, at the time of the forts establishment, was the Army Quartermaster for Florida.

Social Life

By far the most enjoyable part of February (and our whole stay) was socializing with people and friends.  We continued to play in the Wednesday corn hole tournament.  There were also impromptu pickup games on other days.  I improved my skill so that I was winning at least one game each week and could compete with the best players.

The RV park had a weekly pancake breakfast on most Saturdays.  There was also Taco Thursday and a Pig Roast at the end of the month.  I enjoyed these get togethers.  They’re an opportunity to meet new people and engage with friends.

Each week we usually went out to dinner with some RV park friends or met a group at a nearby restaurant to listen to music.  With all the snowbirds around, it was easy to set up or find out about these outings with our snowbird friends.

In February, we got to meet up with some friends from NY who were down visiting family in nearby Cape Coral.  It was nice seeing these good friends, who we normally only see once a year.

The other social thing I did was to join the local Moose Lodge.  The lodge is just 1/3 of a mile from the RV park and several of the RV park snowbirds are members. There’s no secret handshakes or special attire needed to be a moose.  It’s just another good place to socialize, meet people, eat an inexpensive meal, and enjoy some entertainment.

RV Park Lifestyle

This winter I really embraced the RV park lifestyle.  Going to Florida for the winter is no longer just a long RV trip or an extended stay.  It’s an alternate lifestyle that I get to live during the winter.  My locale, living quarters, living amenities, and social life all change when I go to Florida.

I enjoy being close to a beachside community with all the attractions, services, and amenities.  I can go pretty much everywhere by bike or on foot and don’t have to drive.  It forces a more active lifestyle.  I adapt pretty good to our small living quarters.  It would be nice to have a little more space, but not much more.  Living in a small space forces simple living.  And with less stuff there’s less stuff to worry about.

When visiting with my friend Vicki from New York, she asked how I liked living down here (away from my home) in an RV park.  The question caused me to reflect. I am now living part of each year in Florida.  I find that I’m plenty busy each day and don’t long for things to do.  The weather and locale make it easy to be active and do things outdoors on most days.

And I like RV park living better than renting a condo.  There much more social engagement in the RV park.  I guess it’s because we’re all outside so much, so close together, and not holed up inside walls and buildings.  Overall, I find that I’m very happy when I’m in Florida.

For the past few years, I’ve been thinking about making a change – selling the big house, downsizing, and moving to someplace warmer.  The Florida and RV park lifestyle has shown me a nice alternative that I could easily transition to.

And that warps up our snowbird RV park living in Fort Myers Beach for this year.  As I look back over this post and the others I’ve written this winter, they show that we had a most enjoyable time.  Almost can’t wait to come back next year.

In a few days we say our goodbyes and start the RV road trip part of our snowbird journey.  Stay tuned!