SnowBirds

Southbound Snowbirds

This Little Snowbird Went to Florida; This Little Snowbird Stayed Home…

For Thanksgiving, part of my family decided to split the travel difference between Georgia and Louisiana and met in one of my favorite Florida panhandle towns - Destin. It was during this visit I became reacquainted with the term “snowbirds” and one of their migratory playgrounds.

Throughout my childhood, my family always headed east during the summer for a week of Florida fun. Panama City was where we stayed for many years; but as the area became more heavily developed and the drive with six kids started to take its toll, my parents chose to shorten the drive just a hair and Destin became our new destination. Getting eight people to agree on any topic wasn’t always easy, but not once in all of the years that we vacationed in Florida do I remember any of us ever asking to go someplace else. Ah, those were the days!

Florida seemed a paradise to us kids back then, and it seems it was for my parents as well. Long after we kids moved on to begin college and start families and such, my parents continued their annual Destin trek. Instead of the customary week in the summer, my parents found they could enjoy an entire month during the off season for about the same price.

The Holiday Surf and Racquet Club in Destin was where my parents always stayed; and whenever possible, one or more of us kids would join them during that time for a brief visit. They always spoke fondly of the people they met that lived at the resort permanently and those that came for extended stays during the fall and winter months. It was during one of those visits with my parents that I first heard the term “snowbird.”

Since that time it seems the annual migration of snowbirds has continued to grow in popularity, and the activities that have been organized to entertain this delightful group are plentiful. There is an excellent publication that now comes out four times a year for snowbirds making their way to the Gulf Coast. This magazine, appropriately titled “SnowBirds Gulf Coast” is an excellent resource for those interested in exchanging their wintry snow shovels for accoutrements more suitable for use in the warmer and drier white southern landscapes. One can expect to find activities like golf, tennis, heated pools, dancing, dining, Bingo, casino trips, Bridge, shuffleboard, book clubs, arts and crafts, cycling, fishing, shopping, walks on the beach and more. At many places, such as the Holiday Surf & Racquet Club, there are also workout rooms with stationary exercise equipment and saunas. There seems to be so much to do, it reminds me of summer camp for grownups — or should that more appropriately be called winter camp?

Here’s a video that seems appropriate for all the snowbirds readying for their trips south. Until then, try to stay warm, because “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”