Preparing to Snowbird

Becoming Snowbirds

For years, Pat and I have talked about spending the winter somewhere warm.

In a way, we’ve already been doing it, just a couple of weeks at a time. Every winter we’d head south, enjoy the sunshine, and then reluctantly return home to snow and cold.

This year is different.

This year, we’re becoming snowbirds.

We’ll head south in October, come home for a couple of weeks around the holidays to spend time with family, then return to Florida until April.

This is one of the main reasons we bought the fifth wheel we did.

There’s a Lot to Think About

As first-time snowbirds, we’re discovering there’s much more to planning than simply hooking up the RV and heading south.

Family was one of our biggest considerations.

I think everyone has accepted that we’ll be gone for much of the winter. Those with younger children may miss having Grandma and Grandpa nearby for the occasional babysitting job, but they’ll manage. The grandkids are getting older, and life has a way of working these things out.

Preparing the House

We’ve also been working through all the details of leaving home for several months.

One of our daughters still lives nearby, so she’ll be helping us keep an eye on the house and sort through our mail. If something important arrives, she can let us know or scan it to us.

We’ve also been making a list of services that can be suspended while we’re away, such as cable television, trash service, and newspaper delivery.

We even talked with our insurance agent about placing one of our vehicles in storage and reducing the coverage while it sits unused. Every little bit helps.

What Do You Take?

The biggest challenge has probably been deciding what to bring.

We don’t want to haul things we’ll never use, but we also don’t want to discover that we left behind something important and have to ship it or buy another one.

Since buying our fifth wheel, we’ve tried to keep it fully stocked. For most camping trips, all we really need to add is food and clothing.

Living in it for several months is different.

We’ll be farther from home, so we’re bringing additional tools, spare parts, and supplies in case we need to handle minor repairs while we’re on the road.

Hopefully, they’ll stay tucked away in the storage compartment and never be needed.

Planning the Trip

The journey south has taken more planning than we expected.

We’ll be traveling during one of the busiest migration periods of the year, when thousands of other RVers are heading south as well.

We’ve talked about boondocking overnight, but since we don’t have a generator, we decided campground stays make more sense. Depending on the weather, we may need air conditioning or a little heat, and having hookups will make the trip much more comfortable.

The other question is how far we want to drive each day.

We’ve done more than 400 miles in a day before, but only occasionally.

For this trip, we’ve planned shorter travel days of around 325 miles. It will take us a little longer to reach Florida, but we’d rather enjoy the journey than rush through it.

The Motorcycle

We’re also bringing the Gold Wing with us.

I looked into having it shipped to Florida, but the cost was surprisingly high.

Instead, I’ll ride it down a few weeks before we leave, store it with relatives a couple of hours from our destination, then fly back home to help Pat drive the truck and fifth wheel south.

As strange as it sounds, riding the motorcycle to Florida and flying home actually costs less than having it shipped.

Besides, I enjoy a good long ride, so I’m looking forward to the trip.

Looking Ahead

The closer departure gets, the more excited we become.

We’re probably overthinking some of the details, but that’s part of any new adventure. We’d rather spend a little extra time planning now than discover we’ve forgotten something once we’re 1,500 miles from home.

This has been a dream for a long time.

Now it’s finally becoming reality.

One Last Thought

People often ask why anyone would leave home for six months.

For us, it isn’t about running away from winter.

It’s about having the freedom to explore new places, meet new people, and experience life at a slower pace while we still can.

The snow will still be here when we get back. This winter, we’re choosing sunshine instead.