Snowbirds

Front view of condo unit

I had always chuckled about "elderly" northerners who spent all or part of the winter in Florida. I never saw myself as that kind of person. As the years went on, though, I began to lose interest in winter sports. The fact that Dick broke his ankle in the Canadian backcountry a number of years ago and it took 24 hours to be evacuated by snow mobile didn't help. We are very active, outdoor oriented people and our short winter forays south (short because I had to work for a living) were filled with walks and biking.

Once I retired in May I began to dream about spending a few months in a warm climate so we could do all the outdoor activities that we enjoy in the three seasons up north. In previous years we had always spent a few days with Dick's cousins in Crystal River. They live in a condo community on the water called The Islands. We liked the setting and had gotten to know some of the residents.

I did some research on line and tracked down a rental for the first three months of 2009. The front view is above. Here is a view of the back:

It's a townhouse with two bedrooms, two and a half baths, a large kitchen and very large combined living/dining area. It has its own washer and dryer and two screened porches. The community has a heated pool and tennis courts.

We're here a week now and the weather has been outstanding, the neighbors friendly and we've already done a lot of biking and walking. There are some challenges to being away from home. We miss our friends at FUSP and I miss my knitting compadres. We're used to pretty serious cooking and the kitchen isn't quite as fully equipped as we would like it to be. We're working to fill those gaps though.

Yesterday we went to the Nature Coast Unitarian Universalists Sunday service. The warmth and welcome were amazing. We were invited to participate in a number of upcoming social events. The people we chatted with seemed to be right on our wave length.

We've also been to some activities in the community; a brunch and a New Years Eve party. I attended a session of water exercise in the heated pool. I intend to do more of that.

All in all, it's an experiment. If we like it, we'll do it again next year. If we don't; well, it's only a rental and we have no obligation after March 31.

If you are in the area or you're looking to spend a few days in the sunny south, come on down and join us.