I miss the warmth. I miss the camping too, but at least I got a taste of warmth earlier this month in Florida. As I am aging, these winters get increasingly hard for me to endure. I am astonished by these people that enjoy outdoor activities in the frigid months of the year. In recent days, I have seen my Florida friends post memes about the cold snap they are experiencing and I feel no sympathy. I would love to have the problem of enduring fifty degrees as “cold.”
The product of all this frustration with the weather is that I find myself focusing on the thought of being outdoors more and more. So much so that I have started booking my camping trips for the summer. A couple of stays in New York State Parks, a couple of private campgrounds, and last night I signed up for Harvest Hosts.
Harvest Hosts popped up on my radar last year shortly after I bought my travel trailer. They are a middle man to farms, historic sites, breweries, and wineries around the country that will host you for an evening with your RV free of charge with the expressed understanding that you will spend money on their offerings and behave. The idea is great if you are a brewery and winery or farm to table kind of person. You can do a lengthy tasting and stumble to your camper and sleep it off.
I cannot comment of the quality of the stays because I have not experienced it yet, but I am hopeful it is going to be great.
The grand conflict in my life right now is when and how I escape the cold for good. I do not plan on ever moving away outright, but rather to be one of the millions of people that snow bird every year. The main decision that needs to be made is WHERE I am going to live. If you had asked me that question a few years ago, the immediate response would have been Orlando. As much time as I spend there, it seemed an easy decision. I have since learned that is not a great idea. Walt Disney World and the greater Orlando area are my happy place where I go to escape. If I lived there, the daily issues that life always presents would mix with my escapism. That is no good.
The next option, which is a rather new one, is Hilton Head Island. We travelled there back in December and I loved it. Its not necessarily as warm as I would like, but it certainly isn’t cold. They have a Disney Vacation Club resort there, which is the reason we visited. It is less commercialized than some resort areas, but it is also quite expensive with an elitist and uninviting vibe at times.
Another option is something foreign. Jessica and I have discussed Costa Rica. Neither of us have visited there, but we plan to in the coming years. I long for the ocean and she longs for the mountains. Costa Rica has both, along with plenty of jungle. The cost of living is low, so our incomes and retirement could offer a comfortable life style. Also, as a massage therapist and soon to be yoga teacher, I could easily find part time work there or lead retreats.
The last current option, which ties to the beginning of this blog post, is to upgrade our camper to a motor coach size RV and travel during the winter. This allows for us to be somewhere different all the time. We can visit National Parks or beach communities. We could travel into Mexico or Canada. We could flat tow my jeep or an EV and have access to cities. We could settle in one place for a while or be constantly on the move. There are so many options it could make your head spin.
For now, all of this is just a dream. I am nowhere near making that decision. It is likely seven years away. But it doesn’t hurt to think.
Chris