211 – Snowbirding v2

For proper context, I wrote this in March 2023 near the end of my snowbird time. The good news is snowbird time is nearing.

Click the video above for several minutes of background waves while reading.

I like to walk on the beach. It is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

This morning is great for walking. The temperature is warm, but there are enough clouds and haze in the sky to mute the sun. The breeze is light, but enough to feel good, and I should feel it in both directions today. Being closer to low tide than high, the sand is firm. The emerald green water is noticeably warmer than when I arrived two months ago. A few pelicans gracefully flow past. Dolphins passed by in the water. The number of people on the beach is noticeably fewer.

All this, yet I feel a bit melancholy today. My time here for this year is nearing an end, but what happened this morning accentuated the point. Most of the monthly rental agreements expired, so our friends left this morning – returning to Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, and Tennessee. 

The morning coffee crew wasn’t there to greet us exiting the building on our way to the beach. Another couple didn’t come out onto their balcony to wave as we walked by their building. We were with most of them last night for the final hurrah of Tuesday music, and the evening ended with hugs, best wishes, and hopes of reuniting next year. One friend responded with a series of “Shut up, Frank” as I mentioned what we would do during our remaining days here before starting the two-day drive northward.

Our snowbird friends are the ones we share time with here. It’s fluid – meaning we don’t always do the same things together. Enjoying some of the same musicians serves as a common thread. 

I had a milestone birthday this year during my time here. It was these friends that gathered in our space for an afternoon of fun and fellowship. This year my birthday was a Friday, which means at home, I probably would have celebrated with our ballroom dance friends. Given birthdays happen on the same day each year, my last seven birthdays have been here at the beach as a snowbird.

I smile thinking about other things during my birthday. My wonderful sister-in-law visited, so she experienced our routine for a week. A few days before my birthday, one of our favorite singers invited me on stage to play the bongos with the band. I’m not a percussionist, but I am musical – so I thought I did fine! 

On birthday night, the lead singer mentioned me several times during the evening – even encouraging me to dance with some of the locals. I went up and danced a hustle with someone I didn’t know, but I knew she could dance. Later she mentioned to me what she told her friend: “I don’t know who he was, but he was smooth.” Then her jaw dropped when I mentioned I’m a social ballroom dancer.

This morning’s great weather reminds me that the weather the past two months has been off-the-charts wonderful. Not to say there weren’t bad days, but most of the temperatures have been above normal this year – even by double digits – plus the amount of precipitation has been less than normal. I laugh thinking about the people visiting here for the first time. If next year is normal, they will be shocked!

I think about how much I enjoy being down here during Mardi Gras. Unlike the rest of the country, Mardi Gras along the Gulf Coast is a season – not a day. There is something about the month-long celebration every day on the news. King Cake is a Mardi Gras tradition, so we served two for my birthday celebration.

I think about how this was a different year for us – the first not bringing my wife’s father along. Fewer obligations meant more freedom and spontaneity – but I probably walked less this year than in the past. I didn’t track my steps, but I’m guessing I averaged over 17,000 steps per day. Although I don’t know the exact number, I wrote 35-40 new drafts for future beach walk essays.

We’ve started the packing process and even started a list of what we need to buy on our first grocery store run after returning home – a list we will add to during the drive home. So yes – I’m melancholy today.

We will return home to unpack, multiple appointments, handbells, occasional meetings, ballroom dance, a Costco shopping spree, working at the golf course, and all the other routines of life at home. And that’s OK because I can look back at this snowbird season anticipating next year’s return trip. Besides, we have other travel plans between now and then.

Over the next ten months, the pelicans will still soar, the sanderlings will scamper, the gulls will squawk, the heron will patiently stand in solitude, and the passing dolphins have a way of making people smile. The waves will still splash onto the sand, the sun will shine, the moon will mystify, and the breeze will provide relief. All that and more will be waiting for me to return because I like to walk on the beach. It is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

See what other bloggers have posted about Snowbirds

• Flying South (a poem)
• Our First Attempt at Being Snowbirds (an essay)
• Becoming a Snowbird (an essay)
• Snowbirds (a poem)
• Snowbird Freedom (a past beach walk essay)

Next Post: Feet – Thursday 4th January @ 1 AM (Eastern US)