Being a Snow Bird

colbysmith

colbysmith

Active member
Ok, Rosanne is retired and we are considering spending two or three months a year (Dec-Feb or Jan-Feb only) in warmer places. First off, suggestions for reasonably priced locations? My plan is to take C-Traveler with us. Either stay on land and slip or park the boat, available to explore on the water in the locale, or stay on the boat in a marina with shower and laundry access, relatively close to town for church, shopping, entertainment, etc. And of course in a slip situation, pickup and trailer parking.

The next question is, what do you do with your main home? We have a lot of indoor plants that I assume will have to go. We don't have family in the area to take care of the home, but we do have some pretty good neighbors that would keep watch. Neighbors would likely take care of snow removal, but Rosanne prefers to hire it done commercially... Just wondering what other snowbirds do with regards to maintaining their year round home while gone for several months.

We don't plan on snowbirding this season, but hope to start Jan 2026 for two months. We're looking at Arizona since I have my dad and a sibling here, and grew up here, so still have friends in the area. We've talked about southern Florida (the Keys), and will check out Gulf Shores, AL in February when we go spend a week with friends there. How about farther north in the SE, say, Georgia or S. Carolina? West coast is acceptable as well. Wherever we go, would prefer to have water nearby. Doesn't have to be a big body of water, but enough to enjoy C-Traveler on. (One other option is just to leave her home, but would need to find indoor storage, which may be an issue for just a few months out of the year.) Just looking to see how others do it. TIA. Colby
 
Colby there are a few lakes that come to mind when you mentioned Arizona. Up north there is Lake Powell and there are several marinas Around the Page, AZ , then there is Lake Havasu to the west on the Colorado river, and Parker, AZ has RV parks with boat ramps on the river. More toward Mesa/Apache Junction area there is Canyon lake, lake Saguaro and Lake Roosevelt all of which have marinas.

As far as what to do about the house, it's best if you can have your neighbors look after the place for you and keep the place looking lived in. Security cameras are a good idea as well that will notify you if there is activity. That will require keeping the Wifi going. Leave the heat on 55 or so to keep things from freezing up. As far as snow removal there must be a local outfit that puts you on their route when it snows. It sounds like you've got plenty of time to iron out all the details.
Congratulations and good luck.
 
Thanks Dave. You forgot Lake Pleasant. Lol. We come out to Goodyear once a year to visit my dad and I grew up in west Phoenix, so one of the reasons Arizona is on our list of possibilities. Lake Havasu is one of the areas I thought about. I think Powell may be a little to cold to stay in a slip up there, even with the webasto. The other lakes you mentioned would be great to visit, but probably not to stay in a slip. For that I was considering Pleasant as a possibility, but probably cheaper to just find land storage and trailer to locations to explore.
 
Gulf Shores, AL is just down the water from us. The weather there will be about the same as Pensacola. For example in the next week it will get down to 32* There are going to be a few cold spells.

We would go to the Keys January thru March--but that RV park is gone to the way of Condos. Black Fin Resort has both slips and hotel rooms--but like everything else in the keys it is expensive.
Also marina slips are at a premium in the Keys. I ran Feb 1 thru March 10, and the cheapest room only was $18,000. No $1000 a month structure. Also many resorts in that area are booked full.
 
I fly a different flag. While I like Gulf Shores you may not get what you think you're getting...It won't matter much to those that live there yr round. But it is somewhat damp & chilly on the panhandle until February/March.

Hurricane is an "almost undiscovered" area of southern UT, two gorgeous towns, St George and and Hurricane (pronounced her-a-kin). Its modern enough to have modern facilities of every sort, including medicine, schools and restaurants. But overall it remains ice town with an older feel to it. Two lakes are there in Hurricane with extensive motorhome parks. If the little Crappy/Bluegill lakes don't hold your interest then a short trip to Powell is available. Others can fill you in on when to go there. You can ride your UTV's on the street.

Just west of there is a gorgeous town called St. George. I used to visit and sell flowers to the Temple there. It is to West Coast Little League what Williamsport PA is to East Coast. Its pretty exciting, First off the weather is pretty predictably dry (excessively so) Then its the furtherest north in Utah where Cacti and Palms are common. It's striking. In Feb and March there are many College and High School Baseball challenges there, and its fun to see all the excitement surrounding that.
If you Gamble then Las Vegas is across the border and about 100 mi west.

The climate is unusual across this area of UT in that it has frost but things rarely freeze to death. Brilliant, clear sunshine, mild and breezy is usually the norm.

Another area that is very nice, a hair wetter but not much, and warmer: The Sacramento River and its Delta. I cant wait to see that area by boat some day. Imagine CA Climate without having any association with the politics or traffic. Its awesome. For Me it would be Bass, Striper, Sturgeon and Trout everyday. Lots of small marinas scattered about. Best In Feb and March. You can get up near to Napa. There are several Famous Print to visit;-) History abounds and Auburn and Sonora are fun towns to visit for that. Calaveras and Yosemite aren't far either.

Having sold them all of our lives My wife and I continue to Collect Perennials, tropical perennials included, and our Kids or even grandkids will attend to them when we're away...
 
Thanks Bob and Donald. We'll learn more about Gulf Shores the end of Feb, as Rosanne's best friend stays there Dec-March, and we'll stay with them a week the end of February. (They are also from Wisconsin, and appear to like the Gulf Shores area, as this will be there third year there. Gulf Shores also seems to have some other Wisconsinites that flock there for winter.) It may not be as warm as we'd like, but again, much better than winter in Wisconsin! As for the places in southern Utah, I feel they may still be a bit colder than we want, and I believe they can even get snow. I lived in Sacramento several years flying for the USCG, and know it can get chilly and very foggy there in the winter. But it's still warmer than Wisconsin! lol. Thanks again for the suggestions.
 
Our C-Brat friend JamesTXSD used to live on South Padre Island way down in south Texas. You might review his posts about that area. It sounded like a great place. Roseann congratulations on your retirement.
 
Great fishing off the Navarre Beach. Of what I've seen in my lifetime Navarre's beaches are the prettiest.


colbysmith":3e1cq2cl said:
Thanks Bob and Donald. We'll learn more about Gulf Shores the end of Feb, as Rosanne's best friend stays there Dec-March, and we'll stay with them a week the end of February. (They are also from Wisconsin, and appear to like the Gulf Shores area, as this will be there third year there. Gulf Shores also seems to have some other Wisconsinites that flock there for winter.) It may not be as warm as we'd like, but again, much better than winter in Wisconsin! As for the places in southern Utah, I feel they may still be a bit colder than we want, and I believe they can even get snow. I lived in Sacramento several years flying for the USCG, and know it can get chilly and very foggy there in the winter. But it's still warmer than Wisconsin! lol. Thanks again for the suggestions.
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Colby and Rosanne,

First congratulations on both being finally retired.

We have been retired since 2002 and C-Dory owners since 1990. We have been snowbirds every winter since 2002 and a boat was an integral part of every winter from 2002 to 2020.

For two winters, 2002 and 2003, we went to Cabo San Lucas, Baja, Sur. We had a F350 truck with a Lance camper and towed first a 22' Classic/Angler, then a 2003 24' TomCat. We stayed in Los Arcos RV park. Put the camper on the ground and launched the boat almost every day. Fishing for Yellowfin and Mahi Mahi. Baja was a place we had visited frequently since 1972 for summer trips and finally got to spend months there instead of just days.

2004 to 2015 we spent in Rockport, Texas at Palm Harbor RV park. The first three years we would split the winter in the Florida Keys, starting in November for two months living on the TomCat, then end up in Texas until April. . A TomCat or a 25' for that matter, is not really the right boat for the bays and flats of the Texas Gulf Coast. The water ranges from inches on the flats, to about 10' deep in the bays. We bought the TomCqt 255 in 2005 and used it one partial winter in the Keys with Jim and Joan (Wildblue). Then the next (2007) partial winter again in the Keys, with my sister.

For fishing, I ended up buying a 16' flats boat w/60hp Suzuki.

Rockport, Texas is a great winter destination on the water and we spent 13 winters there. Texas is much cheaper than Florida and less crowded. There are places with slips and I'm sure you could find accommodations for your 25'. To truly use the 25' I would look at the Aransas Pass area. Direct access to the gulf of Mexico. The Texas Gulf weather is warm and pleasant except a few short periods of northern cold fronts.

We moved our winter operation to the Yuma, Arizona area in 2016 and except for 2020 when we took a 3+ month Caravan tour of Mexico in our motor home we have made Yuma our 6 month winter home. We sold the TomCat 255 in Dec. of 2020 and last year we bought an RV port in Yuma.

We summer in Loa, Utah and except for a few summers spent in Alaska we enjoy the home mountains. I wouldn't recommend Utah, even the Hurricane area as a winter destination. Too cold and windy at times. You are familiar enough with Lake Powell to know it isn't the place to spend a winter. Back in the 80's and 90's we would go to the Hite area every Presidents Day weekend. More than once we woke up to ice around the boat or snow on the top.

You have been at this traveling around and towing the boat enough that I'm sure you and Rosanne will have a great time.
 
Donald, USCGAS Sacramento was on McClelland AFB, which closed down at some point and became civilian businesses. Thanks Brent! Not sure we’re ready to spend much time in Mexico or the Baja, but I’ll have to look up those Texas locations. Not sure about Yuma. I’ve driven thru there a few times and was just never impressed with the area. Tell Dixie hello. I’ve been loving retirement for sometime and Rosanne hasn’t had any regrets in her short time so far. Colby
 
Saw your reply too, Marty. Thanks. I vaugley remember that area from my flight training days in Corpus Christi. Yes, that might be another nice place to think about. Colby
 
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