Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by palm trees and swimming pools on a hot day? Who wouldn’t want this to happen in February, usually one of the coldest months in the Northern Hemisphere? There are many people in the northern part of the United States that ask themselves this question every year, and some of them actually do something about it. They pack up their belongings, hop on a plane or rev up the old car, and head south to warmer climes. If they live on the East Coast of the United States, they usually end up in Florida, but on the West Coast, they end up scattered all over the Southwest. One of the places that you can find a lot of them is in Coachella Valley in California.
Coachella Valley is the perfect place to escape to during the months of December, January, February, and March. Basically, the place is a desert, but during these months, it is not too hot, and it makes for each day to be a pleasant experience where hanging outside, and enjoying the stark landscape is all that you need to feel like you have escaped from the cold weather from the north. Oddly, it felt a bit warmer there from where I had just voyaged from, and that was in the southern hemisphere where they were experiencing summer. However, I was on the southern tip of South America in the Patagonia region, and even though it is summer there, it still has the ability to get quite cool there. So I was enjoying the warmer weather and it was perfect.
Even at night, it would cool off a bit, but I could still wander around the neighborhood we were staying in wearing the shorts and t-shirts designed for the summertime in other parts of the world. It was hard to believe that I was living in the heart of the winter months while I was there. I could see why many people travelled to this part of the world to get away from that cold.
It made me start to reconsider what I would usually do for vacation during those colder months of the year. I was able to start and see the benefit of being one of those snowbirds, of collecting my bags, and renting that house to occupy for a week or two. It made me feel like I was at home and on vacation at the same time, and I think that is what is at the heart of being a snowbird, having that feel of both things at the same time.
Until next time, I hope you look for those opportunities to live the life of a group that you never thought you would join before.
John Collings 