Spending the Winter Where ???

Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers.

Enjoying steaks on the beach at Coronado -- winter time.

There aren’t a lot of places one can go to stay warm during the winter months and still be in the United States.  Where you might think the weather will be perfect doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be.  We spent a month in Florida a couple years ago.  Doesn’t Florida – just the word – conjure up sights and sounds of gorgeous sunshine and pristine beaches??  Well, we were right in our decision for about a week and that was it.  The best part about it were the people we were with – Lee and MaryJane.

Along with the beautiful white sand beaches of Florida we enjoyed spending time with friends.

Our timing was just bad since it rained most of the time we were there.  We loved the Gulf Shores area of Alabama more than the part of Florida we were in.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe it was because the weather was nicer at that time.  Maybe it’s because we expected palm trees and got pine trees instead.  However, looking back I can tell you not all of Florida is wonderful and warm during the winter months.  Go south.  Go way south.

There are always a few cons attached to each pro.  We loved the Biloxi, Mississippi area but it gets cold there in January.  It gets cool and windy in south Texas and even in southern California.  Coming up with the perfect winter destination is extremely difficult.  It’s not that we’re looking to go someplace we’ve never been.  We’ve been to those places. We’re actually looking for something a little different this winter than we’ve looked for in the past.  Maybe the location on the map isn’t so important.  Maybe it’s just not. 

Biloxi, MS was fantastic.  We stayed at the Elks Lodge and on one side of the street we parked.  Across the street was this gorgeous beach.

As we get later in the summer this year, our idea of a perfect place to be continues to change.  Maybe distance this year is a little more important.  Just maybe it is.   Maybe we don’t want to travel far.   After all, this is the first time in 8 years that both our kids and their families (except Justin, who now belongs to Uncle Sam) are within 50 miles of each other.  It would really, really be nice to have a good old fashioned Christmas together one more time.   If we’re close enough, we could drive back for Christmas.  Flying is out because Duchess doesn’t fly.  Sometimes real life steps in and changes our minds on what we thought we would want to do.  Sometimes we need to come off vacation and enjoy just the pleasures of real living … sometimes.  Sometimes RVing just isn’t enough.  It’s nice to have two worlds.

Does that mean we’ll be in California or Arizona through December?  We do have friends heading in that direction.  Maybe, but then where will we be in January, February or March?  That’s what we’d like to know.

Beach front in San Diego was definitely another prime location for us.

We’ve spent a few winters around Arizona.  You can usually count on mostly nice weather in Arizona but we’ve really been ready for a change.  We’ve been talking and planning and looking at maps and places to stay.  Maybe, just maybe, this isn’t the year to make a big change.  Maybe it is.  I suppose we could find other places in Arizona to winter other than driving an additional 1,000 miles to Texas this year but do we really want to?

This was a gorgeous place we stayed in Arizona.  Too bad though that they don't offer monthly rates.

This is what we’re kind of thinking.  We might travel somewhere from central California or Lake Havasu area until right after Christmas.  Over the holidays, we’ll just drive the car back to Washington. Then, after the holidays head towards Corpus Christi ---- maybe.  At least we do have reservations in Corpus beginning February. We lived in Texas for many years and that’s where my dad is from.  I’d really like to go back and visit some familiar places but we’ll just have to see if we make it there.  Right now .. that's just the plan.

Where will we end up this winter?  We don’t know. Have you found the perfect place to spend the winter?   Where exactly is that perfect place?  I think we all have a different idea of what perfect is.  Is it the people or is it the location?

One thing we do know is that we will hightail it out of here before the snow blankets the mountains holding us captive to a frigid, wet winter.  That’s just about all we know.