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SNOWBIRD SUGGESTIONS
4 min read
Welcome to THE STANGL ANGLE, the Whisper Creeker News blog page. Stay tuned every week for new and entertaining articles written by neighbor Greg Stangl featured right here every Sunday!
And so it begins, the annual Snowbird migration south to our little winter paradise here at Whisper Creek. Perusing our community directory, it lists the highest unit number as 467. Assuming that there is an average of two people per camper/house/motorhome, our population swells to around 1000 frost-tinged souls each winter season.
We arrive in a variety of vehicles including cars, motorhomes, motorcycles, jet planes and yes, even boats. I did see one older guy with a backpack who arrived on foot. He had meant to hang a right at Georgia headed towards Mobile but missed the turn. I redirected him and he hobbled back north to I-75 to correct his mistake.
Looking at license plates, we come from a vast geographical area heavily weighted on the eastern half of the US and extending well up into Canada. I’ve heard that there are some people from England here but I’ve never met them. We’re all running south from frigid temperatures, piles of snow and having to spend yet another holiday season with that obnoxious brother-in-law.
Trust me, Florida loves us. The state’s population swells by 5% in the winter and we bring well oiled credit cards with us contributing over $100 million dollars to the Florida economy each season.
Sadly, we do bring a few challenges with us. Because we’re a little older, we face some difficulties with our driving including decreased reflexes, vision impairments and occasional medical issues. It takes us a little time to readjust to local traffic laws and patterns and we have a tendency to drive a little slower. Let’s not even talk about the time wasted waiting for the Caloosahatchee drawbridge to open and close to traffic. Unfortunately the accident rate in Florida jumps up by 7% in the winter months and traffic congestion increases as we migrate south.
As people arrive and the season unfolds there are signs that our community is waking up. Yard art begins to appear and campers and trailers are power washed. Air pressure is checked on golf carts and bike tires and there is a run on Fireball at the local liquor store. Picklers are seen cheerfully sweeping off the courts and cornholers are carefully measuring the distance between goals.
A couple pulled in with a 5th wheel a few days back and I heard the man apologizing to his wife about the language he used backing in. “Geometry is hard” he said “And backwards geometry is even harder!”
So if you’re reading this on-line and have not started your annual trek south, please take some extra care when diving and stop and rest as needed. We’ll be here when you arrive and we promise not to have any fun until you get here.
Well, we might have just a little…
GREG STANGL
THE STANGL ANGLE
Fellow Whisper Creeker Greg Stangl comes to us from the great state of Wisconsin. He and his wife Colleen spend summers on Lake Wisconsin and enjoy the leisurely winter months here in our little paradise together with their beautiful Springer Spaniels Isabella Rosalini and Sophia Loren.
Greg is a professional photographer, speaker and writer who not only owned a photography studio for 40 years, but also taught college courses and lectured on the subject in 35 states and 7 countries.
Greg’s other passion is writing. He has published works in 10 national magazines and also authored workbooks employed in photography and marketing. Whisper Creeker News is both honored and excited for Greg to share his creative writing talents with us as well!
ENJOY ‘THE STANGL ANGLE” BLOG ARTICLES AS THEY’RE POSTED EVERY SUNDAY!
GREG STANGL
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves 😊!
