FL Snowbird Entry 9: Burning Up the Highway & Hitting Every Store

I have now been shopping and in more stores within my first one week here with mom than I have been inside within months on my own!! Why you ask? After thinking a bit, I realize the difference causing my obvious absence from bricks and mortar stores is that my habits of 2010 have only recently taken hold of me and many of my generation and younger.

The habit I refer to is online shopping. This new-fangled option did not exist in 1990 or even 2000 for that matter! Why burn up the highway when you can get what you want easier from the comfort of your easy chair? I am definitely a proponent of online shopping!

Why have we been so many places here in Florida in just one week? The answer lies in understanding the necessities of RV travel and the process involved in being a winter snowbird.

Being a snowbird has it’s advantages and disadvantages. It means having two homes. That means that you leave one home AND all of your ‘stuff’ when you go to the other. When you leave Florida to go home you have to remove the perishable food. When you return you have had to buy groceries to stock the cabinets, and pick up fresh fruit and veggies. There are also the shopping stops to find items for the multiple necessary handyman projects we have already encountered. We have gotten ourselves started in some ‘crafty’ projects so we had to purchase crochet hooks and yarn for a crochet class mom was requested to give. (Yes we both have crochet hooks and yarn up north, at our ‘other’ home, in the snow and ice. Are you weighing the advantages and disadvantages? Us, too.

Road running had included finding iron-on backing for some sewing projects mom and I want to do together that she forgot to bring from her sewing stock at home. This item caused more running and searching than any other because stores like Joann’s and Hobby Lobby are many miles away from our more countrified snowbird residential area of Florida. The next most challenging item turned out to be just the ‘right’ step stool for mom. I think we visited four places before we returned to Winn Dixie to purchase the one I saw and recommended to her but she had not seen it so we searched. Another stop made among the seemingly millions was to allow our carless neighbors to buy their FL lottery tickets.

So we have burned up Highway 27 running through Sebring ALL week long. We have hit most stores once and some much more. Just how much damage did we do? No damage! We helped the sagging economy! Within just one week we shopped in Publix Grocery twice, Winn Dixie Grocery three times, Michael’s Crafts twice, Wal Mart, KMart, Lowes, and Home Depot! That’s not all!! We found and bought items at 4 different fruit and vegetable stands, 2 local fabric stores and  1 RV parts store. We also hit 4 Flea Markets in the 3 towns of Sebring, Avon Park, and Lake Wales plus an Antique Mall! Oh well, I can’t leave out the gas station or laundry that helped us through the week with gas for the F150 and clean clothes so we can do this again next week!!!

I might make a note in a huge difference that exists between me here with the Snowbirds and my hubby who is back at home alone and still working every day: mom and I have only made one fast food stop. When I spoke with Den he listed at least 5 places he has been this week after working to grab fast food for his survival.

Advantages and disadvantages of being a Florida Snowbird, I have just hit the tip of the iceberg in this little entry. I will have to reflect on that a lot more in entries to come!