As you know, we have been wrestling here at The Daily with the prospect of the coming savage winter. As we turn to the month of September, and my favorite season here in Virginia, it is time to start adapting. Consider making drinks with whiskey rather than clear liquids. Travel to some of the fine local vineyards and sample their wares.
The Fall stretches out here endlessly, sometimes past Thanksgiving, and there have been years when the major holidays were actually tolerable.
But there are some things that should not be endured. As a human from the Upper Midwest, my earliest memories are of the dirty snow that lingers on into late April or even early May. I don’t know if the years in the tropics have thinned the blood or what, but I decided that I am done with that.
The saga of America on wheels has immersed me in the fascinating tribalism of our love affair with motion. Lurching from classic autos through muscle cars and into sleek travel buses and quirky campers, there is a fanatical cult devoted to just about every aspect of life on the roll.
One alert correspondent wrote to say that her parents had simply gone gypsy-mobile for about three years before finally coming to rest in a little place in Arizona. Others have echoed that theme, and I confess to be drawn to a self-contained motorized lifestyle.
Another pal was more forthcoming in his assessment: “You are getting old and you want to live in a bus? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?”
I had to calm down. Of course he is right. This is the time of life to stop worrying about tires and brakes and valves and full Collection and Holding Tanks. I am a car guy, I have decided, and hotel camping is fine with me, so long as the money holds out. So for those alarmed about an impending disappearance, I am confident it will not happen that way.
I am a little ambivalent about the truck thing, though. There may be a need for one. But an entirely new approach was suggested by my long-term representative of the Cajun Chamber of Commerce, the Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate. He broke it down this way:
“Don’t be an idiot, Vic. Why take on a huge maintenance and insurance challenge? Why not do what thousands of Canadians used to do before Katrina, spend December through February on the Mississippi Gulf Coast?”
You won’t be swimming in the Gulf during those months but you won’t be shoveling snow by a long shot. The Canadians haven’t been around for a while so all those summer rental beach cottages and condos have no market. You could probably find a comfortable place for the entire season for the equivalent of three month’s payment on even the Class C RV, plus insurance, of course, but less gas.”
“Just get on the internet, find a place and drive down in the Panzer after Thanksgiving.”
“Gets cold early? Just pop down and stay at Keesler AF Base Lodge (brand new facility really nice or the Navy Lodge at Gulfport. Yes, both east and west ends of the Gulf Coast are predicted to have a colder than normal winter. ”
“Our longest, most brutal, freakish winter in memory were way warmer than the mildest winters I experienced in Annapolis. Winter here takes a long time to get here and is over fast.”
“Our coldest winter means that you will want an unlined wind breaker or light sweater most days, a heavier sweater some days, a lined jacket, possibly over a sweater on the coldest days. But the advantage of the little cold we experience in what we call a “cold winter” is the prices. From Pass Christian to Biloxi this is the off-season.”
“Rental units are down and if you want a multi week deal discounts can be negotiated. From the Mississippi Gulf Coast you can explore SE Louisiana, Coastal Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. All have just enough “cold” to not be a major winter draws.”
“Until they are rediscovered, anyway. The Canadians created quite a winter business for Mississippi for about 5 years before Katrina, then the oil spill, the Canadians just don’t seem to know that its all back, better than ever.”
“So before you invest in an RV give some thought to a winter vacation rental on the Gulf Coast. Or maybe just make a reservation at Keesler AFB (about $35 a night for some really decent quality digs) a couple of weeks and if you don’t like it, head down to Key West from there.”
“Hang on a minute: click the link to see what $170,000 buys near Keesler.”
“Keesler is a big training center with a real hospital, nice golf course and driving range over looking the back Bay of Biloxi, a front gate only a few blocks from the beach and Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, a shopping mall-sized Exchange and Commissary, nice club open to all but mostly patronized by E-6 -0-6 with some nice rental rooms and catering if you want throw a serious party and not mess up your digs.”
“When it comes to people the Mississippi Gulf Coast is not the Mississippi of movies or the headlines of the 60s. Few will even notice that you don’t have a drawl.”
Boats
Fair enough, I thought. There is plenty to see down there, and Key West always beckons out there in the middle distance. I think this is going to be a great winter, the more I think about it. Bring on the Polar Vortex out of the chilly northland- I will be someplace else, perhaps not fully mobile, but close enough for Government Work.
Copyright 2014 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303