The first week of the new year has evaporated, and it felt like it just wizzed by. Will this be indicative of the new year? Will this one move faster than the last? Everyone tells me that as you get older, time moves by faster. I tend to agree with that, but I am pretty sure it is just because the older you get, the more stuff you have to do. Stuff to do fills in all of the spaces that use to be downtime when we were younger. The downtime is what makes the time move slow.

Not a Snowbird

The first week passing into the new year has special meaning in south Florida. The turn of the year is like the state of Florida goes to Northern People Buffet, and fills up on people. By the end of the first week, the state wishes it would have worn stretchy pants.

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Friends and family ask if we are snowbirds. Since we are pretty new at this, I never really knew the right response, but would always say "no, we just follow the sun". There is a difference, you know. The difference becomes more apparent hanging around Florida at the beginning of the winter. The true snowbirds are still at their north home, dealing with cold and snow, waiting for the holidays to pass by. We are not nearly that brave. We found out that it is possible to enjoy the holidays when it is warm outside!

Our Christmas was wonderful. We spend Angie's Birthday/Christmas Eve at Don and Sis' house (Angie's mom's best friends) for a great dinner. We spent Christmas day with our new friends Ric and Steven at Sun N Fun at the tiki bar and grill. It was the most non-traditional Christmas I have had in a long time, and one of the most fun.

We met Ric and Steven briefly the last time we stayed at Sun N Fun, and ran into them once we got back. I had mentioned to Ric that I had something to help his weak wifi signal, and took it over to him on Christmas day. They invited us to stay for a drink at the tiki bar, and we moved right in. It was a great afternoon/evening of conversations, and we ended making some real good friends. A guy can't ask for a better Christmas present.

We left Sun N Fun a few days later, and headed south to Bonita Springs. The Bonita Lake RV Park was pretty empty when we arrived. A stark contrast to the lines of rigs at Sun N Fun. As the end of the year drew closer, a gather of non-snowbirds started gathering. It was going to be a crazy New Year celebration.

What better way to bring in the New Year than with great friends. Brian and Cat have been in this area for a month, and Damien and Michelle jumped off a plane and drove over from Miami so we could all of a happy new year together!

And it was nothing short of "happy".

The first gathering of the NüRVers reminded me that we are not snowbirds. The snowbirds come down here at the first of the year, pull in to their spots, and hide the keys for a few months. Not us. Brian and Cat got up the next morning and headed to the east side of the state, and the day after that, Damien and Michelle headed up to Wildwood. Ang and I are here for a few more days, but will be one our way soon.

We are all movers. We love getting around, meeting new people, seeing new places, following the sun. We have to move. Otherwise, we would never have to clean our stuff up and our place would become unlivable

Happy New Year everyone. Hope to see you all in the sun soon. You will recognize us - we are the NüRVers.

--kev