LAKE WALES, Fla. — It took us a while, but we finally made it.
Leaving Indiana on Thursday morning, Dec. 11, was a bad decision.
That was the morning the area was hit with a driving snowstorm — one of those white-knucklers that kept your fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel, especially on Route 422 in the Ebensburg area and then on Route 22 going over the mountain at Cresson.
But after we got off the mountain and onto Route 99 heading for Breezewood, there was no snow at all on the ground.
It was pretty much smooth sailing all the way to Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., where we spent a few days with our friend Clark Grosch. This has been a traditional stop, and the retired Indiana High teacher and former basketball coach is always the perfect host.
Sunday morning we left North Carolina for Florida and arrived at Lake Wales that evening.
Arlene and Jerry Clawson, former Saltsburg residents and friends through our school years, awaited our arrival and we received a briefing on the holiday happening at our community, Tower Lakes.
After emptying the residence on Church Street in Indiana for the past six weeks, it sure was a joy to start the week stress-free and with temperatures in the 70s.
But as far as I’m concerned, the blue skies and sunshine are the real magnet that draws the northerners.
“Snowbirds,” as we are all called, are on a continual pilgrimage to the Sunshine State, and they are eagerly awaited and accepted.
Even though the highways and byways become more congested with visitors from the North, the economy receives a tremendous boost. And that, of course, is the reason Florida welcomes the wintertime visitors with open arms and tourism is the No. 1 industry.
Just in our complex alone, Tower Lakes, there are 33 residents from the Indiana County area. It is not the place to be if you want to get away from Indiana Countians.
But then, Melbourne on the East Coast, Sarasota on the West Coast and Zephyrhills near Tampa, are also favorite winter spots for Indiana County residents.
Thursday evening I picked up my brother, Frank, at the airport in Orlando, about an hour from Lake Wales.
It has been pretty much a week of settling in, renewing old acquaintances getting used to wearing shorts and sandals all day.
Since there are many full-time residents in the park, the Christmas decorations are just about everywhere, and it is evident that they really put an effort into making them very, very festive.
Unfortunately, my decorations are packed in storage back in Indiana, but we do have a few colored lights and a tree.
So, that said, my brother and I wish everyone a happy and joyous Christmas and New Year.
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