First Year as a Snowbird: A Journey to Grand Isle, Louisiana
I retired in 2013. Shortly after, my husband informed me that he wanted to head south for the winter. He said he hated cold weather and wanted to escape it. Since he had become a crop-only farmer, he could get away for a couple of months.
I was dumbfounded! Not once in our 38-year marriage had he ever mentioned being a snowbird!!! I had never ever given it a thought. I don’t mind cold temperatures and I love an occasional snowfall. However, I had never had to work out in the bad weather. He, on the other hand, had spent over 30 years as a cattle farmer. Between clearing snow, feeding cattle, chopping ice in the watering holes, and caring for newborn calves in the dead of winter, he had come to hate winter in Missouri.
So, in January 2014, we packed our fifth wheel camper and headed south.
Traveling to Grand Isle, Louisiana
Jimmy loves to fish. Forest Lee, his friend at the local coffee shop was a winter campground host at the Grand Isle, Louisiana, State Park. After hearing him go on and on about the good fishing there, Jimmy decided that’s where we’d go.
We planned to stay for six weeks.
Thank goodness we had GPS on our phones. Otherwise, we might have never reached our destination. Before this, we thought New Orleans was the southernmost part of the state. Wrong! Grand Isle is 100 miles and two hours south of New Orleans.
Grand Isle’s website offers this description of the area.
A remote oasis nearly hidden within Louisiana’s expansive shoreline. Grand Isle is your passport to adventure in a state known for being a “Sportsman’s Paradise.” Renowned for its world-class fishing and birding habitat, Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island offers unblemished views of the Gulf of Mexico, miles of beaches and boundless wildlife. Couple this with southern hospitality and mouthwatering seafood and you’ll discover why visitors have fallen in love with Grand Isle for two and a half centuries. https://townofgrandisle.com/
World-Class Fishing
It’s true, the fishing can be great. In fact, the first day Jimmy fished, he caught a red fish with every cast. He came back to the camper with a huge catch and lots of enthusiasm. That was the only day he caught any fish. He went three other days and caught absolutely nothing. After the four-day fishing license expired, he saw no need to buy another one.
After exploring the rest of the island, it became apparent that the main attraction was fishing. There were many fishing shacks and shrimp boats.
It appeared that the area was full of tourists in the summer but only had a handful in the winter. And, if you didn’t fish, there was very little else to do.
We bought some fresh large shrimp that we cooked and took some home to Missouri.
Unblemished Views
The day we arrived was the only warm day we had there. I quickly rushed to the beach. As soon as I crested the dune, I was amazed at the number of oil drilling rigs in view. Before leaving the island, I spotted 35 rigs (some with the use of binoculars). Although there was a very long beach, I can’t say it was an unblemished view.
Being close to the rigs did add interest (and continuous noise) to our days. Workers were flown by helicopter to and from their housing on the island and their jobs on the oil rigs for every shift. In addition to work staff, groceries were flown out daily.
While on a beach walk, we observed a clean-up crew in full protective gear looking for oil from the 2010 BP oil spill. We never saw a hint of oil and wondered how much money was being wasted having six recovery men, several supervisors and two trucks used for the work. It had been over three years since the spill.
Boundless Beaches
There was a very nice, long beach. Sadly, it was too cold and windy to spend much time on it. We laugh at the memory of playing bocce ball on this beach. The first time we threw the pallino, it rolled and rolled far away because the sand was wet and well packed.
On another day we observed activities from the long pier. We watched many dolphins playing. The most interesting sight, however, was a training exercise for Navy Seals. One or two of them would be dropped by helicopter into the icy cold water and left. The helicopter would return after 20-60 minutes and retrieve them. This went on all day.
Southern Hospitality and Mouthwatering Seafood
Our interaction with the locals was limited to the only open restaurant and the only open store, a grocery.
The grocery store was packed with shopping carts full of food headed to the oil rigs. The employees were busy working on those orders and paid us little attention.
The waitress at the restaurant was nice enough. She informed us that we would have to drive off the island to find any other restaurant. We ate some seafood there but it was unmemorable.
Fortunately, we learned that Forest’s wife, Dorothy, is a fantastic cook. They invited us over for a meal several times.
Headed Home
We planned to stay on Grand Isle for six weeks but left after two weeks due to the windy and cold weather.
Pulling a camper makes taking scenic routes difficult. I was able to convince my husband to take a side-trip on the way home to see Oak Alley Plantation. Touring the estate and eating lunch in their restaurant was my favorite part of our first winter trip.
Would This Be the End of Being a Snowbird?
Traveling to and staying on Grand Isle, Louisiana, was an experience that gave us some fond memories. However, we did not escape cold weather. The camper was cold and the cold wind was relentless when we were outside. If we ever return, it will be during the summer months.
We would have to pick another destination the next year or just stay home.
Have you ever tried making a life change and was totally underwhelmed? That was my experience with my first year as a snowbird. Tell me about your experience in the comments.
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