Bugging out next Christmas!!

[brittsnbirds]

For several years my wife and I have been flirting with the idea of hooking up the Sprinter and going somewhere warm over the Christmas Holidays. But where to go has been the big question. This next year all the kids are going different directions for the Holidays.

Living south of Kansas City we obviously need to head way south to find comfortable climate. So my question is; where do we go? Our time span will be approx 2-3 weeks. Would like somewhere that my book loving wife would enjoy.

Any ideas.

[notanlines]

Since you are coming from Missouri and not say Calgary you will need to either get south of Houston or south of Tampa. Don't think you can make Orange Beach, Alabama and sit on the beach and read. It is just plain cold. Seasoned travelers will tell you the same thing. We had friends from Ontario head to Tallahassee to spend the winter. It took them two weeks to figure out they needed to pack up and get below Tampa. That's when we met them in Clewiston where they finally settled. Also be sure to do your research and make sure you can get reservations where you want to be.

[Javi]

Last couple of years we've been spending Christmas week in Rockport, Texas at Goose Island SP... We love it but it can be cold, wet and rainy too.. This year it was unseasonably warm for a couple of weeks before Christmas but the bottom fell out on the 26th and it rained the entire week we were there with highs in the mid 40's and winds topping 40mph.. The day we left the sun came out and the temps hit 60+... You just never know.. ;)

[sourdough]

x2 on what notanlines said. The first year we went to FL we stayed 20mi. S of Tallahassee thinking it was going to be "Florida" warm (my daughter moved there). Stayed 6 weeks during Jan @ Feb. Didn't take any cold weather stuff and dang near froze. Ended up buying heavy clothes. The weather in the panhandle pretty much mirrors what we have in TX - not tropical warm.

S of Tampa it does get warmer. We've not camped in the trailer in those areas - just hotels and condos. An interesting place, depending on what you like, is Flamingo, FL; the southernmost point in the "continental" U.S. It's in the Everglades and very remote....and quiet. Also a good haul to get anything with the exception of knick knacks at the little store there. I was told there was excellent fishing and observed quite a few folks going out.

[JRTJH]

There's the old "comparative tale" about the guys from northern Michigan that winter in Florida and while they are in shorts/tee shirts the locals are in heavy winter coats. When I was a kid, my dad was in the Navy. We followed his boat from assignment to assignment and wound up in the 2 years north (Rhode Island) 2 years south (Key West) assignment pattern. So, for 2 years we'd winter in RI then have 2 winters in FL. Back then, the housing in Key West didn't have heat or A/C, so we'd "suffer though July with a fan and gather around the open oven door in January. Ironically, the first winter in FL was always light coats on chilly days and the second winter was heavy coats because all the days were "Brrrrr" cold"...... As we "acclimatized" the winters got colder for all of us.

Today, with single digit temps in northern Michigan, I'd welcome a 50 degree day in Pensacola, but I'm sure that by the end of a month of those temps, any of us would be looking for a sweater, and after a couple months, buying heavier coats for that "darn cold snap".....

Even in Key West, when the temp drops below "comfort level" it's COLD !!!!!

[CaptnJohn]

I moved from NE Ohio to SE NC to get away from the snow. It worked ~ no snow. BUT here I sit in FL....

[roadglide]

For several years my wife and I have been flirting with the idea of hooking up the Sprinter and going somewhere warm over the Christmas Holidays. But where to go has been the big question. This next year all the kids are going different directions for the Holidays.

Living south of Kansas City we obviously need to head way south to find comfortable climate. So my question is; where do we go? Our time span will be approx 2-3 weeks. Would like somewhere that my book loving wife would enjoy.

Any ideas. I'm a member of RV community forums . This year Christmas and New gathering was at Catalina st park in AZ. I wanted to hang out with them for New years but got in to late and couldn't get a spot.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

Lived in Jacksonville, Fl. back in the mid to late 70's (Navy), where
winter is when the temps dip below 60F. Later I lived over on the West Coast
of Fl. (Spring Hill/Brookville area), and the frost line was in that area.
As Disney World and the rest of that bunch have settled in Central Fl. I'd
recommend using that as a rough gusstimate of how far South you feel you
may wish to go.
Now I live in Southern N.M. (Rio Grande valley),we get 20's and not often teens
for temps lately. That's in the Western half of Southern NM. the Eastern half
experiences wider temp swings then we do. It's a funny State.
This el Nino winter has been a lot more moist than the last few la Ninia's.
Altitude also works into the equation. May be in the 40's ... but ... in direct
sunlight coupled with the lower humidity creates a "feeling" of a much warmer temp.
Go a bit further West and there is Az. Ever heard of Quartizte???
Jusy throwing in my 2 bits worth ...

hankaye

[koko]

It would be twice as far as Florida, and you'd have to find a window of opportunity with the road conditions, but people around here go to Quartsite, Yuma, Lake Havasu, Arizona; Death Valley, Palm Springs, San Diego, California; Las Vegas, Mesquite, Laughlin, NV. If it's not a dry climate, there will be a chill in the air. For us, Ft. Lauderdale at 60-75 would be a heat wave, and we are considering it in the next couple of years.

[gearhead]

I haven't spent time there but I would consider deep south Texas. Harlingen, McAllen. What we call the "valley". For some reason I think it may be cheaper than Florida.
South Padre Island as well.
You get up around Laredo and it can get cold.
I-35 south all the way to San Antonio!

Harlingen January...check the historical averages:
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/harlingen-tx/78550/january-weather/331136