Economy, cold doesn't keep away snowbirds

For Leon Bluhm, there was never a question of whether he would come here again.

"We just came." The Bluhms winter in a double-wide at Leisure Acres, a 400-unit mobile home and RV park in south Sebring. Before they return to Illinois in April, each of the three children and their families will visit, Bluhm (sounds like "bloom") will make religious symbols on his scroll saw, and he'll both work and volunteer on fix-it projects.

Highlands County has about 20,000 seasonal residents. They show up as early as November - when the Rust Belt weather turns frigid - and go home in the spring.

Last year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked at 6,600, their portfolios were cut in half, and snowbirds wondered if they could afford to come back to Florida again.

What a difference a year makes. The Dow is up 4,000 points, the Bluhms had a good year farming and - here's the deciding factor - the Canadian cold fronts have been pitiless.

A week ago, when the temperature dropped to 20 degrees here, it was -19 in Flint, Mich. Yesterday, Flint's expected high was 27. It's in the 80s here.

Ken Robertson and Larry Heaterman, who just drove 1,760 miles from the Ohio-Michigan state line, were wearing shorts and T-shirts on Thursday. Ken owns a park model mobile home at Leisure Acres.

"I couldn't go outside without an overcoat and galoshes there, so yeah, it's great here," Robertson chuckled. Robertson lives on the Michigan side, so he'll try to catch a few Detroit Tiger spring training games at Lakeland.

Heaterman's not so lucky. His Cleveland Indians moved to Arizona. But they'll play golf, enjoy the Y-shaped pool, and sun themselves.

According to a press release from the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, most of the Sunbelt parks are at or near capacity this year.

"We're full," said Michael Falk, owner and manager of Adelaide Shores RV Resort, north of Avon Park. "We've already started taking bookings for next year."

Residents who are in the resort during January can reserve their 2011 site now. It's way more fun here. Like most RV parks, Adelaide Shores has tennis, shuffleboard, a quilting circle, cards, even a Red Hat Society.

"Bingo, that's the big draw," said Falk. There are nine people on the activities committee team. They also book cruises and weekend trips.

Sylvia Blackmore, the office manager at Lake Bonnet Village in Avon Park, is still receiving inquiries for their openings. Because there's a lake, many of her customers fish. They also throw horseshoes, and golf at a course just a mile away.

"The majority are repeat visitors," Blackmore said.

"They love the camaraderie," said Pat Tankersly, secretary at Leisure Acres, which isn't quite full. "Campers are just really friendly people."

Merrilyn Momeyer and her husband, Jim, were biking, but pulled over to take a cell phone call.

"It's much more pleasant," she said. Biking and golfing are nearly impossible in her central Ohio town, where a relatively balmy high of 40 was expected Thursday. They keep returning to Lake Bonnet because they enjoy the same neighbors year after year, and they meet new friends as well. They even attend church at Lake Bonnet, where Merrilyn started a Bible study.

Quite a few snowbirds showed up during the coldest weather, Tankersly said. Although some were disappointed it was 25 degrees here, most were grateful for the 40-degree differential between Florida and their northern homes.

"They knew the cold weather here would end," Tankersly said. "They know what the winters are like here."