[Magdalen] Safely home

[Roger Stokes]

While staying in Summerville I met a couple who were looking to relocate 
from Dayton, Ohio now that the wife had retired.  Another couple I met 
at dinner had disposed of all their snow clearing kit when they left 
Chicago.

Roger

On 10/11/2014 14:35, Ginga Wilder wrote:
> Summerville gets a fair number of 'Snowbirds" from the Northeast, many of
> whom purchase their houses where they winter.  When driving the interstates
> becomes too difficult, some stay here year round.  Some of our snowbirds
> from early 1900s have had famous names like Ephraim Zimbalist, Sr., J.P.
> Morgan's daughter, Elizabeth Arden.  Not so now, but it's a fun piece of
> our history to remember.
>
> Ginga
>
> On Mon, Nov 10, 2014 at 9:26 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> And in east Tennessee we get the people from Michigan and other northerly
>> outposts who went to Florida, discovered they couldn't stand it as a
>> permanent thing (the most frequent comment was, "it's flat, hot, and
>> buggy!") and resettled with us. We call them "halfbacks".
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 10, 2014 at 9:18 AM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Here the mostly go to Florida for the winter, and they're know as
>>> "snowbirds."
>>>
>>>> On Nov 10, 2014, at 6:18 AM, Sally Davies <sally.davies at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>> A very large number of people do this, we used to call them "swallows".
>>> In
>>>> Somerset West there were a great many more - owing to location close to
>>> the
>>>> winelands as well as the Cape Town city culture. Not so many here in PE
>>> but
>>>> there are a few.
>>>>
>>>> They're a great addition to our communities as they bring welcome
>>>> investment that's much more than just finance. Most come from the UK
>> but
>>>> there are also some from Germany and from Sweden. I didn't meet any
>>>> American swallows though I've heard stories of the occasional celeb
>>> buying
>>>> a house by the sea in Cape Town. Maybe because the USA is big enough to
>>>> accommodate swallow weather requirements within its own borders!
>>>>
>>>> The one old guy really made me laugh, he'd ordered some "vanity plates"
>>> for
>>>> his car. Said that in the UK they would be far too expensive but he'd
>>>> always wanted them. Never yet met a swallow who missed the Northern
>>>> Hemisphere winter one tiny bit.
>>>>
>>>> You can rely on most swallows arriving by late November and they're
>>> usually
>>>> gone by May, sometimes earlier. Don't want to miss the Chelsea Flower
>>> Show
>>>> or the Boat Race, dontcha know...
>>>>
>>>> In some jurisdictions there's even a tax advantage, if you can arrange
>> to
>>>> be somewhere that's neither here nor there for a week or two thus
>> making
>>> it
>>>> less than 6 months in either residence.
>>>>
>>>> Sally D
>>>>
>>>>> On Monday, 10 November 2014, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>>> I've often thought it would be best to switch hemispheres every six
>>>>> months...I'd opt for spring and summer up top and then spring and
>> summer
>>>>> down under.
>>>>>
>>>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Nov 9, 2014, at 11:15 PM, Sally Davies <sally.davies at gmail.com
>>>>>> <javascript:;>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Roger!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> South Africa is always good if you want to get away from the Northern
>>>>>> weather...! We have mountains, sea, game reserves, friendly people
>> and
>>>>> lots
>>>>>> of interesting history. November is still early enough to see the
>>> whales.
>>>>>> Sally D
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Monday, 10 November 2014, Roger Stokes <
>>> roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com
>>>>> <javascript:;>>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Jay, I was sorry to miss you and your jewellery this year when I was
>>> in
>>>>>>> Virginia. I recall a very warm late September evening standing onb
>> the
>>>>>>> platform at Portland last year which assures me that that part of
>> the
>>>>>>> country is temperate.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Roger
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 10/11/2014 00:29, Jay Weigel wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The Pacific Northwest is not all THAT cold in November, and you
>> could
>>>>>>>> visit
>>>>>>>> two countries at once....see listsibs in both Vancouvers and then
>>>>> perhaps
>>>>>>>> drive down the coast into California. That's one thought. Texas and
>>> New
>>>>>>>> Mexico are another, although we do not have as many there as we
>> once
>>>>> did.
>>>>>>>> If you wish to see your northern brethren and sistren, you will
>> have
>>> to
>>>>>>>> visit earlier in the year.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Sun, Nov 9, 2014 at 7:19 PM, Roger Stokes <
>>>>>>>> roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com <javascript:;>>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Thank you, as you know I have gone West from you but I need to
>>>>> determine
>>>>>>>>> where is worth exploring and then where is the best place to fly
>> to.
>>>>>>>>> Houston was good but I found Atlanta to be superb.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Roger
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On 09/11/2014 23:48, Lynn Ronkainen wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Glad to hear you're safely home again Roger!  How fun that you
>> hope
>>> to
>>>>>>>>>> make plans for your 4th annual  'once in a lifetime' USA trip
>> <big
>>>>> grin>
>>>>>>>>>> It will be interesting to hear about what you might explore next
>>>>> time -
>>>>>>>>>> you're becoming such a seasoned US traveler that you can rely on
>>>>> skills
>>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>>> experiences you've gained over time to circumvent some of the
>> pesky
>>>>>>>>>> details
>>>>>>>>>> that have popped up.   If you're in 'the southern' part of the US
>>> and
>>>>>>>>>> find
>>>>>>>>>> your plans bringing you in/near/through Houston, my guest-den
>> will
>>> be
>>>>>>>>>> available again.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Lynn
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> website: www.ichthysdesigns.com
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I
>>>>> have
>>>>>>>>>> not a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything
>>> You
>>>>>>>>>> gave
>>>>>>>>>> me." attributed to Erma Bombeck
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Thomas Merton writes, "People may spend their whole lives
>> climbing
>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>> ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the
>>>>>>>>>> ladder is
>>>>>>>>>> leaning against the wrong wall."
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> "What you seek is seeking you." - Rumi
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>>>>> From: "Roger Stokes" <roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com
>>> <javascript:;>>
>>>>>>>>>> Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2014 5:37 PM
>>>>>>>>>> To: <Magdalen at herberthouse.org <javascript:;>>
>>>>>>>>>> Subject: [Magdalen] Safely home
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I landed back safely in England Friday morning
>>>>> <x-apple-data-detectors://33>
>>>>>>>>>> <x-apple-data-detectors://44> after another enjoyable
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> trip to the USA.  Touchdown was ahead of schedule, but would
>> have
>>>>> been
>>>>>>>>>>> earlier still had it not been for congestion at Heathrow
>>>>> necessitating
>>>>>>>>>>> a
>>>>>>>>>>> loop around.  I did manage to remember how to drive a
>> stick-shift
>>>>> car
>>>>>>>>>>> but
>>>>>>>>>>> the temperature and the price of gas were unwelcome.  The latter
>>> had
>>>>>>>>>>> continued to fall while I was away but 1.209 GBP (about $2) a
>>> litre
>>>>> is
>>>>>>>>>>> very
>>>>>>>>>>> cheap here even if expensive by US standards.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Having just got back my thoughts are naturally turning to "where
>>>>>>>>>>> next?".
>>>>>>>>>>> I am thinking of November 2015 so I would think not too far
>> North
>>>>> but
>>>>>>>>>>> I am
>>>>>>>>>>> aware that there is a vast chunk of the USA I have not yet been
>> to
>>>>>>>>>>> which
>>>>>>>>>>> hold new delights to explore.  I need to come up with a
>> tentative
>>>>>>>>>>> itineraru
>>>>>>>>>>> before I visit my travel agent to organize it.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Roger
>