Enough with all that interview with a Vampire stuff! We want a real interview with someone interesting... And non-fiction!

Here at Vellners we are lucky enough to have one of our very own sales team members be an experienced snowbird. Lenore Bachand has been making her way south with her husband on-and-off for the last ten years, she has been kind enough to share some of her south traveling wisdom with us!

What made you and your husband decide to start heading south for the winter?

We don’t leave for the whole winter yet, we usually leave for 1-3 months at a time, but we love the sun and the heat.  It’s so nice to just get away from the cold weather; another bonus is that we don’t have to shovel snow!

Where is your favorite place that you’ve stayed so far?

We love Mazatlan, Mexico! Our second favorite place is south of Lake Havasu City, right along the Colorado River.

What time of year do you like to leave?

We leave in February; a lot of other snowbirds leave right after Christmas, or even as early as October or November. Our situation is a bit different as my husband and I are both still working.

How much time do you spend preparing before you go?

We don’t have to spend a lot of time preparing; our rig is usually all ready to go except for food and water. It is very convenient to pack our bags and hit the road.

What are the most important preparations you do before leaving?

We make sure that our RV is in tip-top shape for the road. There is nothing worse than finding out you have problems after you’ve already left home.

Do you have any tips for people who are getting ready to head south for the first time?

If you are leaving in the winter, check the weather to make sure there aren’t any storms, if there is wait and leave when the weather is good.

Is there anything you’d like to share about what its like crossing the border as a snowbird?

Make sure your passports are up to date, I always check ahead at the border to make sure that we don’t have anything that we cannot take across the border. They are very particular about certain fruits and veggies.

Do you stay in one place, or do you prefer to travel around when your south?

We have done a lot of traveling around – now we prefer to settle in one spot, but that could change. That’s the wonderful thing about the RV lifestyle it’s so flexible.

What’s it like living in such close quarters with your husband, and what do you do to adapt?

When you love your husband and your RV it’s no problem, when you are south we’ve found that we’ve spent most of our time outside, we didn’t get away from the cold weather to spend all our time inside.

Do you have pets that you bring along with you?

We do not, but most parks are pet friendly and welcome your furry friends as part of your family. Pets do need certain paper work to cross the border just like we do.

Thanks again to Lenore for sharing her valuable experience. We hope this will help you when you planning your first trip, or your next trip south. Safe travels.