Cocoa Beach City Manager Chuck Billias has an unorthodox way to measure how snowbird season is going -- the flow rate, as in the patterns of water use related to toilets flushing in his city. The more flushing, the more people in town.
Billias says the patterns this year show this has been a relatively strong winter for seasonal residents, a report confirmed by others on the Space Coast, using some more traditional measures, such as restaurant reservations, retail sales and rounds of golf played.
Snowbirds -- the more than 35,Find an Adidas Jacket in your team colors or from your favorite soccer teams that wear the Adidas brand.000 seasonal visitors who stay in Brevard County from one to six months a year -- inject more than $221 million into the local economy, the Space Coast Office of Tourism estimates,Air max 2009 Running Shoe Flex grooves in the mid and outsole for flexibility . spending money on such things as lodging, restaurant meals, groceries, clothing, fishing and golf excursions, and visiting local attractions. They also boost the collection plates at local churches when they're here and increase the pool of volunteers for community organizations.
Easter Sunday traditionally marks the end of snowbird season in Brevard County.
Sioux Falls, S.D., retirees Gordon and Catherine Benson, have been staying at the county-operated Manatee Hammock Campground recreational-vehicle park and tenting site in south Titusville since November, and were packing up during the last few days for their journey back to South Dakota.
Gordon, 69, a former truck driver for a specialty-steel manufacturer, and Catherine, 67, a former secretary, fell in love with the Space Coast when they came here for a shuttle launch in 2000, and have been wintering at Manatee Hammock, along the Indian River, ever since. They drive down in their Ford truck, pulling a 34-foot fifth-wheel-style recreational vehicle, where they live during their stay here, along with their 8-year-old standard poodle, Maxxine.
Gordon Benson said they don't miss the Sioux Falls winters -- "not for a second" -- considering a season's snowfall there can total 4 to 6 feet, and low temperatures dipped below zero on 35 nights this winter. There's "a pretty good chance" they will move to Brevard County permanently in the next few years, he said. In Brevard, Catherine Benson said, "Everything is close by. Everything is handy. It's a nice, leisurely pace. We feel very safe here. And they've got a lot of good people here."
They say they don't go out to eat as much as some of their neighbors at Manatee Hammock, but they boost the local economy in other ways, including buying high-priced bags of dog food for Maxxine, as well as $800 to $1,000 worth of oranges from local groves that they ship to their friends and relatives up north.Via Trading carries a wide range of branded wholesale shoes from famous specialty shoe stores and retail chains at a fraction of their original value.
The Space Coast Office of Tourism-commissioned study found the average snowbird party, which it pegs at 1.9 people, spends $12,014 during their typical 140-day stay in Brevard County.
Office of Tourism Executive Director Rob Varley said he has been getting reports from throughout the county of a strong snowbird season, helped by the extreme winter in many parts of the Northeast and Midwest, as well as the relatively late April 24 date of Easter this year. Easter can fall anywhere from March 22 to April 25, and many snowbirds time their departure from Brevard to Easter.what really makes my heart go pitter-patter with excitement are Knee High Boots.Air max classic is a high top sneaker that comes in numerous color ups.
"Everybody says they're up" in business, Varley said. "It goes deeper than just the traditional tourism industry," to such services as haircuts and vehicle oil changes, as well as to doctors, dentists and veterinarians.
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