'We just do what we want, whenever we want to do it'

OKALOOSA ISLAND — The key to being a snowbird is doing whatever you want, whenever you want.

“The beauty of being here is you just do what you want to,” said Helen Ratcliffe of Dayton, Ohio.

Helen and her husband Jim have vacationed along the Emerald Coast for seven years. This year they are staying at Waters Edge Condominium in a second-floor unit overlooking the beach.

They’re among thousands of snowbirds who travel here from as far away as Canada to escape the cold. Although every winter visitor has a different idea of fun, some activities are on most snowbirds’ calendars.

The Ratcliffes say they play cards, read, walk on the beach, craft, play golf and go out to eat – usually to the same places.

Most days they wake up around 6:30 or 7 a.m., and they don’t bother with an alarm clock.

On Monday, they started their day searching local stores for supplies for Helen’s water aerobics class.

“Do you know how hard it is to find a noodle this time of year?” she said. “We found the last three at the Tom Thumb around the corner from us.”

Back home it would be a different story.

“You get so pinned up when it’s cold or the weather’s bad,” Helen said of life in Dayton. “Here, we can go outside.”

“That’s what we’re here for – sunshine and sunbathing,” Jim added.

Even their outfits reflect their love of the area. Jim’s bright yellow T-shirt says, “Fort Walton Beach, Florida,” while Helen’s sports a tropical scene.

After finding the noodle, they shopped for souvenirs and the perfect postcard for a friend back home.

“I want to get her one with sun, a palm tree and someone on the beach,” Helen said as she rotated the postcard stand.

She looked intently at each card and laughed when she saw a photo of naked men from behind labeled, “Beach bums.”

“What’d you find?” Jim asked.

“Not what I was looking for,” Helen said with a laugh and moved quickly to the less risqu￩ cards.

After settling on a cartoon of a young girl on the beach beside a palm tree with the sun hanging over her, they started perusing the shirts, shorts and sandals.

“We just love it here,” Jim said. “We came in the 10th of this month and we’ll be here until early March. We have family and friends here and the price is right.”

By noon, Jim was off with two of his golf buddies getting ready for a 12:40 p.m. tee time and Helen had made her way to craft time down the street.

She enjoyed a walk on the beach, chatted with a friend from Ohio and was ready for water aerobics by 1 p.m.

“He golfs, I swim, that’s about it,” Helen said. “We don’t do anything special, no real planning. We read. We play cards. We relax.

“We just do what we want, whenever we want to do it!”