Walton County Snowbird numbers are up from last year

The Walton County Snowbirds currently have 627 members, with 131 being new members this year. We are ahead of our 2022 membership numbers, and have one more registration on Feb. 6 at 8:30 a.m. at Faith Fellowship Hall or the next general meeting on Jan. 26 at 9 a.m. at Destin United Methodist Church. 

As a retiree and snowbird, you may get tired of being asked, “what do you do all day?” The Walton County Snowbirds have so many activities that our calendars are pretty busy. Some of our more physical activities include aerobics, line dancing, water aerobics, and Zumba. 

Snowbird aerobics is every Monday and Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Legion Park in good weather, or Faith Fellowship Hall, in bad weather, both in Miramar Beach. Peg Breetz, the instructor, says they get an average of 40-50 members per class but there is plenty of room to spread out. The members enjoy doing the class at Legion Park, right on the Choctawhatchee Bay. The class is a combination of low impact cardio-intensive moves and all body strength and conditioning using light weights and body weight. 

Line dancing is at 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday at Faith Fellowship Hall, Miramar Beach. Several of the aerobics members head to line dancing right after aerobics for a fun, music-based workout. Instructor Sarah Vaillancourt breaks the dances into basic steps that are practiced sequentially. Members learn a new dance each week to a variety of music styles including country, pop, rock and hip-hop. 

Vaillancourt also holds water aerobics sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Hidden Dunes at 11 am. The pool is heated. The group does a variety of water aerobic exercises with a noodle and also strengthening and toning. Space is limited, so contact Sarah through the waltoncountysnowbirds.com website if you are interested in the class. 

Senior Zumba is held on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. at Faith Fellowship Hall. Zumba is let by local instructor Jane McGee. She uses a variety of music to get the group dancing. Each class is $4. 

Besides these activities and events, there are over 30 other activities including basketball, bowling, golf, discussion groups, singles group, excursions and more. We have very active card groups including bridge, hand and foot, poker, and euchre. 

Additional opportunities to register for this season of the Walton County Snowbirds activities are on Monday, Feb. 6 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at Faith Assembly Hall at 306 S. Geronimo in Miramar Beach. Dues are $20 per person for the season. You must be a member of the Walton County Snowbirds to participate in any of the activities. 

You can also register at 9 a.m., one hour before any of our general meetings, which are on Jan. 26 and Feb. 9 at 10 a.m. at Destin United Methodist Church, 200 Beach Dr. The final general meeting is on Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 207 Harbor Blvd, Destin. 

In other snowbird news, Monte Kramer, from Plymouth Massachusetts, got a hole-in-one on Jan. 17 during the Walton County Snowbirds Tuesday golf league at Seascape. Monte used his wedge on the 90-yard No. 7 hole. He believes this is his second hole-in-one, the first being in the 1980s. 

For more information on registration and all the activities and events the club has to offer, go to the website at www.waltoncountysnowbirds.com or join the group Facebook page “Walton County Snowbirds.” 

This column is provided by Peg Breetz, 2nd Vice-President of the Walton County Snowbirds.