Hello Winter

Dana Point Harbor

“It’s five degrees (-15 below Celsius), winds over 20 mph, a wind chill of fifteen below zero, and snow accumulating up to up to six inches - it’s too cold to go outside!” Just got off the phone with my mother in West-Central Illinois - hello winter. While the majority of the U.S. (30 States) is suffering through frigid cold temperatures and snow we can only guess what it’s like from television. Meteorologists calling this a Polar Vortex, brutally cold air from the Arctic gripping the country.

Concurrently in Southern California we’re looking at crystal clear light-blue skies, 63 degrees fahrenheit, west-north-west winds at six miles an hour, perfect weather for our weekly Sunday bicycle ride. How is this possible? It’s probably a blessing (for the rest of the country) the weather channel does not highlight our weather conditions in Southern California. For those deprived of sunshine allow me to paint you a picture. Preparing for our morning ride, I glanced out my office window to see a young man walking his Husky down the street in front of our house. He’s wearing khaki shorts, a blue tank-top and flip-flops. Not exactly L.L. Bean down winter wear.

Seated on a picnic table at Carlsbad State Beach, in cycling shorts, enjoying a soft offshore breeze, and a warming sun on our shoulders we wistfully scan the beachfront horizon. Mesmerized by Brown California Pelicans, gracefully soaring inches above the crest of a wave, with their six foot wingspan, turning ever so slightly to miss a surfer paddling west in the Pacific Ocean to Hang Ten. This is winter in Southern California.

Now granted, overnight temperatures reach low’s of 45 degrees. This is an excellent excuse for California residents to pull their down parkas, gloves, and stocking hats from their closets. I can hear you laughing. But as the sun peeks over the eastern horizon the mercury quickly climbs to the sixties.

So, to all my family and friends in the areas affected by the cold, fire-up those snow blowers, throw another log on the fire, drink hot chocolate, and dream of winter in Southern California.

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