Breaking Up the Long Winter Blah

As winters go, Denver isn’t bad. We occasionally get the big snows, but it melts within days. We don’t have the ruts of ice on the street that you find in the midwest. When I lived in eastern Nebraska, that first November snow was still there in March as a pile of dark, hard ice. Here in the mile high, the winter temps can climb into in the 50s. The sky is often a magnificent deep blue, and the snow covered Rocky Mountains stand guard over the city.

But in my opinion, this time of year still sucks, even in Colorado. From my office window, I can see a carpet of dirty air lying over the region. “You mean we are breathing that stuff?” we regularly say of the infamous winter “Brown Cloud.” All the trees are bare and, well, brown, and while we're at it, so is the grass. There is not a stitch of green anywhere.

There are many Coloradoans whose favorite season is winter. I am not one of them. No matter how luxurious the "champagne powder snow" is up in the mountains, it’s still brown down here.

The colder weather is tolerable during November and December. There are holidays to look forward to, and time off from work. Pretty colored lights brighten the darkness. It's fun to get out the sweaters and flannel sheets.

By mid-February, Christmas is a distant memory and Memorial Day is impossibly far away. There seems no relief from the dark nights and brown days. I've always hated February.

There are parts of the world, however, that are warm and spring like - where people wear shorts and don't have to put on a coat, gloves, and a scarf just to take out the trash.

About a decade ago, I added a new holiday to my year. In the middle of every February, I pack my shorts and head to the sunny city of San Diego. In February, southern California basks in the comfortable 60s and 70s. I spend most of my time walking up and down the beautiful beaches or watching huge Navy ships moving in and out of the bay. I have all the tourist areas practically to myself because Californians, having a different perspective on winter, are too cold to venture out when it’s only 65 degrees.

I should mention that I did go to south Florida once and it was ok, but Florida weirds me out. It's so flat. I don't understand why the ocean doesn't just wash over the whole state. I had trouble sleeping for the anxiety of it. And culturally, Florida is basically New Jersey south. I was never comfortable with the aggressive rudeness of the east. In California, people are friendly and courteous, just like at home.

But unlike home, San Diego has a beautiful coast punctuated by sandy beaches and dramatic cliffs. Flowers bloom all year around. The grass is green. You can go to concerts in the park - in February!

I love San Diego. A week from now I'll be heading out there for the eleventh year in a row.

Up yours winter!

When I come back from “the coast,” spring will only be a few weeks away and I will have worn my shorts.