Wednesday, December 24, 2008

I

Have

No

Words

with which to describe the cold I have encountered in the last 4 days.

No
Words

Will

Do

Justice.

I thought those of us who could handle the scorching Texas heat were tough.

No.

Tough are the people who live north of the Mason Dixon Line.
Tough are those who can handle -8 degree weather.
Tough are those who have to have TWO wood burning stoves to keep from freezing.
Tough are those who can survive without power for over a week -in New Hampshire, -in December.

I tip my hat to "yous guys".

I am shaking my head right now. I have so many stories. I don't even know where to start. I'll try the beginning....

"It was a dark and cold night. Mike and I head up to Maine. 5 hours later we arrived at his grandparents house in -2 degree weather. Yes, it was cold. Before this trip I thought that anything under 45 degrees was cold, no matter how much colder than that. 32 degrees was a milestone because that meant the birdbath water would be frozen soon. I didn't even see much point of putting numbers below 32 on the thermometer. Why? Cold is cold?

Why? Because cold is not just cold. There is cold and there is -2.

-2 is when you can not go outside even to start the car without a coat and hat on.

It's when being outside without gloves on for more than 45 seconds results in burning fingers so cold that they ache. I had no idea.

We get to the mountain and strap on our gear. After a couple of runs with our "Cheapo" goggles, I told Mike I was done because I was so cold and my goggles were fogging up. (Can't see and skiing down a mountain -not a good combination).

$145 later we were back on the trail. Much warmer this time. Mike had new goggles, I had his and this mask thingy that made me look like a ninja. Did I mention it started to snow about this time?


Yes, snow, but not JUST snow. It was a Blizzard. This is not me talking, this is what the locals called it. A Blizzard.

It snowed from noon till early morning hours. Total snowfall? 42"

You should see the video of Mike uncovering our car. I'll see if I can load it on here.


Our condo/cabin was nice. It had a hot tub. We used it.

It was an amazingly cold vacation. Next time we are going to South America.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't mind cold so long as it isn't too wet or I don't have to feed animals in the wet cold. 42" of snow does sound like a bit of a load though.

I am sitting here in a sleeveless t-shirt thanks to the three wood stoves we have (only used two today though).

Here's to the cold!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the warning, Becca. No Maine in the winter. Got it. :)
My WORD. That is tons of snow! I have never seen that much snow in my life.....and I don't think I want to either.
Great post! One of your best yet!
Sarah

beccaellis said...

Mark,

Remember what I said about there's cold and then there's -2? You must be talking about cold. Cause trust me, you'd mind if you were out in it for long.

Can't wait to see you guys on Sat.! Yay!

Anonymous said...

What depresses me is when you get up at 5am, and the weatherman says you've already hit your high for the day / week / month!

I'd have asked the manager to snowblow myself.....

Me-ma