Hi, friends!
Do you have things that are super fun for you in winter? Weather-specific or not?
I love going to the St Louis Zoo when it’s wintertime. It’s only closed on Christmas Day and New Years Day, unless there’s major inclement weather. School is in session, and lots of people don’t want to be cold outside. Meanwhile, the cold weather animals are happy. Kali the polar bear? Just living his best life. The grizzly bear siblings, Huck and Fin? Great days every day. Reka and Maxim, the Amur tigers, had 3 kittens a few weeks ago and I’m so hoping they’ll be able to play outside later this winter. Doofy kittens are just a joy to behold. Harbor seals dgaf and just rock it. Bonus, you don’t even notice the temp change when you go into Penguin and Puffin Cove and see those lil cuties.
I love snowboarding but due to injuries & age I don’t last long enough to justify the lift ticket prices so rarely go anymore. Snowshoeing & hiking in the snow is pretty fun. I actually like to ocean kayak more in the winter than summer since less boats are out & it is much more peaceful. I miss my snowmobiles but would probably not be around if I kept doing that.
Do you wear a wetsuit/drysuit for winter kayaking? I’d hate to roll in 33 degree water.
No, I have a very stable ocean kayak & hang out close to shore on calm days. I have never rolled in 20 plus years w/ this kayak. I just wear standard winter under layers & light jacket.
I’m paranoid and I’d wear one, but I know they’re a pain.
They’re also really unflattering.
My only issue w/ them is sweating too much. I’ve looked at dry suits so I could winter paddle board & surf here but they are very expensive & also too warm if you are not IN the water.
I’m sure being smart about conditions, distance to shore, and the weather forecast is key.
I’ve had to paddle a couple of times in chop against the wind in the summer and it’s no fun, and I assume smart winter paddlers know their limits.
I’ve always thought of myself as a waterman. In Hawaii, a waterman is someone that is one with the water for any sport & has an awareness & respect for the water. I try to always know conditions, currents & will observe the ocean for a long time before I go in.
Winter activities? The Christmas Kitsch! It all comes out.
Since we haven’t had a Holiday Open House since 2019 we’ve scaled back. Only one tree, somewhat aggressively placed for maximum exposure and seen from two different well-traveled streets. We put up Black Santa and installed the two Black heralding angels (I don’t know who they’re supposed to be; they’re both female so not Gabriel, and he was like, “Hey, Mary, good news. I know you have other kids [true, apparently. Two daughters and four sons] but this one’s really special.”)
There is a slightly offensive (and very blasphemous) joke about our Savior. Why would Jesus have made a good Italian? Because He lived at home until He was 33 and His mother thought He was God.
Oh. That’s nice. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. And God will understand.
Next Thursday, I’ll be heading to Chicago and will stay through Christmas. I’m planning to do some training for my new career in competitive eating. Also, there will probably be some city street tobagganing involved since it is in fact December in Chicago.
By “tobogganing” do you mean driving on hills? That is a popular winter sport here…
There really aren’t any hills in Chicago, but that doesn’t mean the streets aren’t treacherous.
You can check out the Christkindlmarket! I think it is in Daley Plaza. I am in the burbs so my friend and I are going to the one out here on Thursday. It’s the same vibe just smaller.
There’s a great old greenhouse in a park near me which is best in the winter. You come in from the cold and there are different rooms for hot climates. There’s a tropical room with bananas growing and coconut palms, a desert room with huge cactuses and weird succulents, and an orchid room.
That reminds me of the Mitchell Park Domes.
I never heard of that, but those look awesome.
Ngl, one of the things I ADORE about Winter, working for a School District, are snow days!😉😁🤗
They don’t happen too often, but it’s really, REALLY nice, after all the years I drove 40+ miles *one way*, without ever having “stay home, it’s too terrible out!” workplaces (where HONESTLY, what we were making WASN’T worth the risk to people’s lives!!!), to be able to just STAY HOME, when the weather is dangerously cold or snowy.
And on those random snow days? I ADORE living in Minneapolis, where our snowflake lights went up just after Halloween–watching the snow fall on the quiet-ish streets, and just seeing the city lights twinkle in the glittery snow.😁🤗💖
I assume snow days there involve 20 inches of snow or else ice storms.
RIP snow days. They sent our kindergartener home with an iPad for virtual learning in case of inclement weather.
Red Sox trade OF Alex Verdugo to the Yankees for some spare parts.
Among them is a prospect named Dick Fitts.
I had a summer job in high school doing data entry, and I still remember doing an entry for Dr. Dikshit.
That is my stage name.
Share a photo of your costume some day.
There’s really no costumer to speak of. Just a pair of handcuffs and a volunteer from the audience.
Hey, at least you got a PhD in it.
i like ice skating on natural ice….and by that i mean lakes….not lightly flooded fields
no longer an every winter activity over here as it just doesnt stay cold long enough
anyways….its not really ice skating unless the ice makes noises that make you seriously rethink your life choices up till that point…..or at least wish you brung a spare set of undies
todays fun activity is slush skating tho as my pretty pretty snow got rained on over night
gonna be a spare socks for work day