Worth the trip

Everyone is griping about the cold weather. Everyone except me.

I want it to be cold. Make that frigid.

In a couple weeks, I have a kayak expedition planned off the coast of Florida. It’s a 15-hour drive to the launch point. It had better be worth the trip, in terms of weather.

For one such trip, we agreed to caravan down to Florida. We formed up very early in the morning at a rest stop off the interstate. The temperature was in the teens and a stout wind was stinging our faces with snow flurries. When we arrived at the beach, the sun was shining and the mercury was well above 70. People piled out of their vehicles and did a spontaneous, joyous sun dance on the hot sand. The looks on the faces of the residents be damned, it was worth it.

So, I just checked the long range forecast for our Florida destination on the launch date. Not that those forecasts are dead on, but it suffices for this mental exercise. Then I called up the forecast for here on the same date. Over 20 degrees difference.

That’s worth the drive.