When in Snome...

(Photos of Oswego - a nearby suburb - courtesy of WSYR.com)

Thanks everyone for your calls, e-mails, etc. about dumptruck of white stuff that the Snow Gods dumped on the 'Cuse area last week. It was very pretty, until I had to go out in it. But I decided to conquer the winter beast, and yesterday (a "warm" day at 24 degrees) I went skiing for the first time in my life. My friend Suzanne was really patient and wonderful about teaching me the basics, and we had a really good time. I only fell three times, which I thought was pretty good. I expected to be really sore today, but it seems like only my neck is really stiff from the activity. (You know, you can take up to 4 Advil at a time, every 8 hours. Wheeeee!) I am actually looking forward to the next time I get to ski again. I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures for you guys - my camera batteries were dead when I tried to take them. I'll put some up from my next attempt, I promise. In the meantime, here's a post I wrote on the train last weekend while coming back from NY:



Riding on the train from Penn Station to Syracuse is such a relaxing experience. First of all, I am going back to my apartment, so the stress of getting to the city on time and doing a capable job at my internship are nil at this point. So I am free to enjoy the scenery and people watch. (Granted, I have a bag full of textbooks that require my attention, but the snowy, picturesque landscape outside is too distracting to really ween any knowledge from them at the moment.)

What really captures my attention are the lakes that surround the train tracks for much of the five hour journey. The banks are lined with barren trees and specks of snow among the brown and uninteresting landscape, with hints of the Adirondacks in the vague distance. But the lakes… oh the lakes are absolutely breathtaking. The waters have frozen in frothy, icy swirls. There are patches of snow that stretch for miles, making it look like someone has placed vast amounts of puffy cotton in different spots all around.



Growing up in Atlanta, I never really got to experience REAL snow or cold weather. In the south, the threat of an ice storm, or even more ominous, freezing rain, drives people to frantically clear the grocery stores of bread and milk. You never know when you’ll get to leave your house again, after all.

Being in Syracuse now, it’s kind of funny to think of my friends back home who are suffering through three or four day stints of 20 degrees. I think the warmest it’s been in ‘Cuse of late has been 22 degrees. And that was a good day. But it is beautiful to see thick layers of fluffy, white snow on the ground and prismical icicles the size of stalagmites (Or is it stalagtites? I always forget) hanging off roofs. All this is lovely. Until you realize that the weather in the north is no excuse to stay at home, drink cocoa, and watch TV because everything is closed. A “snow storm” in Atlanta would make these people laugh.

When I have to dig my car out from under six inches of snow and let the engine heat up before I can go anywhere, I can’t help but wonder why anyone would live in these conditions with any kind of regularity. I had likened it to Southerners in the summer… we can stand the heat, because, well, we don’t really go out in it. We live in our air conditioned houses, drive to our air conditioned offices in our air conditioned cars, and then we go back home to air conditioned bliss.



As I realized in the summer, that there is a lot of fun to be had in the Finger Lakes region, with the cozy lake towns, nearby mountains, and wineries that are everywhere. There is also fun to be had in the winter. (At least I hope there is.) While writing this blog on the train ride home, I saw some people on one of those frozen lakes gliding around on what looked like a giant ice skate with a sail attached. As it is a crisp, sunny day, I have now seen several of these contraptions with bundled people on them, looking like they are actually enjoying the outdoors.

What a concept?! Enjoying this madness that is called winter? My friends and I have been talking about trying snowshoeing and skiing sometime this season. I feel that I owe it to my southern roots to try this stuff while I’m here. Because heaven knows I am not staying in the “Snow Belt” indefinitely. In the meantime, I might actually find that winter can be fun. I’ll keep you guys posted as the activities are planned.