36 Degrees Warmer

When I left home on Saturday morning for Homer the temperatures were hanging right around zero.  Thirty-six hours later, upon my return back to the house the thermometer was 36 degrees warmer.   The age old topic of weather never really gets old for me.  Put me in a car for a few hundred miles with a thermometer feeding me temperature data every mile along the way and suddenly I have all sorts of weather-related questions to ponder.  Throw in the ocean currents from Prince William Sound, a couple mountain passes, and high pressure systems from the north and weather patterns can become complicated and interesting all at once.  On the way home when I saw 37 degrees in Cooper Landing, I knew that I was coming home to wind and warm temperatures.  But in that 3 1/2 hour stretch between Cooper Landing and the house, temperatures dropped to 21 degrees in Anchorage and only 8 miles from the house it was 24 degrees.  

Homer in early winter is still the Homer I remember from my 2nd visit there in November 1993 and the years I spent living there from 1995-1999.  Everything slows in Homer as winter rolls around, tourists leave, the boat harbor empties, and the wind kicks up another notch. While there, I debated riding down to the end of the spit, just because . . . . but then really couldn't talk myself into it.  Although it has been over 10 years since I drove that spit to work every day, right then and there it didn't feel like that long ago and it felt more like I'd be wasting 30 minutes of time than experience any enjoyment.  So I drove on away from the spit to continue on with my mission of dropping the kids off for a visit with their dad and me visiting with friends who I never take the time to see during the summer months as we are busily buzzing around Kachemak Bay on long weekend getaways. 

What a nice quick weekend roadtrip that is if you can call a 500 mile drive a quick road trip.  Maybe it was the visiting part that was quick?   Nonetheless, it was good to touch base with friends and even better to come home when it is 36 degrees warmer!