Growing up in Upstate New York meant enduring hard, tough winters. Initially, it didn’t bother me. Well, maybe my hair freezing on my walk home after swim practice did, but it was all I knew. My grandmother lived with us back then. At some point, she announced she was going to spend part of the winter in Naples, Florida. It sounded so exotic. Naples- wasn’t that in Italy? It conjured up other questions. What happened to her bedroom while she was gone? Who would be baking the weekly pies? Would she be sending us oranges? Well, she didn’t send oranges, but she did send post cards. Pristine strands of sand, sprinkled with umbrellas, and a ribbon of blue surf.
It was then that I realized how much I did not like the interminable winter. Oh, through Christmas it was lovely, but then by mid-January, back in school, not so much. The post cards would arrive from Naples, and I was sure they actual smelled of sand. She would report to us the high temperature that day, what she did that day (laid in the sun), and what she did at night- (played cards on the porch). I would think of what that was all like while I cleaned the driveway of the latest dump of snow. And I soon became aware that others in the neighborhood fled for Florida in those dreary months. Why was I just finding this out? There was even a name for these folks: Snowbirds.
And so here we are. Last year, after 30 plus years living in the Bay Area, we left. We headed back to New York, though a bit closer to New York City. So, at least for the next few years, we will be snowbirds. With a modest home already in Palm Springs for the winter and spring, we will spend summers and falls in New York, walking distance to the Hudson River. It all seems a bit crazy, but we have a plan, and so far, so good.
All of this is part of the next chapter, as I am retiring from architecture in 6 months. I thought I would resuscitate this lonely little internet outpost that I haven’t touched in some time. (though oddly, readership doubled last year, I have no idea why). For the moment, the blog will mirror the Snowbird life, dispatches from New York, posts from Palm Springs, and wherever having more time takes me. I am still in the Bay Area for work periodically, so the first few may include a commemorative walk or two there. Finally, it is a distraction. The last few weeks in this country and Southern California in particular have left me deeply saddened. The intent here is to no doubt bring my focus to other topics as a bit of reprieve. But make no mistake, that is all heavy on my mind.
And so, next week I head to New York to check in on things for a couple of weeks. I have dug out the winter clothes. My book smells faintly of sand. And they are expecting a foot of snow.
urban ambles 