When it becomes challenge to take a walk; we give Hawaii giant surf, they give us a mess

Despite the warm weather, I have continued my daily walk. With each step, I worry about falling on my still-healing shoulder and sending myself back to the operating table. But I don't worry a great deal. Caleb gave me some spikey little cleats mounted in a shoe-shaped rubber band that I pull over my shoes.

I still slip now and then, but, so far, the spikes have always caught within a few inches. That is pretty easy to recover from. Most of the time, they don't slip at all.

I hate this weather. I miss the cold, and wish that it would soon return. I love the cold. Margie does not share this sentiment.

The only thing that I regret concerning the cold that we had been blessed with from early October up until now is that this shoulder injury has prevented me from getting out and doing what I like to do - like taking my cross-country skis up to Hatcher Pass.

Or maybe venturing into the mountains on the snowshoes that my kids, fearing that I was going to go out on my cross-country skiis, gave me for Christmas.

And now I am going to be traveling for six weeks. When I get back, I will go out. My shoulder is much stronger now, even if still weak, and I think by then I will be well ready to slap on my skis and go.

This sander passed me on a different stretch of road. If you look closely at the window, you can barely see the face of the driver, looking at me. He waved, too.

A friendly sander.

And here is a snowplow, pushing ice and slush off the road. Right now, we suffer from what is known as the "Pineapple Express." There is nothing but open ocean between this part of Alaska and the great state of Hawaii/ Sometimes, we give Hawaii a great gift - our powerful storms kick up the sea and send down the giant surf that has made the north shore of Oahu so famous.

In return, Hawaii sometimes curses us with these warm, wet, winds that shoot straight up from the tropics to make a mess out of everything. 

When this happens, I wish that we did not live so close to the coast. A mid-winter meltdown in the Interior is a rare thing and on the Arctic Slope all but unheard of.

Sometimes, a whole series of Pineapple Express storms line up one right after the other and then ruin everything. It has been much worse over the past decade then ever before. That is why Wasilla lost the Iditaord restart - the true beginning of the race - to Willow. 

Too many times in a row, the Pineapple express ruined our snow conditions, but not Willow's, which is only about 30 miles up the road.

Since I cannot get Margie off the road system, perhaps, one of these days, we will move to Willow.

But then, she wants to go to Arizona for the winter.

One more thing - whenever the Pineapple express gets really bad up here, the cold air that should be sitting here slips south, and plunges the northern plains into the deep freeze.

Just check the temperatures in Montana, Dakota and Minnesota right now and you will see that I write the truth.

All bloggers should write the truth, just like I do.

Comments

[kalaluka]

Yes! It is the truth - we are currently experiencing high surf warnings (lots of people mysteriously not showing up for work), and a high wind advisory too. Maybe this will make you feel a little bit better about trading weather with us - if you didn't, we wouldn't get to experience any winter at all! I truly appreciate the chance to wear a long-sleeved shirt and socks in the evening. So mahalo for enduring the slush so that we can share in the coolness. Sincerely, a rider of the Pineapple Express

[Wasilla, Alaska, by 300]

It will be grand when that winter day comes that I can slip into the warm waters of your state, climb onto a surfboard and make a fool of myself. I will probably be 80 or so by then.