We are living in a house on the water.

We managed 7 months in the Colorado Rockies, blissfully loving our Tuscany-like valley filled with organic farms and horses and wineries and ranches.

And then the snow came. Fluffy and beautiful, fulfilling all of our winter fantasies. And then the propane gas ran out and we were cold. And then the wind blew 3-ft. snowdrifts onto our driveway and we were snowbound. And then the plow that came to plow our driveway got stuck and sat overnight, leaning into the snowbank, like some drunken metal gnome. A testament to Nature's dominance over humans. 

So we made reservations to rent a house on the Gulf of Mexico for the month of January where there is no snow and pelicans fly by the window all day long. We like pelicans. And the rent on the house = the amount of money we'd spend on propane in the snow. It's like algebra! Only better!

We haven't really fled the cold and ice. More like embraced a neighboring State. Right?

After having spent 14 years living in Honolulu, where the weather is basically perfect all year long, it's a bit of an adjustment to move somewhere that has weather. I mean, what's up with that? If global warming exists I say, bring it on! We were freezing in Colorado!

We have a fishing pier in our front yard where fish leap out of the air and splash back in, like a mini-whale documentary. Cranes and ducks and geese and seagulls share their harbor with us. Crab traps are dropped off our pier filled with old shrimp and crab pickings, drawing in big fat brown crabs we can boil and eat for dinner. Local shrimp bought off the boat is boiled for 2 minutes and eaten with cole slaw. Red snapper purchased at one of the local wholesale fish markets is sweet and succulent, lightly fried and served with tartar sauce.

The Mexican food is out of this world: beef and chicken burritos and taco's, hand made tortilla chips and guacamole, all made by locals whose grandparents were born and raised in Mexico and passed their recipes down to their American-born children. People are happy here. It is snowing in 49 states including Hawaii and fishing boats can still pass by our house on the way out to their daily fishing, crabbing and shrimping.

Redneck Riviera indeed! I'm in love!

My friend who is checking in on our house once a week in Colorado to water the 4 plants and make sure no critters are squatting inside had to hike in, in snowboots, because the driveway was made of 3 ft. drifts once again. She is freezing and huddled in her home whose windows are sealed with thick plastic and trying not to use her propane up too quickly. She hikes daily with a big stick and a thick coat and counts the deer footprints in the snow as well as the occasional coyote. And mountain lion. She likes cooking in the kitchen because the oven heats up the room and makes her feel warm and cozy. 

However, she likes pelicans too. So I don't wax poetic about our stay here, making vague comments about the weather and our house.  

I got sunburned today. SUNBURNED, people! If you live in Los Angeles, shut up, we don't want to hear it. You have Sandra Bullock, Harrison Ford and warm weather. You will eventually be punished for that. In the meantime, those of us who live with weather will travel when we can, where we must, to warm up our blood and watch the birds who have migrated south fly past our deck. It's the Call of the Wild: it called. We're coming! 

Our neighbor going to pick up all his crab traps.