Storms!

So, winter has arrived, and storms have arrived with it. And we, here on Marine Drive, have front-row seats to storms from the south.

Now, I will admit right out that no storms will ever have the same place in my soul as prairie thunderstorms in Berthoud on hot July afternoons, or really, Colorado thunderstorms at all. Mountain-prairie summer storms are in a league all their own, and are truly some of the most amazing things in the world. However, winter storms on the ocean are pretty spectacular, too. There is nothing quite like watching the sea whipped into a fury by the wind, and watching waves crash on the water, threatening to wash up onto the promenade. Couple that with a sky so fierce and thick and dark that you have to keep lights on all day, and blinding sheets of rain, and you're in for a pretty amazing show.

I have not yet acquired the degree of Northwest-ness to relish being out in the winter storms. I think the mark of a real storm-lover is that when a storm strikes, your impulse is to run out into it, rather than hide from it. That's what I do with Colorado thunderstorms. But I haven't yet reached the point where I instinctively run into the wind and freezing cold. Part of that is probably that I don't like wind and freezing cold. But also, there are things that are better to watch from the inside. You probably disagree with me if you're from the Northwest.

Also, on topic, but not quite: You know how Buttercup always says Westley has eyes like the sea after a storm? It's pretty amazing to live in a place where you know exactly what color she meant. And there truly is no other color like it.