I haven't seen lightning bugs in decades. I grew up in rural Ohio, and you would look out in the evening and the whole backyard would be sparkling. At least we still get crazy thunderstorms in Chicago.
Oh Honey. I feel you. When I moved from NYC to Philadelphia--even though it is "just down the road"--I felt a homesickness so strong that it knocked the wind out of me sometimes. And it was for the little things: The newsstand at Sixth and Greenwich. The Greek coffeeshop coffee. The clock at Grand Central. You know, stuff.
Wonderful! As a reverse migrant — born and raised in California, now in DC for almost 20 years — I find myself reflected in your story, in the same way a mirror reflects. Like, the mountains: yes I love the Sierra Nevadas, but the mystery and eerie heaviness of Shenandoah make me feel human and grounded. And the weather: I can NEVER get over the goddamn humidity of summer here, it’s cruel, I don’t feel “dewy” I feel swampy. And the crisp brightness of winters here are a delight, and I love winter coats! But man, totally on same page about west coast wines! And that mosquitoes here are the worst. And in addition to poison ivy on hikes here, even worse are stinging nettles. Watch out for poison oak though in the west!!
Ooh, I remember my first experience with stinging nettle! Such a bad surprise. And my California-raised husband thinks I'm nuts to miss humidity. (He's right.)
Oliver says he misses thunderstorms in Alaska and I think I would, too. We had a rare December storm while he was here for Christmas and he was thrilled.
I live in MD and I am over the humidity. A dry but warm summer sounds delightful. It’s already muggy af here and I hate it. That and the mosquitoes. The PNW sounds great.
The lack of thunderstorm thing is so interesting to me! I just learned that they are not common in the west coast last year, when my Seattleite nephew was with us in Nashville. We were at the pool, it thundered, everybody was hauling ass out of there and he was looking at us all like we were crazy!
I moved from West Texas to Seattle 9 years ago - a different type of Southern, but this still resonated with me. There's a moment when you're driving south from Seattle where you turn a corner on I5 and suddenly Rainier comes into full view, and it's magical EVERY time. Same with driving across Lake Washington on a clear day.
I haven't seen lightning bugs in decades. I grew up in rural Ohio, and you would look out in the evening and the whole backyard would be sparkling. At least we still get crazy thunderstorms in Chicago.
Oh Honey. I feel you. When I moved from NYC to Philadelphia--even though it is "just down the road"--I felt a homesickness so strong that it knocked the wind out of me sometimes. And it was for the little things: The newsstand at Sixth and Greenwich. The Greek coffeeshop coffee. The clock at Grand Central. You know, stuff.
It's always the little things that get you.
Wonderful! As a reverse migrant — born and raised in California, now in DC for almost 20 years — I find myself reflected in your story, in the same way a mirror reflects. Like, the mountains: yes I love the Sierra Nevadas, but the mystery and eerie heaviness of Shenandoah make me feel human and grounded. And the weather: I can NEVER get over the goddamn humidity of summer here, it’s cruel, I don’t feel “dewy” I feel swampy. And the crisp brightness of winters here are a delight, and I love winter coats! But man, totally on same page about west coast wines! And that mosquitoes here are the worst. And in addition to poison ivy on hikes here, even worse are stinging nettles. Watch out for poison oak though in the west!!
Ooh, I remember my first experience with stinging nettle! Such a bad surprise. And my California-raised husband thinks I'm nuts to miss humidity. (He's right.)
Oliver says he misses thunderstorms in Alaska and I think I would, too. We had a rare December storm while he was here for Christmas and he was thrilled.
It's one of those things you don't even think about until you move somewhere without them.
I live in MD and I am over the humidity. A dry but warm summer sounds delightful. It’s already muggy af here and I hate it. That and the mosquitoes. The PNW sounds great.
It's great in the summer but oof, the grey rainy season seems to last FOREVER.
The lack of thunderstorm thing is so interesting to me! I just learned that they are not common in the west coast last year, when my Seattleite nephew was with us in Nashville. We were at the pool, it thundered, everybody was hauling ass out of there and he was looking at us all like we were crazy!
I moved from West Texas to Seattle 9 years ago - a different type of Southern, but this still resonated with me. There's a moment when you're driving south from Seattle where you turn a corner on I5 and suddenly Rainier comes into full view, and it's magical EVERY time. Same with driving across Lake Washington on a clear day.