July 9: Finding Summer

Looking for a real summer? Come on down! Wow, I've been talking to my mom in Chicago and she keeps telling me about this rotten weather they're having. "It's like we're being cheated out of our summer," she told me yesterday. Not just in the midwest either. It's been so bad in the Northeast that at least one major network newscast, NBC News with Brian Williams, recently ran a piece on the miserable New York summer. Folks, I feel for ya. As an ex-northerner, I've been through this and know how disappointing it is. I remember at least two or three summers in Vermont when the calendar seemed to jump from a prolonged spring directly into a prolonged fall. When you're in a climate with essentially six months of winter, you live for those hot, sunny days of June, July and August.

Out of curiosity, I checked the current temp in my old hometown of Burlington, Vermont just before starting to write this blog. It was 69 degrees during what should be the heat of the afternoon. In July, remember. Yuck.

Well, I have a flash for you. It's hot down here. As I look out my office window, there's a hazy sunshine with a pleasant breeze. The temperature right now is 90, which also is the expected high today. The low tonight should be around 79 - warmer than Burlington's mid-afternoon high. If I were a northern resident who could swing the trip somehow, I'd be looking for bargain air fares for a South Florida summer escape. As in, an escape to a real summer. Hot sun, pretty beaches, frozen margaritas. The airfare deals are out there too, judging from what I saw online earlier. Southwest just finished a huge special but still has some great prices. So does Spirit and I'm sure other airlines do as well. I worked out a quick Internet price quote from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale for two people, round trip, leaving on July 21. I pulled up prices of $378 on Spirit and $343 on Southwest. So that's only about $170 or so per person. Not too bad to save a piece of summertime for yourself. And maybe preserve an extra bit of your sanity at the same time. Those chilly northern autumn days, after all, are right around the corner.