Tips on acclimating to the winters (Chicago, Atlanta: beach, car, best)

[Drover]

Originally Posted by CarolinaBredChicagoan

Seriously. That's the first thing that hits people from the South who come visit me during the winter. They expect the cold. It's almost a novelty. The dark is a surprise, though.

On another note, my neighborhood after a nice snow like the one we had yesterday/last night looks like a christmas card.

You ever want to get your brain going "whoa," try going to the Keweenaw Peninsula area of upper Michigan in late June/early July. At about 400 miles north of Chicago, it gets quite a bit more daylight per day than we do in the summer. But that's just the start: it's also about 50 miles further west than Chicago -- and yet, it's in the Eastern time zone. The sun doesn't even set until 10pm. I was in Houghton one year for 4th of July; they had to wait until about 10:30 to start the fireworks display.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

Originally Posted by Drover

You ever want to get your brain going "whoa," try going to the Keweenaw Peninsula area of upper Michigan in late June/early July. At about 400 miles north of Chicago, it gets quite a bit more daylight per day than we do in the summer. But that's just the start: it's also about 50 miles further west than Chicago -- and yet, it's in the Eastern time zone. The sun doesn't even set until 10pm. I was in Houghton one year for 4th of July; they had to wait until about 10:30 to start the fireworks display.

Sounds fantastic. I'll probably spend most of next summer in the Southeast, but it sounds like a heck of a destination.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by Drover

You ever want to get your brain going "whoa," try going to the Keweenaw Peninsula area of upper Michigan in late June/early July. At about 400 miles north of Chicago, it gets quite a bit more daylight per day than we do in the summer. But that's just the start: it's also about 50 miles further west than Chicago -- and yet, it's in the Eastern time zone. The sun doesn't even set until 10pm. I was in Houghton one year for 4th of July; they had to wait until about 10:30 to start the fireworks display.

One of the most undderated parts of the US. the upper penninsula is indeed beautiful and some of the beaches rival or surpass anything you would find on the coasts (white sand, endless blue water and skies), and to top it off theres usually not a soul there!

Oval Beach


Ludington






Esch Road Beach


Hoffmaster State Park




Muskegon


Sleeping Bear Dunes


Who needs Cancun.


(sorry, i had to get my mind of the other impending 5 inches coming tomorrow night. but thats the thing about midwest: as much as you may not like winter, we treasure our summers more than anyone else, because we realize how precious they are)

[Milliano]

Originally Posted by Drover

You ever want to get your brain going "whoa," try going to the Keweenaw Peninsula area of upper Michigan in late June/early July. At about 400 miles north of Chicago, it gets quite a bit more daylight per day than we do in the summer. But that's just the start: it's also about 50 miles further west than Chicago -- and yet, it's in the Eastern time zone. The sun doesn't even set until 10pm. I was in Houghton one year for 4th of July; they had to wait until about 10:30 to start the fireworks display.

I grew up in the Keweenaw. Yes the summers are awesome! As a kid it was great to be out so late... takes forever for the sun to set.
One odd thing about the time zone - if you just go maybe 50 miles south (or southeast!) of the Keweenaw, still in the Upper Peninsula, you're in Central time! Only the southwest part of the UP oddly is in Central, because of the Wisconsin influence.

Originally Posted by via chicago

One of the most undderated parts of the US. the upper penninsula is indeed beautiful and some of the beaches rival or surpass anything you would find on the coasts (white sand, endless blue water and skies), and to top it off theres usually not a soul there!

Who needs Cancun.

(sorry, i had to get my mind of the other impending 5 inches coming tomorrow night. but thats the thing about midwest: as much as you may not like winter, we treasure our summers more than anyone else, because we realize how precious they are)

I agree totally. It's an amazing place! In the future I hope to move back - get a house and land next to Lake Superior - surrounded by forest and that Great Lake.
I have experienced that treasuring of summer in people here in the Midwest. A lot about the weather is about perspective. The cold, dreary days certainly make those bright warm days seem brighter. People get more motive to take advantage of good weather. Like Fourth of July in the Keweenaw... it's really lively!

[Drover]

So Miliano, did you ever go to the Gay Bar? They have a surprisingly good bottle selection for a bar in the middle of Dicklestick.

Oh, and those stamp sands are funky. They're amazing (and sad in a way) to see from a satellite photo.

[Milliano]

Originally Posted by Drover

So Miliano, did you ever go to the Gay Bar? They have a surprisingly good bottle selection for a bar in the middle of Dicklestick.

Oh, and those stamp sands are funky. They're amazing (and sad in a way) to see from a satellite photo.

Hehe I did once, but I was too young to drink and it was quiet there, mid day. Neat little village,
Stamp sand is a Keweenaw feature. It really ruined Torch Lake, next to Lake Linden and Hubbell (although I guess those towns wouldn't exist without that factor?). I used to swim there... now it's all a Superfund site at the sands by the lake. Now grass grows there! But it wasn't all bad before - a lot of fun to be had on the sands with ATVs/motorbikes. There were always rumors of three eyed fish in Torch Lake. I've seen catfish do some crazy things in that water!

[Drover]

Well, Lake Linden looks like a pretty sad place right now. The decline of the copper industry obviously hit it hard, and it seems like it would probably be even further down the drain if it weren't bordering a college town and the economic stability such a town brings.

I actually did a rallycross on the stamp sands in Gay, which is how I ended up at the Gay Bar at the first place (that's where event registration and after-event socializing took place).

[Drover]

I actually took part in a rallycross on the stamp sands in Gay, which is how I ended up at the Gay Bar in the first place (that's where event registration and after-event socialization took place).

Most of those places looked kind of defeated though -- Lake Linden, Hancock, especially Hubbell... looks like the decline of the copper industry hit these places pretty hard. It seemed that if it weren't for their proximity to Houghton and the economic stability of the university there, they'd be in even worse shape.

Pics of me ripping it up on the stamp sands in Gay and in the field behind the Lake Linden campground:

[KevK]

Originally Posted by CarolinaBredChicagoan

They lock. It might be "illegal" to set it and walk away, but they lock. I do the whole "set the pump, squeegee the windshield" thing all the time.

They must have changed the law then. When I lived there, they could not even lock. You had to stand there and pump.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Since when does Houston and ATL have "nice" weather? Last I checked Houston was ungodly hot and swampy like Florida, same goes for Atlanta. And you dont go "weeks w/o sun" in Chicago, duuuude. So with that being said, enjoy the swamp you live in, and say hi to the hurricanes for me! Oh, also enjoy your future water shortages (like ATL has), those are always a blast too! "Nice weather" my arse!

Atlanta has slightly better weather than Houston. Houston- and all the coastal cities- are very humid in the summer. Atlanta is hot but not as humid most of the time because of its elevation. Summers in Atlanta are uncomfortable but not unbearable.