REALLY cold

So, after we covered about 10 States in 4 days we landed in Chicago via Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. We'd put up with sunshine, cold, rain, snow, wind (we nearly were blown right off the Jeffersonian Memorial) and any other imaginable weather. And yet, there is only one word to describe Chicago: COLD.

REALLY cold. Breath in and feel needles in your lungs cold. Step outside and instantly lose feeling in your nose and cheeks cold. Come back inside and even though you were wearing gloves it still hurts as your hands defrost cold.

So cold, when I got to Chicago and took my water bottle out of my pack there was solid ice and slushy stuff in there.

So cold, we had ice-cream for dinner to warm up.

So cold, I looked like Rudolph, except it was my ears, not my nose glowing.

So cold, we decided to watch the fireworks from INSIDE navy pier.

So cold, getting back to Stony Brook yesterday were the temperatures are around freezing feels nice comfy and warm.

I realize that on most pictures it looks like I am only wearing a sweatshirt. This isn’t true – it’s just the top layer. Just like onions and ogres have layers, when it gets cold, Shannon has layers.

The real reason I wear layers?

Well, on our last day in Park Ridge, we decided to go for a walk in the forest preserve. The river was frozen over and Annegret had that glint in her eye that made me say - dude, if you go out there and fall in, I'm not coming in after you...

She looked a bit disappointed, "you wouldn't?!", "Nope" - because honestly, wherein lies the sense of jumping into a freezing river after somebody?!

She still didn't look completely satisfied. Obviously, she thought that 12 years of friendship should be worth more. "Fine", I said, "I'd whip off all my top four layers of clothes, tie them together and that rope would be long enought that I'd be able to pull you out".

And THAT is the true reason why we layer up in winter.