This week, there was a really good article about living in Sacramento in the Sac Bee. Click here to read it. The article, by a San Francisco native now living in Sacramento, talks about how the hot summers really define the lifestyle here. Now I've been really lucky - since I moved to Sacramento we've experienced one of the most delightful summers imaginable. But there have been a couple of hot weeks and I totally see what he means about how the weather defines life here. The cool active mornings, the slow midday and the lively evenings. I also think he's right on when he says we can look at day with a high of 92 (for my European readers, that's about 33 centigrade) and marvel at how cool it will be. It sort of reminds me, in an opposite type way of course, of how when I was growing up in Ireland, we would head to the beach if it got remotely close to 70. That was some hot beach weather then! On a personal level, it's pretty amazing how quickly I've gotten into the if-it's-not-100-it's-almost-chilly mentality. Also, how quickly I've grown to love the shade. It's way different in the shade! And the air conditioning. I believe in A/C!!
There are a couple of things I would also note about how Sacramentans deal with the heat. First is the use of water. When it's hot, I come home from work and get into the pool. I've gotten into the pool at 9 or 10 o'clock. Then you don't even have to worry about the sun. Pools are a big deal. And of course, there's the river. When I drive over the American River, I always glance to see how many people are out on the river. On the weekend, there are hundreds of people, either just hanging out or floating down the river in rafts. I've done it myself. It is so much cooler on the water. And even though you're in the river with crowds of people, it's cool, because, really, everyone is just so nice. I don't know if the heat contributes to it, but people are so friendly here, it rivals Ireland! The first day we went out on the river, we forgot to bring paddles for the raft (well, we were rookies) and someone just gave us one. I am not making this up! He had a spare, and he noticed that we needed it, so he just gave it to us. That would *never* happen in the bay area.
The other thing that the heat brings out is a totally different sense of style. It sort of makes sense, I suppose, it's hot so we dress skimpier. All of us. I'm a 48-year-old grandmother and it's completely acceptable for me to leave the house in short-shorts and a tank top. Admittedly, I'm in decent shape, but hey, other places in the world have rules about that sort of thing. Not here! And the skimpier clothing leads to more display of body art. There probably aren't actually more tattoos per capita here or anything, it just looks like it because they're all on display.
The article also talks about how we lean toward evening activities because of the heat. That's so true. I go listen to live music in the village near my house every Thursday night. I walk down by the river and it is simply full of people biking and walking their dogs, or kids. Restaurants in midtown serve food until the wee hours of the morning. If only we could get a siesta in mid-afternoon, life would be perfect! Maybe that's the way we should be furloughing - a two-hour nap each day.
I don't know how it's going to be in the winter. There may not be sun, there might even be rain! I might even get an early night. But I guess I'll just wait and see.
Gordon & Helen in Crete
