You might say it was a stormy beginning to a relationship.
My husband and I met mid-October of 1976. It had snowed a week earlier and didn’t leave for the rest of the fall or winter. We joked about whether or not we were being sent a sign, as he would pick me up for our date with clear starry night skies overhead, only to find ourselves driving back home in a blizzard short hours later.
It was fortunate, therefore, that many of our dates took us off the roads and onto the trails. An avid snowmobiler, when it came to winter travel my guy preferred this option for getting around. Which meant it’s a good thing love is blind, because most of my weekends were spent in bulky clothes, sporting helmet hair and stinking of snowmobile exhaust.
Granted, they were good times back then. Hooking up with a large group of like-minded folks we’d take off across fields and down country lanes, finding refuge in quaint little inns for hearty fare and a pint or two, before setting out once more. Arriving home, cheeks perfectly pink, we’d settle our weary bodies, enjoying the deep sleep that comes after hours of time spent in the great outdoors — and let’s be hones, a few brews.
Getting outside in the winter is undeniably exhilarating and there are plenty of options for kicking up the fitness level from extreme sports such as snowboarding to quiet walks in the country. These collections illustrate just some of them:
