In Lake Geneva today the forecast high is 44 degrees. With sunshine. It’s delightful, really. I walked from my car to my office this morning and those five paces were dry and they were not slippery. I rather enjoyed it. Tomorrow, the forecast high is 43, with sun. It’s more of the same for Friday, 44 for that day under a generous sun. Saturday finds the temperatures moderating in the 40s again, and Sunday calls for a rain/snow mix, but with a high of 39 I’m guessing the mix will just be rain. This is a five day forecast that I can cope with. Heck, I’ll even celebrate it. But that’s because I’m not into the snow. I don’t snowmobile, nor do I snow ski. Yes, the weather looks to be just about perfect for a summer loving guy stuck in the middle of a perpetual March. You know who isn’t happy about this? The bunch of people huddled outside right now in front of the Riviera trying to chisel slush into birds, fish, and dragons.
They aren’t limited to those categories, but giant pressed hunks of snow lend themselves to those three groups. Today, under that 44 degree sky, Lake Geneva’s Winterfest 2012 begins. It’s not just a small town festival, with hot chocolate to be sipped and shopping bags to be filled and fine fare to be sampled, it’s also the 16th annual United States National Snow Sculpting Competition. It’s a big deal. Which is why the weather can be both a joy for me and a disaster for them. In spite of this warm week, the show must go on. I’m no snow sculpting champion, but I’m guessing the winner will carve something that looks like a giant block of snow with some teeth and eyes. I’d avoid any limbs that extend beyond the body mass, and I certainly wouldn’t plan for any legs. Perhaps this is the year that the winning sculpture is a giant M&M, minus the arms and legs.
There is ice on Geneva Bay right now, and that ice extends from the Riviera over to the Geneva Inn and westward into the Narrows. There is an open section of water off of Maytag Point, so if you’re adventurous enough to tip toe on the ice for a bit, I’d avoid that section, unless your adventurous aim teeters on suicidal, then have at it. During a normal Winterfest, there would be planes with skis resting on the ice, offering rides for a reasonable ransom. There would be ice huts- many, many ice huts. There would be ice skating, and it would be wonderful. This year, none of this will happen. But that isn’t to say you should avoid Lake Geneva this weekend, because you shouldn’t, but it is to say that you should consider this weekend less a weekend of supposed Winterfest and more a weekend of spring exploration. This is a weekend for a drive.
I’d be remiss if I failed to mention that the Grand Geneva has a winter festival this weekend, and they have a most significant advantage. The Mountain Top ski hill has many ice machines, so the Grand Geneva is able to thumb their nose at a mild winter and make their own snow anyway. The snow that the sculptures will be working with this week came from those ice machines, and the snow that you can come up and ski on did as well. From 11 am to 2 pm this Saturday, February 4th, the ski hill will host all sorts of activities for kids and adults. Snowboarding competitions, ski lessons- that sort of thing. The lodge there is quite comfortable, and I reckon there’s nothing finer than sitting in the window, with a coffee in hand and a roaring fire at your back, watching many people tumble down the hill.
Now, back to that drive you’re going to take. While the winter isn’t cooperating for those winter lovers, it is melting away to give us real estate hunters a great view of the land. If you can look at a piece of real estate in the middle of winter, with some dirty snow covering muddy, tan grass, and you can find that real estate attractive, then you’ve really found something. There is no better time to scout for real estate than when the flora is dead. There is little emotion to house hunting this time of year. There are no lilacs in bloom to captivate you, no sailboats framing your view, no romance. This is hard core real estate hunting, and it’s available to you this weekend. On Saturday I’ll be hosting two open houses in the South Shore Club. You’ll learn more about this in the post on Friday, but there’s a change coming to the South Shore Club this week, and it involves me and some slashed pricing. Look for the pictures and details Friday, but for now, plan on coming to visit me. You can stop by the sculptures afterward to see which ones still have their arms, assuming not all the sculptors will take my advice and omit them.