Long time ago, I had a boyfriend stuck in Michigan one winter and when he went outside one morning, it had been so cold that his car tires had frozen square. That is so. Awesome.

For this southern Californian, cold weather is a remarkable novelty. Those of you in places where winter is more than sweater weather may struggle to share my fascination.

In January, I went to Reston, Virginia and Manhattan. My trip occurred in between their brutal snowstorms of this winter, but I did get to see some snow, and experience single digit temperatures.

At my Reston hotel I thought, If only I’d brought my swimsuit! I didn’t know the hotel had a pool. Complete with lifeguard chair.

The Washington D.C. Amtrak station was warm and inviting:

I saw some regulars inside:

Through a bus window I saw the Potomac, an ice sheet with bridges:

My first night in Manhattan I saw no snow, just the usual thrilling sights of so many people in so small a space:

Here is what snow looks like outside Grand Central Station:

The Upper East Side had a more refined patch:

The wind came from between the buildings and made this visitor understand why no one else was in this park:

It was warm inside my hotel. Hotel corridors make me wish I’d never seen The Shining.

The January sky cast an austere glow:

New York is beautiful no matter what the conditions.