I love snow. I love the tropics. And I love the thought of combining them both into one word, one image and one concept. Oh yea…I guess that’s why I created Snoloha.

I’m fascinated with the fascination that people have for the opposite climate, and the Christmas season seems to be when it’s most evident. I drive my wife nuts talking about this, trying to understand it. I have problems, I realize this.

Anyway…

You see photos all the time of decorated palm trees, santa hats on the beach (or a passed out Santa on the beach if you travel with us to the Caribbean) and snowmen built of sand.

RumShopRyan says it best “One thing I get a kick out of is seeing the contrast of the tropics and Christmas decorations. When you think of Christmas you think of snow, reindeer and a sleigh and pine trees cover in lights. I love to see people on the beach wearing Santa hats. I love to see coconut palms dressed in colorful lights. The Christmas spirit is alive and well down here in Southwest Florida, we just do it a little different.”

And here in the northern latitudes, we do the same thing. We buy fake palm trees and decorate them as a Christmas tree, we hang tropical Santa Claus ornaments on a traditional tree, we hang wreathes made of flip flops (yes, we have one at our house), we sing Mele Kalikimaka…and the list goes on and on. We want a taste of the tropics.

I love it. I wish people had this type of mindset more often. I really do. It’s enjoying the best of both worlds even though you can’t physically experience both at the same time. It’s a mindset that, for me, is calming and relaxing. And it takes me back to that very moment, while driving one snowy morning pass the 45th Parallel sign (Halfway Between the Equator and the North Pole) after my return from the Virgin Islands, when this concept first hit me and that scene first appeared in my head – A small palm tree filled island in the Caribbean, with the sun slowly gliding across the horizon. Then the snow begins to gently fall, the large, fluffy flakes you’d catch on your tongue as a kid (or hopefully you still do). That’s when it hit me and I leaned over to the passenger seat of my Jeep and scribbled on a Rolling Stone magazine, “somewhere between the islands and the arctic.”

If you have any Tropical themed Christmas photos to share, I’d love to see ‘em. Email ‘em to me (rod@snoloha.com), or post ‘em to Facebook…I’ll send ya a Snoloha surprise.

And since we are on the topic, I had to share this song – “Let it Snow (Somewhere Else)”