Weather with You

Oh, man.  I love Neil Finn.  When all my friends were frying their bangs and listening to New Kids on the Block, I was listening to Crowded House.  Of course, my sister is to thank for this because had she not been listening to them herself I’d probably have gone into the dark abyss of liking Nelson.  So I just involuntarily shuddered, who wants to know?

I found this picture online with the caption "Neil Finn - backup singer to the world's girlfriends". Obviously this person didn't know that in the US most ladies haven't succumb to his charms yet and are singing with Bon Jovi instead.

Anyway, Neil wrote a song called “Weather with You” with his brother Tim.  It’s on an album called Woodface which you should run out and buy right now.  I mean that, by the way.  Anyway, this song in particular has a couple of meanings in regards to today’s post.  The first is that during the family trip to Europe I had Woodface with me and I listened to it constantly, as one did with really good albums back in the day.  I let my Sony Walkman loop it and even now I know what song comes next.  This song in particular reminds me of being in Amsterdam on a boat with a giant Van Gogh sunflower on the roof.  And “Four Seasons in One Day” reminds me of North Dakota.  ‘Nuf said!

The other thing that this song reminds me of is the weather.  Wherever you go, there you are and there will always be weather.  Medieval travelers would go out in any kind of weather because that’s how they lived.  They had no idea if waiting would bring on more of the same or worse, so why wait?  Many a Britisher will tell you that there is no bad weather only bad clothing.

With that in mind, you may want help in picking out your clothing for whatever trip you might be taking.  No matter where you are headed I vote for layers.  It’s easier to remove a layer here and there then pack a collection of tops that will keep you – ahem – covered.  Having a selection of layers also gives you a few more options when deciding what to wear. 

Below I’ve listed weather sites that either I’ve used or I’ve found while doing my daily browsing of travel sites.  Everyone has their favorite but it’s good to use caution.  A weather man from a local TV station once told the Mister that any forecast is only dependably accurate about 3 days out, the rest is a very educated guess.  That being said, I’d highly suggest leaning on the historical averages, even if global warming likes to laugh at us when we expect any kind of predictability.  I don’t mind being laughed at, after all, I had flat bangs in the ’90s.

• WorldClimate.com – This site is recommended by Rick Steve’s.  It’s pretty bare bones but if you type in the destination it will give you the data.  Remember that when you enter a foreign city you’ll need to use the local name.  Such as Roma for Rome.
• Trip Planner: Weather Underground – This site is a favorite of the guys at 1 Bag, 1 World which is a complete treasure trove of information for the light packer.
• MyForecast.com – Has good information but is a little less user-friendly than the two listed above.  The info is there and if you like digging there is plenty to find.
• Weather Channel – When all else fails, the people at the weather channel still specialize in weather… especially if it’s gnarly and possibly life-threatening. 
• Travel Planner – World Weather – This link actually brings you to a site to buy a book that I know some travel guides still depend on.  It gives you a bunch of information in one place.  If you like to have reference guides then this might be great for you.  Though I’m thinking that if you’re reading a blog you might have what it takes to get the info the cheap and easy way, like I do… asking the Mister.