The RECORD warmth continues: 55 DEGREES AGAIN. 😱☀️🏖️😎

If you thought YESTERDAY was warm, then having TWO DAYS OF THE SAME WEATHER just sounds CRAZY, but it actually happened today. For the 2020s, with climate change, it's not surprising, but it also is. Today was even crazier than yesterday was, and you're about to find out why.

First, today, Barrie and I were supposed to go to Rhode Island to an all-autistic bakery called Red White & Brew just over the border, but due to it being out of state (therefore needing DCF permission to go) and Barrie feeling tired, the trip was called off, and we didn't go ANYWHERE far. We stayed local when we expected not to.

Second, the RECORD warmth. One day of 55° weather in February is insane, but TWO? THREE?! 3 STRAIGHT DAYS IN THE 50S, 2 STRAIGHT DAYS AT 55°! 😱☀️😎 It was so warm today that it was warm enough to walk outside, and so, Barrie and I walked through downtown Easthampton MA (when we were supposed to walk behind her house near/in the woods) as the thermometer at Big E's Supermarket in the center of town read 55 DEGREES. Barrie's car upon leaving mom's house said 57 DEGREES, although the temperature dropped from then on, slowly.

It's so warm, that The Weather Channel says "near record high temperatures" for today. 😱😎⛅ 56 DEGREES IN FEBRUARY.

57 DEGREES IN FEBRUARY, TWO DAYS IN A ROW?! 😱😱😱☀️😎

55 DEGREES in the center of town. Oh MAN... 😎 All thanks to a southwest wind that made it to the Northeast US. Keep in mind that just 2 weeks ago, it was negative temps (-4 and -2°F) in the morning for 2 nonconsecutive days. Taken around 2 PM.

Vaping shop in 2018, abandoned in 2021, mystery new tenant in 2022.

📍106 Union St, Easthampton MA

With the 55 degree temps, walking downtown on what happened to be WinterFest for Easthampton MA (more like SPRINGFest due to the weather) was a great option. But after reaching the fork at 1 Cottage St, where the Nashawannuck Pond is on the right, you'll NEVER BELIEVE what was occurring there. 2 UNBELIEVABLE things, actually.

1) People were ON THE ICE today (it was 55° OUTSIDE, OVER 50° 3 DAYS STRAIGHT, NO, JUST NO! 😱😬)

2) THERE WAS AN ANTI-VAX PROTEST, A BIG ONE. Walking downtown, we saw a big statue blowup, and Barrie and I thought "it's for WinterFest", but NO. Upon getting closer, we saw anti-vax signs ("No Mandates", etc.) for COVID-19. All I can say is, they're not really gonna get far with that, as 90% of Easthampton is already partially (1+ dose) vaccinated. I was in such disbelief for a friendly city like Easthampton to have this sort of protest that I decided to walk into 1 Cottage St and explore the 1st floor, walking from the 2nd floor entry up to the 3rd floor (of 5), before walking back down to the 2nd, and attempting to get to the 1st floor, only to realize it wasn't open to the public, despite also being Cottage Street Studios day. After that, I walked back outside and attempted to walk to the end of downtown going east on MA-141 before going left on Maple St in disbelief of what had happened and then criticizing Easthampton MA's outdated housing, broken sidewalks and streets (which is planned to be fixed under the 2020 Downtown Revitalization Plan), and the protest that had happened, turning right onto Chapel St before seeing a car with blue and red or pink tape on it, which so happened to be related to the protest. Turning right onto Cottage St, trying to forget what just happened, immediately fail. We immediately saw 5 cars go by, each with anti-vax messages on the glass, all honking their horns, with one car having a megaphone yelling anti-vax messages for everyone on Cottage St to hear, some of which (like me), didn't want to hear. After THIS, we went into The Water's Fine (20 Cottage St) for Barrie to get some hot cider there and a couple candies, still stunned over what happened. By the time we got out of The Water's Fine, the protest, which I hoped to record, was over and I saw a police car drive away. Then Barrie and I walked back to the Union Street Plaza and went to Walgreens to return some notebooks that were overpriced, but on the way there, we saw the thermometer in the center of town at 55°, 

After 5 1/2 years, COVID-19 made this place shut its doors. Final session at this place is 2/15/22 at 7am at the following address:

📍102 Cottage St, Easthampton MA

(Already listed as permanently closed on Google Maps)

Another sign at the same place, the other window already has a "for sale" sign.

📍102 Cottage St, Easthampton MA

This video says it all. (The abrupt ending was due to running out of memory)

📍80 Cottage St, Easthampton MA

After THIS, we went into The Water's Fine (20 Cottage St) for Barrie to get some hot cider there and a couple candies, still stunned over what happened. By the time we got out of The Water's Fine, the protest, which I hoped to record, was over and I saw a police car drive away. This was my attempt at filming the protest, but it had since ended. This video also says it all.

📍47 Cottage St, Easthampton MA

And this one too, before I realized that the protest was wrapped up by this filming.

This one as well, but the protest had since ended.

📍15 Cottage St, Easthampton MA

Incredible warmth for February. 🥵

📍11 Union St, Easthampton MA

After the protest, Barrie and I walked back to the Union Street Plaza and went to Walgreens to return some notebooks that were overpriced and for me to get a soda, but on the way there, we saw the thermometer in the center of town at 54°, shown here. Absolutely unbelievable. When we got to Walgreens (Southampton MA), I decided to get a soda with my gift card, but it took me 5 minutes to get it because I couldn't figure out how to put it (the gift card) in as "credit" due to not having a PIN, being a gift card, and I almost had to put it back! 😬🤣🙄 Why was I so dumb??? 🤣🤬

But in the end, it worked out. I was treated to my favorite soda (Coca-Cola Cherry Zero Sugar, rather rare to find outside of the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines as a double flavor) by myself, to myself. 😎

After that, I watched TheBuildingDuck on YouTube with Barrie (Minecraft "Building A City" timelapses; watched the first 5 episodes of 100 with her), ate dinner, blogged here, and that's it. What. A. Day.

My dinner: steak tips and tater tots. It was delicious. 😋

Anyways, thanks for reading, and have a great night.