SNOW BOARDING IN WEST PALM BEACH

Probably not your top 10 pick for locations for snow boarding in February but that is exactly what was going on in West Palm today.
House guest Lynne and I started our day with a WONDERFUL massage at Massage Envy. (If you like massages and realize the benefit of them you should check this place out.  They are all over the country and   are the best thing since peanut butter.) After our massage we oozed ourselves back home in the pouring rain and decided that it was the perfect day to take Lynne for a ride to see what City Place was all about. Lynne is down here condo shopping and has been hearing a lot about City Place but didn't have a clue what or where it was. Husband, Lynne and I  packed ourselves up and off we went down 95 to the exit just before the airport. (I can't tell you the name of the exit because I can't spell it.  OKEECHOBEE  or something like that.) Then you head East for about a mile and find yourself in this jumping little shopping area filled with up scale shops and restaurants. There are condos above all the shops and lots and lots of people wandering the 4 or 5 streets that make up the area. We stopped for lunch and then jumped on the FREE trolley that took us to down town West Palm Beach where all the clubs and "hot spots" are. When we got off the trolley in the middle of town we walked toward the inter coastal water way to look at some of the multimillion dollar yachts that are anchored there. But there in the middle of the park was a very strange sight. There were several tents set up, (that is NOT strange for that area, there is always something going on.) But in the center of the grassy area was a huge ramp covered in snow. (Actually it was ice but it looked like snow.) We had happened upon the Red Bull Buttercup Snow Board Competition.
Why would you have a snow board competition in a city who's average yearly temperature is 78 degrees is beyond me but that is what was going on. We got there while they were still setting up the "hill" but we had a great time watching the mechanics of this whole event. Then the snow boarders started arriving, all 60 of them. Probably all under the age of 22. They began their practice runs down the hill and across some sort of wooden platforms that gave them the opportunity to slide, jump, spin and fall. We spent about 2 hours watching all this before the actual competition began. . .  just as it started to rain.
Ice + 70 degrees + rain isn't a great mix for snow boarding so as we ran to catch the trolley before we got soaked we wished them all well and then laughed our selves silly at the thought of the whole thing.
We missed the story on the news tonight so I have no idea what happened after we left but it sure as heck isn't a sight we will be seeing again any time soon.
As for Lynne and her condo shopping. . .  she is pretty sure she wants to find something up here near where we are and will go out again tomorrow morning to check out a few new prospects in Jupiter.