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The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast
1KHO 792: Weather Brings Out the Kid in All of Us | Chris Bruin, The Weather Channel
00:57:13
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A
This episode is brought to you by State Farm. You know, those friends who support your preference for podcasts over music on road trips? That's the energy State Farm brings to insurance. With over 19,000 local agents, they help you find the coverage that fits your needs so you can spend less time worrying about insurance and more time enjoying the ride. Download the State Farm app or go online@statefarm.com like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Welcome to the 1000 Hours Outside podcast. My name is Ginny Urge. I'm the founder of 1000 Hours Outside. And I have a treat for you today. For the first time in forever. Actually, I don't even know why I said that. It's because my daughter is in this play, Frozen junior, like tomorrow night. And so she has to say in the intro, for the first time in forever. So that's why I said it. It's like in my mind, but it is true. For the first time in forever, a real life meteorologist is here.
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B
Christmas.
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A
Chris Bruin, welcome.
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B
Hey, thanks for having me. So you're telling me you haven't had a meteorologist on this shop? No.
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A
You're the first.
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B
Really?
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A
Thank you for saying yes. So excited about this because when you really think about, like, what excites kids and they, and getting them outside, they are so into the weather. And I had heard from this woman, her name's Hannah Maruyama. And she talks about jobs, you know, different types of jobs that kids can have. Talks about career and college and, you know, what is your path sort of after high school into life. And she said that most people, most kids, but people in general like that they can only name five to seven jobs. It's like policeman, nurse, teacher, and I think weatherman is one. But then you don't really know any of them. Like, I don't know any. So can you talk about your path toward. That's a job I think people know about but don't necessarily, like, say, well, I'm going to actually do it.
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B
Yeah, I think it's a job everybody would love to do at some point in their life and then it just kind of when they're especially their kid. Because I know when I was a kid I wanted to be an architect, actually, and then I wanted to be a meteorologist. And that was the passion from early on. And so I'm thankful I had that kind of mapped out throughout my childhood and early adult years because I know a lot of people don't know what they want to do. But it's funny, my wife and I will meet new people or new families. And she's like, you got to stop saying, you know, like, I'm a meteorologist. It's like, like they're expected to be like, oh, that's so cool. What do you do? You know, my wife and her job is just as interesting. But everyone wants to talk about meteorology.
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A
Like, oh, you're a physical therapist. No, I want to talk about meteorology. That's so true.
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B
Oh, yeah.
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A
So every conversation you're probably showing everyone up.
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B
I try not, I try to not bring it up unless I'm asked because then it's like, oh, yeah. But then it's common to say, oh, what do you do for work? You know, and then it's like, well, then they ask you, what do you do? And I'm like, I'm a meteorologist. And it's like, well, whoa, we are meteorologists. I've never met one of those, you know, but it is fun. It is really fun. So I'm really thankful to be on this podcast. I'm a kid at heart too. I mean, weather brings out the kid in all of us. I think everybody, I mean, honestly, everybody's tied to the weather. At some point you can draw ties financially, health wise, you know, just so many things. People are fascinated and when no one has anything to talk about, they always default to the weather. Right? It's everybody. But if I talk to you about the weather, it's not because I have nothing to talk about, it's just because I, I love talking about it.
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A
Okay, so specifically, you are an on camera meteorologist. So are there, there's more than one type, right? It's like some are actually. You're on the weather channel. So people can watch you on the Weather Channel. Weekday evenings on Storm Center. On Storm center, of all things on the Weather Channel. What's the schooling like? Like, what's the educational component of getting to where you are? And then some people desire to be on camera, some people don't. Or do some people desire but aren't, you know, can't find the spot for it.
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B
Yes. So, okay, a lot of things. You gotta love math and science if you want to get to be a meteorologist. Even if you're not going to be on camera, if you'd be on the sidelines. There's so many other realms too in meteorology. I mean, you don't have to be on TV or on camera. You can be in the private sector, which a lot of companies hire meteorologists to come up with risk management to Reduce loss or to help prepare or if there is big weather events, they got to maybe have a good plan in place and that's become a big outlet for jobs. So that's really cool. Obviously the airlines have their own meteorologists. That's a huge tie in. And then the government and everybody has meteorologists that are issuing the tornado warnings, keeping people safe. Safe looking at modeling. So there's so many different realms that you can go in. It's not just oh, introducing maps. Now I love maps. Geography is probably my favorite subject along with the weather. So I figured it would be a good fit. And yeah, schooling, you have to have the passion for it because it is hard. You got to go up through calculus 3. I remember an ordinary differential equations in college. So if you can bear with it and persevere, you can get to the end and it's a lot of fun.
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A
So is it one of those things, Chris, where the classes that you take like a calculus three, do you. This is the question that everyone has. Do you actually use them?
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B
No, I don't. I don't. And honestly I don't think I could go back and pass anything, any tests in Cal. Calculus 3, I forgot a lot of it. Those things are helpful though if you are going to be more in the modeling or you're looking at the behind the scenes kinds of aspects of meteorology because essential you're learning what the computers kind of do for you. And it's good to have that kind of knowledge because a lot of these equations, I mean, goodness, you look at the wind chill equation, you got to know your math just to even get those. Or converting Celsius to Fahrenheit, simple things like that. It's a lot of heavy math involved. And those things are fun. Those things are fun. But yeah, I don't use that. I don't use calc 3 on a day by day basis.
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A
But someone might.
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B
Someone might, yes, absolutely. Or if computers crash and we got to go back to old school ways, math will be very helpful in that way.
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A
Okay, so then talk about the on camera component. Is it cutthroat? Is it a situation where there's like a huge pool of people that want to be the weather person and it's just a small group that gets picked.
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B
There is, it's a small community of us on, on air. And so there is, you know, especially as you get higher up into the, you know, broadcasting world, there is only so many jobs and so you got to really refine that skill. It's not so much just the meteorology component as it is presenting and communicating, being honestly a storyteller. And my favorite aspect about it, which is why I love at the Weather Channel is showing the weather in real time. Not just talking about what's going to happen and using the maps, but actually being in the weather. That is the absolute most fun thing. And just like being in the worst of it, the raw elements and showing what a blizzard looks like when it's 80 mile an hour winds and 2 inch per hour snowfall rates or a hurricane or just a high wind event day.
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A
So was that always part of the dream? Like you're like, okay, I'm interested in this, I'm going to go into meteorology for you. Was it always the dream to be on camera?
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B
It was always, yeah, I think it was a dream to the dream job was to work at the Weather Channel. It's so interesting because I grew up watching the Weather Channel before going to elementary school and in middle school and high school and I work along many of those guys that I watched in elementary school, Jim Cantore being one. I still like have like pinch me moments. You know, I'm like, this is my co worker, my colleague and I watched him when I was in, you know, fourth grade. And it's just, it's so cool just to learn from people who have been in the business so long. But yeah, but I never thought it would actually come to be. Honestly, when I got older, after college, it was just, it was, it was like, oh, working out at the Weather Channel would be cool, but I never thought I would actually be there. And one day I got a random email from the Weather Channel that had come across my son. I didn't even apply. It was honestly a total godsend. And I thought the interview was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was auditions and all this stuff and it was a quick 24 hour trip to Atlanta. I was in Idaho at the time and I did the best I could at the interview, but I didn't know if I would actually get the job and I had to wait a month to finalize the, to actually get the word back. And by God's grace, here I am.
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A
Had they seen you and that's why they reached out.
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B
Yeah, they had come across some of the stuff I had done at my local station. I was at, I was the morning meteorologist in Idaho and Wyoming, out by Jackson Hole and Idaho Falls. And so they had just come across some stuff. I honestly, I don't know how it even went. You know, it's not like I sent in my stuff and they looked at it. It's just a random email one day.
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A
Oh, my goodness. Almost like you think like, is this real? You know, is this real sort of a scam?
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B
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It kind of felt like, is this really the weather? T. This is my personal email. Yeah.
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A
So then how does it work when you get there is. There's probably a bunch of different types of jobs you could have there. You're with Storm center and your weekday evenings, Was that always the case?
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B
So Storm center actually that. I'm on a new show now. It's called Weather Channel Live. Very original. And it's in the afternoons from 2 to 6. Storm center was maybe like a year. There's constantly changing things.
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A
I have a complete wrong thing. I have Storm center in the evenings.
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B
And you're like, no, do that. Yep, that was my old show. And then we changed things around and Now I'm on 2 to 2pm to 6pm generally. But we fluctuate. We switch gears a lot. So I'm kind of all over the place sometimes, too. So that show is called Weather Channel Live. And it's fun. We're heading out of winter into. Into severe season and that's when storms really start to kick up and stuff. So.
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A
Oh, yeah. So two to six. That's a long. You know, it is interesting. That's a long time to talk about the weather. You know, I always think about things like the news and weather and how it just can't. You're constantly having to come up with stuff. So is there a lot of pressure there or are you just kind of used to it? I'm sure there's a team of people.
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B
Yeah, we have a whole team. And it's all meteorologists at the Weather Channel because, you know, we're all weather all the time. It's not like we've got news and we've got other things. Oh, it's all weather. So that whole hour now, each hour is a similar format. So you're kind of following the same format, but there's a lot of differences. You're following the weather. Some days there's a lot more variability than others. Quieter day, there's a lot more, but it's become so second nature. It just kind of is go with the flow. We don't have anything scripted really our show, but really anybody you see when we're doing the maps and we're presenting, we don't have scripts necessarily. Almost that entire time. We're just off the cusp what's going on through our mind and kind of just having a conversation to anybody. Yes, absolutely. It's not like a anchor who's reading prompters and stories where you have a lot more details to have to get right and specifics. Sometimes if we're entering, you know, a more serious story or something, we'll have a few bullet points or notes to help us, but most of the time, it's just off the cusp.
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A
Oh, what a job. Okay. So I. A couple of years ago, was on the Weather Channel for, like, a very short interview, which was a really.
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B
You should come back on, by the way. You should come back on.
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A
They've been trying to get it to happen, so. But it was awesome to talk about 1000 hours outside. This was a couple years ago, and it was a thing where it was like, there's a big storm. We have to reschedule. I was like, great. It really was dependent on the weather, whether, you know, it was just. It was a segment, like, for a quieter day, basically.
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B
Yeah. No, I get it. Yeah. If there's a big, like. Like this week, we had the blizzard. I'm calling it the great blizzard of 2026. I mean, this will, like, shut down big cities. I mean, people are still digging out, and that's when, you know, the schedule goes off to the wayside and it's all hands on deck.
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A
Yeah. Or like, the ice storm that was down in the Nashville area, that was a huge one, where the trees were exploding. So I have always thought. And I. I would imagine when people talk to you, they say the same thing, and I would imagine that the majority of people think this. So when you've watched, you know, in the past hurricanes, you know, and you're like, the street sign is flying by and the. The traffic lights are falling off, and, you know, and there's the weatherman. Yes. Yeah. And you're like, yes. Why would somebody do that?
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B
So that's a good question. Especially, you know, we love it, honestly. We want to be out there and experience it. If you don't, you know, no one's being forced to go out there. We're all, like, volunteering. Put me here. You know, we're all. And we have to spread the love around. Right. Everybody wants to be out there as far as, like, the meteorologists, but we do it safely, and we want to show people what these storms look like from a unique perspective. Also, it gives people an idea of what's going on in their hometown. Maybe they evacuated and they don't know what's going on. It gives them some peace of mind, like, oh, it's not as bad as it could have been, or wow, that water's coming up. I know where he is. In my town, it gives people maybe a little bit more relatability when they're enduring these things. Or maybe you don't even live there. Maybe it's a place you vacation. The town that you love to go to every summer is getting hit by a hurricane. It's just relatable. Hurricanes are, you know, the top producing events, but it's not just for people who live in Florida. It's the entire country watching. Why? Because they love to see the raw power of weather.
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A
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Okay, so you grew up in Florida?
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B
Yep, yep.
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A
So were hurricanes and hurricane preparation, was that a part of your childhood?
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B
Yes, it was. It's funny now, I would never do this now, but I used to just wish for hurricane as a kid. And I don't know, that's just the meteorologists in me, you know, And I, we. I grew up in Naples and for the longest time, we never. I remember the 90s, very quiet. But then we had the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons and we had back to back years where we were impacted. And I loved it. I just wanted to see more. I wanted to be in the worst. And at that point, I already knew I wanted to be a meteorologist and such. And my parents, on the other hand, very concerned about the house. And now being a homeowner, I have a whole new appreciation for those concerns. I wouldn't want a hurricane to hit where I live, that's for sure. Not now. But I grew up with that. And it's funny, grew up in Florida. I loved wintertime. We always went to Indiana for storms. And now, the older I get, I appreciate the winter. The most severe, harshest, coldest winter. I love it. I love that. Honestly, winter storms are my favorite to cover personally.
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A
So interesting, the variety. That's, you know, that's the part of it that I think, you know, when you, when you look across a nation, the United States, but then you look across the world, it's like everyone is living in their different climates. Because you talked about in summer. So we live in Michigan. We come to Florida in the winter, right. Because we feel like we're dying. So we come to Florida, we kind of rejuvenate, but because of a couple different conferences, different situations, we've occasionally been in Florida at the beginning of June and we're like, this is so hot.
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B
Oh, yeah.
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A
And then it like rains like almost every day.
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B
Every day? Yeah, but that cools you off. That's, that's, that's why it's sustainable.
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A
Yeah. So like in Michigan, you're like, oh, we should go inside. But nobody goes inside. They just like sit through the rainstorm and then it ends. And so you talked about how the, your summertime thunderstorms pop up like clockwork. This is what you're used to as a kid, right? You're used to the hurricanes. You're used to these summertime thunderstorms. How did you end up in Idaho? You know that moment when you realize you've double booked something or completely forgot something that mattered? Yeah, we've had plenty of those before. Skylight, keeping track of our schedule felt reactive. We were always catching up instead of actually being ahead of things. Now with the Skylight calendar, everything is visible, clear, and in one place. It syncs with all your calendars, Google, Apple, Outlook, and it gives you daily, weekly or monthly views so you can actually see what's coming. And I love how simple it is to manage not just events, but also chores and routines. The tasks feature has been huge for us. It gives kids a sense of ownership over their responsibilities. And it turns things like homework and daily routines into something kids can actually engage with without constant reminders. And honestly, it just takes so much pressure off. When everything is organized and visible, your home feels cool, calmer. You're not juggling it all in your head anymore. Skylight calendar is designed to bring families together and make everyday life run a little smoother. And if you try it and don't love it, you can return it within four months for a full refund, no questions asked. Right now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch calendar when you go to myskylight.com 1000 hours that's my S K-Y-L-I G H-T.com 1000 hours for $30 off lately, I've been trying to simplify my closet, just choosing pieces that are comfortable, easy to wear, and still look put together without a lot. That's really why I keep coming back to Quince. The quality is there, the fit is right, and everything just makes sense. Quince makes it easy to refresh your everyday this spring with pieces that feel as good as they look. They use premium materials like 100% European linen, organic cotton, and ultra soft denim, so you're getting that elevated feel without overpaying. Their lightweight linen pants, dresses and tops start at $30 and they're the kind of pieces you can wear again and again because they're breathable, versatile and just work. One thing I've been wearing a ton lately is the everyday fleece joggers. They're perfect for those cool spring mornings. Really soft, super comfort, but still structured enough that I don't feel like I'm just in loungewear all day. And that's the thing with quints. Everything is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands because they go straight to ethical factories and skip the middlemen. So you're getting great quality without paying for the label. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince.com outside for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Quince.com outside for free Shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com outside. This episode is sponsored by Better Help. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and it's a good reminder that life is a journey with highs and lows. Some days feel light and steady and other days feel overwhelming, like there are too many things to carry and not enough space to sort through them. I think one of the little lies we believe is that we're supposed to figure it all out on our own. But the truth is no one has all the answers and and no journey is meant to be walked alone. Therapy can be a place where you don't have to have it all together, a place to talk through what's keeping you up at night, to gain an outside perspective and to feel supported instead of stuck. If you've been feeling overwhelmed or unsure, that's more common than we think. And it's okay to get help sorting through it. That's why I appreciate better help. Their therapists are fully licensed in the US and follow a strict code of conduct. They match you with a therapist through a short questionnaire so you can focus on your goals. And if it's not the right fit, you can switch anytime. With over 30,000 therapists and more than 6 million people served globally and an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 across 1.7 million reviews. It's a platform people trust. You don't have to be on this journey alone. Find support and have someone with you in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off@betterhelp.com 1000 hours that's B E T T E R H E L P.com 1000 hours
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B
so that's where the job took me. You kind of have to go wherever you get a job, essentially. And that was a great opportunity. It was a weekday morning, morning meteorologist position, and it was in Idaho. And the funny thing is, when I got that offer, I was like, I don't know much about Idaho. I only had like, Napoleon Dynamite was my only reference. Idaho, I was like, that's not a state I want to live in. But honestly, after living, I did. I lived there three years. It's actually where I met my wife and we got married and it was the. I fell in love. People think Idaho is like Iowa, you know, And Iowa is beautiful too, don't get me wrong. But it's not. It is the west mountains galore. It's the gym, you know, it's a hidden gem, essentially. And it's just beautiful and moun weather coming from Florida and having a forecast in the mountains and live through the harsh extremes of winter. I didn't even know growing up in Florida, we don't use firewood, but people chop their own firewood and have to prepare for the winter. I didn't even know they still did that. That seemed like an old thing. That was a big ministry we did at our church in Wyoming, and it was so cool. You'd hand out firewood for people who may be in need or couldn't do it themselves. And so it was just a really cool experience. I learned a lot. I learned how to drive through winter weather. Boy, oh boy, everything. Yeah, it's only the strong can survive, essentially. I mean, you, Michigan, you know.
- [20:27]
A
You know, well, I would imagine that would have been shocking. But if you like the weather, probably a cool, shocking experience to see how different it is for people that are live in the United States, live in the same country, but have just such completely different weather experiences. I. When I do a pod, I do podcasts on Thursdays. And so I already talked this morning to this lady named Michaeline Duclef who has a phenomenal book coming out called Dopamine Kids. And she was talking about how kids, like, they have this fundamental need to create. And some kids really like to do little nitty gritty crafts and things. And she's like. And some kids, like really big body movement. And she was like, I realized I'm a big body movement type person. And she's like, I love chopping firewood. Would, you know, so what an interesting, satisfying. Yes, what an interesting thing that it's something that you don't even know exists. Like, when I go down to Florida, I'm always like, have you ever heard of this thing called hot chocolate? You know, Right. So I think it's really interesting that you grew up in Florida, you know, and you're experiencing all those storms, but then you get this weatherman job in Idaho and dealing with all of the. The winter weather. So for kids that are listening in, that are super interested in the weather.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Or maybe are more intrigued after listening to this conversation. Are there things that kids can do that don't have that sort of technology to look out? And, you know, what should kids be looking for when they're looking out the window? Or if they're just interested in storms? I mean, I've got kids that are like, I think it's going to rain today.
- [21:57]
B
Oh, yeah, let's talk about that. Because, you know, before technology, there was this thing called persistence forecasting. That's what it was called. And we actually learned this in college. But there's a lot that you can tell just by looking outside and analyzing your conditions of what the weather may do ahead of time. Now, it takes some training. You want to know, like, okay, if you have a south wind, you know, temperatures are going to warm up. If you have a north wind, oh, it's going to get cold. Cold air is dry air. Warm air is moist air. So if you're getting warmer temperatures, it's likely going to bring it, you know, maybe moisture from the South.
- [22:29]
A
So that's why in the spring, it rains a lot.
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B
It is, yes. And then if you have. Yes.
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A
My goodness. Wow. Even just recently, it's. We're recording this in February, Michigan. We're covered in snow. But a couple weeks ago, it warmed up for a day or two into the 40s, which everyone wears shorts.
- [22:46]
B
Big deal.
- [22:47]
A
And it feels balmy. Right. But it rained. And I was, I really had the thought, like, why does it always rain so much in the spring? So the warmer weather is bringing in the moisture.
- [22:56]
B
Yes. So warm air is more moist. Cold air is more dry. So dry air is heavier. So cold air sinks to the surface. Right. Warm air gets lifted. So when you look at, if you want to, this is what they did back in the, you know, 1700s, 1800s. If you see high clouds, so maybe it's a sunny day, no clouds in the sky. The next day, you start to notice high clouds start to come in. You can estimate within two to three days, you're going to have a big storm system. And there's a reason, there's actually reasons behind that. Like the cloud moisture starts way up there, high in the atmosphere. And then you'll start to notice the clouds getting lower and Then you'll get your stratus clouds or your storm clouds or whatever it is. It's not perfect, but it does give you an idea of what could be ahead if you. All you have is just the surroundings around you.
- [23:39]
A
Yeah, I talked to this man who has a whole thing around clouds. Gosh, I wish I could remember what it's called. But he has an email that you can get every day. It's like a cloud a day he talks about. It might even just be called that. But like, you know, there's like cloud bows and there's fog bows. And basically what he said was there are so many things going on above you that you would see remarkable things if you just looked up more often.
- [24:07]
B
Oh yeah. Or have you ever had a window seat on an airplane? It is amazing when you're flying. It's like a whole nother world up there in the clouds. Obviously we get clouds on the ground is called fog. So that's if you've ever wondered what it feels like to touch a cloud, that's what it would be like. It's. Whenever it's foggy outside, that's a cloud. But there's. I mean there's so many ways. Gosh, there's so many angles. I feel like you go like learn just with weather, right? It's like you have to be flexible. And I. People always ask me what's my favorite weather. That's a hard question. I don't think I have a favorite. I mean, I have a preference maybe of what I like to. But I like all weather and I'm a man of extremes. I'm, you know, like. What's the word I'm looking for? You know, maybe not the popular opinion, but I love it all. It could be 100 degrees outside and I want to go outside. It could be minus 20 outside. I want to go outside. There's never a moment where I don't want to go outside. It does. There's never a bad weather day essentially. But it does help you to make the most of what you could, you know, make the most of what you're giving. It's funny because weather is the one of the most complained about things in the world. And people, I'm sure now, especially being February, people are complaining about the quality cold. They're ready for it to be warm, they're ready for summer. But then you get a week of 80s or 90s and they're like, ah, this is hot. I don't like this. People are always want what they don't have. Right. Instead of just being content and just being thankful. And then when you are, you endure that winter. Boy, does summer feel so much more. You enjoy it so much more when you get those more pleasant days.
- [25:41]
A
That's such a life. It's life advice.
- [25:45]
B
Yeah.
- [25:45]
A
You know, the weather helps us to become grittier and, and yeah, to look at things is not. Not wishing away. Not wishing away the seasons. In fact, just the other day I was talking to someone who was, we were talking about that, you know, spring is on its way. And they were like, oh, the bugs. That was the first response, you know, so you're like, yeah. Each season offers its pros and its cons. And if you can look at it as, you know, not good or bad, you're going to get outside more.
- [26:12]
B
Exactly.
- [26:13]
A
Okay, so talk to us about some of the historic storms that you have covered.
- [26:20]
B
Oh, boy. Let's see. Okay, just off the top of my head, the most memorable for me and probably my favorite was a blizzard in North Dakota. It was three days long and they had winds in that 60 to 80 mile an hour range. They picked up three feet of snow. And in North Dakota, they're hardy folks, they can handle winter weather, but I mean, it shut the city down. And this was a. We couldn't even leave the parking lot. I mean, it was so much snow, people were getting. You could even drive around town. Nothing was open. But I loved it. I loved showing the weather there in the Great North. And by the way, it was in mid April, so it was like one of those situations where it was like spring had already arrived. People were boating just the week prior, and then they have this blizzard right before Easter and it was this. That will be one I will never forget and one of my favorites to ever cover there in North Dakota. Obviously, hurricanes make the rankings. They're, they're an experience, but they are a lot more stressful. Obviously, you lose power, you have nothing to eat. And we're in the throes of that, too. I mean, we have to prepare and we'll be at hotels. Sometimes the hotel close or it gets damaged and we've got to find a place to go. I remember one morning, it was Hurricane Sally. It was maybe six, seven years ago, and we were up till midnight and it was really starting to get. Get bad. And I was just exhausted. I'd been talking in the rain and in the wind for hours. My voice is hoarse. And by the time we were done, we were just a couple blocks from the hotel. I just parked on the side of the street in front. There wasn't really anywhere else to park and didn't even think anything of it. We were in downtown Pensacola and we were about. You couldn't even see the water, but we were probably six, seven blocks from the bay. And when I woke up in the middle early in the morning, I looked out my window and all I saw was water everywhere around the whole hotel. I thought the first floor had actually flooded. And I look at my car and the water was up to the steering wheel in the car, the rental car. And I was like, well, I'm not getting around anymore. Like we were literally in the storm surge. The whole town had. The downtown area had taken on so much water. It was surreal. It was an experience. And the hotel didn't get flooded thankfully, but it was really close. It was weird to be surrounded by water.
- [28:40]
A
Oh, I'm sure.
- [28:41]
B
Wow.
- [28:42]
A
All of these notable storms. What's interesting and I wouldn't have thought of is that beyond the storms and those sort of cataclysmic type blizzard events, you also are doing the solar eclipses.
- [28:54]
B
Oh yes. And now the next one's in the US is not until I think it's 20, 40 something. But I got to experience too. That was actually one of my first live shots at the Weather Channel is back in 2017 and I got to. They sent me to Jackson Hole for that eclipse and oh man, I'll tell you what. Did you ever get to see one of the eclipses the last few years?
- [29:13]
A
Well, we are in like, you know, I've got friends that are all about the totality. Like I don't know, you know, I had friends that went to Oklahoma for this last one. You know they. And you had to rent a place and you had to get it. If you didn't get it early, you're not going to get a spot. So we've always seen like a partial and it is really remarkable.
- [29:31]
B
It is. I will say your friends are onto something about totality though because the experience is so. It's so surreal. The first time I saw it, it was unbelievable. It was overwhelming, honestly. The temperature drops 20 degrees, especially if you're in a dry climate. I remember the wavy shadows and we were high atop the mountains in the Teton. So we were watching it come from far off in the distance and you could see the shadow coming right towards you so quickly. And then it gets dark, the crickets chirp and everything. And then it was so amazing. When we had the last eclipse couple years ago, I got to do it in Maine and I Was like, I told my wife and we had our first son at the time. And I was like, you guys are coming with me. You guys are going to experience this because this is so cool. And it was an experience. And that one was totally different. It's crazy how different they can be. That one. I remember the wavy shadows of the shadows of the leaves and like you could see all the crescents on all the leaves and everything and it was just so surreal. It really is. It's an experience.
- [30:33]
A
Yeah, that's what my friend said. Like you have, if you've experienced it once, like you're going to want to go to all of them. Like, she had shirts made for their whole family. But if you've only seen the partial, you're kind of like, ho hum.
- [30:45]
B
You're like, yeah. You're like, that was it. That's what everyone's traveling about. It's like, no. Yeah, it's a whole different experience when you get to be in totality. Yeah.
- [30:53]
A
Okay. So one of the things I love that you do beyond talking about the weather and being an on camera meteorologist for the weather channel, is you talk about parenting. You have videos online, people can find them, advice for dads, and you talk about different ways that we can look at nature and take the lessons that nature teaches us and apply them to our family. So I would love to talk about a couple of those. One of the ones that you talk about is when there are trees that are never exposed to the wind. And you would think, oh, that's great. Like, I don't want to have any trials in my life. Like, it'll just be easy. And that trees that are grown in a greenhouse or even different plants, that they really don't thrive. So can you talk about that topic and how that can relate to parenting?
- [31:38]
B
Yes. And it's funny you bring that up because we have two trees. We live on a bluff here in Georgia and we get a lot of wind, really windy, when it gets windy. And we have these, these two trees, they're fairly new, but boy, do they get rocked and rolled. But you know, they're building up strong roots. Right. You have to go through that. Those trees are going to be a lot stronger when they're exposed to the wind versus being protected. This is why when you clear cut a forest and you leave a few trees, those trees that have been protected by all those neighboring trees are now more likely to fall over because they don't have strong roots. You have like a mind blown, like a shocking moment. But that is Something to think about when you're cutting down trees. And for it like the ones on the edge are usually a lot stronger. The ones that are exposed to the window. That's why you'll look out at that huge oak that's sitting all by itself in the prairie or maybe along the Gulf Coast. And boy, if those trees could talk, they would have a story to tell. But it's the same that can be true where storms are unavoidable in life. You can't hide from them. You're going to have to build those strong roots. They might come at different times for anybody. You might go many years and not have to face those. And then all of a sudden, boom. You get blasted with a wave of just hard trials and storms. But it's building you up and it's preparing. I think there's so much that kids can learn when they see their parents go through difficult trials or when they themselves can go through. It's not to protect them from the difficulties of life. It's to give them the ability to navigate those with wisdom and truth and the knowledge to be able to stand firm when they are in those dark moments and storms in their life.
- [33:18]
A
It's so. Isn't it interesting that there's all these parallels? I think a similar one would be wildfires. Do you ever go to. Do you ever cover that?
- [33:27]
B
So we do. I don't. I haven't actually covered a wildfire personally. But we do have a few on. On staff that do go out. There's a whole different gear that you need and there's a whole different kind of process and training. Wildfire coverage is interesting. Is probably one of the more dangerous because of the erratic behavior. But it's just as severe. And those wildfires are crazy. But they have their place. They're so catastrophic. Right. But they create new life in these forests and it's sad when that encompassed a whole town or maybe a neighborhood that was right there and all those homes have been burned down and they've got to pick up from scratch because that's not easy to do. And same thing with floods and everything else is redepositing nutrients and so many other things. There are pros, but there's a lot of cons too.
- [34:18]
A
Yeah. Yeah. So I love it that you talk about these different parallels. I think for a long time I underestimated how much your outdoor space impacts your day to day life because ours just wasn't working. It felt unfinished. We had a couple mismatched chairs. No real place to sit comfortably And I've always had this idea that I'd add lighting or make it feel cozy, but never actually got around to it. Then we started looking on Wayfair and it made the whole process feel doable. We found pieces that actually fit our style. Simple, functional, a little bit modern, but still warm. And suddenly the space came together. We added seating, a few subtle decor touches, and now it's a place we naturally end up at the end of the day. The best part is how easy Wayfair makes it to get there. You can narrow everything down so quickly, compare options, read thousands of reviews, and feel confident in what you're choosing. And delivery was seamless, which matters when you're trying to upgrade a space without adding more stress. It finally feels like a space we use instead of a void. Get prepped for patio season for way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's W-A-F-A-I-R.com Wayfair every style, every home. As we move towards summer, everything starts to look a little different. The schedule loosens up. There's more time outside, more travel, more life happening. And that's a really good thing. But it can make consistency a little harder to maintain. Having something flexible that supports learning through those changing rhythms can make a big difference. And that's where IXL fits in so well. IXL is an award winning online learning platform offering interactive practice in math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre K through 12th grade. It adapts to each child's level, keeps them engaged and gives parents clear visibility into progress. What I really appreciate is how simple and organized it is. Every everything is laid out by grade and subject so you can quickly find what your child needs, whether that's staying sharp over the summer or getting a head start for the next year. And because it's personalized, kids can move at their own pace, which helps keep momentum going in a natural way, make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and 1000 Hours Outside listeners can get an exclusive 20 off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com 1000hours Visit ixl.com 1000hours to get the most information effective learning program out there at the best price. We have a spot that we like in Michigan. It's tornadoes. They're not super common and actually I have never in my in my entire life like known of a spot where one touched down except for there's one along i96 when we head toward Lansing and There's a spot where a tornado touched down in. It's kind of like a farmish area, but like on both sides of the freeway it's like the trees are just snapped and it's bizarre looking. And it's been that way for years. I mean, you can't fix just, you know, I think they came through and like took out all the brush. But every single time we drive by, it's a reminder of the power of those storms and how it can just affect things for a really long time. But I do love this parallel of, you know, for the wildfires and for the different storm. You talk about the deserts in life and trees that aren't exposed to the wind, that the challenges and hardships we face are beneficial in the long run. They force us to reassess our priorities and strengthen our resolve and deepen our faith. Talk to us, talk to the dads, if there's dads listening in. Mom. Sue. But you're big on camping.
- [37:28]
B
Oh, yes.
- [37:28]
A
Backpacking in particular.
- [37:30]
B
Both honestly. And we've got a trip coming up in a couple weeks that I'm about to take my son. I have another buddy who brings his son and our sons are 4 and or 3. They'll be about to be 5 and 4 and they've already done several miles before. And like I have a whole slew of places I want to take them. I'm like, I can space it out. I don't have to do it all. When they're three and four years old, we can wait to space it out. Every year I like to go on two camping trips a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. And it is so much fun. But I'm thinking about. Okay, so we're planning on going to North Carolina, the Linville Gorge. Beautiful spot. I'm like overwhelmed with the opportunities that we could have. And it's not easy if we were to backpack. These are pretty rigorous trails, so I don't want to over commit to something. And it's March, so you can have some really cold weather or it can be really warm. So as we're planning, we're not going to shy away just because of the weather, but we are going to have alternatives. So if it's like really cold or really rainy, we're still going to go. But maybe we'll do car camping and then hikes, short hikes throughout the period. If it's nicer weather, maybe we'll do more of a background backpacking trip and be more exposed. We do have to cross a River, which I hope mom's okay with. But we don't want to put ourselves in danger if it's raining and that river becomes a lot more dangerous. We need it to be dry for at least the week before and during.
- [38:52]
A
Okay. How do you pick your places?
- [38:55]
B
How do. Oh, gosh, I want to go. There's places in there's place. You know, I just went to the Sleeping Bear Dunes and I was amazed
- [39:03]
A
how much sand there is.
- [39:05]
B
And it just. Yeah, and I climbed one of those up. This was during a winter storm. Right before winter storm. And I was the only one out.
- [39:13]
A
Interesting. You went to the Duns in the winter? Yeah. Nobody in the winter.
- [39:17]
B
I know. I was like, where are the footprints? Where are the. Where is everybody? I thought it was like the dune everyone, like. And it was. It was. It was an adventure, I'll tell you that. But I just like, I feel like social media has really exposed people to places they never knew about. And even places here in the US Were loaded with the most beautiful places.
- [39:36]
A
True.
- [39:37]
B
After living out west, we just love whenever we take trips to go out west. We just did a family vacation to Seattle and Washington early in February. And that might be a. People probably are like, why would you go to the Northwest in February? That's the off season. That's when they get most of their rain. It's cold, it's rainy, it's damp. But you know what you can do it for? Very cost effective if you want to take a trip. Because if you go and everyone else goes, it's fun. But we can have just as fun in the rain. I'll tell you this. I was looking forward to experience those atmospheric rivers that come in off the Pacific Ocean. But we only had one day of rain and we actually had warmer temperatures there than here at home in Georgia. So we were just thankful to have such a nice stretch of weather. But we were down for it regardless. I mean, it's the rainforest. Don't you want to be in the rainforest when it's raining to see it with the ferns and the. It's just incredible. And they're kids. Like, they can jump in puddles. The beaches. You don't go to the beach to sunbathe in Washington. You go to explore driftwood and build bonfires on the beach and do all those kinds of things. We have two boys and so they just loved it. And with it being 60, they actually got to play. You know, we didn't go in the water. The water was very rough, but they got to play in the sand and, you know, all those things. So as far as picking places, I just love, I love doing different things. But I mean, it can be the same thing, just going at a different time of year to a different season, seeing the same place in the wintertime versus the summer or the fall or the spring. It provides so much difference and just cool, serene settings. There's so many places I have, I want to go to the Boundary Waters. I want to go, you know, Mount Katahdin and Maine and all these places.
- [41:19]
A
Oh, I love that you brought up the Sleeping Bear Dunes. I love that you brought up going places when it's not the typical season. I wouldn't have thought of that. When it's not the typical season to go. But even in Michigan when the lakes are freeze, when the Great Lakes freeze, it's so cool looking. But nobody really goes, they only go in.
- [41:35]
B
Well, you get solitude for one, so I love that. And also the same thing goes with playgrounds. I bet if you go to a playground on a rainy day, certainly a snowy day, there's not gonna be anybody there. And I love the fact I'm like, well, take a towel, dry it off or bring rain gear. And you know, it is a little bit more effort and work. You know, when you come home, if you're damp, you got to get all the clothes off, put them in the dryer, go hop in the shower. But it does if you go on a sunny day. That's fun. Everyone goes on a sunny day when it's 65 or 75 degrees, everyone's at the playground. You can't even get a turn on a slide, there's so many people there, right? But if you go to Reindeer, you probably get that whole place yourself. So it's funny because I get some people don't have the same excitement about 20 degree night and getting the kids outside. But it can be in small little increments. You can do small little changes just to, you know, 20 degrees is hard. If you have a one year old or a 10 month old and getting them dressed, I get it. But one thing I've learned to do with dark sun, we don't get the cold nights like you do in Michigan. So our cold nights are few and far between. So I like to take full advantage because we only have about 10 of them a year when we get really cold, like if it gets down to 15 degrees and usually when it's cold here, it's windy, so it makes it even more uncomfortable. But we'll run outside right before bedtime. I'LL tell my son. I'll be like, okay, let's go do 10 laps around the driveway. We'll get all cold. We'll move. We'll go breathe that crisp air right up in your nose, and it's just as refreshing and invigorating. And then we'll come inside and we'll go get all tucked in bed and get all warm and cozy in bed. And it can be a short little exposure, not a long ordeal. And same thing with the rain. If you know you're about to take a shower, let's go in the rain, get wet. I mean, even as adults, that makes you feel like a kid. I'll tell you what, we just got a trampoline and it was snowing the other day. It was kind of like spitting snow. And it doesn't matter how cold it is. If I want to go on a trampoline, my son will be like, yeah, let's go. It doesn't, you know, we'll go jump on the trampoline. You'll get so cold, you'll come back inside. Or if it's raining, get wet and then go hop in the shower and make it, you know, it doesn't have to be this. You have to go be outside the whole day. Just little exposures. It changes your mood, too. When you get outside. You just feel it.
- [43:46]
A
Wow. You're just showcasing. You're showcasing that all of the weather is exciting and there's something for you. What a cool way to bring up kids. I love that you're getting the. Like a little kid out backpacking. So you said going to be four, but this is.
- [44:03]
B
So he's four. He's going to be five. And then.
- [44:05]
A
Oh, y.
- [44:05]
B
That's.
- [44:06]
A
You said going to be five, so he's four. Which means. And this is not the first time.
- [44:11]
B
Oh, no. And we, we took him camping on his first time when he was eight months old and not backpacking, just a simple car camping trip in the, in the Smokies. And then we've done some more elaborate adventures out west. The Grand Canyon, you know, other places. And we've got stories to tell. I mean, I, Gosh, I've got so many. But. But I. He's. He's not. A lot of kids his age can do the same things just because.
- [44:39]
A
Right.
- [44:39]
B
We've exposed him at such an early age and maybe I push him a little bit more and he's a boy and I want him to be. I want him to be able to handle those difficulties things, but not, you know, I always try to make it conducive for him because I'm thinking of like, okay, what A long straight path is going to be boring for him. He's going to get old. Dad, why are we still walking two miles in this, you know, but a path where you have to climb ladders and then it's changing. You get to go through the woods. Oh, and then we get to go through the beach and then we. Oh, we get to go up the mountains. So thinking like, oh, you know, he could go forever if it's constantly engaging and constantly changing scenery, like all the time, you know, and then he'll learn to appreciate those longer, boring stretches as he gets older.
- [45:19]
A
Yeah, I think it's wonderful parenting. We're on the other end of it, like where we've got kids that are teenagers and I am so grateful that like they have gusto, you know, or that they have capacity, that they have grit. You know, we've talked about that already, that word. But that. Because there are really exceptional things that you can do. And we've not done even anything remotely like probably what some people do, but we did this river trip down, down a river in Utah and there is, it's like a five day thing and you sleep on the side of the river. Intense. And it's not hard because someone does all the work.
- [45:54]
B
Like that sounds amazing.
- [45:56]
A
I mean it was amazing. And, and I think that the youngest age is five. And you can spend this five days with your family. The youngest kid's five. And there's all these kids and parents and you just have all this downtime. No screens. Because nothing works. Oh yes, no screens. And the stars at night, I mean it's just exceptional. But they have one. So they have, it's called Cataract Canyon where it's. You have to be 12 because the rapids, there's rapids and it's like a little more dangerous. And then they have one you can do in the Grand Canyon and there's one in Idaho on the Salmon river. And, and so there really is a lot to look forward to as your kids get older in terms of adventure if they have the foundations there. So for a parent that's listening and has an 8 month old and was and is like, I wouldn't even consider camping. I mean, I would say these things actually are really good. They're going to set you up really well for lots of adventures through childhood. And then as they move into toddler phase and you're talking about hiking or little small backpacking trip. How do you Assess the capacity. And when you plan for that, you're like, okay, how far could my 2 year old go? How far could my 3 year old go? Obviously, you know, you know, your kid, they, they live with you, but I would love if you could give some advice for someone who's listening and thinking, oh, maybe I should try that.
- [47:14]
B
Yeah, okay. That's a great topic. My wife is really good at balancing out, so I'll have an idea and she'll help it, make it more realistic. So she said she's really got. I might be an overachiever sometimes, so definitely listen to both sides and see there's a lot to be learned, but okay. So being flexible, I think it's good to have a goal in mind. And we, you know, we took our son backpacking down the Grand Canyon and we had the goal to be like, we're going to make it down and up in one day. He was, I was carrying him on my backpack, and I like a challenge and. But the trail was so icy and so cold the first half, and then it was the most muddiest trail I've ever seen that it really slowed our progress down. And we only made it halfway and that was okay. And we didn't want to endure it anymore. We wanted. We were like, we got our experience and boy, do we have a story to tell. But being flexible, I remember the first time I took my son hiking and I planned a longer trail, maybe about five or six miles. I didn't know how far we would get, but I was like, let's just see how it goes. And this was when he was 3, and I was like, we'll see. And I wasn't going to carry him, so I was like, okay, we'll just see how far he goes. And honestly, he did the whole thing. I was shocked. I was proud dad moment right there. But I did not anticipate him to be able to go as far as we did. Now, it took us a long time, but we made the whole day. You want to give yourself time, don't. If you're in a rush, you're trying to cram as many miles. That mentality has got to go when you have kids. It's not going to happen. Save that for your, you know, your own time or your. When you're with friends and other adults. But you see things when you slow down that you don't see when you're speed, you know, speeding up. God, bring a lot of snacks. So planning is key, especially with younger kids. You want to make sure because Even if like an eight month old, like we have our eight month old and I'll carry him on the backpack. I love it. And he is, he's not walking, but he's looking around, seeing these things and he's piecing and he just thrives. He smiles so big and it's crazy. And so you bring snacks. You have a lot of picnic time. You bring, oh, we bring the hammock. And I'll tell you, with kids, that is the best. Just an inu. You know, and you can just set it up. Anytime you swing, they get a nice break. I mean, we'll listen to songs and music and. And we'll just. That we'll have a, you know, plenty of, you know, usually we'll get to a spot and be like, here's where we're going to hammock. And then we rest and then we work our way back or whatever. If it's a, you know, half and half. But it really is suitable for the kids. It really is. You'd be amazed at how much kids can do if you give them the opportunity to. I think a lot of people shy away because they think their kids might not be able to do it. Instead of just trying it, but being flexible and also kind of going in prepared, you want to have the snacks, you don't want to just wing it. You want to make sure they're comfortable. If it's colder, you want to make sure they have the jacket. And you know, we've got snowsuits for our boys because, you know, if it's 20 degrees, we're still getting outside. You know, they don't know any different. If you don't make a big deal out of it, they won't make a big deal out of it either.
- [50:18]
A
Wow. And I like the part about the expanse of time. There's a trail by us, it's two miles. It's called the Wild Wing Trail. And you can feed songbirds out of your hand. It's. People have been doing it there for decades. It's real special. And it's just kind of like this flat. It's at this Metro park. And it's. It's a special experience though. It's a really fun trail. And I remember the first time that we took our kids, I was like, two miles, it'll take 45 minutes and it took four hours. So I learned, you know, if you got toddlers and they're going to be looking around at stuff and they might fall, they're going to stop for a snack. It's like a half mile an hour. Exactly half mile to a mile an hour. So as long as you're not rushed, you can stop and swing in the hammock and pass out your snacks. And there's something to be said about endurance. It's like one of those qualities that, you know it's not going to show up on your, your ACT SAT test, but it's going to give you a different quality of life if you have endurance. And you can start that when kids are really young and allows them to experience so much more of life as they age. I love that. I think that's going to be incredible encouragement, especially here heading into the spring and summer where people are planning their trips. It's like, you know, maybe you can do more than you thought.
- [51:29]
B
Oh yeah, I think that's wonderful.
- [51:31]
A
Okay, can we wrap it up? You also are a man of faith and you talk about these parallels between nature and faith. And I know not everybody listening has the same faith, but I just thought it's really beautiful. One of the things that you talk about is shade and you talk about Psalm 121 that we're kind of covered and this going back to the trees. There's a lot that we can get out of the trees. Actually, I just talked to this woman, her name is Christine Kane and she wrote a book called the Faith to Flourish. And the entire book is centered around the olive tree. And she said something like, besides people in God, that trees are the next most mentioned thing in the Bible.
- [52:11]
B
I believe it. I believe it.
- [52:13]
A
So interesting. So I know that you like to talk about your faith and I think there are like beautiful, encouraging, hope filled parallels. So if a tree, if the tree is a good one to talk about the shade or if you have another one.
- [52:27]
B
Well, I think about it this way. How kind of God to provide shade on a hot summer's day like you, if you. And when you go experience other places that maybe don't have trees like the desert, you realize how valuable shade is and how much refreshing it is. It's also a reminder to slow down. We can't. We, we tend to go, especially the older we get. We want to get as much done as we can. And having kids slows you down in a big way. It humbles you. But also on those hot days, cold days as well. You can't do it all in those extremes. Your body gets fatigued and you need time, you need breaks, you need rest. It's a humbling thing, but it's also a reminder just to pause to Think about the goodness of God and all that. You could be anywhere. There's still so many things that point, you know, declares glory. And so the trees, the shade on a hot summer's day. I love that parallel that, that visual because there is, it's like, you know, God's protecting us. It's, it's compared to the shade on a hot summer's day. We're, you know, we're under his shelter of his mighty arm. And there's so many things. And even I remember too, I just appreciate the weather is so humbling. You know, you see the power of God. A thunderstorm, obviously a hurricane, a tornado. There's this awe driven, obviously it's dangerous, it's scary too. But there is this power that, wow, we have a God who's so much larger than us. The heavens declares his mercy and his glory and it's the rest in that truth. And those things are real life reminders on a day to day basis throughout the seasons. That of life.
- [54:12]
A
Yeah, I want to read the Psalm 121 because this is what you were referring to. And I just think the nature parallels are everywhere. I lift up my eyes to the mountains. So you got to be outside, right, if you're going to do that. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore. I mean, that's one, one small passage and there's so many nature parallels in there.
- [55:00]
B
And it's funny you bring that one up because just off my head, that's a memory verse of mine that I recite daily. And I think, especially if I'm going through a hard situation, have a hard conversation or something, I got to remind myself, I think about, okay, I look up to the mountains from where does my help come from? And then I remind myself my help comes from the Lord. He created all of this. Why would I be discouraged? Why would I be down? Why would I be worried? He made all these things. I can trust him. And so it's humbling. It gives you peace when you see that you look at a mountain. Also. I love climbing mountains, boy, getting to the top is so humbling. Us as little humans, you look at how you're like, man, I want to go climb that mountain. That can't be that hard. And then you get to the top and you realize that was so hard. And then you see, like, the taller mountains, like Mount Everest or something like that, and just how difficult it is to get to the summit and the most extremes. It's so crazy, but also just humbling. And it really kind of reminds you that, okay, I'm not in control, even if I want to be. I can make plans, but the Lord directs my steps.
- [56:07]
A
Yeah, it's so easy to just be inside all the time. But if you are in a situation where you need help and you look and you see the majesty of the world, I love that passage, too, because, you know, you've got the mountains, right? Which are this grandiose thing that if you live in Florida and in the past, there would have been people that would have. And even today, maybe you never even see the mountains. You know, maybe you live in a certain area, you stay in that area and you don't leave. And so you don't see the mountains, you don't see that grandiose thing, but maybe you see the sky, you see the clouds. But then it also talks about the shade. So I. I just love that. It's like the passage includes this huge, grandiose, majestic thing. And also, the Lord is your shade. And so when you have children, this is one thing that I have really found is that if we're supposed to talk to our kids about spiritual truths, like it says in Deuteronomy 6, you know, when you walk, by the way, and when you lie down and you're kind of supposed to talk about these things, it's. It's forced and awkward. If you don't use nature, but use nature and you take that one passage of Psalm 121, you can talk about it on a scorching summer day or when you found the shade, and you could say, oh, you know, there's this passage. So I love what you're sharing. I love all that you're doing, and I love that there is a meteorologist, a real life one, on our podcast. Chris, thank you so much for saying yes. Thank you for spending this time with us. I hope you have a wonderful trip. In North Carolina, we always end our show with the same question. What's a favorite memory from your childhood? That was outside.
- [57:38]
B
Wow. Oh, so many, I guess I would say. And this is funny. This is probably what got me into hiking and wanting to be outside. When I was in middle school, our family was in the Smokies, and we went hiking, and we got lost with the. Which, if you know me, I'm the navigational beacon. But it was. At the time, it seemed like a pretty dire situation. We've been hiking for three hours, and we were. No. We thought it was a loop trail, and we were nowhere. We're like, we don't recall this. And there wasn't a lot of signage. And so I remember we didn't have any food. We were starving. And I just remember my shoes were, like, two sizes too small, so I was getting that my blisters. And I just was thinking. And it's funny because I was with our cousins at the time. We can reference back to that trip. And we just laugh now. But at the time, it felt like, wow, we might get stuck out here, and we're, like, clapping because we hear wolves or we hear coyotes, and it was just like a movie scene. But it was funny going through that. That may have deterred a lot of my family from hiking, but that actually drawed me in to want more. And so it was just going through that. I love the bridge that had one railing, and you were exposing other side. But our parents were like, we shouldn't go on that. That looks dangerous. And so, you know, I just remember thinking, like, oh, the. I think it's the sense of adventure, of exploring the unknown, Going to see things you've never seen before. Yeah, there's that sense of adventure that can be had. I mean, you can make an adventure anywhere. It doesn't have to be this most elaborate favorite place it can be. Oh, I want to go run down this. The part of town I'd never been in before. And I want to go run 10 miles or do something different. You never done just. You just get you out of your comfort zone or challenge yourself. There's so many things you can do even just within a few miles of your home.
- [59:25]
A
Yeah.
- [59:26]
B
So that's what I remember.
- [59:27]
A
What an adventure. And to the point that we talked about a long earlier in the conversation, that that's kind of a disaster. Any parent would be like, that was a disaster.
- [59:36]
B
My kids were complaining.
- [59:38]
A
We were lost. And that's what you remember because it was exciting and it fosters this love of adventure for you.
- [59:43]
B
Exactly.
- [59:43]
A
I love that. I love that. It's like the wind and the storms and the things that are hard that actually deepen your roots. Chris, what an honor. Thank you so much for being here.
- [59:51]
B
Well, thank you for having me.
- [59:52]
A
Let's tell people where they can find you. Obviously, they can watch you. Not in the evenings, in the afternoons. Weather Channel live. And also on Instagram.
- [60:00]
B
Yes, and Instagram. Chris Brewin broadcast.
- [60:02]
A
All right. That's where they can find you. Thank you so much for being here.
- [60:05]
B
Thank you for having me. It's been an honor.