WAYZATA, Minn. — After going through bone-chilling temperatures last weekend, this weekend almost felt like a heatwave for many Minnesotans.
"Uh, it's like 50 degrees warmer. It's like balmy now," said Marisa Harder-Chapman as she sat with her blanket-clad kids and family in Wayzata.
Not bad, considering many people spent this time last weekend indoors "hibernating," as Erika Vogel who lives in Minnetonka puts it.
"We were running our dog out, you know, for 30 seconds at a time," said Harder-Chapman.
For these Minnesotans, there's no better place to slide into this welcome warming trend than the Chilly Open Cinema and Skates weekend on Wayzata Bay - equipped with all the fixings, in order to make up for lost time.
"With the pandemic we haven't really let, I haven't let my son at all do things indoors with people, so whether its skiing, skating or sledding, that's kind of what he's been doing," said Vogel.
"We haven't had a chance to do much together, so this is a really nice place where we can hangout and be outside," said Harder-Chapman.
"Kind of feels normal," said Vogel.
A sense of normalcy amid a time when the weather and well life have been anything but.
"Absolutely, this is much better," said Harder-Chapman.
With just a few weeks left to make the most of what some may call a favorite winter pastime, even for the hardiest of Minnesotans, the worst is now over.
"Yes, thank goodness we can make it," said Harder-Chapman.