We’re finally getting rain! It’s been raining in California!! It’s even rained in Southern California. In fact, I was hiking in the Southern California desert last month and ended up hiking in the rain…in the desert!
After four long years of a punishing drought that emptied our reservoirs, made our golf courses brown, forced us to take two minute showers (with a partner of choice!), destroyed our ski/snowboarding seasons, dried up our forests which led to brutally destructive fires, and really just overall sucked, we’re finally getting rain. And it’s the good kind of rain. You know, the kind that rains steadily for a few days, then stops to soak in, the starts again with a few more days and continues on like this. And there’s lots of snow in the Sierra! This doesn’t just mean that skiers and snowboarders can have a great season, it means there’s a healthy snow pack which provides the water that fills our reservoirs.
Last week the skies dried up and blued up for the Super Bowl. People watching from frigid corners of the globe were probably envious of seeing the sunny skies and people in T-shirts in the middle of winter as they watched Super Bowl 50. We Californians, however, were really hoping that after the football world had their dream weather that the rains would return when the game was done. This week, our dreams are coming true as the rains return.
But, the rains have created challenges for building Hotel VIA , the new boutique hotel coming to South Beach, San Francisco. During the 4 drought years, Hotel VIA construction could have zipped right along without any weather interference. But rains do affect construction. Well, Hotel VIA donned it’s raincoat just in time for the rainy weather. A lovely green “raincoat” that allows construction to continue. A green “raincoat” that goes nicely with the hills and gardens that are finally getting back their beautiful green coloring.
The rain may be pushing our opening back a little. Travelers to San Francisco will have to wait a few weeks longer to experience South Beach’s chic new boutique hotel. We won’t be opening in spring as we’d hoped. But for the most part, the building continues even with the rain, so sometime this summer Hotel VIA will be ready to welcome our first guests to a City and State that has finally been watered.