It’s 5 a.m., already in the 70s in Tampa and we are already longing for the end of summer. In fact, my fabulous husband and I have been talking about our fall and winter vacations in cooler climes.

This is what happens when you must tolerate the brutally hot and humid south and southwest Florida.

In our chilly hometown of Rochester, NY, most people look at Florida as some kind of paradise. We who have lived here so long don’t see it that way at all. We see it as a hothouse. A horribly wet and muggy summer hothouse.

So despite our dislike for the grey, cold weather of our hometown, about this time every year we start fantasizing about snow.

Now, don’t get us wrong. We don’t want to live in snow. We don’t want to shovel it, blow it, or deal with ice storms. We just want to see it and feel it about August every year.

Which is why we’ve decided to have Thanksgiving with my dear friend Joy, who lives, with her man, her dog, her cats and several horses on a several-acre spread outside Boulder, Colorado.

I had to be in Colorado half of every month for my high tech job in the mid-90s. That’s because i had staff outside of Boulder and in San Jose, California both. Joy and I were colleagues who worked for the same boss. I stayed based in San Jose, but she relocated to Colorado and bought a nice place. So instead of staying at a hotel, I lived with Joy half of every month for about a year in the mid-1990s. It was my commute.

Joy and I had a routine. She’d go out and feed her horses and pets every morning, while I stayed inside and made our coffee. Our joke was that I was the “farm wife.”

I began to enjoy my time in Colorado and especially with Joy, who is a smart and fun woman. And a good friend. I got to know people in the area, whom I still know. And when I visit Joy we all get together.

You may recall that Riley and I last visited Joy for the July 4th holiday in 2008. Remember Riley was in the very small-town Niwot parade? Along with Joy’s miniature horse?

Joy loves to entertain, and I’ve had Thanksgiving dinners with her before. There’s no tellling who will be sitting at her table because she’s just that kind of warm and inviting hostess.

So when my fabulous husband and I were discussing what we wanted to do, I knew I could invite myself. She’s that kind of good friend.

We also talked about taking a quick trip to London for the holiday. But, really, it was no contest. An email and call to Joy confirmed that she’d be there for Thanksgiving and of course we could come.

So we’ll be in her tiny little town of Niwot, just a couple miles from Boulder.

The thing about the Front Range of the Rockies is that weather is unpredictable. It could be 75 degrees or we could have a blizzard.

But for sure we’ll be in a warm and inviting atmosphere, with good friends, good food, good wine, having a good time.