I was born in Toronto, Ontario Canada – a proud Canadian no doubt – one who grew up playing winter sports such as the great game of ice hockey…I love to downhill ski. I will always participate in a snowball fight with enthusiasm to be sure, and I like building snow forts with my little cousins…I’m a little too old for the making snow angels though.

Yes, winter is in my blood and I love it.

However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t long for warm, bright, sunny days in the midst of the coldest season of the year. Who doesn’t?

I do have a sunny, warm disposition in relation to my ancestry being West Indian – my mother is from the beautiful island nation of Antigua and my father from the equally lovely St.Kitts and Nevis. If you haven’t been to either island on vacation, you are really missing out on a treat. St.Kitts is a volcanic island, lush, mountainous and majestic; Antigua, has some of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the world. In addition, the food, the people, the history, the scenic beauty, the culture in general of both Caribbean isles leaves visitors often wanting more. How can you go wrong with an average of 82 degrees at this time of the year in Antigua. St.Kitts and its sister island Nevis are usually hovering at 84 degrees. By the way, over 80 percent of the year, for both destinations, the sun is shining… wow… 4 out of every 5 days is a sunny day…not bad at all.

SLIDESHOW: Hot Islands

And while it’s true that you won’t encounter a blizzard, 10 foot snow drifts, freezing fog, or wind chill values into the minuses in the Caribbean, there are some climate drawbacks. Antigua can experience periods of drought; hurricane season can be relentless and potentially devastating to all Caribbean islands during the season… Most of us probably would bear it though to live in paradise…

So…yes, this good ole Canadian-West Indian guy has his roots in both the attributes of cold and warm climates…I see it as the best of both worlds.