Cross-country skiing really?

So in an effort to get myself pumped to move to the Land of Lincoln I've been checking out everything about our probable new community--Bloomington/Normal. I got on the school district pages, checked out the downtown shopping and eating, shopping, and lots of other stuff. Scott and I love to use the parks system in CoMo--from soccer fields, walking trails, and dog parks Columbia has been great for this need. So I checked out the Bloomington and Normal parks systems. Disturbing discovery. You can cross country ski on the 20 something mile trail b/w the two cities.

First thought---what a great trail. Second thought--cross country skiing, that's weird. I decided to check all the parks and such, and I kept seeing a theme at the big parks with trails--cross country skiing. The little wheels in my head began to turn---that's not just weird. To be able to cross country ski (have the equipment necessary) it must snow, and snow a lot, and stay on the ground a long time. I shudder at the thought.

For a true southern girl this really freaks me out. When we first moved to Columbia it was winter--the worst winter of my life. It snowed like every other week. I HATE cold weather. Sure it's nice and expected at Christmas, but please don't drop below 45 degrees the rest of the year. I also really crave sunshine, Scott even jokes I'm powered by solar panels. When I looked at a US map I was freaked to see just how far north we would be. I'm decent at geography--not great, but I was shocked to see I would be parallel to Philadelphia. Bestill my poor heart, and not in a good way. Is three years up yet?

Maybe I'll love it and find my calling as a snowbunny, but that's hightly doubtful. I guess I'll need to stock up on winter wear this year.