Without Further Ado.....

First, some hints about the activity that Andrew and I partook of this afternoon.....

I looked like this.....

There was one of these there.....

And one of these.....

Give up?

POLAR BEAR PLUNGE BABY!!!!!!!

Shad accompanied Andrew and I as the official event photographer while Malorie stayed home.  It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time - I figure that I'm the perfect physiological specimen for such a feat.  Due to my increased insulation and my extreme buoyancy, it should be a walk in the park, right?

The Official "Before" Picture

See that guy in the background?  That's Bob.  I work with Bob sometimes.  He shares my love of all things zombie and, after learning that I was considering "taking the plunge" said that he might come along.  He then told me that he might dress like a zombie, so of course I immediately glommed onto that idea!  He brought our friend Jason, who I also work with from time to time, who was all decked out in a sweet white suit courtesy of the GW Boutique.

Doesn't it kinda look like Andrew is worried and I'm looking for an escape route?

It was incredible!  I will honestly tell you that I never got really cold, even though the air temperature was about 18 degrees (5 degrees with windchill) and the water temperature was 37-38 degrees on the surface.  I was truly amazed at how little total immersion in cold water effected me!

Andrew going in

Andrew coming out

You'll probably notice that there are no pictures of my entrance and egress - well that's because it's my blog and I don't have to post any unflattering pictures of me if I don't want to!  (Actually, when I was editing the pictures I somehow lost a really funny one of me going in - I'm going to see if I can find it and if I do I'll post it.)

Bob and Jason coming out

Yep, those are icicles forming in my hair!

All in all, an incredible experience.  Life affirming and whatnot.  Got the ole ticker going and reminded me that I'm still alive and somewhat prone to doing crazy/stupid stuff every now and then.

Andrew's already planning our ensembles for next year.  Am I up for it?

Oh yeah!

ETA - Found it!