A Polar Bear Swim Kind Of Morning (at the Viking Club, Lodge #65)

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” John Steinbeck

Polar Swim Begins

8:10

Evie was up and at them this morning, had my coffee ready at 6:50, a nice way to start the morning.  It's very cold, a tick above zero, gray skies, slowly whitening lake, as the day begins.  Nobody out fishing yet, no snowmobiles either though yesterday, the lake looked like a highway.

Icicles at the Chautauqua Institution

Cross Country Skiing At Bestor Plaza

Yesterday remained very cold early though by mid afternoon, it was up into the low 20's, snow turning to raindrops on our wind shield.  We decided to walk early, by that I mean around 10:30, at the Chautauqua Institution, a walk we have not done in a couple of  weeks.  I decided to cross country ski, assuming the roads would still be covered with snow, and they were.  It was a fun morning walk, some snow, a crisp but not uncomfortable temperature, though by the time we returned to the car, my beard and Evie's hair had icicles.  We did not meet a soul as we walked, perhaps everyone was at the Hurlburt Church service.  We were out for about an hour, felt good when we returned home though, we decided to put off our traditional Sunday breakfast till dinner because we decided to go to the Viking Club around 1:30, to be a part of the crowd that witnessed the Polar Bear Swim, a tradition at the club.  So I had some leftover eggplant Parmesan for lunch and watched a couple of the skating pairs, and all three were really amazing, the young Russians, the Canadian Gold Medal couple, and the Americans, who won it.  It's hard to believe how much practice goes into creating such a perfect skating program.  And none of the three made a major error.  Wow.

Ready For The Polar Swim

Trooping Out

A Couple of the Guys

Second Thoughts

Father and Daughter Team

Nine Year Old Taking the Plunge

We left for the Viking Club around 1:30, in snow, with many of the roads still snow covered; the plows must have been still in church.  The parking lot at the Viking was full, and when we walked in, the Maple Springs Fire Department was there, to oversee the polar swim, with two in the wet suits, ready to rescue if need be.  The bar was packed with happy Vikings, drinking beer, eating popcorn, ordering appetizers, and taking pictures of the polar swim contestants, many of the guys dressed up as women, complete with balloons for the female shape.  About 2:20, the gang trooped out to the precut swim pool, about fifty yards out on the lake.  We gathered around the swimming hole, let the rescue  team gather at the sides, then watched as contestants, about 15 of them, jumped in and quickly climbed up the ladder.  One of the youngest swimmers was a 14 year old girl celebrating her birthday with her Dad, and a 9 year old boy dressed up as an old women (see picture above, featured in Post Journal).  Even a couple of women, probably in their late forties or fifties participated, which was neat.  Evie was able to get pictures of most of it, but just as they were jumping in, we had a camera malfunction, so we missed the actual jumping in the water. We sat around the bar for another forty five minutes, as no one seemed in a hurry to go home, and some of the younger guys who jumped in, stayed in their costumes, drinking free beers at the bar.  It was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  I almost forgot there were lots of snowmobiles at the club, on the lake as well because there was a Snow Mobile Ride at the Stockton Fire Department.

Rescue Crew Testing The Waters

When we got home, a huge pickup truck was parked in our parking space, a fishing shack out in front of our house.  Obviously, a couple of guys assumed this was a summer home, and parked in our space. When they came in, I met them at the truck.  They were very apologetic, said they would never do it again but I am sure this type of thing happens every day as over 90% of the cottages are vacant during the winter.  Still, it was a shock to come home to this.  I explained  that these were all private homes but they knew this, just assumed they would not be caught.

We were home by 4:00, watched more of the Olympics and did some reading.  Dinner was easy, home fries with sweet onions, bacon, eggs and toast and we watched a fairly new movie called SHORT TERM 12, about a teen facility that houses young people who have come from abused homes until they can find a foster home for them.  Grace and Mason are not only a couple but supervisors at this foster home. We, the viewers, are plucked in the middle of the sad, heart breaking lives of these abused teens, many on the verge of suicide.  And as Grace works with one of the most desperate, we begin to see how she has never dealt with her own problems, of having lived with an abusive father.  The two bond, in essence save each other, and this heart rendering film has a fairly happy even bouncy end.  We both liked it very much.