I always thought that Polar Bear Plunges were for thrill seekers who live near the ocean until I learned that we have a very popular one right here in Lower Bucks County. On January 30, more than 500 thrill seekers (since "crazy people" isn't really a very nice description) participated in the the 8th Annual Eastern Polar Plunge.Best of all, I was one of more than 2,000 people who came out to support friends and family who planned on plunging at what was the biggest tailgating/parking lot party this side of summer.
I quickly observed that a Polar Bear Plunge is basically broken down into three parts; the pre-party, the after party, and the plunge itself. And all of this partying is for a great cause! The Polar Bear Plunge at Neshaminy State Park raised close to $125,000 for the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania.
Somewhere along the line, plungers nationwide started wearing costumes of cartoon characters and Superheros and there is usually a contest competition at the event. I'm not sure which was more entertaining-- seeing folks standing in the snow in swimsuits, watching them dash into wintertime water, or all of the cool costumes people plunged into the river in.
The temperature was about 38 degrees and the water was only a little bit warmer. My favorite group were the men and women of the Trevose Fire Company who all wore wedding dresses. Boy did I feel for them when they emerged from the water... cold and wet ... with those heavy dresses clinging to them!
Here are the photos I took that Saturday, beginning with the Pre-Party. It may have been sunny out, but it was January, and it was cold.
The Plunge
After Plunge
"Too Chicken To Plunge" Tee would be for me
Oh, and by the way ... here's a huge thank you to Dunkin' Donuts for making the day even more fun with free hot chocolate and baked goods, and for providing free hats and gloves to not only the participants, but to anybody who attended the 2016 Eastern Polar Plunge.
Who's doing it with us next year?? KIDDING!
Thanks to temperatures in the 50's degrees and a few days of brilliant sunshine, it's hard to believe that snowstorm Jonas, aka "The Blizzard of 2016" was just two weekends ago. The Philadelphia weather reporters said that it was one of the top five biggest storms to hit our area in terms of the amount of snow that fell that weekend. We decided to bundle up and get out in it- no matter how cold and windy it was- and here's my photo recap!
