Big chill

On Monday when I woke up, it was 54 degrees outside - freakishly warm for central New York in January. Yesterday morning, it was -8 degrees...a change of 62 degrees in just five days.

Appropriately, yesterday was the Big Chill Festival in B'ville. The main event was the polar bear plunge, where teams and individuals jump into the Seneca River, raising money for the Ronald McDonald House and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Central New York.

When we left the house to walk over to the river, it was 8 degrees outside. We were bundled up accordingly:


The Seneca River was quite icy:


Here is a team running into the river:


And here they are running out:


I can't even begin to imagine the shock as that cold water hit their bodies!

Local restaurants had samples of food available as well as food for sale. There was, of course, a beer cart and never in my life have I found beer ice as I finished a beer.

We gathered around the Christmas tree bonfire to warm up, then headed home. We lasted about an hour and a half in the cold but were definitely ready to get out of the big chill!