The weather for this year’s Bowdoinham Polar Bear Dip was quite a departure from last year. No ice to break up, no snow on the ground. It was nearly 50 degrees and sunny out.

The upshot of all this was that I walked out onto the dock feeling waaay too cocky. The water was so, so much colder than the air. As soon as I was in, I thought, “This was a huge mistake.”

It wasn’t, though. In addition to the great firefighters and EMS folks on site in case anything went wrong, we raised $1,200 for the Bowdoinham Food Pantry. They are using a share of this money to secure their nonprofit status, which should happen soon. Sally will be on their Board once it is in place.

So, another great day in the river.