Joe and the Snow -- Highlights of the Polar Plunge

It was snowing hard before we left Baltimore, but the intrepid Picklodeons rolled merrily along.  Traffic and accidents on 97 caused us to divert to a southern route, but we reached Sandy Point in time for our scheduled 1:00 plunge.

As promised, Terry came through with clearance to the VIP tent, so after my refreshing dip in the drink.  I was able to get the coveted picture of Joe Flacco, albeit not with Tweety.  (That's Miss Maryland running interference here.)

Also ran into Governor O'Malley after his dive.  This pix was taken shortly before the last plunge was cancelled for medical reasons (not to mention the increasingly bad driving conditions that made transit officials want to clear the park.)

The actual plunge was exhilarating.  Since the air was much colder than the water, it wasn't as bad as I thought (not that I stuck around to frolic in the surf.)  The sand stung as badly as sea nettles, particularly the grains that remained frozen.

I wish I had a picture of me in the water with the rest of the Picklesicles, but there was a camera malfunction and alas, the snapshot was not saved.

Only evidence that I have of being there is on a clip from the Fox evening news.  Here I am with Ravens super fan Sports Steve.  My only noteworthy comment to his preparations for the frigid conditions was that his heart kept him warm.  Sports Steve raised over $11,000 for Special Olympics.  And his beads didn't drag him under.

At the end of a very cold day, the worthiness of the cause and the warmth in our hearts is was what everyone took home with them.

(What they were serving on the buses helped too.)

http://www.foxbaltimore.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wbff_vid_2812.shtml