Fire and Ice

New Year's Day was beautiful. Sunny and lovely.

A perfect day for the beach.

Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Our favorite. The Atlantic Ocean, just a half-hour from New London.

We're usually there in summertime, though, in bathing suits and shorts.

Wait a minute . . .

Yes, that's right. Firefighters Dave and Dan, and Mistah Schleckah and Dibs, and Lynn and Elissa, and Tommy and Kyle and Andrea -- 21 brave souls in all -- got themselves prepared for a New Year's dip in the Atlantic . . .

. . . even though there was snow on the beach.

Mistah and FF Dave stripped down . . . (that's the re-building of the Ocean House hotel going up, behind them)

. . . and Mistah tried to get himself warmed up.

(That's Billy with exuberant arms up; Beth donated some of these photos.)

When you can't see the snow, it just looks like a Day at the Beach, like we're in San Diego or something. But that day at Watch Hill, Rhode Island, weather.com reports the high temp was 22º, low was 7º, and at 1 p.m., it was 19º, with a 10 mph WNW wind making it feel like 7º.
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Yeeeeoooooaahhhhh!

In they go!

That's Mistah Schleckah's butt -- diving right into the water, like it's the middle of summer . . .

. . . and there he is fully submerged.

Everyone else is running ashore. But look! Bill's riding a wave in!

Dude! This is not August!

Now he's starting to realize it's really really cold in there . . .
.

. . . and he can't get out quickly enough.

Get. Me. Out. Of. Here.

.

Oh look, there's one other crazy guy still in the water . . .

Oh dear.

Mistah's tootsie-toes felt like they were going to break off. I gave him a desultory massage . . .

Are you okay, Mistah?

Bill with Dibs, our fearless leader.

I'm not exactly sure what was going on under that towel . . .

Thankfully, firefighters Dave and Dan had their wits about them, and saw how great my thirst was. I had a hole in my glove! I was cold!

A Portrait of Sanity: Dawn, Elizabeth and Ellie, partners of their Mad Swimming Men.

After the exhilarating, insane, crazy swim, we trudged back out through the snow again . . . .

. . . and went back to the fabulous Dibs house, where the swimmers got right into the hot tub..

I, on the other hand, while squatting down to take a photo, got snow down my jeans.

Two hours in the hot tub will entirely warm you up.

Meanwhile, the pyromaniacs firefighters started a blaze outside, and concurrently deep-fried a turkey.

Dibs has got a sweet, sweet house in the woods, on a creek . . .

. . . and he and Beth had a rockin' party inside, where the warm people mingled . . .

. . . and ate great food . . .
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. . . while the insane sea-bathing pyromaniacal madmen threw turkey grease on the fire, greeting the New Year with snow, water, ice, wind, and fire. And booze.

2009 is shaping up to be one hell of a year.