Ever Stuck Your Feet In a Bucket of Ice for an Extended Period of Time?

photo credit

No worries if you haven't. Just come to northern New England and walk into the Atlantic Ocean. The tide rolling in will be like the sharp edges of the ice cutting into your feet. Numbness will set in and then borderline hypothermia.

We're talking an average of low 60's for water temperature...in the dead of summer.

Brrr.

Blue lips.

So, based on this, you'd have to be CRAZY to go all the way (or part of the way) into the water at the beaches around here. Apparently I'm married to a CRAZY person and have a CRAZY stepdaughter!

I didn't get any close ups of G.'s bottom lip shaking or the goosebumps the size of raisins, but you can get some idea of how cold it is from these. (And how G. is probably saying, "C'mon Dad -- it's not THAT cold!"

This of course before it all happened -- nice and dry and all smiles.

"I can't feel anything below my waist, but let's keep going."

"I think I can catch this one!"

"I can float!"

G.: "See Dad, I told you it's not bad."

John: "I can't feel my face."

All's well that ends well.

All the while I was taking the swimming photos, G. is begging me to come into the water.

Yeah, riiiiiiight. NOT.

So, if you swim in the northern Atlantic, I think you're CRAZY. :p