Polar Bear Club

Founded in 1865, Boston’s “L Street Brownies” is the oldest “polar bear” club in America. They promote health, fun, and friendship and organize an annual New Year’s Day Plunge into the icy waters of Boston Harbor. This year I had the honor of participating in the club’s 114th plunge with over 600 people who are committed to better health in 2018.

This year was especially invigorating because we were right in the middle of a record-breaking cold snap hitting the East Coast. The air temperature at L Street Beach was 0°F, and though the saltwater waves still flowed, there was about two inches of ice underneath the water! Luckily I took the advice of veteran polar plungers and wore some good water shoes on my plunge, and it was super fun!

Another fun tradition I enjoy is skating at the second oldest skating club in the United States, the Cambridge Skating Club. They hold a New Year's Day potluck brunch in their spectacular lodge, and right after that, we all skate together. So right after the Boston Harbor plunge, I got to skate with many friends and family. It was a great way to start 2018.

If any Window Book subscribers travel to the Cambridge area, I would be happy to invite you to a day of skating at the Cambridge Skating Club.

Another really fun tradition is skating on Walden Pond in Concord, MA. The pond was made famous in the writings of Henry David Thoreau, who lived on the northern shore of the pond for two years in a cabin on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson. He wrote about his experiences in the book, “Walden; or, Life in the Woods,” published in 1854.

I feel blessed to be able to participate in these winter traditions while having modern technology to keep me warm. And I love that WindowBook can deliver technology and automate processes to save us time and money, giving us the freedom to be able to participate in these really great traditions.