Happy New Year! To start the new year right, I went down to Coney Island with a group of friends, and jumped in the frigid Atlantic Ocean for the annual Polar Bear Swim.

Yes, the water was extremely cold, but the energy of the thousands of people there kept us swimming.

Personally, being on the beach at Coney Island during the winter is my favorite time. It’s usually relatively quiet, the waves are still lapping at the shore, and the drama of the continuously rotting and renewing boardwalk is pronounced. I’m looking to making a few more visits out there this winter.. hopefully in the snow.

Happy 2012!