Polar Bear

Polar Bear

Chicago

Polar Bear at Chicago's Lake Michigan Lakefront

North Avenue Beach, Chicago

It snowed in Chicago for this year's Polar Bear.

The crowd seemed a little smaller than usual.

It might have had something to do with the fact that Lake Michigan was frozen over.

I was worried for a moment that a Polar Bear plunge into the lake might not be possible this year.

But Chicagoans are pretty hardcore so I was not surprised to see somebody had cracked a hole through the ice.

It was pretty shallow, but full-submersion was still possible.

Champion!

One more time...

Ok, that's enough.

My 9th Polar Bear was a pretty good one.

As I dried off I watched a bunch of others go for their Polar Bear dip.

It did not take long for my hair to freeze.

I was not expecting to see characters from Star Wars invade this year's Polar Bear.

I bet Darth Vader and the others were pretty warm and cozy in their outfits.

I was not sure why all these guys showed up to North Avenue beach, they certainly weren't here to jump into the lake.

NBC News was on the scene to find out why the heck all these Star Wars people were here.

I wondered if Darth Vader was displeased with how much more attention this Rebel fighter piolot was getting.

Happy New Year!!