Merry Christmas to All . . .

And to all, a beautiful sunrise (with the moon still shining bright):

I Jumped In A Lake

Hi, Everyone!

Today I did it.  (I being Steve).  I jumped into a frozen lake.

For those of you who haven't been following, I decided to raise money for the Special Olympics - Alaska.  In exchange, they would cut a hole in a frozen lake for me (and 800 of my closest Alaska friends) to jump into.

Well, thanks to all your generosity, I raised over $500!  So this morning I bundled up, even despite the really really cold weather, and headed out to the event!

Here are some pictures of the site:

And here's the hole cut in the lake!

When it came to be my time, I prepped myself and jumped in!   My body, Michigan jersey, and all!  

It really wasn't that bad.  The water temperature inside the lake was warmer than outside the lake -- as could be expected.  So the water didn't feel too bad.  It WAS really cold once I stepped outside of the lake.  But then I ran (as you can see) down this little stretch and there were 3 hot tubs waiting.  Ahhhhhhhh . . . .  It was delightful.

Anyway, thanks again for all your help with raising money.  It really means a lot on how much you all supported this effort and it was a lot of fun to have a true Alaska adventure (jumping in a lake!).

Skiing Down The Hill!

Hi, Everyone:

Yesterday we decided to try downhill skiing.   Tammy had been numerous times before as a child.  But for some reason Steve was adverse to winter sports growing up, so he'd never really been.  His brother once tried to teach him snowboarding, but that resulted in a disastrous crash with a 6-year old at the bottom of the hill (after Steve spent 2 hours trying to even get up on the board), so that was the end.

Anyway, we decided to take a lesson and give skiing another go.  There are two primary places people ski in Anchorage: (1) hilltop and (2) Alyeska.  Hilltop is a lot like the "mountains" in Michigan; it's basically an oversized hill.  But the advantages to Hilltop are that it is great for learning and that it is located in Anchorage.  The other option, Alyeska, is the ski resort "in town."  It is approximately 45 minutes away, but it is absolutely beautiful.  It has some bunny hill/learner options, but it is mostly known for its north face of the mountain.  The highest chair lift goes to 2800 feet.  After that, it's basically helicopter access.

Needless to say, we decided to stick with Hilltop for the day.  We had an excellent instructor, and by the end of the few hours, Steve could actually make it down to the bottom of the hill without falling.

By the way, next Saturday is Steve's chance to jump into a frozen lake.  Unfortunately, he's still a few dollars short of his goal.  That means no pictures as of now!  If you were thinking of giving, please do so now.  It's for an amazing cause (Special Olympics).

You can give here (as well as see pictures and videos from past years):  http://www.firstgiving.com/stevenhurvitz

Thank you all for your support so far.  It's been amazing and we're almost there!!!!!

Until next time!
Steve

Gone Off The Deep End

Hi, Everyone:

I (Steve) hate to use every medium available to publicize this, but it is something of a last minute decision for a really great cause, so I wanted to put the notice in here.

I've signed up to do the "Polar Plunge" to raise money for Special Olympics (http://www.specialolympicsalaska.org/).  Basically, what this means is that I agree to jump in a frozen, frozen lake here in Alaska in exchange for the opportunity to raise money for the organization.   For those who were on my tamarack alaska trip, it is a re-creation of my $50 and a steak dinner deal.

If you want to donate, the link is here: http://www.firstgiving.com/stevenhurvitz

You can check out video of last year's plunge here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DHePm6wqOY&feature=player_embedded

Anyway, I'd really appreciate anything you might be willing to give.  In order to encourage you all to donate, Tammy and I have come up with this deal.

I have set a goal of $300.  If that goal is met, Tammy will take lots of pictures of me freezing both in and out of the water.  These pictures will get posted on the blog and facebook for all of your enjoyment.  If the goal is not reached, however, we do not promise pictures.  In fact, we probably won't put up the pictures as a protest.

So basically there's your stick and carrot.

In all seriousness, please give.  I know there are a ton of requests like this every day, and I know that these days funds are a bit tight all around.  But anything you can give ($10, $20, $50, whatever), is a HUGE help to both me (to make this worthwhile) and the Special Olympics.

Once again, the link is: http://www.firstgiving.com/stevenhurvitz

Thanks!

Best,
Steve

P.S. Added carrot:  If you donate and come visit at some point, I'll buy you a beer.  Danny, I'll buy you an ice cream.  :)

Moose (A bit too closely) Spotted

Steve went cross-country skiing this morning.  He decided to go on the trail that is about 1/4 mile from our house.  He made it about 2 miles on the trail, and almost (literally) ran into a mama moose and her calf.  They were standing in the river eating berries off of the trees.

This is not a great situation.  You really don't want to be that close to moose, especially a mama and her calf.  So Steve carefully popped off his skis and slowly backed away.  The moose watched him, not doing anything but staring and chewing, until Steve was a good 30 feet away.  At that point, the moose crossed the trail and walked to the other side.  Steve put on his skis, and bolted the heck out of there.

2 more moose spotted, but this time a bit too close for comfort.