Saturday, June, 12th marked exactly one year since this Chicago man started his daily Lake Michigan dive.  Here's why.

Dan O'Connor is a father of three and a bus driver in the windy city.  The stress of every day life in a big city would be enough to push people to their limits.  When you throw in the pandemic and political unrest, it's even harder to find balance.  O'Connor told NBC 5 in Chicago that this is how this whole thing got started,

It was during the pandemic, it was during the protest, it was during an election year.  So it was somewhere where I could come down here and block all that noise out and kind of be totally present with me in the lake, and find some moments of Zen.

 

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As a nearly life-long Michigander, I have to confess that I've never taken a dive into Lake Michigan from a one of the many piers.  I can't imagine doing that every day.  Especially in the winter months.  The average water temperature of Lake Michigan in Chicago over the winter months is 41° according to Seatemperature.info.  Is there anything worse than jumping in cold water?  Yes, actually there is something worse.  Taking the time to cut a hole in the ice that formed over the top of the lake before jumping.  O'Connor says that on one of his freezing cold jumps he found dozens of cuts and scrapes on his body when he got home.

First I would like to congratulate Mr. O'Connor for 1 full year of jumping into Lake Michigan every day.  Secondly, I would like to suggest kayaking this year.

KEEP READING: Tips To Have The Best Boat Tubing Experience On Michigan Lakes

 

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