AUSTIN (KXAN) — A decade after onetime sweethearts reconnected at the Barton Springs Polar Bear Plunge, an Austin couple rung in New Year’s Day celebrating the same tradition — along with one year of marriage.
Steve Smith and Janeen Bailey dated back in the mid-1980s in College Station before going their separate ways. Both moved to Austin and reconnected back in 2015 at the annual New Year’s Day plunge.
On Jan. 1, 2019, Smith and Bailey donned matching blue-and-white striped bathing suits and jumped into the water before Smith got down on one knee and, as the saying goes, took the plunge.
Last year, the two dove head first into marriage and wed at the polar plunge. Now the Smiths, they told KXAN in 2024 the magic of Barton Springs Pool extends beyond their personal nostalgic sentimentality, dubbing Barton Springs the “spiritual heart of Austin.”
On Wednesday, the two continued the tradition and returned to the waters, decked out in an apropos polar bear hat and glove set.
“It’s a fabulous way to start the year,” Janeen told KXAN. “It’s kind of like a baptism. You wash off the old year and you bring in the new, and it brings you to life when you hit that cold water.”
The Smiths said the yearly plunge is a reminder of their mantra: “Life begins outside of your comfort zone.”
In line with that philosophy, the two will kickstart an RV road trip up to Seven Springs, Pennsylvania Thursday, to see if they can handle the cold and enjoy some hot tub time in a cabin they have up north.
“A new year’s always the time to start new, to redo things or do things better,” Steve said. “Like Janeen said, it’s kind of like ‘jump in, wash off last year, wash off the mistakes, and just start the year over.”
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