Joe Biden’s time as president of the United States ended this past week, and with that ends four years of presidential coverage for the Gazette.

Biden’s North Shores house fell under the umbrella of my coverage area, but it was a team effort. With the help of colleagues Ron MacArthur and Bill Shull, and reader-submitted photos, the Gazette did a pretty good job of covering Biden when he was in town. We published photos of him riding his bike on the Gordons Pond Trail, enjoying the beach, attending church, going out to eat, Marine One landing in the parking lot of Gordons Pond, and of the presidential motorcade making its way down Route 1. We have photos of people waiting just outside his neighborhood, congregating on Rehoboth Avenue when he used city hall a couple of times and of protesters who took the opportunity to voice their opinion.

The one thing that I wish Biden had done during his time as president was grant an interview with a member of the local media. As far as I’m aware, he didn’t do so. I tried multiple times over the years through different avenues, but it was a tough nut to crack, especially since the Gazette isn’t part of the traditional White House press corps. Our coverage ended up being more about the reaction of people seeing the president than the president himself.

Being a homer, I would have liked the opportunity myself, but I know there are other local media opportunities. There would have been a high level of professional jealousy had he granted an interview with one of those entities, but at least it would have been one for the home team.

Freezing spray advisories

There’s no denying it – it’s been straight up cold around here the past couple of weeks. I’ve seen pictures of people ice skating on Silver Lake in Rehoboth Beach and of one brave soul ice fishing on Wagamons Pond in Milton.

It was cold enough for the Mount Holly, N.J., branch of the National Weather Service to issue a Freezing Spray Advisory the morning of Jan. 21. The advisory was issued for the coastal waters from Egg Harbor, N.J., south to Fenwick Island. The advisory warned that freezing spray and the accumulation of ice could lead to malfunctioning equipment and make decks extremely slippery.

I wasn’t out on the water that day – or any day recently for that matter – but a photo I took the day of the advisory shows that freezing spray is no joke.

I was in Rehoboth Beach for the topping-off ceremony of the city’s new beach patrol building. Throughout the construction of the building, I’ve been taking photos from the top floor of The Admiral on Baltimore Avenue because it's a great vantage point. While up there for the ceremony, I noticed ice had formed on the timbers that hold the Baltimore Avenue stormwater outfall in place. You don’t see that much, so I walked down there afterward. Upon closer inspection, every inch of the structure was covered in a thick layer of ice, and there were milk-white icicles hanging down.

The topping-off ceremony happened to coincide with high tide that day, but the structure was still 90% exposed to the elements when I walked down. The ocean was calm, but even so, the tiniest amounts of spray were building up.

Imagine being out on the ocean on a boat covered in that. I don’t mind the cold, but no thanks.

Joke of the Week

Speaking of the cold, I don’t think I’ll be the only one rooting for Punxsutawney Phil to not see his shadow on Groundhog Day, which is Sunday, Feb. 2. I know it’s only January, but the cold is tiring and it makes it a lot harder to send the kids out to play to burn off energy without feeling bad. As always, send jokes to cflood@capegazette.com.

Q: Why is it annoying to watch TV with a groundhog?

A: They hog the remote.