Feeding Frenzy

I left just a little after 6:30 this morning so I can pick my son up from his mom’s early. It’s overcast of course. I’m sure the sun will come out eventually but not for another few hours. Still, it is very nice and warm and peaceful out.

On the webcam before I leave, I notice this small crowd of people gathered on the beach. That is not normal for 6:30 in the morning and I wonder what it is all about. After I arrive in the parking lot, there are a fair number of cars here - more than usual for this time of the morning. I begin to see a lot of high school aged kids walking about. There are a lot and I’m sure this is related to what I was seeing on the webcam. I’m tempted to ask why they are here, but I don’t.

As I reach the beach, I’m seeing several pelicans flying over the water and diving directly for the surface. There must be some fish swimming about there. Most of this commotion is happening right about where I usually start my swim. So I head on out in the direction of these pelicans.

The water is noticeably warmer than the last couple days and it has been pretty nice the last couple of days. It’s like a pool. Finally we are starting to get back to the summer temps we were having a few weeks ago. It feels so long ago now. As I get deeper and deeper, this water feels so nice. Finally I am past the surf and I can still feel the bottom. There are a few remaining pelicans here. I just hang out for a bit and watch them. I see one emerge from the water with a fish hanging from its beak. Soon they all leave. The party is over I guess…or is it?

I swim south and everything is grey and subdued and lovely. The water is so refreshing and feels just perfect. I’m getting close to the end of the beach and can see the waves breaking against the cliff below the headlands. Then right above my head comes a huge flock of pelicans. Time seems to stand still as they pass over. They are so beautiful. With all of these grey tones, it feels like I am swimming in some kind of black and white landscape.

I get to my turnaround point and just kind of hang out here a bit. The water is so comfortable, the waves are mesmerizing to watch and I can see gulls, a cormorant and more pelicans. As I look north towards the ritz, the water looks so expansive and vast and I can just barely make out that lifeguard tower zero.

Time to head back north. I pass the jr. lifeguard buoy that hangs out at the southern end of the beach here. I’m happy that even though yesterday was the last day of their camps, the buoys are still out. They usually remain and gradually the buoys disappear. I pause to look at this one and then move on and then another flock of pelicans comes my way. They are flying super close to the water and gliding fairly slowly because it seems like I have plenty of time to fetch and orient my camera. They are so magnificent as they fly right by me. And I mean RIGHT by me.

Onward I swim north. I pause a couple more times as I swim through a kelp forest and become lost and entangled in the vines. All I can see in front of my face are kelp leaves and I wonder what lies just on the other side. Probably just water. Lots and lots and lots of beautiful blue water. A kayaker passes by. I say good morning but I think he is just beyond hearing distance. I stare more into this great northern plain of endless ocean and the top of the surface is so smooth and glows a soft silver light.

I have visions of my possible futures flashing in front of me and they get crossed up with memories from the past. Juxtaposed against one another it is hard to parse where memory ends and fantasy begins. They get twisted with one another and some come out all mysterious and others look like some kind of Frankenstein abomination. Others are exquisite. I wonder if I get to choose which I am going to keep or are they chosen for me. Where lies the limits of my agency?

I reach my northern turnaround point and here comes another flock of pelicans. I can see them in the southern distance growing larger and larger. It’s a large group and they morph from ordered to chaotic - flying all about and then as they pass me I just see lines of birds - some are close and others are far.

I finish up the swim and just before reaching the shore, I see all these small shiny things in front of me. At first they look like bubbles but unlike bubbles they remain and do not dissolve. Then I realize they are small fish - probably anchovies. Well that would explain the pelican feeding frenzy I saw earlier.