It’s a Good Life

Another day that proves it is good to be alive in Dana Point. I mean it is good to be alive - period, but Dana Point has its perks. The weather is nearly perfect. Actually, delete the word “nearly.” It is perfect. It’s in the mid 70s when much of Southern California is much hotter. Many cities are opening up cooling centers. Well I know where my cooling center is, and I head out for it a little before 10:00.

There is not a cloud in the sky. I am truly looking forward to getting into the water. The surf report says the waves are about 4-5 which seems on the high side for what I saw in the water yesterday and there has been no other swell to refresh it. I wanted to swim yesterday but someone scheduled a last minute meeting at 12:30 and I did not have enough time to make it back for the meeting. I didn’t want to wait until after the meeting so I ran through Dana Point and managed to fit in a little bit of beach. It looked so incredibly wonderful. The Salt Creek lifeguard tower said that the water was 60 degrees.

I’m sure there was 60 degree water in that ocean somewhere but I doubt that was the mean temperature. The Capo buoy was reporting 63. It got quite warm yesterday and out of curiosity, I checked the buoy again around sunset - 67 degrees. 67 DEGREES! That’s the stuff dreams are made of. This morning at dawn, it was 64 - still dream territory for March. So I’m chosing to ignore the 60 degree rating and holding on to the 64.

The only thing I’m sort of concerned about is the tide. There was no beach on Sunday and the tide will be even higher today. I could wait for it to go down, but I want to swim now. I don’t think the surf will be large enough for it to be perilous to walk through whitewater to my starting spot. If it is, I’ll just figure something else out.

I get to the parking lot and grab my favorite spot. I exit the car and immediately feel and appreciate the delightfulness of the day. It is a good life I have here. I walk down the stairs and figure the surf must be down from Sunday because I see no waves from up here. I do see the waves once I reach the beach and it is pretty tame. However, it does require some caution and timing on the stretch from the concrete ramp to just past Jupiter rock. You may have no idea what these little landmarks are but suffice it to say there are little three feet waves breaking right on the shore and into the rocks. So I wait for this set of waves to peter out and then hop down to the sand and quickly walk to calmer ground.

There is a pelican circling about in the shallows here. It must see or sense food. I get to my usual starting point and there really is no sand to stand on that isn’t covered in water. That’s ok. I’ve grown accustomed to standing on sand covered in water. I don’t need to stand long. I walk out just a few steps and I am in up to my belly. I start to swim and I head north. I have not swam my usual north route to the Monarch Bay Beach Club in over a week. I’m looking forward to every stroke.

The water feels good. There are some cold spots but some super warm spots too. For the most part, I’d never know it was mid-March if I was just dropped into this water with no knowledge of time (hey I should do that). It’s just a lovely lovely swim. There is very little water visibility and it seems like I hardly see any kelp. However above the water it’s just blue sky and lots of birds today. It’s truly beautiful.

Once I wander into Salt Creek territory, the waves do get quite a bit bigger. I see a pelican hovering in the air just along the crest of an oncoming wave. It looks so graceful and perfect. Other than the pelican here and there, there are tons of cormorants. I mean tons. They are all flying south and many are in very large flocks which is somewhat unusual in my experience. I usually see just solo cormorants or maybe a pair or trio. Today, I see a couple flocks numbering maybe over 30. It’s super cool. I love all of these birds. They are such a joy to watch. What goes through their minds I wonder.

I make it to the beach club and head back. I swim parallel to the surf which seems somewhat close and I try to add just a little space. After I pass the point into Strands, the surf seems less volatile. I stop whenever I see birds fly by and hope to get a decent shot (with a camera of course).

There is just a little beach here now that the tide has come down a bit but not much. I swim to shore and head back up the stairs. This feels like Summer. What is this place I have landed in? How did I find myself here? I never want to leave.