Just a Head Above Water
I left just a little after 9:00. The sky is grey but I think there could be hope that this all changes in the next hour. Well I have cast my vote but I’m not a member of the electoral college so whatever. Despite the clouds, the air temperature is quite pleasant. I’m hoping the water temperature has come up. The buoys are kind of all over the place. One of the Camp Pendleton buoys read 62 this morning and the other 67. Surfline still has the south Orange County beaches at 59 but that’s just nonsense. Yesterday I ran from my apartment to the Salt Creek lifeguard tower 0 and back. It said the water was 60 which is one step in the right direction.
There are some waves in the water as I step onto the beach. A SSW swell is expected to fill in through the day and peak tomorrow. Right now there is a lot of space in between the sets. I walk into the water and try not to waste any time heading out past the surf. I make it out without any whitewater interruption at all.
The water feels pretty cold but I don’t suffer a headache or any shortness of breath like I did Tuesday. In fact not long after making it past the surf, the water warms a bit and then to my utter delight, it stays warm. There are a few cold spots here and there but overall the water is pretty pleasant and much warmer than a couple days ago. This is all a very nice surprise.
It’s a lovely swim and I enjoy listening to the sound of my breath flowing into the water. It provides a soft, pleasant white noise that accompanies the entire swim. Just before I turn around to head north, I notice a rise in the overall luminosity of the sky. My hope rises another notch that this could all burn off by the time I reach the other end of the beach.
As I swim north, small blue patches of sky open up to my left. Everything gradually brightens up. Soon I wonder if there is fog gathering from the north west. I can hardly see anything as I peer above the surface of the water. Sure enough there is fog. Fog is rolling over the inside of my swim goggle lenses. I stop to clear this all up and once again I can see and what I see is good.
Just as I am finishing up the swim, a good sized set of waves rolls in. I pause just past the edge of the break to watch them pass and wait until I think the last one has come and gone. This can be tricky sometimes. I’m just a head above water and don’t have great perspective. Sometimes I feel like that with life in general. I swim to shore and by now the sun is showing us everything she’s got and I like it. I notice the lifeguard station has the water temp posted at 61. There was definitely 61 degree water out there but it was not the average. I’m thinking 65 or 66.
As I near the top of the stairs, this kid who looks about 16ish is staring out toward the water and seems super excited about the surf. He says to me, “it is PUMPING out there!” I have my back to the ocean and I turn around and I guess I missed it. He says he is lifeguarding today but will definitely be getting out there on his break. I tell him the water has warmed up in the past couple days and he responds with great enthusiasm, “I’m really glad to hear that bro.”
