Legacy

Today we have June without the gloom! I look out my window and there are blue skies above with some clouds out over the horizon. From my new apartment, I can see the horizon but I can’t really see the water. However, it does look as though the water would be sunny too. I confirm this with the web cams. Oh man this is going to be good. My son and I walk our dogs. He has the cutest Bernese Mountain dog puppy named June. The sun feels good. I’m out the door just a little before 7:45.

Such a beautiful morning and I thoroughly enjoy looking at the water on the way to The Strand. First I can see out in the direction of the harbor as I drive down Golden Lantern from the high school. Then I can see out past Strands and Salt Creek as I pass the Dana Dips on Selva Road.

I park and can see just a little texture on the water. It is delightful here. Toward the bottom of the stairs, I run into the Sunday morning swim group and they all have a glow on their face and comment on how nice it is. One says, “it is way warm.” Way warm? Well that’s my kind of warm! I had looked at the buoys this morning and temps didn’t seem to be much different. In fact a couple were down a degree: 67, which is still warm. When I put my feet in the water, there is an element of surprise at how warm it is. It’s not like Hawaii but it is warmer than I was expecting.

As I walk into the water, I’m thinking how mornings like this are what I have been yearning for for months. Here we are. We made it to Summer. I think about my dad and how much he loved the water and how much he would enjoy this if only he were able to be here. My dad is currently standing at the precipice of the other side of this lifetime in hospice care and I think of what awaits him when he passes over. What oceans will he swim in on the other side?

I swim north and while the surf is not much right here, it looks more active up on the other side of the point in Salt Creek. I swim and swim and swim and the water does feel wonderful. I aim myself further offshore than usual to avoid the surf which appears to be breaking pretty far out. I pass the Bob Marley buoy on the way to the point. Good old Bob. Many of the jr. guard buoys have the word “bob” in them. My dad’s name is Bob. I think of him as I pass.

I swim past the surf and am well past the break but I can see the pre-breaking waves roll like rolling blue hills that actually roll. The water is so blue and the sky is bright and there is just this overriding presence of goodness that hangs here in the air. I set my eyes on the Monarch Bay Beach Club. It looks so white and bright. I swim right for it.

I stop to look around once I am well into Salt Creek and remove my goggles to get a clearer view. I am admiring the side of the cliff just below the Ritz Carlton. The earth tone colors of the rock and brush mix together to weave this lovely mosaic. I feel like I am watching a movie in one of those “4D” theaters that spray mist and air at you to give you the sense that you are truly in the action. Well here I am and if I am not in the action, I don’t know where I am.

I stop again just short of the Bay Club. There are two sail boats floating far offshore of me. I can see their white masts just parallel to the horizon. I hear birds chirping in their direction but I cannot see them. Inshore of me I see what looks like a dark grey buoy which is odd. It looks like a lobster trap buoy but lobster season ended in March. Wait a minute. That is not a buoy. That is a Seal’s head. It is cruising in my direction. It pauses once it is parallel to me only about 30 feet away. It stares right at me and then just continues on its way.

I am pretty much at my turn around spot but I don’t want to turn around. I feel like I could just keep swimming. I let myself go just a little further past some stalks of kelp and then I turn around because I do have to do some things today. I aim for the end of the faraway point of Dana Point which should guide me out past the surf break before I can pivot to be closer to shore as I enter Strands Beach.

I set my intention on merging with the water and the air and the light and the color. All of these things breath life into my heart and mind. They speak in a language beyond words. I keep my eye out for my dad. Will I see him here if he passes while I am in the water. Will he pay me a visit before heading down that tunnel of light? Or does he have to pass through the tunnel first? I don’t know how these things work. I wish I could tell him about the seal. Can he still hear us? Is that him still in his withering body? I am sad now knowing this is a post he will never read. He was my most committed reader. I know he looked for a new post every night. He would text me sometimes if I went a few days without a swim just to make sure I was ok.

I wonder if the surf has picked up at all here at The Strand. I can’t believe how much bigger it is at Salt Creek. I swim to shore without anything significant breaking on top of me. I meet Sam up on top of the bluff who I have not seen in months. We talk for several minutes about AI and then he tells me how this blog leaves a wonderful legacy. I tell him that I am really following in the legacy of my parents and grand parents who discovered this beach in the 50s. I don’t want to tell him my dad is dying and cast a dark tone on this bright morning, but I enjoy telling him about how my dad was a lifeguard at this beach in the 60s.

They have taken my dad off his oxygen today since he is still comfortable and it just prolongs his death which is not what he would have wanted. I can’t wait to get in the water again with my dad on the other side. I have heard near death experience stories about how amazing the grass is so I can only imagine what the beaches must be like. We’ll see you there dad.