Others Might Disagree
It’s a beautiful Thursday morning and my first December swim. I leave at about 10:00 and there really are no clouds in the sky except for a few wispy thin brushes of vapor here and there. Catalina Island comes into crystal clear view as I descend Selva Road towards PCH. The water looks smooth and calm.
The mornings have been on the cooler side lately and I am wondering how that will affect water temperatures. The buoy data has not moved much - maybe just a little. Yesterday I ran by the Salt Creek lifeguard tower and it said the water was 62 to 63 degrees. That’s a touch colder, but nothing to complain about in December. Well regardless of the temperature, I’m sure it will be beautiful. Because it is beautiful.
The tide is coming down from a super high 7.1. Some extra sand must have washed to shore over the past few days because it looks like Jupiter rock has lost some height. As I walk to my take off point, a couple Pelicans fly by over the water close inshore. Everything here is super pretty, and the sun feels so good on my skin. I don’t want this feeling to end. Of course it will. Soon. As soon as I get in that water that warm feeling on my shoulders will vanish. I don’t really want that to happen but I know these feelings will be replaced by other feelings that will be their own kind of good.
I walk out into the water and the small waves that approach look so blue. It’s a deep rich blueness. I’s quite wonderful really. Things feel pretty much the way I expected. A little cool but not prohibitively so. Others might disagree. I’d say 62 to 63 is about right.
I swim south and everything about this is so perfect. The water is calm and smooth and the sky is bright and the sand is golden and the bluff is lush. Here I am enjoying an hour that so many can only hope to experience “someday.” I’m surely knocking down an item on the bucket list of so many right now. Well, I’m sure someone out there is knocking down an item on my bucket list at this very moment. Good for them. I hope they are enjoying themselves. I know I am.
I’m not stopping much for pictures today. There really is very little bird activity and the water is cold enough to make me want to keep moving. I’m comfortable enough. I’m just happy to be out here and experiencing all of this. I listen to my hands hit the surface of the water and hear my breath pass from my lips to form bubbles in front of my face. The horizon in front of me is flat and lovely.
I swim to the south end of the beach, pause for a couple minutes and then proceed back north. About half way up the beach I stop tangled up in a large mass of kelp and let myself be stuck in these vines and stare into all directions and take in the gorgeous view.
I keep swimming north and I empty out my mind and let my thoughts exit out with my breath and mix with the bubbles that float in front of me on the water. Everything I need is right here. There is nothing that must be figured out and everything is available to be experienced. I try to feel everything outside and within me. The cold on my skin is the texture of the oceans voice whispering in my ear. It’s just strong enough to let me know that it is here and that I am not alone.
