I’m leaving a little after 11:00. I’ve been sick this week and have not worked out in any form since Sunday so I’m looking forward to getting my blood flowing. I’m also excited to get in the water. I’ve been watching the water temps on the buoys all week and it seems we have made a full recovery back into the low 60’s.

I start with a 5.5 mile run into Salt Creek and then back down into the Dana Point Headlands. It’s mostly cloudy out but the coverage seems thin and fading. Overall it is very pleasant out.

I get back to my car and change into my swim trunks. I’m just going to take a short swim today. I’m shooting for about 30 minutes. I’m trying to be careful of my hip inflammation. I am really not crazy about abbreviating my swims but I can’t NOT get in the water. If it comes down to only being able to get in for 5 minutes, I’d rather do that than not get in at all.

It looks like the disposition of the sky is even sunnier than when I got into the parking lot and although it is after noon, the wind has not kicked up and the ocean’s surface looks super smooth. As I walk down the stairs I open myself up to the sounds of the air, surf and birds. I feel my consciousness collapse down to the single notes being sung by this one bird. Time stops and these sounds are all that exist.

The tide is just hitting the day’s low point of -0.3. It’s super beautiful here and as I walk on this wet sand, the thin film of water here feels warm. It gets cooler as water laps onto my feet but not prohibitively so.

I walk into the small surf and soon lean myself forward into full immersion. The water is cool but much warmer than when I last swam almost a week ago. After about a minute of swimming, it really does feel pleasant. I’m guessing based on buoy info and Monday’s water temp forecast that it is between 60 and 62 but it feels like it could be even warmer. I can’t believe I ran past the Salt Creek lifeguard tower earlier and didn’t note the posted water temperature. How could I have missed that? Sheer negligence.

Not a lot to be said here for water visibility but it is so very pleasant otherwise. I’m swimming relatively closer to shore today because there is so little surf. While I can’t see the bottom, I see the tangled arms of kelp that float up toward the surface. I’m trying to keep my stroke fairly relaxed and keeping mindful of my hip. I pause every few minutes to take in the shore and the cliffs up ahead and behind. The light here has a slight taste of sunny but at the same time is subdued by the fading marine layer.

It’s a pretty laid back vibe out here. The shore is by no means empty but still sparsely populated. It feels almost like a summer week day but just not quite. The water surface is smooth all around me. I see scattered leaves of kelp poking up through the top of the water.

I proceed south and as I near the cliffs below the headlands, I see small waves breaking not far from me. Then I see a pod of dolphins about 75 feet off shore from me. I remain here for several minutes watching the dolphins slowly come closer to me. There are what looks like a couple of calves in the pod. I’m seeing these small dolphins fully breach the water and the larger ones just mosey alongside of them. Reminds me of me and my 3 year old son. It’s a beautiful sight but extremely hard to capture on my camera. They surface just for a second or two before disappearing for several more seconds.

A set of waves roll in and I see them swimming close to the breaking waves in the low tide shallows below the cliffs. As I am gazing in that direction waiting for the next surfacing of a dolphin fin, I see a large group of Pelicans flying over the edge of the headlands just above me. There must be 30 of them all flying about in different directions. I’ve probably been wading here for 5 minutes and thankfully the water is pleasant enough that there is no struggle to keep warm.

The dolphins get very close to me - no more than 10 feet and then make their way north and skirt along the surfer lineup quite close to shore. I start to swim in that direction but I’m not anticipating that I will catch up with them. I’m getting close to the stairs at the middle of the beach that leads into the beachfront estates. This is where I plan to make my exit today. It’s about the half way point of my normal swim.

The sandy bottom begins to come into view but it still seems like I am a ways out. I stand myself up and start to walk the rest of the way to dry sand. The floor rolls up and down into troughs and over small burms. I’m unsure what the rock situation is here but pretty confident there are none. Soon I reach the stairs and I’m making my way back to the parking lot. I can feel the sun on my shoulders and back and it feels pretty great. I reach the top and enjoy the walkway along the top of the bluff looking out onto the horizon and the hotels lining the coast of Laguna ahead.