Cast of Characters
Beautiful Monday morning - clear and warm. I get to the parking lot a little after 10:30 and there is a fair offshore breeze in the air and the water is pretty textured but not quite as active as yesterday.
As I find my parking space I notice the usual cast of characters here in this area of the lot. A female masseuse has recently taken up shop here and I see her giving massages on a professional massage table that takes up its own parking space right next to her van. Seems like a good idea. As long as the weather is good, what better place would there be for a massage?
An Asian guy is retrieving his body board from his car. I’ve seen him here regularly now for a couple weeks. His board is like a half surfboard. It looks like it is made out of the exact same materials as a standard glossy foam and resin based surfboard except it is shaped like a body board.
I park next to what looks like some sort of far right wing survivalist/prepper who is camped out in his black SUV with solar panels and the American flag etched into his rear side windows. He’s listening to talk radio but I can’t make out the topic. I’ve seen him here now for a month or so and usually in the same spot. He is always in his car but he also looks like he could use some sun.
When I get to the beach it is mid tide. Just north of my usual starting point there is backwash flowing down the shore and actually breaking and then colliding with the oncoming waves creating a super cool explosive impact splash. As I walk out into the water, this happens right in front of me but I wasn’t thinking and did not get a shot of it. Too bad because it was really cool. I swim out and and so much of the swim is a repeat of yesterday but on a slightly smaller scale. The current was about the same and the water was turbulent but not quite as rough as yesterday. I think the water may have been a touch cooler but it is hard to say for sure.
I’ve got music in my head the entire swim. It’s something I have been improvising on the piano lately but it sounds a lot better in my head than what I manage to eek out with my fingers. On the return leg up north, I stop at a buoy and re tie by trunks and two geese are flying to and fro as if they are trying to show off just for me. They circle my location two or three times.
At the northern end of the swim, I am navigating through a forrest of kelp. I swim through tree after tree after tree. The water has been pretty cloudy the last couple days from the churning water but I can see the tops of these well enough. Oh and speaking of trees, there is that huge Ritz Carlton tree. I can even make out some of the ornaments. I assume it is a “real” tree? I’m gonna have to come out some night to see what it looks like lit up. You can get a good view of it half way down the stairs. Oh I just looked it up and last night was the tree lighting ceremony.
Well another great swim has come and gone. The black prepper SUV is still in position. My family wants me to pick up Starbucks on the way home. I order online and am trying to verify my payment method via fingerprint but my phone does not seem to want to accept my pruned finger tips. At least I have full sensation in the fingers on my right hand today. After several tries, I finally get a read.
