It is a beautiful beautiful Saturday here in Dana Point and I leave my house at about 11:15. Traffic getting onto highway 1 is heavy and it takes an extra five to ten minutes to get to the beach. Driving at a snail’s pace by Doheny I notice that there are a lot of boats and canoes out - way more than usual and I wonder what is going on. I do know that there is a Dana Outrigger event tomorrow where they are racing to Laguna and back. Maybe it’s part of a larger weekend festivity.

Eventually I make it to the parking lot and things look pretty darn nice. There is a breeze but it feels much calmer than yesterday and the ocean looks more settled as well. Walking down the stairs, the water looks clear and I can see patches of dark water where the rock outcroppings lie on the ocean floor.

I get to the beach and I’m fiddling with my camera. It’s a “backup” camera because I think my primary one died yesterday. I got home and it started acting strange, I charged it and it felt super warm and would not turn on. After opening the battery compartment, there was moisture inside which is not a good sign. So now I have to go through the whole warranty thing. I just don’t think these camera’s were designed for what I put them through even though I operate them well within the usage guidelines. Well this one lasted longer than my last one - a little over four months.

As I step into the water it is beautifully clear and fairly warm. Things feel coolish after I start to swim but that very quickly subsides into deliciousness. The lifeguard station still says 68 but we have got to be north of 70 now.

I head north today because it’s Saturday and there is no big time crunch to get back. I’m not exactly sure how far I’m going to go, but will see how I feel.

The swim unravels itself so wonderfully. The water truly feels fantastic and I am soaking up all the light in the air and it feels good. I feel like I could swim all day. Once I’m not too far past the lifeguard tower below the Ritz, I pretty much decide that I am going to swim all the way to the end of Monarch.

There is definitely some current in the water but it is much more mellow than yesterday. I feel like I am being pushed forward and am moving at a good pace even though I don’t feel like I am putting out much effort. I’m trying not to push myself hard since I’ll be going long and I don’t feel tired at all.

As I pass the Monarch beach club there is a boat hanging out in between where I am and the shore and I’m really not that far out. I don’t see anyone on board. The cliffs at the end of Monarch beach are getting closer and I don’t think I have ever swam quite this close to them. It’s always exciting to see something new. Sure, I have stared at these cliffs a thousand times but not quite at this angle and I have not looked at the houses above at this proximity.

I can see people hiking on the lower edge of the cliff and I see the beach that sits further up the point. I’m tempted to swim to that beach but can’t quite muster up the energy. I feel like I have just about maxed myself out on all the goodness there is to get out here. I’m still looking forward to the return trip but I think that’s about all I’m feeling up for.

I keep swimming north until the rocky bottom starts to get shallow. I hang out here for just a bit. I feel so much solace right here in this spot. There is just the right amount of sun and sand and rock and water and warmth. I turn around and start swimming south. I can’t figure out this current because I feel like it is still pushing me forward. Now that I am breathing to my shoreward side, it feels a little easier to get some air.

Does a beach sing? Because I feel like it’s giving an award winning performance. Maybe I don’t really hear anything but I feel the same feeling I feel when I listen to a moving piece of music. All the way back south it sings. The chords are made of light and sand and water and they intertwine themselves together to create this experience before me that I pull into myself with every stroke.

The sand on the shore and the blue sky above are so bright and they penetrate my soul. I’m lost in what seems like memory but they are ones that I can’t remember. Am I dreaming?

The beach slowly moves along and it’s like watching a movie and different scenes play themselves out and we progress from act to act. There is the beach club, the green on the golf course, the bathrooms and lifeguard stand, so many umbrellas and then the huge lawn above the Salt Creek snack shop. We crescendo as the Ritz Carlton comes into view and then all loose ends are resolved at the lifeguard tower and we wind down through the Strand.

Oh is it time to end this already? Well ok. I don’t think I would have wished anything different for this swim. I get home and look at my pics to notice I was in the water for two hours. As I end the week here, I’m thinking that’s probably the best two hours of the whole week.