Fortnight

Left the house on this Labor Day at about 10:30. Beautiful sunny day. It’s gonna be warm but not supposed to be quite the scorcher yesterday was.

Making my way over the overpass above San Juan Creek, I could tell that I was not the only one heading to the beach. Things were backed up well past A’s burgers.

When I arrive at the parking lot, there are still plenty of spaces.

I head for the stairs and there are a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses parked near the upper funicular station (still not functioning). I feel bad for them. I’d bet they get a fair amount of flack for doing what is in their minds the right and even loving thing for their fellow humans. I also would not be surprised if a bunch of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons who frequently go out witnessing to others are extremely uncomfortable doing this. Their religion compels this activity and for those who are on the more shy side, it’s probably a painful endeavor.

I try to make some friendly chit chat with them and the woman I am talking to is very pleasant and did not even try to talk to me about their religion.

Heading down the stairs, I see a plane passing over dragging an advertisement banner. I’ve seen this several times this weekend and remember seeing it pretty much all my life. Is this really effective advertising? I can’t even read the sign. However, I’m also not wearing my glasses.

Passing by the lifeguard station, the water temperature still reads 68 just like it has the last couple days.

You can tell from the crowd on the beach that this is not your usual Monday morning.

I get in the water and can tell pretty quickly that things have heated up since yesterday afternoon. We are pretty much back to the level we were at just a fortnight ago. Always great when you have the opportunity to say “fortnight.”

There is a nice set of waves coming in as I am making my way out.

I head South and the water surface is pretty smooth and the water is delightful. It also looks more blue and less cloudy than it has for a few days. Still not clear by any means.

As I continue south, I see something out of the corner of my eye. I stop to take a closer look. It’s a hat. I’m glad there is no body accompanying it.

I get to the south end and surf is not as active as it was the past couple days.

I turn around and head north. Even though the water is much more calm than yesterday, I can still feel a current giving me a bit of an assist.

The water feels absolutely great and the day is so very nice. It’s pretty perfect out here. I’m aiming my focus on the sound of my swimming and the view of the water and horizon in my immediate field of vision. It feels like my thoughts are a stream of dreams that I can’t avoid. They are pretty random. I’m trying to find my footing in these thoughts. As if there is some destination to climb to or some mountain top to summit.

At the northern end there is a Seagull not far from where I am. The other week, I was looking at a picture of what the photographer said was a Seagull. Someone posted in the comments that there is no such thing as a “Seagull” and that it was probably some kind of other specific Gull that I can’t remember and he made it very clear that this was important information to be aware of. I imagine him scouring the internet in search of Seagull references and posting his corrections. I wonder what he thinks of the book Johnathan Livingston Seagull?

Anyways, I’m trying to stealthfully follow this bird to get a good picture. I’m noticing a lot of floating bird shit in the water and starting to wonder just how much of this stuff I have ingested over the past few years. Then I try not to think about it at all.

I head back south to finish up. What a great Labor Day swim!