Well we made it to December! Only four more months of cold water to go.

I left the house at 8:30 this morning and its cloudy skies today.

The last few mornings have had a bit of a breeze blowing and today is no different. When I get to the parking lot, the ocean surface is slightly textured but all in all things are pretty calm.

Out on the horizon there is a bit of clear sky showing. It looks like a yellow strip just below a white blanket.

While its not a summer paradise, it is peaceful here for sure.

It feels just a bit warmer here than it was at my house a few miles away.

When I reach the beach, the sand kind of feels warm. The water looks like it is clear and the very small inshore breaks release white onto a lovely teal surface before they reach the Sand Pipers running on the shore.

I begin to walk out and am not too keen on taking the initial dive but I just do it and here I am again - in the cold water and aiming south.

The water is pretty clear today. I can see the ocean floor and kelp dancing around throughout the entire swim. They remind me of those nylon stick-like men placed on air blowers that are repeatedly collapsing and then re-inflating that you often see at car sales lots to create a vibe of “hey everybody, something really exciting is happening here.” The main difference between those and the kelp is that the kelp moves more slowly and fluidly. Also, I’d actually enjoy watching the kelp compared to being plunged in a realm of suicidal ideation with the blow up stick dancers.

Although the water generally feels about the same temperature as it has been for a while, I feel colder today. Maybe its the cloud cover. Still, I’m really trying to explore this sensation of cold. I just can’t seem to match it with a physical sensation of, “oh my god I am so cold and miserable.” It’s just cold and I feel like I am conditioned to respond adversely. I want to be warm but it is hard to articulate why. The cold is a strong sensation. It is something that grabs your full attention. I just focus on remaining calm and keep myself steady with my breath.

Every now and then I catch a glimpse of that yellow strip of light pushing through the seam that separates the ocean surface from the clouds above. It’s like a distant shore that lies beyond this sleepy and subdued, canopied plane. It’s a place we all want to be and it is making its way toward us in its own time and on its own schedule that we can’t control. But we know it will come. There will be a day when the sun will shine all around us warm and bright.