Is that a Dolphin Stampede?
Spoiler: the answer to the title is “no.”
Got a late start this Monday. My last meeting ended at 11:30 but I had to be present at the house until 1:00. Over the course of the morning I watched the sky go from mostly overcast to sunny and then to partly cloudy with the bulk of the cloud coverage hanging out over the Northern Dana Point coastline, which is right where the Dana Strand is. Despite the cloud coverage, the air felt very warm and pleasant.
I got to the parking lot and it is obvious that most kids are in Summer break. There are plenty of spaces available but much less than a usual weekday. Of course I’m also here later than usual which could be a factor. As I make my way down the stairs I see this kerfuffle on the water well past the surf line. My instant reaction is, “could it be a dolphin stampede?” I keep getting these local news articles in my feed with titles like “Dolphin Stampede Surprises Onlookers in Dana Point.” I would love to see such a sight. 1000s of dolphins (that’s what the articles claim) not only gliding about but jumping around and doing flips and what not. Just saying that’s what I have seen in the pictures.
I always leave my glasses in the car so I can’t make out any detail of what is going on out there on the water. It quickly becomes apparent that this is NOT a dolphin stampede but a group of Jr. Lifeguards performing some kind of exercise. My guess is that today is their inaugural day for the Summer. When I get to the shore, I see more Jr. Lifeguards milling about in the water. Overall, the beach is a pretty busy place this afternoon.
I start my swim and it is good. The water visibility is better than it has been for a while today especially in the Northern half of the swim. I can easily see the ocean floor. Did I say it was 20 feet deep yesterday. I’d like to submit a correction, it’s more like 10. Then again who knows? It’s really hard to tell.
I see several of what I think are Calico Bass floating around. The water is a beautiful blue and it just feels so nice. My mind is still quite dreamy today but not quite as much as yesterday and I’m in a better mood today. Yesterday I finished a blog post that has been festering in my mind for almost a week and it felt really good to get it out of my system. It was inspired by last week’s Lectio Divina and about the act of “looking for the kingdom of God.”
My head fills with memories and fantasies and music and conversations both real and imagined. I’m seeking out clarity in my mind and the harder I seek it out the more elusive it becomes. I wonder if I should just let the dreams run their course. Perhaps they are trying to tell me something and I should just open to their imagery and song. It’s like leaping off a cliff. My natural momentum wants to resist the dreams and find quiet solace. There is really nothing unpleasant in these waves of thought in my head. Like most dreams, a lot of it seems non sensical or at least abstract and surreal. Following the dream feels like chasing a phantom. I can see it ahead of me until I look for it - then it disappears.
When I get close to the Northern edge of my swim, I see they have planted more Jr. Lifeguard buoys. They have also extricated the floating planets from this weekend’s Cosmic Creek festival - bummer. They must have removed them recently because I could see them still out here on the web cams this morning.
When I get close to the shore, there are 2 girls probably about 12ish that look like they are having lots of fun playing in the surf. They ask me how far out I was swimming. I told them and they wanted to know if I saw anything. I told them I saw a few fish and could not resist telling them that some days I see dolphins. Their eyes and mouths got super big and they sounded very excited about that. Super cute.
