Pelicans Come Hither!

I left at about 10:00. Like Wednesday, I can feel a touch of Fall in the air. There is a cool breeze and a fair amount of cloud cover. However beneath the breeze hides warm air and despite the clouds, it pretty much feels like a sunny day.

Passing by Doheny, it does look pretty nice. The sun is shining on the water and it doesn’t look too garbled. The surf report this morning called out the clean ocean surface as it does on most mornings. On average, mornings have the smoothest surface of the day. However the web cam today says differently. Both Strands and Salt Creek look pretty textured. The report covers the Trestles area just south of San Clemente up to Laguna so there is often going to be some variation across the area. Dana Point is seeing a little more wind today.

As I drive into the parking lot at The Strand, I can see a fair amount of chop on the water. It still looks nice. I love a sunny day but I also love a little bit of cloud coverage to make things interesting. We definitely have that today.

As I sit in my warm car getting my things together, I internally brace myself for the chill but instead I step out my door into the sunlight and it is most delightful. Then the breeze picks up a bit but it’s still nice.

Walking down the stairs, the ocean looks dark today. It must be the shade from the clouds. It doesn’t look shady per se, but the clouds seem to dampen the usual 10:00 sunshine - at least on days when the sun is actually shining at 10:00. Once I reach the shore, the water still looks dark and I can really feel that breeze down here. It’s a west wind so there is nothing to offer protection. Although undoubtedly beautiful, the water just doesn’t look that inviting right now. It looks cold and I wonder if it looks cold now, how is it going to look in January? Fortunately I’m well aware of the secret that once I get wet, I will feel fully invited.

The inner thirty feet of water is filled with floating seaweed and then just past that it looks crystal clear. There is not much surf at all. I walk out to waist deep water and realize that I don’t feel that cold but I feel colder than I want to be. Oh just get in the water already.

I push myself forward, lose contact with the sandy bottom and feel the water against my face and cover my head. I exhale and focus on relaxing my body and receive the cold that’s not that cold. I’d say the water temperature has come down another degree. It’s still comfortable as long as I lose the expectation of 70 degrees.

I feel the force of the current in the water pushing me forward as I head south. I watch the shore and stare at the clouds above the bluff. Despite all of my thoughts just before I got in, I love the sensation of moving through the water here. I feel like this life I live here in the water is far removed from my life on the shore. I’m in some kind of liminal dimension that is not quite here nor there. I think back to earlier in the morning, working at my computer and it seems like a dream. Will I remember what my job is by the time I finish this swim? I must have it all written down somewhere.

When I get to the end of the beach which seems to happen pretty quickly, the water and clouds and sky and cliffs all look amazing. It’s darker here in the shade below the headlands. There are large flocks of pelicans flying from around the point, over the headlands and high above the beach just east of the shore. They come one after another and their is probably about 20 birds in each.

I swim west for a little ways alongside the cliff to my left and head toward a spot where I know there are lots of fish and interesting rocks that are fun to look at in clearer water which we have today. It’s so great. Tons of fish including several Garibaldi. The interesting thing about Garibaldi is that they remain alone or only hang out with a couple others. You don’t see large schools of them like Corbina. Today I see about six of them all together which I don’t often see.

I will name him Gary.

Ok I’m ready to head back north now and here come more pelicans. Pelicans come hither! They don’t listen and probably don’t care.

Even though I’m definitely moving against the current now, it doesn’t seem like it takes forever to get to the other end of the beach as it does on some days. Half way down I pause for a look. I can see so clearly all the way to Laguna. It looks like I’m in a huge pool that extends all the way to Monarch. There are large clouds that hover over the hills past the golf course and it looks like someone has installed a shade canopy above the water. The water sits below an infinite mass of blue sky, but it has a dark look to it. I imagine the homeowners on the bluff lighting up their fire places and it seems like the right thing to do.

I keep swimming. I can feel the warmer splotches of water here and there. It feels like I’m in an entirely different ocean than what I was looking at from the shore before. I can’t imagine why I would not want to get into this water.

The swim from the north end of the beach to my final exit point goes by very quickly. I’m swimming with the current again. It feels like a complete repeat of Wednesday. The water clarity, clouds and light all look the same. When I review my pictures later, the post swim pics look exactly the same as Wednesday.

I head up the stairs and enjoy holding the warm metal railing. I rinse off in the shower and a middle aged couple is walking their dog and they look over and wave hello. Are they waving to me? I say hello and we exchange a “how are you” and a “great.” I don’t know them but somehow we all feel like family here.