Early start this morning at 6:15 and it’s still dark.

After getting to the parking lot I begin with a 7.25 mile run through the harbor. I see a beautiful owl up on the bluff walking trail above the harbor with its wings spread out. The Del Taco sticker is still on a truck on Camino Capistrano but the truck looks like a nicer truck than last week. Perhaps with all the money they saved eating at Del Taco, they could afford a new truck.

After the run I change into my swim trunks and head down the stairs. There has been full cloud coverage since dawn and it doesn’t look like it is going anywhere soon.

When I get to the beach, the waves look like they are practically breaking right onto the shore near the spot where I typically take off from. The waves look similar but maybe a touch smaller than yesterday. I get in the water and book it to dive beneath the incoming wave before it can smack me on the rock scattered shore.

Yesterday as I was coming back up the stairs the key ring that attaches to my floating camera where I attach my car key fell off the camera housing. Looks like the metal bracket where it attaches corroded away. I’m glad that happened on land and on pavement where I could hear it fall to the ground. I am always a bit paranoid about losing my car key. It’s a long walk home in bare feet. I see some surfers have a key lock box attached to their car door handles. You can stick your key inside and lock it with a combination. I think I’m gonna get one of those. I figure someone would have to be pretty desperate to break it so they could claim my 2005 Tundra when there are much nicer options on the lot.

So today I have my key attached to this carabiner attached to a nylon loop on my trunks. I feel it periodically throughout the swim to make sure it is still there.

The water us still comfy. It definitely feels a bit cooler this weekend than last but it is still in the comfort zone.

The water is cloudy but blue and smooth. It’s a nice morning and I am happy to be here before heading to church.

I see several lobster trap buoys but no lobster traps. I’m sure they are there but the visibility is lousy.

About 2 thirds through the swim I see a bunch of paddlers. There mush have been 15 kayaks or more. It was eerie but cool. They were fairly close but far enough that I could not hear them. They looked like some kind of phantom hoard on the grey surface in the cloudy distance silently gliding northward.

When I finish the swim, it’s a repeat performance in reverse of my entry. As soon as I can walk, I run up the shore so the oncoming wave does not tackle me. No time for lollygagging with wave pics today.

I stop for gas after grabbing coffee and think I am making great time and then someone asks if I have jumper cables to help with their dead battery. We end up getting them started up pretty quick and I make it to Laguna Beach just a minute late at 10:01 as I grab the last spot in the small parking lot.