Left the house early at 6:00. My family is traveling today so I need to get this done before they get up and I really want to swim because it is going to be my last chance before we return in over a week.

What a fantastic morning. The sky is mostly clear with some clouds in the distance. My weather app claims it is 50 but it feels warmer to me. The great thing about the water now is that it doesn’t really make a difference if I swim at 6 or noon, the water is comfy either way.

When I get to the parking lot, the bulk of the clouds I had been seeing in the distance are sitting just between us and Catalina. The water is relatively smooth and the air is still.

Not a lot of cars here on this early Saturday hour. The sun has just recently risen and most of the inshore water is still shaded by the bluff. It's quiet. Just the sound of the surf to keep me company as I make my way down the stairs.

There is some nice surf out and I see just a couple surfers out. A nice head high set rolls in. Over this last week we are just starting to see the season's first south swells arrive.

It's low tide - probably under a foot. No more exposed rocks here. Lots of sand. Except at the bottom of the concrete ramp. It ends with a one foot drop to a bed of rocks.

The water feels pleasant on my feet despite the morning chill.

There is a super wide expanse of sand between the water and the rocks where I leave my pack. I get my stuff settled. My plan today is to use my less comfortable goggles because my preferred ones were leaky yesterday. It is definitely time for new ones. The wear and tear is definitely starting to show. I'd say they have about 500 miles of salt water usage over their lifetime. I inspect my newer goggles that I don't wear because they are not as comfortable. They look super grimey and seem to have a permanent cloud on the eyepieces. Welp, back to the worn out ones. Hopefully they won't leak today.

I head to the water. I make my way out and aim my camera to catch the horizon. As luck would have it, a small flock of Pelicans swoosh over a wave. I'm totally ready for them and I take a shot. I'm really hoping there is no moisture on my lense and that picture comes out. Every picture I take is sort of a crap shoot. I can't really see through the view finder due to my goggles and the glare. Also it can be tricky to keep the lense free of water drops. So my strategy is just take a bunch of pictures and the laws of probability should grant me at least some worthy pictures. Which ones? Who knows. When the water is cold I take a lot fewer pics. Most days when the water is in the 50s I take less than 20 shots. I had lots of days last Summer when I took well over 50.

I make it to where I think the surf line is and a larger set comes in. I am facing south toward the main surf break and a surfer takes off on a wave. I am poised directly parallel to him and grab a picture of him on the wave.

Okay, enough photos for now lets get a move on. I am swimming south and facing almost right into the sun. I can’t stop wondering if that Pelican shot came out. It's one of those things I have been hoping to capture for a long time. It is so magical when they swoosh right next to you but it happens so fast and because I am focusing on swimming, there is no advance notice.

Man this water feels good. I'd even say it is a touch warmer than yesterday. This reminds me of those chilly October mornings when the water is warmer than the air.

I can't get a good read on my location until I am just shy of the cliffs at the south end of the beach and they cast their shadow on the water eliminating the blinding glare from the spotlight of the sun just over the bluff.

After turning around and heading north, I'm trying to keep myself from swaying west and ending up way outside like I did yesterday.

The water is super not clear. I feel like I m just staring into darkness. The only thing I see are my own hands and arms repeatedly plunging through the surface.

The bathrooms at the northern end of the beach eventually begin to come into view. They are tucked into the shade of the cliff just below the Ritz. Yesterday I notice they have brought out the Junior Lifeguard storage container to its Summer-time spot just north of the bathrooms. I find this oddly exciting. There is something about the jr. lifeguards that make me feel like a school aged child enjoying my Summer vacation. It's also an omen that warmer air and water are imminently upon us.

I wonder when they will brng out the buoys. I miss Bob Marley, Big Bob, Little Bob, and the Green Monster. It's always sad when they get pulled in late August. They provide nice company out here on the water and help me gauge my trajectory and distance from the shore.

I'm trying to determine if I am lined up with the restrooms now. It's tough to see through the morning glare and god knows I want full credit for the entire swim. Yep. I'd say we are pretty well lined up. Let's go home.

Again I have no idea where I am as I pass these houses. They are just silhouettes against the rising sun. I have to stop a couple times and hold up my hand to cover my eyes to find my boxy house. Ok, I think I see it. Time to head in.

The swim to shore seems perfectly timed between sets. I reach the whitewater just as a final wave breaks after it passes over me. I continue to move forward through the foam and when I finally see a small inshore wave break, I feel my hand hit the floor and realize I am swimming in knee deep water.

I stand myself up and notice I am a couple houses north of the block house. Please tell me I just drifted north and did not lose 100 feet of points due to a premature exit.

I dry off and put on a shirt and overshirt. I question if this is really needed. Especially after I reach the bathrooms at the bottom of the stairs and hit direct sunlight.

What an incredible morning swim. The tide, the sun, the surf, the water. That feeling of impending Summer. It's like the absolute opposite of impending doom.