#Winning
Oh man it was a great swim today! Left the house a little before 10 just as the sun was beginning to prevail over the clouds. All morning it had been mostly overcast with just a sliver of blue skies that I could make out just above the horizon looking out the window above my desk where I have a pretty good view of about an inch (from my perspective a mile away) of the ocean.
When I arrived at the Strand parking lot, it was still partly cloudy but the sun’s presence could be felt strongly. And it was good. Walking down the stairs was very pleasant. A toddler was walking up with his grandparents and said, “look he’s wearing a bathing suit! He’s gonna go swimming!” Super cute and yes I am!
The water is just a touch cooler today. We have had some onshore winds the last couple of days which cool things off. However it is still 68 so I’m not complaining. South eddy winds are back in the forecast for today and the weekend so we should soon recover that lost heat.
The water surface is rather textured but not too bad. Surf is a little bigger than it was on Tuesday but nothing to write home about.
I swim South and all is well in the water. I don’t see that gross brown cloud in the water today, but the water is far from clear - very cloudy.
When I get to the South end there is a small crowd of kids (maybe 30) in the water just a bit further out than I am. I’m not certain if they are jr. lifeguards. There is an adult on a stand up paddle board giving some kind of inspiring speech. I did not catch everything he said but something to the effect that only 2% of Orange County residents see what they are seeing. He says, “and you know what I call that? I call that ‘hashtag winning!’” Is this my cue to let out, “woohoo! yeah! Winning!!” I restrain myself but do not go unnoticed. I am taking a picture and he acknowledges my presence with something like, “and look at this gentleman taking a picture.” I wave to the group.
I turn around and swim North just about the same time that the group heads back. For a little while I see the stand up paddle boarder out of the corner of my eye. Several minutes later I see the South buoy tether beneath the water right in front of me. I briefly stop and lo and behold these 30 kids on boogie boards are literally inches behind me. I say hello and move on.
As I get to the Northern end of the swim, I do see a hint of the brown ick but nothing like Tuesday. I make my orbit around the Green Monster and head back South to my starting and finishing point. The construction noise seems particularly loud today.
I reach land and enjoy the walk up the stairs to the car.
