Pre-BD Swim/Meet Up Swim

I joined a ‘Meet up” group called The Others for a swim other than the Cove that was to meet up today at 2pm.  My friend was signed up already and had chatted about another joining in the fun also.  The day started out fine with sunshine but quickly turned to overcast skies.  Dana and I drove down to make the most of the day and after greeting the usual suspects at the Cove and chatting with a couple of twins (cute), met up with the organizer of the group at Shell Beach Shack.  We had been previously warned that the warm water we welcomed the day before had gone and we were, once again, being chilled on ice for future scientific projects*.  Though the board stated 57F, it is believed to have been 54F inside the Cove and up to 57F outside.  There was a negative tide due around 3:30 and we weren’t all that jazzed about heading out of Shell Beach; too many “rips, rocks and reefs” for our liking.  The organizer gave us his best as far as info and tips, but agreed that today might not be the best for this location.  As a group, we decided to opt for a launch from the Cove and went out our separate ways per our familiarity and comfort level.  For some, just getting wet was the goal; another just looked around and checked it out.  Our fearless leader, having just been released from the hospital due to an accident (silly, fish don’t belong on motorcycles), kept lookout.  As for me and Dana, we wanted to swim…so after chatting with the twins again :o) we told Mike (LG) our plan to swim outside down to the Children’s Pool (CP)** and back.  The call went out and so did we.

There must have been 50+ sea lions in the Cove today all in chorus!  They were darting to and fro, hither and dither…such fun.  Due to the low tide the kelp was also in abundance, but once outside, the waves rolling in and the current pulling us along, it felt free and easy.  It was just what I needed; the same but different and a pure joy.  The kelp on the way down to CP is healthy and full of critters i.e. Garibaldi, leopard shark, kelp fish, sea stars, etc.  As we neared the wall jutting off CP, we could see all the tourists lined up and pointing.  We thought, for a moment, to swim past South Casa, but waves were breaking bigger there, so with the “OK” sign to the lifeguards in the tower, we headed back toward the Cove.  There must have been a rip or a strong undertow, as it took us longer to get back past Boomer’s…at that point we could see the ‘B’ buoy and opted to go for a visit and then take the fast flying current into the Cove.  The adventure had a warm ending via the AC Jacuzzi…so glad I got that membership!  And if that wasn’t fabulous enough, we topped off the day with dinner (and wine) at Cucina Italiana in Clairemont Square…yumm!*** 

Special people make special days special…thanks Dana

* Until this year, I’ve never fully appreciated the subcutaneous wetsuit we females have…some in more abundance than others, but good all the same!

** Where you will currently find all the Seal fanatics.


***Dana had Pollo alla Sorrentina and I had (my favorite) Linguine al Funghetto...our wine was a delightful 2009 Citra Montepulciano d'abruzzo