Thank Goodness I Got Wet & Cold Today!

I have been on dry land for ten days with a bad cold.  I still have the cough & cold but after work I went for a swim.  My thought process while staying away was to rest up, and today's thought process was to work the lungs and maybe get cleared up.  I was coughing like crazy while in the water; I think it helped.  The water was good.  Twelve to fifteen feet visibility.  Pretty flat ocean past the waves.  Small waves.  A dozen or so surfers at a time. 
Before I got in I saw an older gentleman in his swim trunks jump in the water and get his chill on!  So, I have competition.  I read his lips when he said to his wife, "That water is freezing," as she greeted him with a towel after he got out.  Great for him!  He didn't swim-he just took a dip for a while.  What a gutsy, tough, older guy. 
The water wasn't too bad tonight.  It was cold, but not face-hurt cold.  Surfline.com still has the water temperature at 57 to 59 degrees.  I believe it today.
So, I swam out with trunks, a neoprene hood, and goggles.  The current was there a little bit.  I wore fins because of it.  Just off the end of the pier I started to see some seaweed (kelp) leaves and a bit of debris in the water.  Then I saw a small, child-size, worn-out lifejacket resting about 5 feet below the surface.  It startled me a tiny bit at first, and then I dove down a little and looked around but no other interesting sights.
I had to kick hard and pull hard to get around the end of the pier.  I swam north to south.  Fourteen minutes and I was around and ready to head back in.  I didn't hit sand until 28 1/2 minutes, which lets us know that there was some current action against me-just mild. 
Nice to be back.

"The first time you quit is the last time you try."