Cloudy Day with the Water Getting a Little Rougher

Thursday late afternoon at the Harbor. A little chillier, 2 foot visibility, waves 2 to 4 foot swells. Several surfers but the shape was poor, closing out.

I liked the roughness of the incoming  tide smashing me at the distance out from the sand with the surfers. I'm still needing more wind but I felt good and got some nice kicking in for 15-20 minutes.

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

OCEANSIDE HARBOR BETWEEN THE TWO ROCK JETTIES

Below I include a photo of the stingray hit the next day.

Again yesterday, Friday, the tide was super low, and I had a great relaxing swim all by myself! The "all by myself" is crucial to me. 

The water was warmer. Get right in, no need to gird your loins first. Surfline quotes 57 F but no way. More like 64. I should buy a little thermometer (waterproof). I have always used the 'face freezing time' to gauge water temperature. 

Sand crabs are here again. The ones that live inside the round shell; remember the examples in the natural world that follow the 'perfect ratio,' the 1.67 thing, and the Fibonacci numbers. {1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,etcetera}.  The crabs live in that type of shaped shell.

I saw many of them yesterday, along with lots of sand dollars. I gave some to a dad who had a little girl with her plastic yellow bucket for collecting. 

I love that stuff. A complete, unbroken sand dollar with its 'flower petal' design on top hits a good place in my brain. 

My breath is returning gradually--my wind. I feel some leg muscles again. Adelante!

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

STINGRAY HIT AT LOW, LOW, LOW TIDE

Today, Thursday, late afternoon, I had an extremely pleasant 20-minutes of moderate kicking in the calmest water that I've enjoyed in many years.  

No waves, and the tide was way out there. I collected a bunch of sand dollars and left them on the ledge near the shower. I took 3 good ones home for my collection. I didn't see any little kids to give them to.

Finally, for the first time ever, I got stung or brushed and stung a few times on the area of my right heel.

It doesn't hurt much at the instant of stings, but as the minutes pass, it hurts more and more. By the time I got home I was hurting big time and limping. Now, as an experienced beach guy, water safety & survival instructor, military lifeguard and Scuba guy, I know that soaking the foot in a HOT bucket of water for a few hours mitigates the pain. I'm soaking now--no pain.

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

Oceanside Harbor Beach Almost Empty

About 3 p.m. I drove down to the Harbor Beach and got in the water for 15-20 minutes of relaxed kicking with the fins while lying on my back. My rehab program. 

Such a low, low tide, overcast sky, maybe half a dozen people in the water. Just how I like it.

57 F per web...no way...much warmer, about 61 is my guess. 

No surfing possible in a 1-2 foot chop, but great for my usage.

My lumbar is okay today, Sunday, after a dip yesterday. 

One could stand at the end of the rock jetty Saturday. Low,low, low tide...nothing but sand on the bottom. No visibility.

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

Clean Beach Again Today at Oceanside Harbor, CA

The polluted water sign was gone at the beach today, Monday, Martin Luther King Day. (My error...in my title, it should say yesterday, not today). So, that was 

something good about the day. The water was warmer; I'd guess 63 F, but the web said 57. I disagree.

I'm just simply kicking with fins to strengthen the low back. 

That's a low tide with 2-3 foot waves with lousy shape, just closing out. Several surfers, not worth the trip.

Not many thoughts in my head today. It's a national day of mourning...and I don't mean MLK.

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