I wouldn't call it swimming, but...

After weeks away from the beach, getting into the backyard pool only several times, I finally got my broken back into the water. Much warmer since my last visit. The day was gorgeous, as is usual here.

Lots of people enjoying summer weather. with the family. Rare for me to visit when the public is there also. Missing the winter cold quietude.

I can't swim. Put the fins on and lazily kicked around gently for 20 minutes or so. The waves were close together and rough. The photos never convey how rough 4-foot waves can be. Poor shape for surfing.

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

Oceanside Harbor Too Rough Tonight For Me

I went down to the Harbor beach tonight to get in--it's been weeks for me. The news has been talking about warnings for the surf but they always exaggerate everything.

The report I saw last was 4-5 footers with 7 foot sets. After parking and walking thirty yards to the sand, I saw that the warnings were true this time. 

A couple of people in the close surf but they probably shouldn't have been. I'll post some photos from 6:30 p.m., Monday.

The waves were coming in on top of one another, tons of white water moving all sorts of directions. I had to use the excuse that it was 'too dangerous' for me.

The Lifeguards were keeping people out of the water and closing up shop at 6:30 pm. To get into the beach tonight would be tempting fate.

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

Oceanside, CA Sunday Before Sunset

I felt good yesterday, Sunday, just before sunset, when I got wet. BEFORE I got in. Felt so good that I spoke to the lifeguard and told him not to worry--"I'm gonna swim out past the waves, then across, and get out on the other side of the rocks. I have my lifejacket."

Maybe a couple hundred people enjoying the day, many young families. I enjoy seeing the young parents with toddlers and babies in diapers. I'm going to add below an old poem I wrote years back, when I was remembering myself with a toddler at the beach.

                                    Boy Toddler

 

Summer day at a family beach

Toddlers tumbling in tiny water

Landing safely on padded bottoms

Young parents laughing

“You want a pick-up?” Mom asks

“Pick up,” he replies

He’s reaching back down in a minute

Trying out his unsteady legs again

Sand in his hands

Two fistfuls of sand disappear

Over again he grabs for more

But where did it go?

Lifting two hands up over his head

“Oh my goodness, where is it?”

Relish these ephemeral moments

They live in our hearts.

-------

The water was warm and cloudy, no surfable size to the 2-foot waves. So, I go out to the end of the waves and my lungs decide they don't want to do their job. My diaphragm problem. Can't get much of a breath in and out, discomfort in the low neck area. Dammit.

I hang out for a few minutes and ease back to the sand, feeling quite embarrassed as I pass in front of the lifeguard tower. They must have been thinking, 'Sure, buddy, you're going out and around the rocks...."

Just getting the awakening chill of salt water was fine, though, for me. We try...

Two weeks to doctor appointment to ask about my diaphragm muscle. Stay safe.

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

Pumping Sand in Oceanside

The south beaches in Oceanside lose sand inexorably so the city dredges the harbor channel and pumps sand south to the rocky beaches that lack it. It seems like an annual event. Thank you, City of Oceanside. Also, thanks to the City of Carlsbad; their beach is contiguous with ours. 

The big pipe is buried in the photos. The dredger is visible in the background.

The water looked brown when I arrived late yesterday afternoon. Two young surfer dudes were showering off and I asked them if it was dirty.

One answered at length, unusual for surfers, well, to me anyway. "No, I wouldn't say dirty; it's just the sand is all stirred up. I hope it helps the waves."

There you go. No visibility in the water and the water was c o l d.

The internet had it at 61 F. Now, in my dotage I'm wearing a thin wetsuit along with a neoprene hat, because I have succumbed to my wimpiness. I accept it. (Hell no, I don't. I loathe old age.) 

The young guys have thicker wetsuits and no hats, but they need the thicker neoprene as they have zero body fat. They really should wear a cap to protect their ears. Daily exposure to cold water causes the bone tissue in the external ear canal to grow, narrowing the canal. It's a protective device of the body. It will eventually cause the 'surfer's ear,' a narrow canal that collects a bit of moisture and may cause infections. Put a few drops of isopropyl alcohol in your ears after exposure to dry them out. Takes years to happen though, and when you're young you gotta look cool. I'm far beyond that. I don't mind at all that I have the potential to look like a tourist.

I know. There's too many photos.

I stopped at the doorstep to the bigger, rough waves in this swim. I'm firmly trapped in a rehab body again. Have to be safe. Living safely is overrated. Go crazy wild while you're able. Damn the torpedoes! If they hit you, then they hit you. 

Lazily, I kicked a bit back and forth, mostly just hanging out just inside the outside waves. That phrase may be my destination; I like it. "Just inside the outside."

Only 2-4 footers, but little interval between waves. Even a rough, surgy 2-footer can make you take it seriously. My brain got its necessary chill that raises me up from my mordant, sullen state. Often it is hard to overcome the inertia of my brain and get some momentum in my motion. I learned those two big words in physics class. That was useful; so much of my education was wasted. We jumped through hoops, didn't we?

I found myself dancing with the dog this morning, watching old music videos. Singing too. The singing is good for the wet lungs. We sure had a ton of great music in the 70s and 80s. 

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

Crowded Harbor Beach Oceanside, CA 5:30 p.m. Sunday

Sunday late afternoon. It must be Spring Break or just our beautiful weather.

Really a perfect day for enjoying sand, friends, and the beach. Two-foot waves, 2-foot visibility, flat water, long interval between sets and waves. 56 F, felt chilly. 

Beginner and intermediate surfers had mild, slow waves for practice. No aggressive surfers noted by this senior citizen.

Nice to see regular people partaking in the slow surf without the hot shots.

I may be done for my swimming career. Gotta see a doctor and dig up records of previous chest x-rays and MRIs over the years. "Bilateral atelectasis with significantly elevated right hemi-diaphragm," whatever that is...

Caused by what? When?

Been coughing for 6 months.

I'll include 2 photos of the pleasant scene yesterday. I got in and kicked out to the surfers--not far at all--and was short of breath, so I just watched the young folks and then returned home. Blah...What do I do about my motto below?

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