“I’m gonna go swim in that sea today!”
Ian finishes chewing his bagel. “It’s really cold. Are you
sure you wanna do that?”
I grin, taking a slug of coffee. “YES! When am I gonna get another chance to
swim in the ocean?”
We’re in Santa Cruz, eating breakfast at the little table in
our Airbnb off Seabright, the brightly colored walls of peach, lemon and rose
surrounding us. A gentle breeze whispers through the open door to the cottage.
“It’s a perfect
day for it,” I continue. “I know the water is cold, but it’s September. It’s
warm out! I will be okay.”
Ian shakes his head. “I dunno….”
“You don’t
have to swim.”
“Oh, don’t
worry. It hadn’t even occurred to me.”
We chuckle. I remember how he
used to swim with me at Keller Cove in Pt. Richmond during the Pandemic. The
water there had been SO cold. I had had a wetsuit, but Ian had braved the icy bay
without one.
I finish my
coffee, take the plate and cup over to the sink to rinse off.
“Let’s go
before it gets too sunny!” I push.
“Okay,
okay, I’m coming….” he says, chewing the last bite of bagel before heading into
the bedroom to collect the beach accoutrements: chairs, towels, umbrellas and
fortitude!
Sitting on
the sand, slathering on sunscreen, I ponder the sea. It’s calm now, but there’s
a swell. I’ll just have to time my entry between waves. I’m not worried about
this.
I am a
little worried about the water temp, but I just know that I’ll love it once I’m
in. And, I don’t have to swim long. I just want to get wet and fell the buoyancy
of the sea.
As I back
into the water, I gasp. It is so goddamn cold! Ian’s on shore, watching me. “You
sure you don’t want to join me?” I holler.
“What?”
He can’t hear me over the
waves, so I just grin and continue to back in, slipping on my fins before
diving under the first frigid wave.
Exhilarating!
I begin to
kick and stroke out beyond the break. Turning on my back once I’m over the
waves, stroking quickly to try to keep warm. But knowing that this will be impossible
without my wetsuit. I’ll just have to swim a bit and then get out.
But as I
swim, grinning up at the blue blue sky, a flock of pelicans come swooping near
me. I continue to stroke on my back when one swoops down near me. He seems to
slow, checking me out. If I stretched my arm up just a little further, I could
almost touch him.
“Hello, Mr. Pelican!” I call out.
He looks at
me with his little beady eye. I look at him with mine. We have eye-to-eye interspecies
communication for just a split second. I am him. He is me. It’s magical!
Then he
flaps his wings, enormous in their span, and head off to join his flock.
I turn onto
my stomach and start stroking the freestyle, heading back into shore.
“Ian!” I
hail him.
“Carol!” he calls back, running toward me with a towel.
“Guess
what?”
“What?”
“I made a friend!”
“You did?”
“Yes, a Pelican Friend. We had
interspecies communication for a moment.”
He grins. “Cool!”
“It was!”
But now I’m shivering. Have to get warm.
Lying on
the towels in the warm sand, the sun’s heat starts to thaw me out. I hear the
gulls calling, the waves crashing, some kids screaming.
It’s a day
at the beach. And, I’m so glad I’m here.
