I woke up sad and anxious this morning. Sad because I dropped Eliza off at her dorm last night and somehow it wasn’t any easier this time than it was when I dropped her off for the first time in August. Seriously, I cried so hard when I got back to the hotel room last… Read More Little Ross Bay (Day 31)
While I was tempted to watch the sunrise at Willow Beach again today, there was another cold water swimming group (the Cold Water Addicts) going to a beach further up (down?) the island and I thought it would be a good idea to be adventurous and explore somewhere new. I arrived quite early and took… Read More Downey Beach with the Cold Water Addicts (Day 30)
Just look at this sunrise! Gaze upon that incredible, flat water. No wonder Victoria is teeming with lovers of cold water. I found a few swimming groups when I was planning my trip and a lovely woman named Catherine invited me to swim with her at 7:30 this morning. After my slightly nervous solo swimming… Read More Sunrise on Vancouver Island (Day 29)
Hours later I’m still buzzing from my swim today. Lake Crescent in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula is one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever been to and I’m giddy with the thrill of having gotten to swim in it. Also profoundly grateful that this challenge gets me out exploring places I might otherwise miss. Had… Read More Lake Crescent (Day 28)
Yesterday I started a road trip through the Pacific Northwest to bring my daughter back to Victoria, British Columbia where she goes to school. High on my list of IMPORTANT things to consider while planning was finding places (and times) to swim. Yesterday I swam at the bulb before I left so that took care… Read More La Quinta Inn (Day 27)
I’ve been waiting 26 days to write this blog post! Today our friend Sheila returned from New York and we had a long-awaited reunion of our original swimming pod, the Salty, Saucy, Swim Sisters. I started open water swimming last January, spurred by a pandemic year of exploring the bay by kayak and paddleboard, and… Read More Reunited (and it feels so good…) (Day 26)
Today’s swim was a moment of peace in an otherwise hectic day. The Albany Bulb was heavy with fog that moved in and out as we swam. Unlike other misty mornings, the water wasn’t flat or still, but full of movement and energy. The rest of my day felt as far from the calm, quiet… Read More Moment of Peace (Day 25)
It’s a gorgeous sunny day and the bay was calling me, but for a variety of reasons, it needed to be a pool day. In December, my daughter, Hazel, started working as a lifeguard at the downtown Berkeley Y. So of course I immediately reactivated my membership. I told myself it was practical given my… Read More It’s Fun to Swim at the YMCA (Day 24)
When I was in first or second grade, my class took a field trip to an Albertson’s grocery store. It was the very same Albertson’s I’d shopped at a hundred times with my dad and brother, but to go with my classmates cast it in a whole new light; it was special and strange; the… Read More Heart’s Desire (Day 23)
The wind came in last night; warm and wild, dry, forboding. Growing up in Southern California we called these dry, warm winds the Santa Anas because they came from the desert through the Santa Ana Canyon. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, they are also sometimes called the Santa Anas, even though Santa Ana… Read More Santa Ana Winds (Day 22)
Jenny Swimming 