Greg, one of our lovely Albany Bulb swimmers, put out an invitation on our google group to join him for a Labor Day swim in Bolinas this morning. I was intrigued by the idea, but having never met Greg, I didn’t think I would go. Then, yesterday, I found out Rosemary was going.

I want to come! I said when I heard her talking about it.

It turns out Caz, Lisa, Kaushik, and Teri were also planning to make the trek. So we woke up early to beat the Labor Day heat-wave traffic and arrived in Bolinas by 9:00 am. If Greg was surprised to see so many of us show up on his doorstep, he was too kind to let it show. He enthusiastically welcomed us and led us down to the beach.

On our text group, on our drive over, and by myself lying awake last night, anxiety about today’s swim ran rampant. For me, the biggest fear was waves. Bolinas is a popular surfing spot and, as I have shared here many times, breaking waves haunt my nightmares. For others, sharks were high on the list of worries. Currents, seals, rip tides…there were plenty of others as well. But, for me, it was the waves and when I arrived at the beach and saw the calm waters, I let out a sigh of relief. 

The water was deliciously cold (or so it felt; winter me would scoff at the idea of calling 62 degrees cold) and clear. Salty ocean goodness. We swam straight out in glassy waters, sticking close together. Swimming through that beautiful water, surrounded by the mountains of Marin county, I felt my anxieties slough off like dead skin I had no use for anymore. 

After our swim, we went back to Greg’s for snacks, hot tubbing, and to recount the perfection of the morning.