A busy morning kept me from my morning swim and so I thought it would be a perfect day to go out with one of the regular Keller Beach groups. On my previous trips to Keller, I’ve mostly been with Sheila, Arwen, or Angie (except for this last full moon swim—but even then I just swam with Arwen) and I’ve not felt the affinity with this swim spot that others seem to feel. So, I’ve been wanting to go with some of the Keller Beach die-hards to find out what routes they take and why they love it so much. Today seemed like a good opportunity because there are usually multiple calls for afternoon swims and I needed to be in Point Richmond this evening anyway. But, alas, there were no callouts on the google group for afternoon swimmers! Finally, I put a message out myself, but I got no response. So, I resigned myself to a solo Keller swim. 

I was a bit nervous going out. The first time I swam here with Arwen, Angie, and Sheila, we had a terrifying (to us) seal encounter. The seal was practically close enough to touch and our panic manifested in each of us trying to climb on top of the other to get away (actually I think Sheila was quite calm). Ever since that day, I associate this beach with seals and I was thinking about that as I eased myself into the cold water. Even though I’m much braver about seals than I used to be, I’d rather not run into one on a solo swim.

My nerves were tempered by the fact that the conditions were stunning. I haven’t swum in the sunshine in what seems like a very long time. This uncharacteristically foggy October has had us socked in every morning. So the sun was a gift. As was the dramatic fog rolling over the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

My nerves soon fell away and I had a lovely swim in the deliciously cold water.