My Albany Bulb streak broke on March 24 when I had a lovely sunrise swim with Arwen, Sheila, and Angie at Keller Beach. It seems sadly rare these days for all four of us to be together for a swim and so it felt extra special (though I didn’t take any pictures, except this one of the moon setting as I was driving over to Keller).

From there, Kevin and I set off on a road trip to my cousin, Kathleen’s house in Calimesa. It was a gorgeous drive.

And we had a lovely week with family in Calimesa at my cousin’s gorgeous adobe compound where the dogs run free, the food is delicious, the company is nourishing, and the sunsets and horses make me feel like I’m in a movie. Eliza and Hazel flew down for the week along with more cousins, turning the gathering into an unexpected family reunion.

I was afraid I wouldn’t get a chance to swim on the trip, but as it turned out, I drove to Carlsbad three times where the ocean was waiting for me. First, we all went to visit my dad and Yasuko and then I went back the next day to pick them up and bring them to Calimesa to join us for a night, returning the next day to bring them back home again. So I got two ocean swims and one swim in the lagoon.

The first day, Eliza joined me.

So, the third day, I went to the Carlsbad Lagoon and had a proper swim.

The next two days of the trip I enjoyed pool swims and then Kevin and I drove back to Berkeley, with a stop at the Bulb when we arrived for a lovely swim to wash away the grimy aches of 8 hours in the car.