January 8 (Sun)—It was a small crowd for a Sunday; just a few of us stealing in a swim between storms. It raged last night and is set to do so again tonight, so this morning we plunged in. The water was murky below and probably pretty polluted, but it looked beautiful! Calm, with ribbons… Read More Storms (Week 2 in Swimming)
Today, my swim friends threw me a party in celebration of my year of swimming and it was a joyful, soul-nourishing experience. Swimming every day in 2022 brought me so many gifts, but if this day had been the only one, it would have been worth it. How rare it is to be so fully… Read More Celebrating
Bleary-eyed with jet lag and the particular bodily displacement that comes from traveling such a long distance in such a short time, I arrived back in the stormy Bay Area ready to take my last plunge of my year of swimming in my favorite place: the Albany Bulb. It was pouring with rain as our… Read More 365 Days of Swimming
Today we went for a lovely walk with the extended family to a village on the Essex/Suffolk border called Bures. My nephew-in-law likes it because it’s one of the hillier places in usually flat Essex. He, like Kevin’s family, is from Yorkshire and the dales are in their blood. We walked up a hill to… Read More Bures (Day 361)
For the last few months, ever since we booked our trip to England for Christmas, I’ve been delving into local swimming groups in order to map out the swims that would carry me through the tail end of my year of swimming. I was delighted when I discovered the Colchester Bluetits. The Bluetits Chill Swimmers… Read More Dedham Mill Pond (Day 358)
Today we had a cheerful holiday swim gathering at the Albany Bulb. Lots of swimmers came out, which seemed extra special because the numbers have been dwindling lately. It was great to swim with a big crowd again. There’s nothing like watching a dozen people brave the cold and go paddling off in all directions. … Read More Celebrating (Day 351)
Sheila had an early meeting and so we met at the Albany Bulb for a 6:30 swim, which worked out well because it started raining this morning, and getting in early meant we were least likely to be swimming through runoff. But arriving at the parking lot in the dark with the rain splattering and… Read More Beautiful Storm (Day 335)
My Dad and Yasuko are visiting for Thanksgiving and they came down to the Albany Bulb with me this morning along with Kevin, Hazel, and Lulu. Arwen and Jorge were there, too, and I felt thankful for my family, glad for their company in my happy place. The joyful group of 7 o’clockers was getting… Read More Giving Thanks (Day 328)
Kevin and I drove all day long and, at the end of it, nothing felt quite so good as getting into the water at the Albany Bulb. I brought home a cold and mostly came home wanting to crawl into bed, but I didn’t feel bad enough to miss a swim and so off I… Read More Home (Day 315)
My excited anticipation to see Eliza today was only a little bit marred by my worry about having to swim at some point. I left Portland early with the idea that I would swim in the afternoon in Victoria. I didn’t really start worrying about this plan until I was on the ferry to Victoria… Read More Reunited (Day 309)
Jenny Swimming 