A busy morning and day kept me away from the bay until late afternoon when I finally got to hop into the water. Because I was alone, I opted for the Berkeley Marina where there are always people on the water. Too many people sometimes: I stood on the dock, the wind whipping and watched… Read More Solo Afternoon Swim (Day 269)
I went to sleep last night with the goal of waking up early for a 5:30am swim; we planned to watch the sun rise and the full moon set over the Golden Gate Bridge. I managed to wake up, but when I looked out the window, I saw nothing but clouds. So I sent a… Read More Solo Swim (Day 223)
After opting (wimping?) out yesterday, I was determined to return to La Jolla Shores today and face my fears of ocean waves. Kathleen’s husband, Mike, who arrived at the reunion a couple of days ago and joined Kathleen and me on our morning swim excursions, promised to help me navigate the surf. It was another… Read More La Jolla Shores #2 (Day 167)
I woke up uncharacteristically late today and it discombobulated me; threw my plans into disarray. I ended up heading down to the Albany Bulb by myself at 7:30—a group had gone in at 7 and another was going in at 8, but there I was betwixt and between. Part of me was looking forward to… Read More Monkey Mind (Day 140)
After a busy weekend at the Bay Area Book Festival, I was ready to sleep in this morning. I purposefully made no swimming plans and thought I’d just wake up whenever I woke up and swim whenever it worked out to swim. As anyone who knows me will not be the slightest bit surprised to… Read More Coyote Morning (Day 129)
Early mornings are for the birds. The sanderlings foraging in the sand until they rise up in unison and swoop into the sky, first one direction and then the next; white wings catching the early morning light. A squadron of pelicans hunting, scoping, focused on the water and then hovering before falling into a dive… Read More For the Birds (Day 113)
COVID sucks and it was another solo swim for me this morning (those two statements are related). After more than a week of this, it’s become routine. I stir awake while it’s still dark, wonder what time it is, and when I turn over and look at the clock it’s always 5:20 or 5:13 or,… Read More Another Solo Swim (Day 108)
I felt so normal, so like myself, last night that I was sure COVID had left my body. Excited at the prospect of getting to swim with a gang in the morning, I took a COVID test to be sure. It was positive. I was still feeling the disappointment when I woke up this morning… Read More Moonset (Day 107)
I swam by the cigarette butt you casually flicked into the gutter this morning; the empty Cheetos wrapper you dropped on the sidewalk; the rotting orange you tossed into the grass; the baggy that got away from you and you didn’t bother to chase; the plastic bottle top you chucked, laughing, at your friend, which… Read More Dirty Water (Day 106)
A silver lining of my COVID isolation is this shift to early morning swims. As soon as I drive through the intersection of Buchanan and the freeway entrances, I begin to get excited about what I will find at the water. What will the clouds, the light, the wind, the colors be like? It’s never… Read More Light (Day 104)
Jenny Swimming 