Working for a living

So lftc, have you lost your voice?! I miss your pungent editorials, as i am unable to join you all during the week. So here goes, a weekly swim update..... we did the "after-work" swim tonite, around 5:15 ish. Had a great crew...Leonard, the Mighty C's, Marta, Kathleen,Don, and another few. We ran into the 1/4 mile "Tri's"... millions of them in and back, looked like Easter eggs floating in the ocean. Sun was out, water was surgy, ( if that's a word). We did the A, B, 1/4, A, and in. Water was cold with some wind, little to zero surf. Little to no Viz. See you all friday at noon?!

Wetsuit R.I.P.

Went to the Cove yesterday (Sunday the 27th).  My now former wetsuit got a huge gash in it along the waist but at least I got one more swim in with it.  The waves were only 3 ft high at most.  I am officially getting out of shape and only did 1/2 a mile.  Went to X-terra on Mirimar Mall Rd today and got a new wetsuit for $159.  In case anyone was thinking of looking for a new wetsuit.

Blarney!

So here we are, last weekend, St. Patrick's Day. I promised Bill I wouldn't post on FB but no such promise here.

Today, Tuesday, was wicked. Janie and RUTH! ploughed rather badly through a big set getting into the water, everyone else having gone merrily through. It took maybe 10 minutes for us to get out. But we did it. Trekked out to the A and B in huge swells and alot of chop. It almost looked like the waves were breaking at the quarter - the swells had tiny crests as they swept up the 1/4 for a ride.

So we headed in from the B - waves and current (?) pulling towards the caves. Stayed outside the break for maybe 7 - 10 minutes minutes waiting for a set to finish. Janie thought we may be okay but then we looked again and saw a huger wave and another set heading in. I admit I was wondering if I was going to get into the Cove unaided. We looked hopefully toward the Cove to see if anyone was signaling us (they were) but we couldn't see them. I saw someone waving a white towel on the beach - don't know what that would have meant! but it was just a tourist. Janie called it finally and we headed in. Once the set was over getting in was pretty easy for me. Janie was very knackered but plugged mightily.

Thank you for the right call, Janie!! Thank you Mother O for the break in the surf!

* * * * * * * *
Sunday, Leonard, being the mensch that he is, went back in the water with me for 25 minutes after swimming around for 1 - 1 1/2 hours already, so that I wouldn't have to swim alone!!!! The wind was ripping - blowing out to sea. A first for me. Water cold but felt great and the company was awesome. The sun came out as we exited. But it was cold cold cold.

Then, over on the lawn, a parrot rescue group - Amazon Parrot Rescue, had a gizmo set up to show their parrots. Spectacularly beautiful creatures with 2' tails.

The only water I've seen over the last week was from the train or pouring rain. Blue and beautiful oceans traveling north to San Luis Obispo, great surf. On the way back to SD oceans were all brown and junky. Great sunsets and rainbows. Oh, and lot's of wine tasting! Hope to join you all in the water this weekend.

Sweet, Near Spring Swim

Well, the not-so-mighty C's bailed-out on Sunday's first day of Spring swim. We headed to the cove from Torrey Pines and it just looked cold-drizzly-dreary, especially compared to our fun roller day on Saturday.  The C's sadly faded back to Poway, leaving our dear Ruth with no pod-nicks to swim with... only the fabulous memories of SATURDAY!

But Saturday was awesome -- Ruth and the mighty's C's braved the decent surf (there were body surfers) and super-moon low tides for a rockin' and rollin' swim out to the A, then Marine Room, up to the 1/4 to see how Leprechaun Bill had dressed the buoy for St. Patrick's Day -- wearing the green, now!  Then Ruth was having sooooo much fun in swimming up hill, we swam back to the A and then in, having some excellent big surf training with our Bill -- Laura would be proud!  Surf wass up -- great swim, water temps slowly warming to the spring side (felt like 57ish). Even had a nice deck visit from Cami and the boys!  All-in-all, a happy, near spring experience.  

Ruth posed with Leprechaun Bill -- we took the photo with Ruth's iPhone, so please post...  The red hair and beard were quite striking...  

Cove looked bleak when we got there at 11 AM and then... it then turned all gorgeous on us!

Here's what the Saturday cove looked like when we got out -- so beautiful.   

Beautiful La Jolla Cove Spring Day, March 19, 2011

birthday splash!

Thanks to all my beloved swim pals for getting it together enough to get together for the birthday swimmers! The swim was excellent and filled with dolphins putting on a big show for the birthday boy and girl. Everyone was on their game today, not a straggler in the bunch and we had a paddler today! Grady, who will now be required at all the group swims. we are becoming very spoiled: we need dolphins, partners, crabs, tea, cake, coffee and now a paddler!
Thanks to Grady for coming out with us today, it was great to have you! the food was intense today, the guards were lucky to be on duty..
you all are the absolute best group, the best partners a person could wish for and i don't even know how i found you! i do know it was in, on or around the water, what followed was/is good luck.
be happy and swim on and on and on!
lftc-out

Warm seas now a sweet memory...

Missed you all! Thanks to our blog we can feel a bit like we've kept up with our swim-peeps.  Sounds like things in the water have been nice here too, though a tad colder.

We had warm, clear water in the Turks and Caicos. It was unbelievably gorgeous and the highlight was jumping into the water with some humpback whales (3) that were swimming through the Grand Turk channel.  We were 10 feet from them (mom, baby and male) and they were just checkin' us out!  We were stunned... nothing could top that, though the scuba diving was great, saw tons of colorful fish -- even some that don't belong there like lion fish... what a treat.

I have to say, except for missing our swim-buds, we just didn't EVER want to leave -- wished we could've imported you there directly -- beam them over, Scotty or something nice like that.

Here are a few pics to inspire. Ruth calls is swim porn, and I'm guessing LFTC will like that turn of phrase!

We missed you, but did our best to soldier on in crystalline aquamarine blue, beyond-turquoise-blue warm waters!

Happy feet in Providenciales (Provo, Turks and Caicos islands, Caribbean)

Where we rested and dried-out between swims....

Amazing water...

Grand Turk island where we went diving and saw the humpbacks.

Cool posters of S. D. beachs

I got both of these recently when I re-did my place.  The Torrey Pines one has La Jolla Shores and Scripts in the background.

http://www.allposters.com/

http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?startat=/getposter.asp&APNum=2702366&CID=387A83032B8A4A22BD2018C9B64FC69B&PPID=1&Search=torry pines&f=t&FindID=0&P=1&PP=2&sortby=PD&c=c&page=1

http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?startat=/getposter.asp&APNum=2493379&CID=387A83032B8A4A22BD2018C9B64FC69B&PPID=1&Search=oceanside pier&f=t&FindID=0&P=1&PP=1&sortby=PD&c=c&page=1

So dates for the birthday bash... March13th or march 26th?

Cast your votes!

crabs-again

swim report saturday 12:30: shores, sun! flat glass, clear, 60 by my watch, cftc, ruth! and way too many other people. who are these people and why are they there? so ruth! was pleading for swim partners earlier, needing to swim beyond measure, who, when, where, how and a few 'oh come on, swim!' cries only to forget her wetsuit. we are walking toward the water, a mere 5 feet away and she's saying she can't do it sans wetsuit, she won't make it, it's too cold and then we are in the water and she's still saying she doesn't think she'll be able to swim and then, we are swimming and ruth! is woo hooing, showing off her naked legs and digging the not too terribly cold sea. we swam all around, checking stuff out and on the way back in we saw a big crab, really big, maybe a diameter of 2', maybe a spider crab. i tried to take pictures but i'm still in helen keller mode. sorry! after we exited, the dolphin brigade came calling, jumping and playing like crazy, we sat in the sun and chatted, bumped into c rose and ralph and called it a damn good day.
remember we have a birthday get together 3-26 or 27, details to be firmed up later.
swim people! get it in gear, get your swim on, take off your pants and swim like you mean it!
lftc-out

Saturday swim

Flat seas, warm blanket layer on top. Ooh how sweet it is! Met Janie and Leonard as they were exiting the water. Leonard joined me to the quarter, then headed back in. I swam to the 'sharquarium' over in front of the Marine Room. Lots of big daddys in shallow water. Didn't see the crabs everyone's been talking about. Swam back past the quarter, to Boomers, where calm seas beckoned me onward. Spying two seastars lieing in the sea grass made the trip worthwhile! Plus an unidentified loner fish--maybe a small shark of some kind. I exited at Boomers at low tide--what was I thinking?! Mental note to never to that again.

oh delicious clarity

How I do love thee. Beautiful tranquil clear (10+) flat water swim today with RUTH! and LFTC both sin wetsuits those brave gals, and my in my full all nice and toasty. Swam from infront of the tower to the Marine Room and back, nice gentle current although not sure which way it was pushing us, no kelp to make measures with.... saw tons of sand dollars, another giant Leonard crab (LFTC got pix we think) and lots of bait fish... then lots of dolphins apparently eating the bait fish once we got out. LFTC is sporting a cute new do and strong out there no fins, Ruth! is tough as nails in her free skin swim. Great swim gals, nice chatty vitamin D absorbing chill-in-the-sun on the bench afterwards. AH, I do love my swim peeps, missed the rest of you out there.

Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim-Be there or be square!

It's June 25th.  Amber and Talya and I are already signed up.  Bill, they DO allow wetsuits.

http://www.sharkfestswim.com/default.asp?PageID=20154

fun swim with 200 sea lions!

swim report thursday 12:30, RUTH! carol, lftc and about 200 sea lions, bratty sea lions, noisy and boisterous. some surface chop with a good surge, some swells predicting incoming surf soon, 60 degrees by my watch and not too clear but still fun and slightly dizzying. we swam to the 1/4 then toward the marine room but carol hadn't been feeling very well so we played around, maybe nearing the invisible 1/2 before turning around. pretty killer swim, played with my camera a little, i suck! but i'll get better.

we had some sun! after wishing love to carol's daughter, kelly, the sun came out. her spirit was near, i hope..

all in all a good day for this swim chick and thanks to my partner for getting me down there. i needed her today! she straight up told me that was she is/was totally using me for self gain but i'm more than happy to be her enabler! thanks RUTH! and carol too, for joining us. pretty tough newbie.

lftc-out

Strong currents making swimming dangerous off San Diego coast

while we were swimming dave checked on the ocean conditions (i do make the dinners around here, he's invested in my well being) and found this: strong currents churning the local waters, making swimming and diving dangerous tuesday. i told him that it was us churning the waters. the other people just better step it up a notch to hang in our wake. so there.

pictures from the special needs swimmer

triumph! a killer 'swim with the dolphins' exit! you both look amazing!

this is claudia's new stroke technique: face down, feet up and out!

i think steve is seeing how far cami will go before putting her arms in. a long, long time we found out..

a mysterious discussion..

aqua boy steve!

i love how cami is holding out for a few inches more! (as she should, always)

she is not putting her arms in, no way, no how..

da best swim crew!

pics! the conditions were a tiny bit rough so taking pics was not so easy, plus i have a learning curve: i can't really feel the buttons due to the frostbitten digits so it was hit or miss. and, i can't really see anything due to foggy goggles so if something moved, i either missed it or shot to the side of it. and, since i can't really hear anything due to my bonnet covering my ears, i can't verify if the camera caught anything. basically, i'm deaf, dumb, blind and have tactile anesthesia so don't hope for causteau photos. here they are though!

the crab sighting was lost to my disabilities, to much moving on my part. fab swim though!

post something!

lftc-out