Dirty Diana and the crack of dawn thanks to OEX

pictures speak a thousand words so here you go:

close up of these bratty sea lions, look at him, mocking us!

just blocking the way, they do this often..

Cirque Du Soleil action!

We rock!

Look at that ocean behind us, so flat! I must tell you that our TFTC is so good, so pure and sweet that she actually donned her PFD (life jacket) before we launched! Isn't that so cute? It was bigger than her body, almost, we gave her a hard time about it.. what, are you gonna fall out of the kayak and not swim? She's so cutie!

Here is Diana posing like Magellan mapping the seas but really she's looking at a catamaran mast wondering why it was so big. And long. Big and long. Isn't it too big? Really you guys, look at how big and long it is! Sadly, we didn't get the pic of the actual mast.   

P.s. for Dirty Diana I'll just tell you that she kept seeing really long things, really big and long things, things that seemed sort of long and she kept wondering why things were so big. And long. It was like a theme. Crack of dawn is the cool name of the paddles.
If you have to rent a kayak for any reason, EVAR!, please see Mike, Chris, Nick and I think Brian at OEX Dive and Kayak, the best service, the coolest guys and seriously handsome. Why would you go anywhere else? In fact, even if you never plan to kayak in your life, go there to say hi and to gaze. 2243 Avenida La Playa.
They like the swimmers and we like them, trust me.

No swimming, just paddling around

Friday, Feb. 15

Look at that beautiful day behind us!

Toni and Steve making a statement: "Wa-hooo!"

LFTC, TFTC, Steve D and Diana Darling rented two double kayaks at OEX from a very handsome Chris (ooh la LA).  Kayaking was splendid on a placid ocean with sea lions playing about.  We went all the way out past the C buoy looking for large marine life in the form of whales or dolphin and found nada.  But the water in the swim area had great viz.

So F*#@ing Stoked! and I hate running.

Swim report for Tuesday, Feb.12, RUTH!, Steph, Claudia, LFTC all met at     WTF 10am. What? When? Why? Who says? 10am, 10am, for some lunch thing for RUTH! and RUTH! says. OMG, whatever, okay. I need RUTH! all year, sometimes we have to give to get. As an aside, I ran this morning, I wore a jacket, full gloves and a base layer for my entire run, I was still cold. Also, my nose ran for the entire run. (I sell the sexy-I know!) My point: it was cold this morning at WTF 10am, light wind, very small surf if any and that's that. We march in and take such a long time, step forward, step back, yelping at the little lapping waves as if they held barbed wire until finally we make it out. It was brutal, my watch read 53.6, 54.6, 56.4, my teeth hurt! Doesn't swimming sound awesome! The water was very clear, we swam to the marine room where it was an aquarium with some murk close to the wall, we did some sightseeing over there and fought the current to go back. The hotel wouldn't budge today, every time I checked our progress, there it was, sitting there. It was a fab swim all in all and while I complain, (it's just my way, people, part of my charm)I wouldn't miss it for anything. I think of it like this: When I plan a run, I like the thought of running, I'm happy that I went running but I hate the running part. I'm miserable, I hate all the people on the roads, all the dogs, I hate Dave, I throw rocks at him and if it's hilly, I hope to be mowed down just so I can stop. I have the cardio ability, it's the gravity. 
When I swim, I sort of dislike the idea, especially if it's cold, dark, grey, windy, icy, rainy, surgy, surfy. (totally routine for our crew)
but when I'm done; oh man, I'm so happy! Or as Steph so eloquently said, "I'm so f**king stoked!" There are no problems in my life that I can't handle, it's like a fix and until my next swim, I'm totally fixed. Running cannot compare and if I add my beloved, can't live without them swim peeps? Forget it, running bites. Power panties be damned!
This more of an attitude report than a swim report so here's this:

It's about as Pollyanna as I'll ever be.

lftc-out

Cold Swell Sunday Swim

Nice gentle swells -- a swell swim it was!

Cold water and threatening waves couldn't keep us away!  Great swim today as many on Facebook debated the water temp -- was it 56? Felt like 54 -- Steve said it was 54, didn't he?  Ruth said, no way, had to be warmer -- she's really getting her no-pants-swimmin' on these days!  Seriously,  though 14 of us crazies were having a blast in the water... out to the A, then quickly to the B, then the 14 split up into the straight back inners and the 1/4 and inners...

So nice to see Carol and Bob back in the water too... Carol's arm is better but still painful, so she gets an extra award for making the long swim today!

The sun came out just for us!

We all made it back and some of us went to the dark side for a few moments of hot water soaking... others chatted on deck... Leonard, Diana, Mark, Jo, Carly, the MCs, LFTC, Carol, Bob, Steve, Ruth, Claudia and Lyndee!!! Whoohoo, what crue.

Thanks to you all for making my Sunday perfect... what would we do without our swims and swim-buddies?  It was a sweet and swell, Sunday swim.
Happy daze!!!

~cary

Another day in paradise...

Thanks for the swim today

The water was cold at first when we got in but the jacuzi made it worth it.

Whitewater and bellybuttons

today was kinda fun

me and claudia splashed around in the strong strong surf at the Shores - shallow water,unruly and powerful waves small enough to dive into the break or the wash.
it was actually educational - 

humbling and regressive

like the child i never was - i grew up near the beach and swam in the Atlantic but hardly ever ventured out into surf.

drove up to the Cove afterwards and it had really died down - it was totally swimmable so go figure

but then it started raining and i wouldn't have wanted to risk the changeability

but doug's big warning yesterday turned out to be a BUM STEER

as the Cove was quiet yesterday afternoon, or so i heard.

hope Laura got outta her iron panties, seein as how she bailed.

a group of Seacamp youth were getting their money's worth at the Shores today, decked out in wetsuits but reduced to standing in the surf just holding bodyboards in front of them.  too strong and messy to bodyboard.  afterwards i overheard a girl sharing her bellybutton issues with her girlfriends - she doesn't like when people poke their fingers in hers.

nor would i.

RUTH!

here's to NO PANTS-NESS!!!!

Happy birthday Stevie D. and just say no to shrinkage!

Swim report for Wednesday, Feb. 6th, Stevie D. and me and no one else because why? Why? The few previous days were beautiful, calm and clear , 57 degrees and while it took some negotiating, (begging, demanding) we managed to have several players but Wednesday just Steve and me and it was his birthday. Anyway, as you all know we have a nasty WNW swell that moved in Thursday, Wednesday had a little preview of this action which made me all weird and nervous and as soon as my feet touched the sand, the Laura waves showed. I   swear   to   you. Mike can verify and Steve too. Now I have swam with Steve many times, or near him as he wanders far and wide and abandons people regularly, but I haven't been in surf with him, I wasn't sure if he'd be solid-for me. He promised to have my back so rather than flee, I waited for the Laura waves to chill, that's right, I waited for the 'lull'. I'm generally agin this act but it was his birthday. (don't get any ideas that I will adopt this type of behavior for future homisurf, I won't) So out we go in fast moving water, strong current to the northwest moving us way outside, we had to swim a big arc back to the a, again to the b and back to the a. The surface was smooth but the current beneath was awesome to witness. 56 degrees, grey skies, very cool weather but I think I was breaking a sweat trying to pace Steve. He had his wetsuit on and is already fast. This was good so I could concentrate on my aerobic capacity or lack thereof and forget the god damn waves. Such a good birthday swim for Steve and me! Thanks, Steve, for spending part of your day with me! Man alive it was so cold afterwards, I was shivering while this couple was taking a census on the swim life. "Isn't it cold?" is my fave as I stand and shake and speak with numb lips. Yyeetthh iitt iizzth is my reply. Sometimes i touch these people. That usually ends our talk. 
Steve was worried about the cold so didn't swim in his birthday suit as he wanted to, we kidded around about the physical reactions-for the boys-and how someone might think the water was in the 30 degree range. Nobody wants that, right? Funny boys. 
So now we have ugly seas, some surf but who can tell with all the whitewater, whitecaps, wind, rain and hail, Stay dry Saturday, maybe play Sunday if you  feel like roughhousing and I know you all do.
I have so much more but later, there's always more, people! I write for you, for your pleasure, you all should reciprocate. Don't be selfish lovers!
lftc-out