A Father's Day Eve At The Beach

It’s the middle of June. MJ’s out of school. It’s a Saturday. There was no chance that we weren’t going to go to the beach. It wasn’t all fun and games for me. I wanted to swim in the ocean as soon as I could to get a feel for it. My triathlon is coming up. I’m glad that I didn’t blow this off.

Swimming in the ocean is much different than swimming in a pool. The one thing that I didn’t expect – and didn’t really notice until I was done swimming – was how much easier it is to move through saltwater than fresh water. The things I did expect were much worse than I expected. I brought my water resistant watch because I wanted to time myself. I was all set to head out when MJ made me take it off because sharks like shiny things and she didn’t want me to get eaten. I thought she was being silly but I took it off. That battle wasn’t even close to being worth fighting.

After I was swimming I realized that being phlegmatic about shark attacks while standing on dry land and being phlegmatic about shark attacks while swimming in murky water are two very different things. The water was calm – a Lake Atlantic day – and I was never deeper than five feet, but I still haven’t seen the bottom. I had goggles on but couldn’t see more than 18 inches in front of me. I was also swimming alone, which is a pretty big no-no in the ocean.

This led to two instances of absolute butthole puckering terror. I don’t know how long I was in the water. Remember, MJ made me take my watch off, but I swam from about 6th street to about 10th street. Both instances happened the same way. I was thinking about how easy the swim was going, which somehow led to me thinking about how I couldn’t see and how I wouldn’t know if a shark was there until it bumped into me or bit me. I thought about how it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if the shark bit me on the leg, if it wasn’t that big of a shark. But a big shark could bite me in the side and eat my liver and I’d die right there – I GOTTA GET OUTTA THE WATER! All this went through my mind in an instant. The first time it happened I stopped swimming, stood up, took my goggles off and had to think about whether or not it was worth it. I knew if I got out of the water I’d never get back in so I kept swimming.

Strangely, other than the two instances of abject terror, I never thought about it. I thought about swimming straight and if I was splashing enough for MJ and how far fisherman cast their lines.

I got a fishing line wrapped around my arm. After I was done being annoyed – go find your own ocean a-hole – I felt kind of bad wondering if the guy thought he’d caught something. I swear I almost caught me a 230lb. Blackfish, but I was casting 60lb. test so I really didn’t have much of a chance. I also thought the waves would push me in and the swim back to land would be the easiest part. I was wrong. Undertow sucks.

I felt great getting out of the water, even if I was a little bit out of breath, and started the run back to base camp. I figured why not simulate as much as I can of the event. I’d never run immediately after a swim, and I was surprised by how heavy I felt. It wasn’t that my swimsuit was waterlogged; it was that I was much lighter floating in the water. I got used to the air not holding up as much of my fat ass as the ocean and cruised what I’m assuming was the ¼ mile run.

When I got back the whole crew was playing in the water. LMJ was wearing her brand new crab floaty and trying some kind of joint manipulation to get her mom to let go of her so she could swim by herself. She hasn’t been this comfortable in the ocean since before she could really walk.

After everyone was tuckered out from swimming and playing we were sitting on the beach and saw a whole pod of dolphins slowly making their way south. They were about 50 yards off shore or much closer to shore than I was when I was swimming. I can’t even imagine how much of a little girl I would have sounded like when I started shrieking if I had seen a fin pop out of the water between me and the shore. I’m glad that I was on the beach as they swam by because seeing dolphins (from the shore) in the wild is magical. The beach was pretty crowded and everyone stopped to watch them. It wasn’t just us.

As good as the dolphins were they weren’t as good as LMJ, who saved the best line of the day for when we were getting ready to leave. I was standing in the nonexistent surf when she came running up to me and said, “Daddy, it’s time to go home.” I asked her if that’s what Mommy said, and without batting an eye she said, “No, that’s what I said.”

Another Florida Morning

Well, it was 8:30 in the morning and we didn’t have any plans for the day so we went to the beach… again. The tide was out so there was this really great tidal pool. It was a foot and a half deep at its deepest and fifty meters from the rest of the ocean. This was the perfect balance between safety and fun for the baby girl and me. She was able to play and get wet, and I didn’t have to worry about her getting swept away to Bermuda. The Atlantic got closer every minute but it was gradual and the changing shore line kept everything fresh. We all sat on the edge of the pool and let little fish nibble our feet, which was freaky. It happens all the time whenever we’re in the ocean but watching it and thinking about it was strange and creepy. The only possible downside was that the nearly constant rain is keeping the ocean cold. Normally at this time of year the water feels like a bathtub, but on the other hand there haven’t been any violent storms. I like to think the monsoons we’ve been having are releasing the energy that has been turning into hurricanes for the past fifteen years. I hope so anyway. But I digress. We got used to the water and had the marine exfoliation. We saw lots of dolphins. The very first one we saw wasn’t more than fifty meters off shore. He was so close that I wanted to swim after him. If I’d had my goggles I don’t think I would have been able to resist. I wouldn’t have been able to catch him. Dolphins swim better than humans. It’s science. But wild dolphins are the coolest things in the world. I was beginning to think that I was just a big geek, but the last couple of times we’ve seen dolphins I’ve watched the lifeguards on duty and they get jacked up about them too. I feel like this is a boring post because my writing about our beach trips is becoming repetitive, but when I read these posts years from now I know it will make my happy. Nobody has ever been on their deathbed and wished they hadn’t spent so much time at the beach or wished they hadn’t seen so many dolphins.

Working Hard at Having Fun.

I don’t understand how weekends got to be so exhausting. It’s Friday morning, I blink, it’s Sunday night. We went to the beach this morning to see friends at their condo. We got a late start so we had to think creatively to find a parking spot. The late start also meant the beach was a little bit more crowded than we like, but that’s usually unavoidable since crowded for us is anybody we don’t know and like within sight. LMJ wanted to sit on the steps leading to the beach. We drove a half hour, loaded up her stroller with beach stuff, walked down to the shore, and her favorite part was the wooden steps. We and our friend, ME, had matching beach tents set up so we looked like Cuban refugees in Miami in the early 80’s. We moved from the beach to the pool because it was less crowded and a little bit safer. There’s no undertow in the pool. This is where I had the most fun. We got a chance to put what LMJ learned in yesterday’s swim class to good use. One really crappy swim lesson made her a little afraid of the water. One really good swim lesson made her a dolphin again. I forgot to mention that as soon as we got to our spot on the beach the nice lifeguard pointed out a pod of dolphins in the ocean. Seeing wild dolphins, along with beer, sex, pizza, and money, is one of the few things in this world that is not subject to the law of diminishing returns. It’s one of the “that’s why!” reasons I’ll never live more than forty-five minutes from the ocean. After swimming in the pool, we headed home, loving the mini-van the whole way. LMJ slept on the trip back and was awake and ready to go when her grandparents showed up to play with her. Everyone loves her new star turtle, and we all had fun playing in the backyard, even if the weather and humidity is already reaching unbearable. Now it’s evening, we still have to get dinner, bathe a baby, set up coffee and the morning routine for tomorrow, and it’s the beginning of a new week with swimming and running. I don’t know if I was cut out to be busy.

A Day at The Beach

I started the day talking to my accountant about my taxes and wanted to add to my list from yesterday. Fortunately, the sun came out today and MJ was able to coax me off the ledge and out to the beach. There is something magical about the shore. I was in a horrible mood when I opened the car door and smelled the sea air. My spirits were instantly lifted. We ran around and played and built sand castles and just had a big time. We watched dogs playing, which is just funny. Not just the knucklehead young dog who wants to do nothing but chase the tennis ball his owner has thrown into the ocean, but we also love watching the dogs interact with each other. I love the jealousy the dog on the leash has for the free dog. I love how they all smell each other hello. There was one downer, an eight hundred year old yellow lab whose hips hurt and was too old to lift his tail. I felt bad for the owner because it’s not going to be too long before he has one of the worst days of his life. LMJ was better behaved than could reasonably be expected. She didn’t eat any sand and she didn’t run too far away. She had to run away from a surfer walking up the beach with his board when she lost sight of me, but that was the scariest part of her beach day. We could tell that she wanted to get in the water, and last summer she would have just headed towards Bermuda and I would have had to chase her down, but today she didn’t even get close. Right as we were about to leave I walked her down to the water and we got our feet wet. Just like the sea air the water just felt “right”. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t understand how people live without easy access to the beach.

I'm Just Lucky To Be Here

We went to the beach today. We didn’t want to get behind on our trips during Florida’s nine months of summer. Today is one of those days when I don’t understand why people live elsewhere. It was about 68 degrees when we got to the beach, and I’m pretty sure it’s physically impossible to have better weather. It wasn’t scorching hot but it was warm enough for people to go surfing. We saw our first dolphins of the season, and who doesn’t love dolphins? I’ve lived here for twenty-eight years and it’s still a huge thrill to see wild dolphins going about their business. After getting home from the beach I grilled some burgers and drank some beer. Ama and Granddad came over and basked in the greatness that is LMJ. I wonder if LMJ is going to understand how lucky she is to have three grandparents constantly spoiling her as she grows up. I can’t express how wonderful it is to have family close. March is also basketball season, and today is a banner day. Duke and UNC are playing today at the college level, and the Spurs and Suns are representing the pros. Basketball doesn’t get more exciting - at least until next week when the NCAA tournament starts. We should start a pool. Not only does everyone else have one; nothing says depression and financial desperation like gambling. What could be more fun than putting the fate of whether or not you keep your house on nineteen year old boys and how they play on a given day? Sorry, but nineteen year old Marines are men; nineteen year old college basketball players are boys. It’s science. I truly love the changing seasons, even though we only get one and a half here. I think that probably makes them mores special.