Perfection
Last week there was a break in the incessant wind and fog of spring on the coast. The sun came out and the surf calmed down at my favorite beach. It was a Tuesday so the beach was empty. The dogs and I were the only ones that saw the big grey whale surface just outside of the waves.
There was one surfer bobbing in the water when I paddled out. After a few strokes I gasped and pulled my hands out of the water. Jelly Fish! Baby jelly fish, hundreds of them! With each stroke I would hit dozens of them. Like giant slippery grapes the size of tennis balls cut in half. I felt their pin prick stings on my hands but my wetsuit protected the rest of me from head to toe. Sitting in the still water outside of the waves, they surrounded me and the other surfer. I squinted through the water at them. They were like translucent and beautifully weird ocean fairies bumping into each other.
A few waves later a sea lion popped his huge whiskered face out of the water a couple of yards from us. Not a seal, a SEA LION. The surfer and I exchanged worried looks. That is a big animal. But then the big guy dipped back under the waves and disappeared.
I finally took a wave in when the tide dropped too low and the cold finally got to me. What a perfect day. I am so lucky.
