“Después de la Playa”

Sunday May 12, 2024

Wind: from S 5.3 m/sec (12 mph). Air Temperature: 19.9 °C (68 °F). Water Temperature: 5.22 °C (59 °F)

Today at the lake, it was sunny and warm, and the water was choppy. There were kids and adults playing, laughing, and speaking Spanish in the shallow area. There were families everywhere, clustered around tables full of food. The activity in the water had loosened the icky brown furry stuff that grows on the lake floor rocks all winter, turning the normally clear water into a soupy mess. There were clumps of the furry stuff in the water and loads of pollen thingies from the trees floating on the surface. 

I wore my 3:2 wetsuit today. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to zip it up. I think I’m heavier than the last time I wore it in September. Luckily, with some wriggling and arm contortions, I was able to zip it up without asking a stranger for help. I traded a thermal cap for my thermal hood, and I wore my hooded vest on top of my wetsuit since this wetsuit is too tight to wear anything underneath it. I also swapped out my thermal gloves for my lightweight blueseventy gloves, which I love because they allow me to feel the water against my hands and fingers. I left my thermal stocks at home and just wore my blueseventy socks. It felt nice to shed some gear.

My last swim was a complete disaster because I forgot my snorkel and goggles. My tight hood holds my jaw so tight that I can’t really do side breathing, so I swallowed about a pint of water and got out after five minutes. Today I remembered the snorkel, so I was able to do my weird keep-my-head-in-the-water modified breast stroke. It works for me. I’m pretty good at doing me. What else is there?

I swam straight out into the deep water to get away from some people in a blow-up canoe who did not look like they had the first clue about water safety. I noticed instantly how different my spring wetsuit is from the thermal suit I’ve been wearing, which is made from Yamamoto neoprene. Wow. The neoprene is so stiff compared to the ultra stretchy Yamamoto. There’s a little bit of having to swim against the suit because it’s not very stretchy. Still, it kept me warm, and it’s bombproof. I love my spring suit because a friend in MN sent it to me when I first started swimming in the lake. I didn’t have a clue about wetsuits, and I was pretty sure I’d never find one that fit my odd body. But it arrived in the mail and fit perfectly. I need to credit this friend for the gift because I don’t know if I would have purchased a wetsuit back then. It was so new to me, and I didn’t know what I was doing or what I wanted. Over the years I’ve accumulated enough gear to get me through every temperature, so I’m very happy for my original suit.

The water was really choppy, so naturally I swam right into it. The cold water felt good on my hands and neck. I figured I would do a lap around the cement dock, then figure out the rest of my swim after that. I had to work hard to move forward, and every so often my snorkel would close, causing me to miss a breath. I tried to slow down to account for that. I’m not in great swimming shape right now, so I am trying to be aware of when I need to be safe. 

It’s weird swimming in the lake when I can’t see the bottom. First, I don’t know where I’m going. I’m used to seeing the rocks on the lake floor, the underwater weights that they tie the swim area ropes to in summer, the grooves in the sand. Second, I think it feels more polluted when the water isn’t clear. As much as I don’t like the milfoil stalks I would rather see green lake plants than have murky water. 

I made it around the cement dock, then I turned and swam south, stopping when I ran into the dock with my head. The water is quite high right now, so the bars hanging off the bottom of the dock are just above the water’s surface. I didn’t hurt myself, but I probably looked funny. I’m used to that. 

I swam into the middle of the swim area and pulled my tow float under my head so I could float on my back without removing my snorkel. Nothing more relaxing than floating in the water. The sky was mostly blue, with clumps of clouds. Sometimes I see shapes in the clouds, but mostly I try to appreciate them for what they are. I like the cloudiness of them. The puff factor. I could say that some of them looked like popcorn, but really they just looked like clouds. 

I continued swimming south, then veered east. I hung out in the deep water for awhile, jogging in place. I did this in college when I was injured. My coach would put me in a neoprene onesie, tie rubber tubing around my waist, then have me run in the water against resistance. It would have been much better with a full wetsuit. I love the buoyancy. It’s magic to be vertical in the water, especially if I don’t want to put much effort into holding my position. I love having just my head above the water, looking at the various points on the horizon where I can see the Cascade Mountains, the sail boats on the other side of the lake, all the fancy houses on the waterfront. 

I decided to do another lap around the cement dock, and started swimming north. I thought of trying crawl stroke, but I was in a rhythm with breast stroke. Since I couldn’t see where I was going I ended up swimming wide of the dock, so I had to make a little correction to get around the bottom of it so I could swim back through the swim area to the deeper water. I remember a can on the bottom of the lake around that part of the water. I will try to get it when the water’s clear if it doesn’t hurt my ears.

I took the time to float again, and this time I saw some cloud shapes. I saw the United Kingdom and Ireland, but transposed. The UK was on the left. For some reason this bothered me. I wanted to see the actual configuration. I also found it amusing because the clouds were making me think about history. Would anything be different now if those islands had swapped places millions of years ago. Yes, totally. 

Then I saw a tiny, wispy cloud shaped like the Tesla logo, just off the west coast of the UK. “Elon Musk is such an asshole,” was all that came to mind. 

Time to get back to swimming. I headed south for a little bit, then did another few minutes of jogging in the water. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been in, but when I looked at the shore I noticed that the crowds had thinned out. There were a few little kids playing on the beach, but nobody was in the water. Nobody was sitting on the beach.

I swam to the shallow area, and started walking out of the water as soon as I could touch my feet to the lake bottom. The shallow water looked nasty with all the brown fur in it. I grabbed my bag off the beach and walked to the showers. I love the hot showers. As I was peeling off my gear I noticed a little girl chasing a duck and heard loud music coming from one of the picnic areas about 20 feet away. Now it’s that time of the year when my serene swimland returns to being a public park. It’s all mine most of the year, but now it is a key warm-day destination. I could feel my grumpy coming on, but then I thought, “well, we all have a way of being in the park. I should go ask those people about the music.” I didn’t dislike the music. It was just strange to hear it since the park is usually silent. The music was in Spanish, so I was trying to listen hard for any words I might know. I finished my shower, expertly got dressed under my Turkish towel without flashing anyone, and packed my bag. There was a mom yelling to her kid in a language I didn’t recognize. I released myself from the job of telling the kids not to chase the ducks. They were just being little kids. And they were not throwing rocks at the ducks like last time, so I decided to let it go. 

I walked over to the picnic tables, where there was a group of young people chatting, eating, bobbing their heads to the music. I pointed to the huge speaker on the ground and said, “who is this?” 

“Bad Bunny,” they answered in unison. Oh, cool. I literally just say the carpool karaoke with him, and he was adorbs, so I had to tell them about it. “This is Bad Bunny? I saw an interview with him and he said he had ‘bunny’ in his name because he’s cute.” We all smiled and agreed that Bad Bunny was the best, the cutest. I was so excited to finally hear his music. I walked away happy that I made the effort. Now I can enjoy Bad Bunny at the beach instead of feeling grumpy about music being placed in my sacred space. It’s not my space. It’s a park, it’s warm, it’s time to celebrate. It’s mother’s day. Why not?! I can be grumpy, or I can be cute, too. Lighten up, betch!!!!!

As I walked to my car I felt grateful that the water helps me shed that angsty weight that accumulates a little bit every day. Getting in the water a few times a week can usually disperse that energy. I wonder what people do who don’t exercise. For me to shift my energy, change my mood, I have to do something physical. I have to move.

Now my goal is to remember this flexibility around changing my mood to adapt to the way the park is going to be for the next four months. I can do it. I can share. I can refrain from judging the people at the park or letting other people get me down. I can do my thing, and they can do their things. I’m still gonna look out for the ducks, though. At least until the lifeguards are on board end of June. Then it’s their job. 

Thank you, lake. Thank you, ducks. Gracias, Bad Bunny.