Nightglow Window

A Labor Day Paddle

I head down to La Jolla shores at eight o'clock this morning with Mike G to go for a paddle. My arms are still worked from yesterday and my nose is crisped. It's probably a good thing we're only heading out for two hours. I'm not sure how much more sun I could take.

I'm a tad concerned that the swell will make it hard for Mike to launch, since it's a beach start, but La Jolla Cove is protected from the south swell and when we arrive the conditions are perfect. There's hardly any swell, the ocean surface is glassy, and the blue-green water is extremely clear.

We paddle over to the cliffs and the groundswell is wrapping in a bit, filling up the sea caves with current and foam. I head to the cave's entrance and see Bill Walton (yep, the NBA great) cracked up on the rocks, his paddle adrift, his boat overturned.

His kayak is frickin' huge, I rationalize, far too big to easily negotiate the turn into the cave. Mine's not, though, right? With my confidence returning, I check the timing of the sets and race into the entrance, passing Bill (who by now has sorted out his gear and looks to be okay).

The inside of the cave is dark and is filled with groundswell and the sound of moving water. Pretty spooky -- and thrilling. I make it out feeling relieved and then do the whole thing again to bat down the willies inside my head. It was easier the second time, but I don't try my luck with a third pass.

Mike and I paddle out past the cove, which is filled with sunbathers, and then out to the kelp beds where tens of thousands of silver minnows dart.

On the way back in we see more Leopard sharks, diving pelicans, and swaying kelp disappearing into the depths. The water is clear and very green and it's refreshing when I jump overboard for a quick swim. The whole paddle was great -- much better than this rushed post is making it sound.

Near the top of the La Jolla sea caves. (I had carefully wrapped my little digital camera in three ziploc bags.)

The caves. (They're hard to see, but the lefthand dark hole is the best cave. It cuts through the bluff to a small cove beyond. It's about 45 yards long, narrow at the entrance but largish inside. It's wise to enter the cave from the cove beyond and paddle out toward where I'm sitting. If you go into the cave from this direction, you might just catch a wave and have too much speed to negotiate the rocks inside.)

Nice ET toes.

Near the kelp beds outside of Boomers.